Council slammed for Australia Day ‘healing ceremony’

An inner suburbs council that paid $8000 for an Indigenous “healing ceremony” on Australia Day has been accused of “divisive identity politics”.

Stonnington CEO Jacqui Weatherill with Greens Cr Polly Morgan at the ‘healing ceremony’.

An inner suburbs council has been accused of “divisive identity politics” after paying $8000 for an Indigenous “healing ceremony” on Australia Day.

City of Stonnington also held a $5000 citizenship ceremony not open to the general public, but otherwise there were no other events to celebrate the national day.

East ward councillor Alexander Lew slammed his council’s executives for staging the Aboriginal ceremony without getting approval from councillors.

“How we commemorate Australia Day is such a controversial issue, so these decisions should not be made behind closed doors,” he said.

“If the City of Stonnington’s only public function for Australia Day is going to be a ‘healing ceremony’, then this is something that should have been debated and decided on in the open at a public council meeting.”

City of Stonnington Council members are divided over the ceremony. Picture Norm Oorloff

In a letter to council chief executive Jacqui Weatherill, Mr Lew accused council officers of going “off on a frolic”, and asked what was the “sickness that the ceremony is supposed to ‘heal’ us from”.

Ms Weatherill replied she was disappointed by the email’s “disparaging tone”, and said the healing ceremony idea came from an Aboriginal group.

Costs for the ceremony included $2750 for a Wurundjeri dance troupe, $1034 for a welcome to country and smoking ceremony, and $2471 to hire a marquee, umbrella and chairs.

Stonnington mayor Jami Klisaris said of the ceremony: “(It) offered our community the opportunity to join our traditional custodians, the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung peoples of the Kulin Nation, to pay respect and acknowledge their living connection to country, relationship with the land, and all living things extending back tens of thousands of years.”

“This followed a citizenship ceremony in Malvern Town Hall where we welcomed our newest Australians to our community. I was proud to be part of both events, and delighted that the healing ceremony was attended by hundreds of people.”

The ‘healing ceremony’ followed a citizenship ceremony at Malvern town hall. Picture Norm Oorloff

But Institute of Public Affairs communications director Evan Mulholland said the council should not be engaging in divisive identity politics.

“Ratepayers expect council staff to be focused on collecting rubbish, keeping rates low and fixing local roads, not woke nonsense,” he said.

Ratepayers Victoria president Dean Hurlston said it appeared the Stonnington CEO was playing political games with public money.

“The spend doesn’t appear aligned with community expectations. We deserve better,” he said.

The council’s position is that councillors were notified about talks with traditional owners about the healing ceremony in late 2021, which was a key action from council’s draft Reconciliation Action Plan which had gone through significant community consultation.