Lara RSL veterans vow to fill Geelong council meeting after ‘abuse’

An even larger group of veterans will attend Geelong council’s January meeting after being on the receiving end of what they say was “disgusting” abuse.

Veterans Kevin Bate, Marcus McEwen and Robert Schouten will attend Tuesday night’s Geelong council meeting after being on the receiving end of abuse last month. Picture: Brad Fleet.

An even larger contingent of local RSL members is set to descend on City Hall this Tuesday night after being on the receiving end of what they say was “disgusting” abuse at last month’s heated council meeting.

Lara RSL sub-branch president Marcus McEwen said up to 30 members would attend, undeterred after being labelled “killing machines” at the December 10 meeting that saw council vote in favour of commencing the process of once again celebrating Australia Day.

The Tuesday meeting will see council endorse a report that solidifies the unwinding of a unanimous May 2023 vote that committed City Hall to cease referring to January 26 as Australia Day, as well as moving citizenship ceremonies to within three days of the date.

Mr McEwen claimed that when You Yangs ward councillor Chris Burson, himself a former defence force veteran, started to speak in support of Australia Day, a member of the gallery yelled: “All veterans are killing machines.”

“As soon as (Mr Burson) mentioned he was a veteran, the comment came from behind us,” Mr McEwen said.

He said he had no issue with people who held opposing views, but the “really uneducated” comment crossed a line.

“We serve under the one flag and those that don’t walk off the plane come home in a coffin under the flag,” he said.

“Let’s not disrespect that, no matter what.”

Another fiery meeting is expected at City Hall on Tuesday night. Picture: Mike Dugdale.

Mr McEwen said while he understood it was a sensitive topic, councils should celebrate the day as long as it remained a federally gazetted public holiday.

“Personally, I’m open to the date behind changed if it’s causing concerns within the Indigenous community, my partner’s children are Indigenous,” he said. 

“Councils should be worried about footpaths and bloody potholes, other than stuff that’s outside their realm.”

A new poll, released Friday, found a big uptick in support for maintaining January 26 as Australia Day.

The Resolve Strategic research, conducted over the past week for The Age, found a 14-point jump from 47 per cent to 61 per cent.

It also found a small majority want the date enshrined in federal law.

The results are in line with a poll commissioned by the right-wing Institute of Public Affairs that found 69 per cent of people want Australia Day celebrated on January 26, a six-point increase in 12 months.

“Uniting around our national day and our national flag reminds Australians that there is far more that unites us than divides us,” the IPA’s Daniel Wild said.

A number of events opposing Australia Day will be held in Geelong over the weekend.

The recently formed Be Tru 2 Uluru group, which led a protest on the steps of City Hall ahead of the December meeting, will hold a rally in the CBD on Sunday.

“Our rally is to bring community together, to reflect, to heal, to listen and to cry truth …(it) aims to raise awareness and advocate for change, addressing the pressing issues of injustice that disproportionately impact on our First Nations People,” the event description states.

On Saturday, Gerrupatjarra, meaning “join together” in Wadawurrung language, will take place at the Geelong Arts Centre.

The event is for “First Nations people and allies to come together to acknowledge the pain of invasion and then celebrate the subsequent resilience and survival of the oldest living culture in the world”.

Originally published as Lara RSL veterans vow to fill Geelong council meeting after ‘abuse’