Australia Day 2021: Aboriginal flags to be flown at half-mast
The Aboriginal flag will be flown at half-mast at some locations in Ballarat, but not others. Here’s where and why.
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Aboriginal flags will be flown at half-mast on Australia Day in Ballarat out of respect for the Survival Day Dawn Ceremony.
A City of Ballarat spokeswoman confirmed the flags on the View Point flagpole at Lake Wendouree and the flagpole in Queen Victoria Square, will be lowered this year as they were in 2020.
But flags on the Ballarat Town Hall, including the Aboriginal and Eureka, will remain at full-mast all day in line with Federal Government protocols.
Ballarat councillors voted to cancel the January 26 fireworks at their final meeting last year and move the $40,000 display to another date, which is yet to be decided upon.
The Koorie Engagement Action Group, an advisory committee to the council, recommended abolishing the fireworks and will be livestreaming the dawn ceremony which commemorates Indigenous people who “fought in the frontier wars and those who died in widespread massacres across Australia during colonisation”.
Mayor Daniel Moloney said earlier in January, the ceremony acknowledged Australia Day for Indigenous Australians represented “a day of profound hurt” and “mixed emotions”.
“January 26 is a time to pause and reflect on what it means to live in this great land,” he said.
“It’s a time to remember our history, the good and the bad.”
In a Ballarat News poll, the majority of people voted in favour for the Aboriginal flag to be flown at-half mast, with 31 votes in support, and 26 in opposition.
The council will hold its citizenship ceremony on Australia Day and next year will introduce a new community event to promote reconciliation.
A Victoria Police spokesperson said the agency was required to comply with government flag protocols and therefore will not fly the Aboriginal flag at half-mast.
The 2021 Survival Day Dawn Ceremony can be viewed on the KEAG Facebook page or through this link: https://bit.ly/2VZXBsA
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