Moreland Council’ sidelining of Christmas slammed by Melbourne Lord Mayor Robert Doyle

LORD Mayor Robert Doyle has slammed a Melbourne council’s decision to downgrade its Christmas celebrations as “political correctness gone mad”.

Melbourne Lord Mayor Robert Doyle. Picture: Mark Wilson

• Moreland Council accused of sidelining Christmas

LORD Mayor Robert Doyle has slammed a Melbourne council’s decision to downgrade its Christmas celebrations as “political correctness gone mad”.

Moreland Council yesterday tried to downplay its sidelining of Christmas from 2017, but one of its councillors wants to reverse the decision at a meeting next week.

Cr Michael Teti said most Moreland ratepayers supported traditional Christmas decorations. “Not only that, they want them bigger and better and actually representative of Christmas,” he said.

“But council has stopped listening and instead begun dictating to Moreland residents.”

Moreland has opted to scrap its outdoor Christmas decorations program and replace it with a “Moreland Celebrations” policy that will include funding Christmas together with other festivals and events within the same budget.

A management report to councillors called for “no new purchase of traditional Christmas decorations” and claimed there was no evidence the decorations had a positive economic impact in shopping strips.

Cr Doyle said that the City of Melbourne had increased its spend on Christmas decorations in recent years.

“There are people of many faiths who say, ‘Of course, the celebration of Christmas is something that we can take part in as well’.

“Sometimes I think political correctness can go a little mad,” he said.

Moreland councillor Oscar Yildiz defended the new policy, insisting: “We are not cancelling Christmas, we are not spending less money, but we are spending it differently to make our celebrations even better.”

The council management report said the move was necessary to provide “a more inclusive program for Moreland’s diverse community”.

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