By Laura Michell
This was one of Star Weekly’s top stories from 2021.
Here’s your chance to read it if you missed it the first time.
April 13
The rainbow flag won’t be flown in Moorabool after the council rejected a policy that would have paved the way for the flag to fly at council buildings on LGBTIQA+ awareness days.
A flag flying policy was tabled at last week’s council meeting, outlining which flags can be flown at council offices and when, and how people can apply to fly special flags on days of significance.
The policy was created in response to a motion from councillor Tonia Dudzik, asking council to fly the rainbow flag from council buildings on LGBTIQA+ awareness days, including IDAHOBIT Day (International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Interphobia and Transphobia) on May 17.
The rainbow flag is flown at neighbouring councils on days of significance, last week’s council meeting heard.
Cr Dudzik was the only councillor to support the policy at the meeting, with several councillors objecting to the policy because the community had not been consulted.
Mayor Tom Sullivan said the council needed a flag policy but the policy presented to council had not followed “proper process”.
He said the council should make the policy available for community consultation for up to six weeks, to ensure residents “have a voice in this matter”.
“This recommendation silences 35,000 residents of Moorabool shire,” he said.
“Councillors … if this recommendation were to be adopted, what would be your response to residents if asked why a particular flag is flying at council offices and the community had no say in the matter?”
Cr Ally Munari said residents “deserve the respect and courtesy of their voice being heard”.
Cr Dudzik said she had been told that students from Bacchus Marsh Secondary College were “very keen” to see Moorabool fly the rainbow flag.
She said the flag would not be able to fly on IDAHOBIT Day this year if council failed to adopt the policy.
LGBTIQA+ rights campaigner and Ballan resident Ben Davison said the council’s decision “defies belief”.
“My lesbian mum moved to Ballan 20 years ago now… because it was a welcoming community and people accepted you based on who you were,” he said. “The community really prides itself on that.
“Lots of people feel upset and that their representatives have failed to represent them.”
Mr Davison said councillors were elected to make decisions on behalf of the community.
“If every decision… is put off for community consultation, then it begs the question what are our councillors – some who’ve been in place for decades– actually doing?”
Victorian Pride Lobby policy advisor Sean Mulcahy , who addressed last week’s council meeting, said state government research revealed that one in 25 people in Moorabool are part of the LGBTIQA+ community.
“A simple gesture of flying the rainbow flag would say that Moorabool council supports equality and inclusivity for its residents who are LGBTIQA+ and will proudly stand by them,” he said.
