Indigenous community devastated by Federation decision

This was despite the largest ever response to a community consultation undertaken by Federation Shire and more than three quarters of respondents wanting to see the flags remain.

It may have been a faux pas, met with disapproval from the public gallery, but Mayor Cheryl Cook’s comment, ‘It’s not black, it’s not white’ summed up yesterday’s decision.

The Indigenous flags will come down until councillors do more work on the Reconciliation Action Plan before bringing the matter before council again.

After the heated and at times volatile meeting, about 40 members of the public gallery left devastated by the decision.

Aunty Iris Troutman, of Many Mobs Riverina, worked for Federation Council for 10 years, including on the Reconciliation Action Plan, but said the Indigenous community was never consulted about any amendments to the protocols.

Before Tuesday’s meeting, she was buoyed by the community’s response but apprehensive about what the meeting would hold.

Afterwards she said she was devastated.

“The amount of hard work that I’ve done over the last 10 years since I came to this area has gone down to nothing.”

Corowa resident, Barbara Bates said there was a lot of support in her community.

She raised her family in the town and her father worked at Federation Council.

“Mum and Dad brought us over here when it was only five,” she said.

“We grew up with a lot of white people; that's the reason that we moved there, because they wanted the white and the black (people) together.

“We got along and we lived here all our lives.

“I just hope it turns out … because it really means a lot to me.”

During a public forum, before the general meeting, four speakers shared their views.

Adrienne Hartnett told the meeting that her ancestors lived in a time when “Aboriginal people had no voice in places like this”

“Today, I have that opportunity, and I do not take it lightly,” she said.

When she first read of the decision in November, Adrienne said she felt physically sick.

“Decisions like that say something about who we are as a community; they travel beyond these walls, and they shape how this Shire is seen by the rest of the country,” she said.

“In this case, they already have.

“For those of you who might be tempted to dismiss the responses as outside voices, it is important to note that when submissions from outside the Federation Council area are removed, the result is essentially the same.

“More than 70 per cent of local residents said the same thing; they want the flags to remain.”

She noted that what many people found “deeply troubling” was that a meeting between Aboriginal representatives and councillors last month revealed that some councillors had not read the Reconciliation Action Plan being developed.

“When you hold public office, it is your responsibility to seek out the information you need to make informed decisions,” she said.

“That is what leadership requires, because in that document, Council talks about building relationships based on trust and respect.

“It talks about walking alongside Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and building a community that embraces their culture and their knowledge.

“But reconciliation cannot live only in documents; it has to be lived in the decisions we make.

“The community wants to feel proud of where they come from; they want their town to be known for fairness, respect and maturity.

“Decisions like this do not disappear when the media ends today; they become part of public record of leadership.”

Cr David Harrison noted that the Reconciliation Action Plan called for council to seek funding for three flagpoles at each of the towns in the Shire, to fly three flags.