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Speaker 1: Well, the Mitcham Council's decided not to go to consultation

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Speaker 1: with its community about shifting Australia Day celebrations next year

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Speaker 1: from Australia Day to the nearest Thursday whenever it falls,

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Speaker 1: but not just next year, all the way through to

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Speaker 1: twenty forty. And I'm staggered by some of the comments

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Speaker 1: that are in the paper today from for instance, the

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Speaker 1: Mayor Holmes Ross saying I'd hate for us to go

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Speaker 1: out and consult on Australia Day. We're elected to lead

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Speaker 1: and our leader's job is to unite, and I think

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Speaker 1: to go to consultation on this topic would be really divisive.

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Speaker 1: And then you've got the and we've asked Mayor Holmes

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Speaker 1: Ross to come on unavailable. We asked Joanna Wells, Counselor

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Speaker 1: Joanna Wells, who is the mover of the motion, to

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Speaker 1: come on and had no reply. She is quoted as

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Speaker 1: being horrified at the possibility of consultation because goes under

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Speaker 1: say I firmly believe to go out to consultation on

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Speaker 1: this would be repre hencible and not fulfilling that duty

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Speaker 1: because we have a duty to every single person in

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Speaker 1: our council area to look after them. So I mean,

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Speaker 1: it's smacks of we don't want to hear your opinion

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Speaker 1: because we'll disagree with it. We only I suppose I

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Speaker 1: want to hear the opinions of people we agree with

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Speaker 1: somebody from Mitcham Counsel who has agreed to come on,

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Speaker 1: and I'm very appreciative of that fact, as Karen Hockley,

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Speaker 1: who thinks they should consult but not on this issue. Karen,

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Speaker 1: good morning.

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Speaker 2: Good morning, Matthew, how are you good?

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Speaker 1: Thank you, thank you for coming on. So I do

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Speaker 1: appreciate that. As I said, why not consultation on this?

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Speaker 1: You surely can't be afraid of what people will say.

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Speaker 2: I'm not said people's opinions, And that wasn't the impression

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Speaker 2: I got from the commentary in the chamber at the time.

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Speaker 2: What the issue is in terms of consultation around this

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Speaker 2: particular question, is that when we had community feedback around

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Speaker 2: other issues in relation to Aboriginal affairs, we had very nasty,

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Speaker 2: divisive conversation in the community and it was really quite

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Speaker 2: difficult for a lot of people. And this is scene

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Speaker 2: is quite similar, or certainly for me, it was quite similar.

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Speaker 2: So I didn't want to and I got the impression

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Speaker 2: that you know, the comments that you've read indicate this

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Speaker 2: as well. We don't want to explain if you're like unhelpful,

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Speaker 2: devisive relationships in our community. At the same time, we

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Speaker 2: already had a consultation feedback from last year's Australia Day

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Speaker 2: celebrations or commiserations. However, you look at us which were

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Speaker 2: run on I think they were run on a Friday, No,

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Speaker 2: the public holiday Friday was Australia Day, so we did

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Speaker 2: run the events on the Thursday, on the Thursday, and

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Speaker 2: they were very well received, and we did a consultation

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Speaker 2: around that and the universally loved.

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Speaker 1: Okay, well, fair enough if you've consulted on that. But

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Speaker 1: isn't the feedback reflective of where people are at. If

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Speaker 1: you get feedback saying don't change it, you're wrong. Surely

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Speaker 1: that's a reflection of where the community is at. And

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Speaker 1: for that matter, the Voice referendum result overall anyway, and

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Speaker 1: you might say, well, our council area might have been different,

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Speaker 1: but overall sixty five thirty five in South Australia, doesn't

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Speaker 1: that send a message in itself?

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Speaker 2: So in Mitchen we had a different result. Our community

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Speaker 2: voted yet across Mitchen. So you know we're a subset

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Speaker 2: and we represent that subset, and that subset was in

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Speaker 2: favor of having a voiced parliament and they voted accordingly

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Speaker 2: in a referendum.

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Speaker 1: So you don't think that if you felt you would

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Speaker 1: have community support, you would go out and consulted in

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Speaker 1: this case, because you feel you won't get community support,

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Speaker 1: at least in the feedback, you don't want to. Is

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Speaker 1: that not right?

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Speaker 2: No community would support us. And the reason I think

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Speaker 2: the community would support us in this is because it

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Speaker 2: actually harves the cost of doing those events.

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Speaker 1: I understand that too, because it's not a public.

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Speaker 2: Holiday exactly right, And so instead of having staff and

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Speaker 2: contractors pricing in I mean, obviously staff have a penalty rates.

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Speaker 2: Of course they should, they're working on a public holiday

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Speaker 2: and on a weekend anyway. But also your contract is

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Speaker 2: anyone you asked to do anything to set up the event,

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Speaker 2: to be present at the event, providing services, they're factoring

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Speaker 2: in public holiday rates. So in actual facts, running it

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Speaker 2: on a Thursday. And this was really the majority of

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Speaker 2: my thinking. I don't think there was anyone in the

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Speaker 2: chamber who was making a statement about when as a

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Speaker 2: nation we should celebrate or as a say, can miser rate,

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Speaker 2: depending on your view. Australia Day, we weren't making a

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Speaker 2: commentary around the date.

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Speaker 1: Oh you are though, aren't you though? Really you are

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Speaker 1: for at all?

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Speaker 2: And if you have a look at on Kaparinga, I'm

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Speaker 2: pretty sure on Kapinga have been running theirs or they

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Speaker 2: used to run THEIRS on a Thursday before Australia Day

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Speaker 2: or during the week before Australia Day on an evening,

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Speaker 2: because I've been for their celebration.

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Speaker 1: Do you think it's right to stretch it out to

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Speaker 1: twenty forty.

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Speaker 2: Well, look, you can't bind future councils. If a future

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Speaker 2: council decided to change that, then they certainly could have

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Speaker 2: emotions brought un notice exactly the same way and change that.

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Speaker 2: So that you know, that's an indication, it's no guarantee,

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Speaker 2: because certainly any future council could make a different decision.

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Speaker 1: All right, what do you make of only down the right,

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Speaker 1: I'm about to speak to Michael Hewittson. They're going out

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Speaker 1: to consultation.

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Speaker 2: And that's fabulous. Maybe they don't have any previous advice

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Speaker 2: from their community and they feel that they really need

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Speaker 2: to do that in order to get an understanding of

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Speaker 2: community sentiment.

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Speaker 3: But I felt that we could.

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Speaker 2: Understanding our community sentiment in Mitchon from the prior information

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Speaker 2: that we got from last year's events. And you know, generally,

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Speaker 2: I'm very much in touch with my community. I'm sure

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Speaker 2: my co counselors are. We have a good understanding around

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Speaker 2: how people feel on these issues, and we know that

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Speaker 2: people in our community are very very keen to save

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Speaker 2: money wherever they can, and I'm very very keen that

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Speaker 2: we should do that and be as efficient and effective

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Speaker 2: as we can delivering our services at the minimum cost.

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Speaker 2: And this is just another way that we can do that.

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Speaker 1: And Karen, you don't think it's undemocratic to make decisions

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Speaker 1: like this without putting it out for consultation, No, not

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Speaker 1: at all.

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Speaker 2: I mean we're elected by the community. We're responsible to

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Speaker 2: the community. If the community thinks that they don't like

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Speaker 2: the decisions we make, they certainly have all of our emails.

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Speaker 2: We are the only level of government where you bring

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Speaker 2: up the elected person and that person actually answers their phone.

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Speaker 2: We are the only layer of government where if you

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Speaker 2: send an email to an elected counselor it is the

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Speaker 2: elected counselor who looks at that email, reads it and respond.

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Speaker 1: Do they respond? Do you all respond to every email? Well?

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Speaker 1: Phone call.

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Speaker 2: I can't speak for everyone else, but I've spent a

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Speaker 2: significant amount of time every week looking at my emails,

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Speaker 2: digesting information, responding to people, and I often, well often,

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Speaker 2: it's probably not often every week, but I regularly go

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Speaker 2: out to the community. I regularly ask and do my

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Speaker 2: own surveys, if you like, knock on doors, ask people

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Speaker 2: what they think about things. I know, put things up

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Speaker 2: on my social media to find out what people think

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Speaker 2: about things. So I just don't I don't think there's

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Speaker 2: a lack of democracy here. I think this is democraphy

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Speaker 2: at work, all right.

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Speaker 1: Karen, I really want to thank you again for being

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Speaker 1: the only person out of four or five people on

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Speaker 1: the council there that we contacted this morning that was

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Speaker 1: willing to come on. Appreciate that.

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Speaker 2: Always happy to talk to the community.

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Speaker 1: Mattie, thank you, Karen. Karen Hockley Council at Mitcham Council

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Speaker 1: got on her for coming on. Michael Hewartson is mayor

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Speaker 1: for the City of Uley and the only counsel is

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Speaker 1: asking rate payers, whether astray your Day Citizenship ceremonies should

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Speaker 1: be held on January twenty six next year. Mayath hewitttson

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Speaker 1: good morning.

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Speaker 3: Good morning, and good morning to your listen.

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Speaker 1: Why do you think it's important to go to the

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Speaker 1: community on this.

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Speaker 3: Well, the Karen was right in Mitcham, when you can

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Speaker 3: consult on matters where the community is divided and we

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Speaker 3: are divided about Australia Day and we are divided about

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Speaker 3: whether to put a fence around the on the overalls,

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Speaker 3: and we've consulted and yes there have been some false information,

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Speaker 3: standover tactics and all that stuff that Mitcham has sought

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Speaker 3: to avoid in Unney. However, we have unanimously decided as

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Speaker 3: a council to go to consultation. We have working in

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Speaker 3: a shaping onny where we've now got over sixteen thousand

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Speaker 3: people on Omney Connect to be able to have a

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Speaker 3: say and give us a advice on matters which affect

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Speaker 3: the whole community, like our parking strategy, like our tree strategy.

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Speaker 3: We also have about four thousand people on Have your

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Speaker 3: Say and we are consulting in this one with the

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Speaker 3: Australia Day one with both groups. The over sixteen thousand

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Speaker 3: as well as to have your say. Anybody that which

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Speaker 3: is to have a say and has an interest in

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Speaker 3: ny our community can go to the only website and

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Speaker 3: get on to have your say. And we are asking

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Speaker 3: some simple questions with guest no answers.

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Speaker 1: Are you going to take the majority result? Is that hold?

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Speaker 1: Or what it is?

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Speaker 3: Advice to counsel. We don't always have to have a

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Speaker 3: winner take all society. You know, some people really like sports,

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Speaker 3: other people don't like sport, you know, and we can

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Speaker 3: have those differences. Some people want to celebrate Australia Day

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Speaker 3: on Australia Day and other people think the data is inappropriate.

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Speaker 3: Other people think, ah, the date is a matter for

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Speaker 3: the people government and not for local government. And so

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Speaker 3: we have every shadow of views on our council. Our

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Speaker 3: council itself has all points of view, and yet our

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Speaker 3: counsel is unanimous to want to hear and find out

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Speaker 3: what our community thinks and how we can best serve

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Speaker 3: our community in this matter.

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Speaker 1: I suppose my question is will you be reflective of

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Speaker 1: the views the community put back to you.

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Speaker 3: If we don't get well over a thousand people having

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Speaker 3: a say, we know that our community is uninterested in

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Speaker 3: and as I said, why have an event on a

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Speaker 3: public holiday and semi why not have a night before

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Speaker 3: because it might be cheaper us things. You know, these

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Speaker 3: are all issues. And we had our ceremony on Australia

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Speaker 3: Day last year and so we are consulting about what

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Speaker 3: happens next year and next year.

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Speaker 1: Only not through the twenty forty.

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Speaker 3: No, And the reason for that is quite obvious. Things

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Speaker 3: change in communities overall, and we want to know what

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Speaker 3: our community wishes to do and is there support if

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Speaker 3: we did have an Australia Day community event on the

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Speaker 3: twenty sixth of January, will it actually be supported And

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Speaker 3: if we get you know, like fifteen people say they're

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Speaker 3: interested in it, Well that's a very expensive event, isn't it.

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Speaker 1: It is a little bit. I don't disagree with that.

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Speaker 3: So it's not a boat. We want to know what

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Speaker 3: our community wishes, all right. We want our council informed

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Speaker 3: about what our community wishes. And I don't know how

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Speaker 3: it's going to come out, and it would be very interesting.

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Speaker 1: Indeed, indeed it will. Michael Hewarts appreciate your time.

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Speaker 3: Thank you.

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Speaker 1: The smear of the City of Annal