Port Phillip Council votes no on Rainbow Tick accreditation plan

A ‘Woke’ Melbourne council has broken its promise to the LGBTQIA+ community, backing down on a controversial inclusivity plan.

Former Port Phillip Mayor Bernadene Voss (centre) will Dolly Diamond and other councillors at the unveiling of St Kilda’s rainbow road in 2018. Picture: Penny Stephens

A controversial move to spend $200,000 for a Rainbow Tick accreditation has been blocked by Port Phillip councillors, despite them signing a campaign pledge to push ahead with the move.

The accreditation is handed out by Quality Innovation Performance for organisations that “understand and implement LGBTQIA+ safe and inclusive service delivery”.

The plan earlier this week came under fire from many residents who felt the matter should not be given funding priority amid the COVID-19 budget chaos.

“Some of us have lost our jobs and had to defer our rates payments — I’m all for being inclusive and I don’t have a problem with them going after accreditation but why now? Why not down the track a bit?,” one resident said.

Despite eight of Port Phillip’s nine councillors signing an election pledge to pursue the Rainbow Tick accreditation, the motion was lost at a meeting on April 7.

It came after a last-ditch effort to allay financial concerns by removing any upfront spending commitments from the original motion and calling instead for a report to determine the overall costs for obtaining accreditation, and for an LGBTQIA+ advisory committee to be set up.

Some councillors urged for the matter to “follow proper procedure” and be discussed as part of the budget process.

Councillors Katherine Copsey, Tim Baxter, Louise Crawford and Peter Martin voted in favour of the motion, while Crs Rhonda Clarke, Christina Sirakoff and Marcus Pearl voted against.

The motion was lost after Cr Andrew Bond abstained from voting, rendering a decisive majority vote impossible.

The Victorian Pride Lobby said the “disappointing” decision mean the council was now “stuck in a grey zone”.

“The outcome of the split means that council is stuck in a grey zone. Does council support our community or not?,” convener Niki Giokas said.

“We urgently need to establish an advisory committee as a voice from LGBTQIA+ residents and businesses to council.

“An advisory committee can champion post-COVID economic recovery initiatives, new funding opportunities and great inclusion in the city, attracting visitors fro mall over the state to the Pride March and Pride Centre.

“That Council ruled this out is disappointing but we hope that Councillors will work together to get this back on the agenda, and soon.”

Earlier, Port Phillip Council had come under fire for a plan to slug ratepayers $200,000 for a Rainbow Tick accreditation, which demonstrates the organisation is LGBTQIA-friendly.

The accreditation is handed out by Quality Innovation Performance for organisations that ‘understand and implement LGBTQIA+ safe and inclusive service delivery’.

It comes after the council suffered a $20 million budget shortfall in 2019-20 due to the COVID-19 crisis and declared an economic emergency in the municipality.

The council was also forced to restructure its workforce as a result of the financial challenges, axing 62 full time equivalent positions.

In a notice of motion being put forward at a meeting on Wednesday night, Greens councillor Katherine Copsey called for the council to push forward with the accreditation process, which is expected to take up to two years and cost ratepayers $200,000.

The money would be spent on a project facilitator, training costs and backfilling positions while staff are away on training.

Port Phillip has long prided itself on its “rich and inclusive history”, with St Kilda hailed as “the heart of pride in Melbourne”.

The council spends about $180,000 each year on its annual Pride March along Fitzroy St, which is attended by more than 50,000 people.

The beachside suburb will also be home to Australia’s first Pride Centre, a permanent hub for members and allies of the LGBTQIA+ community which will house a raft of health, advisory and support services.

In 2017, The council chipped in $13 million towards the $38 million project.

The council has also previously splashed $28,000 to paint a 100m stretch of road rainbow “in support of diversity and inclusion”.

While most residents are supportive of LGBTQIA+ inclusive initiatives, some say this latest plan is ill-timed.

“Some of us have lost our jobs and had to defer our rates payments — I’m all for being inclusive and I don’t have a problem with them going after accreditation but why now? Why not down the track a bit?,” one resident, who didn’t want to be named, said.

Another resident, and member of the LGBTQIA+ community, told the Leader it was important to lead by example when it came to inclusivity, but “Port Phillip Council already does that in spades”.

“They fly the rainbow flag, light up the town hall in rainbow colours. This is a great idea, but it can wait.”

Bella d’Abrera from the Institute of Public Affairs said it was “nothing more than empty virtue signalling”.

“While the city is still recovering from coronavirus lockdowns during which local residents have lost jobs, including council employees themselves, it is outrageous that Port Phillip Council would spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on (this),” she said.

“It reveals that the council’s priorities are so warped and out of touch with reality, that it would rather spend money on woke causes than reducing rates for locals.

“Ratepayers do not pay their councils to virtue signal.”