Mornington Peninsula: Yes vote failure leads to Indigenous ward name push
A Melbourne council wants to choose Indigenous-only ward names in the wake of the failed Yes vote as part of an electoral structure review.
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A Melbourne council has pounced on a chance to change its ward names from colonial-era to Aboriginal-inspired in the wake of the Voice failure, in a move slammed as “divisive”.
Mornington Peninsula Shire wants Boon Wurrung language to be considered when choosing ward names as part of an ongoing state government electoral structure review.
The Indigenous place names would be selected in consultation with the Bunurong Land Council.
Cr Despi O’Connor said the land council needed the shire “in their corner, to get them through these difficult times”.
The decision was slammed as “divisive” by the Institute of Public Affairs.
“The two federal electorates in the Mornington Peninsula Shire – Flinders and Dunkley – just recorded strong No votes on the Voice, well above the state average,” IPA deputy executive director Daniel Wild said.
“Yet, council is ignoring the clear message from the local community that they want an end to racial divisiveness.”
Mr Wild said the council was “aggressively pursuing ideological goals without community consultation or consent”.
“Locals have a had a gutful of Council neglecting its civic responsibility to deliver high-quality amenities, reduce pressure on ratepayers, and ensure the area remains liveable,” he said.
The move follows a decision by the City of Melbourne to make Indigenous names and prominent woman the number one choice to new and renamed streets.
Mornington Peninsula Shire has six wards, all with names related to colonial history or geographical features.
The shire is one of 39 Victorian councils undergoing an electoral structure review and would ultimately have 11 single councillor wards, named by the panel.
The panel has released three different boundary models, including potential names for Mornington Peninsula Shire’s new wards, and called for community feedback.
The new names suggested include Tanti Creek, Warringine and Moorooduc, inspired by waterways or localities within some of the wards.
However, those names also have Aboriginal links as they were chosen by early settlers based on Boon Wurrong language.
Existing ward names including Red Hill, Nepean and Seawinds would be kept under each of the new models.
Cr David Gill said the panel “couldn’t care less” what the wards were called and had suggested a “hotch- potch” of titles.
He said the shire’s chief executive officer John Baker had already secured in principal support for the proposal from the Bunurong Land Council and he believed the community would also back the plan.
“I’m very confident we are not running into a brick wall here,” Cr Gill said.
Cr Gill said despite the Voice referendum failing on the peninsula there were pockets of strong support for Aboriginal recognition, including in his ward – Red Hill – were there was a two to one yes vote in every booth.
He also referenced a 2020 decision to name a new pool at Rosebud the Yawa Aquatic Centre.
The marathon search for the pool’s name involved branding experts, community consultation and a public vote.
Cr Sarah Race said “putting language back on Country” was incredibly important to the shire’s path to reconciliation.
She said there was an “incredible array” of language that could be used including ‘wonga’ in Red Hill and ‘monma’ in Nepean.
Other councillors were worried that the decision was being made without community input.
“It’s not a matter of a few councillors making their own decision,” Cr Susan Bissinger said.
“This is a decision that the whole community has to make.”
Cr Antonella Celi supported Aboriginal place names but feared the initiative would raise “false hope”.
She said the council had already been told by the local government municipal panel that it would not be possible as part of the electoral review.
According to a preliminary report from the Electoral Representation Advisory Panel “meaningful consultation” with local Aboriginal communities and groups was needed before a ward could be given an Aboriginal name.
“Meaningful consultation is a significant process that the panel is not able to undertake within the time frames of the current review program,” the report states.
Aboriginal names would only be used if they were already in common use, were registered under the Geographic Place Names Act 1998 or were the name of a place within a ward.