Flying flag fine, but by the books
I feel I must write in response to Father Peter MacLeod-Miller's letter "Flag push sows faith in future" (The Border Mail, March 3).
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The rescission motion I will move on Monday is a procedural matter to correct what I believe is an anomaly in a previous motion.
It does not seek to prevent, after consultation with the community, the flying of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags at the Albury WWI monument.
IN OTHER NEWS:
It is outrageous of Father MacLeod-Miller to claim that I am placing this issue "in the too-hard basket" or "kicking it into the long grass".
The rescission motion simply aims to remove a contradictory paragraph inserted by Cr Amanda Cohn and supported by councillors Murray King, Kevin Mack, Michael Stuchbery and David Thurley to mandate flagpoles for the flying of the flags at the monument, before consultations with the Albury RSL are even conducted.
The unadulterated motion had in its final paragraph provision to consult with the RSL on the matter and was in fact left intact in the adopted motion, quite at odds with Cr Cohn's amendment which mandates the outcome before consulting.
I know it can be boring to study the minutiae of council procedural motions, but in failing to do so Father MacLeod-Miller is adopting behaviour not much better than the peanuts who have taken to accuse me of being a racist via the cowards castle of social media and text.
As I have publicly stated and on the record I support the flying of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags, but in line with council's own (unanimously) adopted policy community consultation must take place.
I fear I must also take issue with Father MacLeod-Miller's attempted beatification of Cr Cohn and her motives for moving her contradictory amendment.
Far from demonstrating that she has "faith in the future of Albury," Cr Cohn has tried to short-circuit the proper process of consultation around this matter.
I am sorry I am unable provide a villain for Cr Cohn and her supporters to pursue with pitchforks and torches or to sit still and be a target for a good old woke online pile on, but the facts of this situation are very different then has been suggested in Father MacLeod-Miller's letter
Albury councillor Darren Cameron
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