Reaction to the leadership chaos in Canberra comes from diverse community sectors but all agree the latest leadership challenge and imminent change of Prime Minister is destabilising and frustrating.
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City of Ballarat Deputy Mayor Daniel Moloney said he hopes the “turmoil in Canberra resolves itself soon” because “all levels of society need some sort of surety.”
“We obviously lobby for Federal Government funding and it makes it very hard to plan in this era of instability,” Cr Moloney said.
“We are waiting for roads-based funding, to restore Her Majesty’s Theatre … we need to know which projects we can start and when.”
Cr Moloney said it also caused difficulties in unexpected ways, including at the City of Ballarat citizenship ceremony held on Thursday, where 29 new Australian citizens did not receive the usual Federal Government welcome message.
“It’s a unique circumstance,” he said. “There is no Home Affairs or Citizenship minister to sign the certificates or the welcome statement.”
New citizens will be issued with their Citizenship Certificates when the nation has an immigration or citizenship minister.
In an ironic twist the ceremony, held at the Eureka Centre – the site of the people’s fight for rights and liberties in 1854 – still proceeded with people from the UK, Sweden, South Africa, the Philippines, the Netherlands, reland, India, Pakistan and the Czech Republic being sworn in.
The City of Ballarat welcomes about 2000 new citizens a year, Cr Moloney said.
Ballarat African Association president Isaac Moses, who came to Ballarat as a refugee from South Sudan 12 years ago, said the prospect of former Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton becoming the new prime minister was “concerning.”
“He is a hardline conservative and having him as a leader … it is concerning, because the leadership comments are what people follow. Now the minority, or the individual who have been silenced will say, ‘we’ve got Dutton, we have our voice’.”
“We don’t want a divisive leader like the US. He did not show humanity as immigration minister, what difference will it make as prime minister? He will have more power.”
We don’t want a divisive leader like the US.
- Ballarat African Association president, Isaac Moses
“A few weeks ago, a young African boy was attacked by two caucasian boys as he was getting off a bus, just because he was African ... this is the threat of leadership comments dividing the community,” Mr Moses said.
“There are so many layers to get residency. I can’t imagine the feelings of the refugees, the people on SHEV visas; they are so scared about being deported.”
Mr Moses is waiting to see what will happen but he is sure of one thing: “Things will change.”
The African Association will meet on Saturday to discuss plans for going forward in a new political environment.
- Full national coverage – Page 13
