Former premier Jeff Kennett slams Moreland Council name change as ‘PC gone mad’

Jeff Kennett says councillors who voted for the “racist” Moreland Council to be renamed should have the “decency” to pay for the cost of the changeover.

Councillors who voted to change the name of Moreland Council have been urged to personally stump up the “millions of dollars”. Picture: Josie Hayden

Councillors who voted to change the name of Moreland Council have been urged to personally stump up the “millions of dollars” the move will cost.

Former premier Jeff Kennett said it was a case of political correctness gone mad as the Greens-dominated council split over the proposal to rename Moreland with an Aboriginal moniker because of a supposed link to a 19th century Jamaican slave estate.

“Every dollar a municipality spends is a dollar lost to the community,” he said.

“If the six councillors who voted for it had any decency they’d pay for it themselves.”

The City of Moreland, which includes Coburg, is set for a name change in 2022.

Independent councillor Oscar Yildiz - one of three councillors who voted against the move - estimated it would cost ratepayers up to $9m over several years, including at least $3m alone to change thousands of street signs.

“Even if it cost $1m - a million dollar spend in this time is a lot of money we could put to use on other things,” he said.

However, the council questioned the basis of the $9m figure, and insisted that rates would not rise to cover the cost of the name change.

Greens mayor Mark Riley said changing the council’s name was symbolic, and a first step. “We’re not talking about changing the name on every street sign within the next couple of years,” he said.

“We’ve identified and costed the changes we see as a priority, the things that send an important message, and we’ve estimated that we will need $500,000 over two years to make those changes.”

Independent councillor Oscar Yildiz claims the Moreland name change could cost $9m.

“The rest will be changed in stages as our uniforms, signage and other assets come up for renewal, and this will be done within existing budgets over a 10-year period.”

Mr Yildiz, who’s served on council for 14 years, slammed the Greens for rushing through a proposal that had never previously been raised by councillors or candidates during his tenure.

“Why do they do it now, because they’ve got the numbers,” he said.

“It took me nine months to name a tiny laneway Ilhan Lane after “Crazy John” Ilhan, but they’ve changed the name of the whole municipality in three weeks.”

Mr Yildiz said he had been called racist for opposing the name change, but challenged any “latte-sipping Brunswick trendies” to match his record on helping remote indigenous communities.

“I love the Aboriginal community, but Moreland comes first - it’s about the money,” he said.

The Andrews Government has backed the name change in principle.