Revelations a number of local councils voted on an Australia Day date change motion in Canberra last week poses more questions that answers.

Of the 560 council representatives in attendance at the annual National General Assembly of the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA), just 126 delegates voted, with the motion passing narrowly –  64 to 62.

The ALGA board will meet in July to discuss the motion and determine what action to take.

Neither Bendigo, nor any of the neighbouring councils, voted. 

Some of the smaller shires, like Macedon Ranges Shire Council and Mount Alexander Shire Council, did not even attend the assembly. 

One mayor spoken to privately questioned the relevance of local governments voting on such an issue. 

A lot of councils would have been unaware of the motion, and thus, unqualified to vote on such a sensitive issue on behalf of their ratepayers, which perhaps explains the low voting percentage. 

Naturally opinions on the topic vary wildly, ranging from those who refer to the date, which marks the arrival of the the First Fleet from England, as ‘invasion day’, to those who question whether the convicts, who were reportedly part of the First Fleet, were actually invading, as appose to being sent here.

The transcript of a speech given by adopted elder of the Dja Dja Wurrung community, Julie McHale, who was named Mount Alexander Shire citizen of the year in 2016, provides interesting insight into this debate, which has a tendency to be framed as Indigenous vs non-Indigenous.

In her speech, Ms McHale details how she wrestled with the idea of accepting the award on a day many Indigenous people had protested against, while arguing that it wasn’t necessarily the case that Aboriginal people embrace the day to object. 

She concluded to accept the award “to acknowledge the true history, good and bad, so we can see each other in light of what has gone by and a chance to work together to ‘to re-commit to making Australia an even better place for the generations to come’”.

The argument seems clear; failure to move on, but not forget, is more damaging, which makes votes likes last week, that have no political relevance or weight, pointless.