Onkaparinga councillor’s bizarre apology: ‘I invented the word multicultural’

Onkaparinga councillor Sandra Brown has said sorry for sharing anti-Islamic social media posts — but blamed everyone from Facebook to the media for making them public. READ HER STATEMENT

• Cr Sandra Brown shares offensive, anti-Islamic images on Facebook
• Mayor Erin Thompson calls out Sandra Brown for her anti-Islamic Facebook posts

An Onkaparinga councillor has formally apologised for “inadvertently” offending when sharing anti-Islamic material on Facebook.

Councillor Sandra Brown made the statement at Tuesday night’s council meeting after publicly sharing derogatory memes about Muslims on her personal Facebook page — as revealed by The Messenger in March.

Cr Brown went on to defend her actions, saying she had not understood how Facebook privacy settings work and said the media reports and subsequent comments from politicians and other community members, rather than her posts, were to blame for inciting any hate or distress in the community.

She then claimed to have “made up” the word multicultural.

“I wish to apologise if I inadvertently offended anyone with some items on my personal Facebook page as was alluded to a few months ago,” she said.

“I was unaware that people could access my personal Facebook page if they were not accepted as a friend at the time.

“I asked the journalist not to pick selective items in my personal Facebook page as it would incite and do no good amongst the community to no avail.

“I made up the word multicultural when describing my neighbourhood to Don Dunstan as a child.

“He asked me what I meant and I explained that the neighbours that surrounded our home were Hungarian, Greek, Italian, German, Dutch, Australian and Ukrainian.

“I played with the children of those families …”

The anti-Islamic posts on her page included one — featuring a picture of bullet — about halal being an “Islamic tax supporting the very people who want to see your demise” and a video by ex-Senator Fraser Anning about stopping Muslim immigration.

At the time, Cr Brown defended the posts as “freedom of speech” and said they had nothing to do with her council page — despite it containing a reference to her role as a councillor for Pimpala ward.

Onkaparinga councillor Sandra Brown. Picture: AAP/ Keryn Stevens.

She claimed she had been selectively represented in the media and that she had supported multicultural groups including the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association in Morphett Vale during her 21 years on council and had grown up surrounded by neighbours and friends from other cultures.

She added she had been on a “steep learning curve” on how to keep her Facebook page private.

Onkaparinga Council immediately distanced itself from the posts when they first came to light in March.

Mayor Erin Thompson called for an investigation at the next meeting of the council the same week.

Ms Thompson said at the time the images “flew in the face of what the City of Onkaparinga stands for.”

“The council is appalled by this unacceptable content, regardless of the timing and reiterate that these views do not represent the views of the City of Onkaparinga,” she announced at the March meeting.

“We are part of the Refugee Friendly City program, we’re participants in the ‘Racism. It stops with me’ national campaign, we’re committed to providing multicultural programs and services each year, and we have strong relationships with cultural organisations locally and nationally.”

Mayor Thompson said the investigation would remain confidential “until such time that a breach is determined”.

“Cr Brown took last night’s meeting as an opportunity to make an apology through a personal statement in regards to posts on her personal Facebook page,” she added.

Onkaparinga Mayor Erin Thompson. Picture: Dean Martin