Steve Price: Pretend Melbourne councillors need to stop virtue signalling
Melbourne councils need to focus on their own municipalities rather than virtue signalling and debating global issues they have nothing to do with.
Opinion
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On Wednesday morning we awoke to news that the United States had vetoed a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
The US called the resolution “wishful and irresponsible” and to support it would have put sensitive negotiations in jeopardy.
While the UN was debating the resolution in New York, a local council in Melbourne was having the same debate. No one knows why exactly, and the Palestinian representative to the UN Riyad Mansour hasn’t yet commented on the Melbourne City Council’s failed vote to support the Gaza ceasefire resolution.
He called the American veto in New York “absolutely reckless and dangerous”. Imagine his anger when he finds out independent Melbourne City councillor Jamal Hakim’s resolution was defeated by a split vote secured when Deputy Lord Mayor Nicholas Reece gave it the thumbs down.
We can only speculate on the reaction of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on hearing the UN result and then the defeat for Palestine in Swanston St on Wednesday night.
If this wasn’t so serious, you’d laugh out loud. But we are talking about a dysfunctional city council that can’t clean graffiti off the sides of its own buildings, thinking they can insert themselves in a global conflict soaked in blood.
Let’s be honest here: the people who occupy council chambers across Melbourne and especially in the inner suburbs are pretend politicians who have no place uttering the words Israel or Palestine in their official capacities. The horror of the October 7 terrorist attack by Hamas and the subsequent death toll in Palestine is a global horror show and for some insignificant local wannabe politician to grandstand about it in any local council chamber is an embarrassment.
It’s bad enough that these fools have such an inflated view of themselves that they believe they can waste time on issues completely outside their remit, but they do so while occupying a seat on a council they can’t even do the job that council was elected to do. You know roads, rubbish collect rates.
Instead, this defeated motion — which was a split decision — drew a 100 strong crowd requiring wasted time from Victoria police and saw pro-Palestinian protestors chanting “free Palestine” and “genocide since ’48.” You must ask if this divisive motion by councillor Hakim did any more than fan the flames of anti-Semitic sentiment that has swept Melbourne since the October 7 attack.
There were disturbing scenes at the doors of council with a group of Jewish onlookers headed into the meeting claiming on 3AW that they were physically assaulted, with one man being pushed to the ground. Police advised him to leave while according to the Jewish group the pro-Palestinian protestors armed with placards and flags were left to protest.
Councillor Hakim – who introduced the motion - has been on council since November 2020 and until this week nobody but his fellow councillors had ever heard of him. Sally Capp and Councillor Reece hog the headlines at Town Hall so how does the council’s website describe the man who believes local Government should insert itself into global conflicts?
Hakim is, we are told, the founder and chief executive of an outfit rather grandly named after himself – Hakim consulting. It specialises in – their words not mine – partnering with organisations to achieve goals in diversity, innovation and growth. The website also describes Jamal as an entrepreneur and “businessperson at heart”. He is also on the board of a group called Democracy in Colour.
As a “businessperson at heart” councillor Hakim would do himself and all of us a favour by doing the job he was elected to do. Instead, his role on council is described as lead Councillor for Creative Melbourne and Deputy portfolio lead for City Activation, Health, Wellbeing and Belonging.
And there you have the core of the problem with local government in this state.
Local councils are inserting themselves in every political agenda, from the failed Voice referendum to debate around Australia Day, the flag, global warming and nuclear energy, same sex marriage and gay rights. The Melbourne City Council believes it has a role to play in stopping global warming by wasting their time on unachievable zero emission targets.
Forget the job of rubbish removal or controlling the scourge of graffiti, let alone managing parking and traffic flow — which in the case of the Melbourne City Council has seen the destruction of the CBD – councils believe it is their job to solve global issues. It’s clearly not, and the ratepayers of these virtue signalling woke wannabes are the big losers.
That debate in City Hall on Wednesday night by the way went for four hours and had 40 speakers with the original motion defeated by a casting vote from Councillor Reece splitting a five all vote count. Instead, an alternative motion was put that ended up promising to remove anti-Semitic and anti-Islamic graffiti in the city within one hour.
If anyone believes this will happen, you believe in miracles.
The agreed motion also acknowledged the trauma the people of Melbourne were experiencing and called for peace, cohesion and tolerance.
Outside, that peace and cohesion was shattered by intolerance with pro-Palestinian protestors shoving Jewish attendees to the ground while riot police stood by inside the chamber.
Councillor Hakim: great job, mate!
Likes
A State Funeral to be held for a great Victorian the late Harold Mitchell.
Taylor Swift’s impact on a challenged Victorian economy drawing in thousands of tourists.
The renovated Albert Park driving range and mini golf centre – a classy destination for golfers.
US biotech firm offering a glimmer of hope for MND sufferers.
Dislikes
Salaries for Stop/Go sign holders topping $120,000 a year.
Asylum seeker boats carrying people smuggler cargo re-appear on the Australian mainland.
Inability of power providers more than 10 days after Melbourne’s storm to reconnect people.
Food delivery riders exploding in number and causing major road safety issues.
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Originally published as Steve Price: Pretend Melbourne councillors need to stop virtue signalling
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