Perth Voice Interactive

HISTORY was made Tuesday when Bayswater city council voted unanimously to fly an Aboriginal flag outside and inside its civic HQ.

Previously the council only flew the flag during NAIDOC and reconciliation week. The council will spend $1500 installing a fourth flagpole for an indigenous flag, to be flown permanently alongside the national, WA and Bayswater flags, and another $250 on five Australian, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander desktop flags, to be placed in the civic chambers and reception.

The motion was tabled by ex-pom Chris Cornish, who moved to Australia with his family when he was 13-years-old.

“This is symbolic of saying we respect your culture and traditions,” he said. “A move that says there is a friendly face waiting inside to greet you. But it should be noted that this is only a baby step towards reconciliation, and like other councils have done I would like Bayswater to develop a reconciliation action plan.”

Cr Cornish says he’d originally wanted a separate Torres Strait Islander flag flown outside too, but changed his mind because he thought he wouldn’t get enough support.

Cr Barry McKenna declared flying the Aboriginal flag “was the right thing to do”: “You cannot deny the history books,” he said. “There are Aboriginal sites dating back thousands of years that are located near to this very building.Aboriginal people were walking on this land long before the white man arrived.”

The campaign for the flag to be flown permanently was initiated by the Maylands ratepayers and residents association.

“I was slightly disappointed the TSI flag didn’t get the nod to be flown outside, but now this is in place, it is inevitable that will happen further down the line,” MRRA president Roger Tomlins says. “In general, we are delighted and it is a great step forward for Bayswater council.”

The move had the backing of Maylands Labor MP Lisa Baker and Perth federal Labor MP Alannah MacTiernan.

by STEPHEN POLLOCK