Batman by-election candidates back name change to Wonga

THE two frontrunners for this weekend’s Batman by-election will push to change the name of the electorate if they are victorious and enter parliament.

THE two frontrunners for this weekend’s Batman by-election will push to change the name of the electorate if they are victorious and enter parliament.

Greens candidate Alex Bhathal and Labor’s Ged ­Kearney are both backing calls from indigenous groups to change the name of the electorate, in Melbourne’s north, which was created in 1906.

The electorate is named after John Batman, one of ­Melbourne’s founders, whose legacy has been under fire in recent times because of his involvement in the murder of Aboriginal people in ­Tasmania.

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Greens candidate Alex Bhathal. Picture: AAP Image/Stefan Postles

Labor’s Batman by-election candidate, Ged Kearney. Picture: AAP Image/Daniel Pockett

Ms Bhathal told the Herald Sun that the electorate “should be named after people and parts of our history that we can all be proud of”.

“This is the most progressive electorate in the country,” she said.

“More and more locals are learning the truth about Australia’s history and how John Batman was involved in the horrific slaughter of Aboriginal people in Tasmania.”

Ms Kearney also supported calls for change, saying: “It would be great for the name of this electorate to reflect its proud indigenous history.”

She said the area was ­already home to several important indigenous institutions and that any changes should be made “in close consultation with the Wurundjeri people”.

John Batman’s legacy has come under fire in recent times.

Simon Wonga was chief of the Yarra Yarra Tribe. Courtesy: State Library of Victoria

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The Australian Electoral Commission is considering several proposals to rename Batman as part of a broader ­redistribution of Victoria’s ­federal electorates.

Ms Bhathal said she supported the submission of the Wurundjeri Land Council to call the electorate “Wonga”, in honour of Simon Wonga.

She said he was a diplomat, statesperson and Kulin nations leader “whose wisdom in the 1800s ensured the survival of the Wurundjeri and their neighbouring Kulin nations clans and cultures”.

A submission from the Greens to the AEC said Mr Wonga had met Mr Batman as a child and had witnessed the signing of the historic Batman Treaty.

Darebin council has also supported the change after it renamed the local Batman Park last year.

The AEC is due to hand down its draft recommendations in April.

Ms Bhathal said this was the “perfect opportunity to take a positive step forward together as a community” and change the electorate’s name.

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