Aboriginal voice given to debate over Indigenous flags at Albury war memorial

Bobby Whybrow has applied to address councillors on Monday night before they decide whether to overturn a motion from December that supported funding two poles on Monument Hill for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags.

The prospect of Indigenous flags has sparked a backlash with the Albury RSL sub-branch passing a motion unanimously opposing "the addition of any further flags at the Albury War Memorial".

Mr Whybrow said the "whole debate is ridiculous" and it appeared as though the RSL was "ashamed of Aboriginal people".

"I don't see the point of people being angry about not wanting to recognise First Nations people," Mr Whybrow said.

"There's a lot of systemic racism and cultural bias that I feel is included in this discussion.

"I feel the RSL have a lot to work through with Aboriginal relationships ."

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Mr Whybrow acknowledged the RSL had erected a plaque during recent renovations which specifically notes the contribution of Ingenious defence personnel.

"Having a small plaque is a great start but it can be seen as tokenistic if it's not followed through with further actions and flying the flags," he said.

"Flying the flags doesn't take anything away from the memorial, it adds a wealth of history."

To the claim Australians fought wars under one flag, Mr Whybrow said it was voided by the 1967 referendum, before which Indigenous citizens were not recorded, and the emergence of the Aboriginal flag in 1971.

He said he had gained an insight into the hardship faced by returning Aboriginal soldiers through performing in a play Then He Came Home at Wodonga's HotHouse Theatre in 2018.

The motion in December was the initiative of deputy mayor Amanda Cohn, who has been criticised by colleague Henk van de Ven for being driven by her Greens party ideals in pushing for the flying of Indigenous flags.

Mr Whybrow is friends with Cr Cohn and she encouraged him to speak out, but he is not a Greens member.

"I didn't feel I had a voice and didn't feel power in my voice but speaking to Amanda and some elders I thought I do have a voice," he said.

The university qualitative researcher said "it hurts Aboriginal people" not having the flags flying to recognise "our effort in a war".

"(If they are flown) it's a visual representation that you're included in this page of our history and I scratch my head and don't understand why they are not, it's not taking anything away it's adding a rich history to those people involved in World War I," Mr Whybrow said.

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