Addressing Ballarat’s council on Wednesday night, young Koori woman Sissy Austin said in the run up to Australia Day every year, she gets this “sickening feeling”.
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“I have sleepless nights … As an Aboriginal person, I feel intense feelings of anger, grief and loss,” she said.
Calling on the City of Ballarat to enter consultations to change the national holiday’s date, Ms Austin implored them to consider whether the celebrations were respectful to her community.
The push to change the date has gained steam in inner Melbourne, with City of Yarra no longer recognising January 26 and City of Darebin not holding citizenship ceremonies on that date.
CEO Justine Linley said the public holiday was set by the Federal Government, but Ballarat hosts citizenship ceremonies on the day.
Koori woman Amber Barker-Lovett also told the gallery the Koori Engagement Action Group (KEAG) had felt “disappointed” by the low turn-out by councillors and staff at cultural awareness training earlier this year.
City of Ballarat’s director people and communities Neville Ivey said the city welcomes the opportunity to discuss the issue of January 26. He said a scheduled meeting with KEAG on Thursday also discussed the city’s “commitment to build" staff cultural awareness.
But at this week’s council meeting, the Mr Ivey said it was unlikely a date change could be considered before next Australia Day – if that’s what KEAG called for – because of time constraints.
Councillor Grant Tillett said he “resented” the inference he didn’t care about Aboriginal issues just because he didn’t attend all the training, stating he had two adopted Aboriginal cousins who “taught him how to act”.
KEAG members said they were “disgusted” by Cr Tillett’s response.
In response to a call for a formal apology on the missed training, mayor Samantha McIntosh said “many of the staff have their own experiences with the Aboriginal community may not be known to people in the community”.
Councillor Daniel Moloney said the sessions he’d attended were “a great opportunity to ask questions”, but “rather than an apology, council needs to work better to communicate educational opportunities”.
City of Ballarat's Koori Engagement Action Group works to enhance opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander residents.