‘Yes’ vote for Bass Coast Shire council

A MONTH out from ‘The Voice’ Referendum Day, on Saturday October 14, Bass Coast Shire Council is preparing to nail its colours to the mast.

Following the move by 16 other Victorian councils, so far, to back the ‘Yes’ vote at the referendum, Bass Coast Shire Council is expected to be given an opportunity to do likewise, at its next council meeting on Wednesday, September 20.

In a Notice of Motion, expected to be moved by former deputy mayor, Cr Leticia Laing, councillors would be asked to join the chorus of council’s recommending a yes vote, breaking away from the 63 other councils that have opted, to date, to remain neutral.

Not all Victorian councils who support the Uluru Statement from the Heart are backing a ‘Yes’ vote in the referendum. These include Greater Geelong, Strathbogie Shire and Banyule City Council.

It’s a position adopted by the Municipal Association of Victoria:

“The MAV supports the key principles of the Uluru Statement from the Heart, which are Voice, Treaty and Truth, and that a referendum is held to achieve recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the Australian Constitution.”

Cr Laing and the Bass Coast Mayor Cr Michael Whelan have so far opted not to comment on the initiative, or if the proposed motion might yet be pulled from the meeting agenda, or changed.

From a council spokesperson: “Council has no comment at this time. The agenda is not finalised. It will be released on Friday.”

South Gippsland Shire Council has already advised there will be no such vote by its council.

“We have an understanding within the group, that if anyone individual councillor wants to say whether they are supporting one position or another, they can,” said South Gippsland Mayor Cr Nathan Hersey this week.

“But we won’t be having a council vote about going one way or the other, our reasoning being that it’s a Federal Government matter. It’s up to them to put the information out there they want to put up.

“The other reason is that we have to advocate, with all sides of politics, around our priorities and that’s our focus,” he said.

Here’s their official response:

“The South Gippsland Shire Councillor group has chosen to remain politically neutral regarding a position about The Voice, however acknowledges that this may not reflect the opinion of individual

Councillors. We thank you for your understanding of our position on this matter.”

Kevin Walsh, Co-Group Leader of the ‘Bass Coast for Yes’ organisation has, however, warmly welcomed Bass Coast’s move.

“As a former Mayor of Greater Dandenong, I totally get why Greater Dandenong Council came out in support of the Voice. As a multicultural community, they’re all about inclusion and their support for a yes vote at The Voice Referendum is an extension of that,” he told the Sentinel-Times this week.

“It’s about cultural safety,” said Mr Walsh.

But Bass Coast Ratepayers and Residents Association spokesman, Kevin Griffin, said he would be critical if council told people how to vote.

“I think how people vote is entirely a matter for them. There is more than enough information out there for people to make up their mind without the Bass Coast Shire Council getting involved. They should stay in their lane,” Mr Griffin said.

“I think it’s well beyond the remit of this council to be telling other people how they should vote. They should stay out of it, stay impartial on this, and let people make up their own mind.

“Just because some people on the council have firm views on this, they shouldn’t be trying to impose those views on others by using their position as a councillor,” he said.

Twelve of the 16 councils who have so far endorsed a ‘Yes’ vote in the upcoming referendum are within Greater Melbourne, including a cluster of neighbouring councils in the city’s south-east such as Bayside, Glen Eira, Kingston, Monash and Greater Dandenong.

Greater Shepparton, Greater Bendigo, the Hepburn Shire council in central Victoria (Daylesford and Hepburn Springs) and the Surf Coast Shire (including Torquay and Lorne on Victoria’s south-western coastline) are among the state’s regional councils backing a Yes vote.

Locally, the ‘Bass Coast for Yes’ group will be staging a ‘Belonging Together, Walking Together’ community walk on Sunday, September 24, meeting at Apex Park at 10.45am, for a walk to Wishart Reserve.