Brimbank City Council passes Gaza ceasefire motion after Palestine solidarity petition

An eighth Melbourne council has passed a “pro-Palestinian” motion after residents spoke of their “unfathomable pain” and lodged a petition signed by more than 3000 people.

Brimbank City councillors passed the ceasefire in Gaza motion at their meeting on February 21.

Another Melbourne council has demanded a ceasefire in Gaza to end a Palestinian “apartheid” after thousands lodged a petition urging it to speak up.

Brimbank City Council on Tuesday night passed a motion that urged the federal government to call out Israel’s legacy of “gross humanitarian violations and atrocities” of Palestinians.

It comes after a Council Watch survey revealed ratepayers had urged Victorian councils to shift their focus back to rubbish and roads.

Brimbank City Council passed the amended motion on Tuesday night.

The amended motion aligned with a petition signed by more than 3400 people that also asked the council to call for “an immediate end to illegal occupation and displacement of people in Gaza”.

It comes after protesters from the Brimbank Solidarity Group for Palestine held a demonstration outside the chambers in January and vowed to attend the February meeting to keep pressure on councillors.

Councillor Virginia Tachos, who put forward the original motion, said many had questioned why she tabled the motion given it was a complex international conflict and not relevant to her role.

“It is relevant when my constituents who voted for their voices to be represented in the chamber express complete despair and deep unfathomable pain for the immense loss of life ... their families face daily,” Ms Tachos said.

“I cannot turn away, I was in Israel and the West Bank last year, we have an intrinsic responsibility to acknowledge the devastation of life and to be a voice for the voiceless.”

Protesters demanded the council spoke up on the issue at a demonstration on January 20.

Ms Tachos’ motion focused on the impact the conflict in Israel and Gaza was having on Brimbank residents and called on the council to condemn Islamophobia and anti-Semitism.

The amended motion, put forward by Jasmine Nguyen, included each request by the petition tabled at the same meeting.

The action by Brimbank Council makes it the eighth Melbourne council to pass a “pro-Palestinian” motion in recent months.

It comes as the nearby Hobsons Bay Council was slammed for its handling of a similar petition after the watchdog claimed it was “so weak” it would offend Muslims, Palestinians, Israelis and Jews.