Fraser Coast councillor loses bid to amend ‘welcome to country’

A regional Queensland councillor who attempted to amend a welcome to country to acknowledge God claims to have meant no disrespect to Indigenous cultures.

Fraser Coast councillor Phil Truscott.

A regional Queensland councillor who attempted to amend a welcome to country to acknowledge “God of creation” claims to have meant no disrespect towards Indigenous cultures.

Fraser Coast councillor Phil Truscott had last month tried to change its welcome to country to include religious wording, a move that’s been slammed as “inappropriate”.

The amendment is understood to have made local Indigenous groups uncomfortable – something which Cr Truscott said was not his intention.

The motion had called for the council to adopt its 2023-2028 Corporate Plan to be amended to include religious wording including “God of creation and pay our respects to the lord God almighty”.

Division 6 councillor David Lewis, who voted against the motion, said it was inappropriate but not a surprise as many of his fellow councillors are religious.

“I had two concerns. First that there was no consultation with local Indigenous communities, and welcome to country is fundamental to them,” Cr Lewis said.

“My second concern is around introducing God into a secular community.”

Cr Lewis said he had heard the proposal had made some of the region’s Indigenous community uncomfortable.

Cr Truscott said he did not want to be disrespectful, or diminish the significance of the welcome to country.

He said his goal was to “imbue the acknowledgment with an even deeper meaning and inclusivity, while honouring their cultural heritage”.

“The inclusion of an acknowledgment of God as the creator of the universe was intended to recognise the diverse beliefs and values within our community,” Cr Truscott said.

“I firmly believe that incorporating this element would have strengthened the welcome and allowed attendees of faith to feel represented and respected also.

“Furthermore, I sought to understand the reasons behind the increasing presence of acknowledgments to country in various events and documents.

“By making this thoughtful amendment, I hoped to enrich the acknowledgments’ meaning.”

Cr Truscott said the wording put forward had been provided to him by an Indigenous member of the community.

Despite having five votes both for and against, the motion was ultimately unsuccessful as “it lost five/five on the casting vote of the chairperson.

When approached for comment by The Courier-Mail, a council spokesman confirmed there was no change made as the amendment was not supported.

The Butchulla Aboriginal Corporation and the Butchulla Native Title Aboriginal Corporation were contacted for comment.

The amended welcome to country would have read as follows:

“Fraser Coast Regional Council acknowledges the God of Creation who gave us the traditional custodians, the Butchulla (Badtjala) people to the east and the Kabbi Kabbi (Gubbi Gubbi) people to the west.

“We recognise the cultural practices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples across our nation, and their continuing connection to the lands in which we live and work today.

“We pay our respects to the Lord God almighty and all elders, past present an emerging.”