Mornington Peninsula Shire finally passes flag policy after powers for spin doctors rejected
Despite concerns about how bureaucrats were portrayed and being “too patriotic” Mornington Peninsula councillors have finally voted on a new flag policy.
Three times the charm for the national emblem on the Mornington Peninsula after the local council finally put its controversial flag policy to bed.
The councillors on Tuesday night voted unanimously for a revised version of the policy after sending it back to officers for a rethink at the July 22 meeting.
The updated policy governs how the Australian flag is displayed digitally, in print and on poles.
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Cr Bruce Ranken on Tuesday said the latest policy “gives clear direction now, (there’s) no ambiguity”.
Councillors first tasked shire bureaucrats with revising the policy in June after the national pennant was left off a kinder flyer that included the Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and pride flags.
The first attempt included internal flag usage guidelines – not provided in full to councillors – that gave the final say on how the pennant was used in print to the shire’s communications boss communications boss Randal Mathieson.
It would have been up to Mr Mathieson to decide if it was “culturally safe” to include the national flag in printed material for “diverse communities” including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and Intersex groups.
Councillor Kate Roper said the omission of the flag was a “clerical error” and apologised for the “angst” it had caused.
“Our flag is always going to fly in prominent position … our flag is always safe with us,” she said.
Councillor David Gill voted for the new policy, but warned against “overdoing it” with the national flag.
“There’s a limit to Australians view of patriotism,” Mr Gill said.
“Appreciate the flag, but don’t go overboard.”
Councillor Max Patton also voted in favour of the updated policy but was disappointed in how the sage played out.
“This matter could have been resolved in a way that was less harmful to marginalised communities,” Mr Patton said.
“I hope as a council we learned something from this.”
Fresh bid to put local council flag policy to bed
Mornington Peninsula’s flag policy will be considered by local councillors next week, the third time in as many months the national pennant has been on the agenda.
A controversial set of internal flag usage guidelines – not provided in full to councillors – appears to have been scrapped.
There is also no mention of a need to determine when it was “culturally safe” to display the Australian flag in print.
Both elements were shaping up to be sticking points with councillors, who on June 3 tasked shire bureaucrats with updating the flag policy after the Australian emblem was left off a kinder flyer that included the Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and pride flags.
A photo of the flyer sparked furious debate as offended ratepayers slammed the move and called for the “radical material” to be torched.
Councillor Bruce Ranken raised the matter as urgent business at the June 3 meeting calling for the Australian flag to always be displayed at the “highest position of honour” and to be included wherever flags were used, effective immediately.
“It is our national symbol, it should always be recognised, never overlooked,” he said.
Mr Ranken also asked for the shire’s flag policy to be rewritten and then controlled by councillors.
The first attempt at an updated policy was “pulled” ahead of the July 22 meeting.
Mayor Anthony Marsh said the initial draft appeared to have “fallen short” of community and council expectations.
The proposed update included a flag usage policy that gave the shire’s communications boss Randal Mathieson the final say on whether it was “culturally safe” to include the national flag in printed material for “diverse communities” including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and Intersex groups.
Mr Marsh told the Herald Sun on July 20 the flag policy would return once it “aligned with council’s unambiguous resolution”.
The latest revision, to be considered next week, states flags must not be used in any context that could be seen as disrespectful or politically motivated.
“Flag imagery should not be used in general or day-to-day communications unless clearly relevant to the content or intent of the material,” the draft policy says.
The proposed policy also makes no mention of ensuring flag use was culturally safe for LGBTIQA+ communities after Rainbow Local Government asked the shire to remove a reference to “intersex” from its targeted communications provisions.
“We are keen to ensure that the review of the flag policy does not open unhelpful debates about our LGBTIQA+ community,” Rainbow Local Government spokesman Dr Sean Mulcahy said.