Northern Beaches Council: Greens to ‘hijack’ meeting with nuke bomb ban motion
While residents are set to be hit with a 25pc rate hike, Northern Beaches Council will have to debate a motion, brought by the Greens, about supporting a ban on the growth of nuclear bombs.
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The Greens have been accused of “hijacking” a Northern Beaches Council meeting to debate international issues that have nothing to do with local government.
A motion will be put to Tuesday night’s council meeting about it supporting a halt to the spread of nuclear weapons around the world.
Greens councillor Ethan Hrnjak also wants the council to fly the flag of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) on the council chambers at Dee Why.
Cr Hrnjak argues that the issue is directly relevant to local councils because they would likely be the first to respond in the aftermath of a nuclear explosion.
But independent councillor, Vincent De Luca, slammed the motion, accusing Cr Hrnjak and the Greens of trying to hijack the meeting.
Cr De Luca said Cr Hrnjak was wasting council meeting time and money with his “inane” motion and that the Greens should concentrate on core local issues.
The nuclear bomb motion comes a month after Cr Hrnjak failed to win support for his motion at the last council meeting, calling for it to endorse a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, boycott Israeli-linked companies and offer targeted support to Palestinian refugees on the Beaches.
The motion was debated, for more than an hour, on the same night that the council voted to increase rates by 25 per cent over the next two years.
Cr Hrnjak has brought the latest motion forward just weeks before the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombs being dropped by the United States on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in World War II.
He also wants the council to call on the Federal Govenrment to sign the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons by the United Nations.
Australia is a signatory to other nuclear-related treaties like the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
In a statement supporting his motion, Cr Hrnjak noted that in the event of a nuclear explosion councils would be probably be the “first to respond, have multiple responsibilities for co-ordination in the immediate and long-term aftermath, and for these reasons, this issue is directly relevant to local government.”
He also wants the ICAN flag flown on “significant days” such as the anniversary of Hiroshima.
But Cr De Luca said Cr Hrnjak was introducing the international motions to big note himself in the Greens party hierarchy.
“It’s ridiculous,” he said.
“It’s inane and a complete waste of time.
“The federal government has already declared its opposition to nuclear weapons.
“Cr Hrnjak is just moving further away from the role of local government.
“We should be debating immediate local issues like increased density and building heights near town centres and transport hubs.”
Cr De Luca said the Local Government Minister, Ron Hoenig, should review the Code of Meeting Practice to stop motions such as the nuclear bomb ban from wasting local resources.
“What will we have next, a motion about the wars in Sudan and Ukraine?”
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Originally published as Northern Beaches Council: Greens to ‘hijack’ meeting with nuke bomb ban motion
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