Cumberland Council ditches bid to fly Lebanese flag outside Merrylands chambers

A western Sydney council has voted against flying a foreign flag outside its headquarters over concerns it could become tangled in too many international affairs.

Cumberland Council has voted against flying the Lebanese flag outside its Merrylands headquarters over concerns it could get tangled up debating too many international affairs and set a “dangerous precedent”.

Shortly after the council moved to express its support of Palestine with a ratepayer-funded art installation during a meeting last week, councillors Eddy Sarkis and Ahmed Ouf tabled a motion to recognise the humanitarian crisis in Lebanon with a raft of suggestions.

One of those called for the council to fly the flag outside its administration building on November 22 to mark Lebanon’s Independence Day, and to recognise the local Lebanese community’s “valuable contributions to Cumberland and Australia”.

A total of 13.3 per cent of Cumberland’s 242,542 residents have Lebanese ancestry and the flag raising was suggested as a “gesture of unity and respect” to honour the “resilience, culture, and heritage” of those people and those with family in the besieged nation.

“A simple flag raising ceremony … goes a long way when the council does it,’’ Cr Sarkis said.

The Lebanese flag. Picture: AFP

“Contributions in the area have been far and great – and you hear of a lot of the bad work that’s accomplished – but you also hear of a lot of outstandingly good work that is achieved by the Lebanese community in the Cumberland area and abroad.’’

But opponents, including councillor Joseph Rahme, called for the council to stick to local issues.

Councillor Eddy Sarkis.

Councillor Joseph Rahme.

“Lebanon’s in my DNA,’’ he said.

“I’m of Lebanese heritage. I’m Australian born … I love Lebanon like no other and one can argue my love of Lebanon is unsurpassed.

“But we’ve just spent an hour-and-a half discussing federal matters and ratepayers are paying for us to talk about roads, rates and rubbish.’’

Cr Rahme warned the chamber that if it agreed to fly the Lebanese flag, it would set a “dangerous precedent”.

He said it could mean that “next week, we’re going to have a motion to put up the Hezbollah flag outside council and, if we get a majority, it’s going to go up”.

“So just be careful what you vote for,” Cr Rahme said.

Cumberland Council’s protocol does not favour flying foreign flags outside its administration building in Merrylands.

Raising the Lebanese flag would have been contentious.

Under protocols for government buildings, the Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander or the NSW flag – which fly outside the council administration building alongside the Australian flag – would have to be removed to accommodate the request.

Cumberland Council general manager Peter Fitzgerald said the council previously denied requests to raise the flags of Ukraine and Jordan outside its buildings for the same reason.

Instead, the council agreed to allow the Free & Fair Lebanon Foundation to raise the Lebanese flag at the vacant flagpoles at Holroyd Gardens on November 22.

The council also agreed to write to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and NSW Premier Chris Minns, urging the state and federal governments to increase humanitarian aid and support to Lebanon.

It also agreed to provide additional funding to offer free or subsidised mental health support and counselling services for Lebanese-Australian families in Cumberland affected by the crisis.

In October, Canterbury-Bankstown Council unanimously voted to raise the Lebanese flag outside its chambers in solidarity with its people amid ongoing conflict in the Middle Eastern nation.

Originally published as Cumberland Council ditches bid to fly Lebanese flag outside Merrylands chambers