Tuesday, January 03, 2006
FLAG UPDATE
Premier Iemma, the Member for Lakemba—sounds like a line from Dr. Seuss—has a Bondi flag solution:
"There’s no need for a meeting and there’s no need for consultation,” he told reporters.
"If they are short a flag we’ll give them a flag, if they’re short a flag pole I’ll have the Department of Commerce send them a flag pole with the bolts so that the flag and the flag pole can go up at the pavilion immediately.
"If you’re short the work people to do it we’ll send you the people from commerce to do it and just get the flag up.
"They don’t need to have a heritage study, or consultation, or any meetings."
Seems straightforward enough. Opposition to Waverley Council’s dumbness is widespread:
War veterans groups have spoken out strongly against a decision by an eastern Sydney council not to fly the Australian flag because of concerns it could trigger racial violence.
And the decision by Waverley Council not to fly the Australian flag at the Bondi Beach pavilion has also been opposed by some Islamic leaders.
Today’s editorial in the Daily Telegraph:
Waverley Council’s Green mayor Mora Main and her Labor coalition members have successfully ensured that the beachside suburb’s local governors are the latest byword for abject idiocy.
Because of the council’s inane ban on flying the national flag from the council-controlled Bondi Pavilion, and the weaselly attempts by Ms Mora and her Labor deputy, George Newhouse, to justify their ridiculous decision by claims of cost, heritage concerns and the possibility of stirring racist sentiments, the council has made itself a national laughing stock.
Make that international; the council’s decision is mocked from Hungary to the US. Stupid councillors remain bewildered:
Waverley mayor Mora Main said a decision had not yet been made as to whether the flag issue would be raised at the next council meeting.
"It’s a question of how many flags is enough,” she said.
Three left-wing Labor councillors voted with Ms Main to ban the raising of the flag. A fourth Labor councillor, right winger George Newhouse, was forced to vote with his colleagues despite opposing the ban.
The split in the council’s Labor caucus has now spilt over into ALP branches in the Coogee—which includes Bondi—and Vaucluse state electorates which are predominantly controlled by the left.