Merri-bek City Council planning to spend $45k to paint two pride flags on roads, footpaths
Merri-bek council is planning to splash $45,000 to paint two huge rainbow pride flags on its roads — but one councillor is pushing back, saying the money should spent on essential services instead.
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An inner-city council is planning to splash $45,000 in ratepayer funds to paint huge rainbow pride flags on its roads and footpaths, including $5000 just for community consultation.
Merri-bek City Council is preparing to paint two progressive flags – costing up to $20,000 each – in the area to “demonstrate council’s support for the LGBTQIA+ community”.
The flags will be large enough to stretch across entire intersections, measuring an estimated 8m in length and 4m wide.
But one councillor, Oscar Yildiz, said the $45,000 project was a waste of ratepayer money amid a cost-of-living crisis and demanded the council “tighten the belt”.
“I want to be really clear — I’m not against the LGBTQIA+ community,” Mr Yildiz said.
“But symbolic uses like this, I think they need to be weighted against the cost.
“We’re a board of directors. Our shareholders are our ratepayers, so I ask them: Would you want to spend $45,000 of ratepayer money on this?”
Mr Yildiz said other infrastructure projects in Merri-bek could benefit from the thousands of dollars in funding, including childcare centres, sporting clubs and support for elderly residents.
“Essential services is what we need to be doing — rates, roads, rubbish and council services,” he said.
“Let’s focus on getting those right, and to be honest with you, sometimes we don’t even get that right.”
Merri-bek councillors will on Wednesday night vote to endorse the eight possible locations for the flags to be put forward to the community for their input.
This consultation process is set to cost the council $5000.
Mr Yildiz couldn’t understand why the price of consultation was so high given the council had already identified the eight possible sites.
He accused the council of “grandstanding” and suggested the final locations were already obvious.
The council has already decided one of the flags must be to the south of Bell St and the other to the north.
“I’ll put my house on it, I’ll tell you where the two sites will be,” Mr Yildiz said.
“One will be the Brunswick Town Hall, I’ll put my house on it, and the other one north of the city will be in front of the Glenroy Community Hub because we spent nearly $30m (on it).
“Save the five grand, give the five grand to a childcare centre … they’re not going to consult.”
The eight proposed locations are outside the Coburg library on Victoria St, at the Glenroy Community Hub, at the Waterloo Rd and Snell Grove intersection in Oak Park, outside Brunswick Town Hall, at West St Brunswick, at Howarth St Brunswick and at Piera St in Brunswick East.
The flags will be painted with durable Omnigrip coloured surface treatment which can last up to 10 years, unlike regular paint which would need to be maintained more regularly.
Geelong City Council installed its own pride flag crossing in 2023 using Omnigrip, which was reported to have cost $43,544.
Port Phillip Council also painted a stretch of road in rainbow colours in 2018 at a cost of $28,000.
Mr Yildiz said he was the only councillor planning to vote against the endorsement of the eight locations on Wednesday night.
“I’ll listen to the debate and community feedback, but I’ll be guided by what’s responsible, what’s inclusive for our ratepayers and what delivers real value to the people who fund our council, and they are essentially our ratepayers, not the LGBTQIA+ community. It’s everyone,” he said.
Originally published as Merri-bek City Council planning to spend $45k to paint two pride flags on roads, footpaths
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