Melbourne City Council should not be debating ceasefire in Gaza

One stupid rule is responsible for the ridiculous scenes we saw on the streets of Melbourne on Tuesday night. And the majority of Australians will agree.

COMMENT

The fine print on the City of Melbourne’s governance rules dictates a simple principle: that if an elected member of the local council wants to argue about something publicly, he needs only the support of one other person to make that happen.

But it is a rule that doesn’t make sense. And the consequences for applying it without scrutiny were plain and clear on the footpath outside Melbourne Town Hall on Tuesday night.

There, hundreds of pro-Palestine supporters gathered with banners and flags and a sense of building resentment as councillors debated an issue the majority of Australians can agree is beyond their remit.

They spent four hours – yes, FOUR – going back and forth over whether or not to call for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Of course there should be a ceasefire in Gaza. More than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed as Israel retaliates over the Sunni Islamist group Hamas’ surprise attacks on October 7 last year.

Pro-Palestine supporters outside Melbourne Town Hall on Tuesday night. Picture: Facebook/Rukshan Fernando

The aim, according to Israel, is to take out Hamas, but the cost to civilians, including an unfathomable loss of childrens’ lives, is unconscionable.

The war in Gaza is important. And the human rights violations in the region must continue to be called out.

But council chambers at 130 Swanston Street, Melbourne is not the place to be having those discussions.

All it does is add fuel to the fire … and that fire is burning just fine on its own.

Reports from the scene on Wednesday morning included the alleged assault of two Jewish Melburnians and slurs like “genocidal baby killers”.

Tuesday night’s meeting agenda highlights the point further.

On the rundown sheets were numerous matters ratepayers could get behind;

- a planning referral for Queen Victoria Market,

- a strategy for tackling homelessness in the city,

- a motion for the adaptive re-use of office buildings as the CBD stagnates post-Covid.

Then, at the bottom of the list, one motion was not like the others: “Reflecting community sentiment on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.”

Four wasted hours and a crowd by now so riled up that the police riot squad had to intervene.

More than 7000 news.com.au readers responded to a poll this author published in a story earlier this week asking: “Should local councils be voting on motions about the war in Gaza?”

The results were emphatic, almost unanimous: 95 per cent of those who voted said “No”. Just 5 per cent (or 350 respondents) said “Yes”.

Palestine and Israel supporters gathered outside Melbourne Town Hall on Tuesday night. Picture: X/Free Palestine Melbourne

So why did it happen? Because councillor Jamal Hakim wanted it to and one other councillor agreed.

The end result was a nil-all draw. Councillors voted the motion down and moved a watered-down version in its place.

Even if the original motion had passed, what would that have achieved? It is posturing.

Don’t get me wrong. It came from a good place. There’s no doubt that Cr Hakim is trying to do the right thing.

His motion reads, in part: “We support Australia advancing the cause of peace and call on the Australian Government to urgently advocate for a permanent ceasefire, the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, recognition of Palestine and Palestinians’ right to self-determination, and the establishment of a just and sustainable peace.”

Those are admirable ambitions. But Melbourne is a tinderbox right now, ready to ignite.

And democracy for democracy’s sake needs to take a back seat to keeping the peace.