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Speaker 1: I will just take you across to this other story

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Speaker 1: that we are obviously covering this morning. It is the

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Speaker 1: motion that's been put forward and if passed, it's going

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Speaker 1: to see campaign materials posted at library, swimming pools and

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Speaker 1: community centers with staff donning T shirts and badgers in

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Speaker 1: the workplace. Not all counselors are backing this move though,

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Speaker 1: and one of them is Brian O'Gallagher, who joins me

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Speaker 1: on the line right now. Good morning to you, Brian.

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Speaker 2: How are you, Katie?

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Speaker 1: Not too bad now?

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Speaker 2: Brian?

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Speaker 1: Yep, I can hear you now, Brian, obviously counselor Morgan

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Speaker 1: Rickards moving this motion. Why are you opposed to the motion?

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Speaker 2: Well, look, first of all, Katie, let me say I'm

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Speaker 2: speaking as a personal counselor, not on behalf council itself

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Speaker 2: because counselor haven't made a decision. Look, I think first

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Speaker 2: of all, we've got to urge everyone to keep this

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Speaker 2: discussion respectful about this referendum. And I know a lot

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Speaker 2: of people have very valid reasons and good reasons for

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Speaker 2: voting yes. And there's also very good, valid reasons why

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Speaker 2: people are going to vote know, and I totally respect that,

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Speaker 2: but I don't think it's up the council to encourage

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Speaker 2: or tell people in a federal referendum which way they

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Speaker 2: should vote. I mean, this is up to people to

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Speaker 2: make up their own minds and they need to be

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Speaker 2: allowed to do it. But the Council is supposed to

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Speaker 2: be representing the whole community, including those who are going

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Speaker 2: to vote yes, including those who are going to vote no.

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Speaker 2: So I'm actually very uncomfortable with the idea that counsel

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Speaker 2: would put up signs at libraries. I mean saying supporting

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Speaker 2: one side of a campaign. I mean, what about the

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Speaker 2: other side of the campaign? They'd feel disenfranchised. So that's

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Speaker 2: why I'm really uncomfortable there.

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Speaker 1: Are you concerned about the division that it may cause

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Speaker 1: in the workplace, Well.

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Speaker 2: Look it could be Look the workplace itself. We're all people,

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Speaker 2: council staff. They may vote yes, they may vote no.

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Speaker 2: They're intolant to which the way they want to do.

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Speaker 2: I just don't want to put pressure on anyone in

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Speaker 2: that regard. And the way I keep thinking about it,

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Speaker 2: I'd try to how would I represent this? What if

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Speaker 2: we just put up exactly the same motion and the

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Speaker 2: only words we change was said instead of saying support

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Speaker 2: the S campaign, we put up support the no campaign.

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Speaker 2: I guarantee you there's a moral outrage about this one.

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Speaker 2: There would be equally moral outrage if we put it

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Speaker 2: up to support the no campaign.

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Speaker 1: Now what about I suppose more broadly, you know, we've

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Speaker 1: got the community putting up signs and banners to be

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Speaker 1: displayed at community facilities and that kind of thing. What's

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Speaker 1: that going to mean if this motion passes.

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Speaker 2: Well in the end, rightly or wrongly, Council makes a

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Speaker 2: decision and it's the majority of counselors do that, and

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Speaker 2: we're all bound by a decision. You know, basically it's

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Speaker 2: seven out of thirteen votes required. As I said, I'll

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Speaker 2: personally be voting no. I'd be urging my other counselors

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Speaker 2: to get know. But you know, if council does actually

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Speaker 2: do it, then we're going to live with it. Rightly

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Speaker 2: or wrongly. There's a number of decisions council makes that

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Speaker 2: personally I don't agree with, but burn a council I'm

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Speaker 2: obliged to. Actually, you know, it's like a board. A

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Speaker 2: board will toss ideas around, they'll contest ideas, and they'll

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Speaker 2: make it. But I generally hope, I really hope that

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Speaker 2: a council just steps back from this. I think we're

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Speaker 2: getting involved in areas that people don't want us involved in.

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Speaker 2: All the feedback I get back from residence is a council,

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Speaker 2: why don't you get back to doing rubbish roads, parks, gardens,

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Speaker 2: getting all those things fixed. That's why we've got you there,

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Speaker 2: and stop getting distracted by all these basically federal issues. Now.

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Speaker 1: I know that Counselor Morgan Ricard has pointed to the

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Speaker 1: Council's strong relationship with Larakia Nation in putting this motion forward.

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Speaker 1: Do you expect that relationship ship could be impacted if

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Speaker 1: this doesn't get up.

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Speaker 2: No. No, our relationship with Larakoo and our respect to

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Speaker 2: Lariku will be there all the time. But this is

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Speaker 2: about an issue about where counsel as a whole representing

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Speaker 2: the whole community, whether it should get involved in the

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Speaker 2: debate that really it shouldn't that I personally don't believe

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Speaker 2: it should be. I mean, Kadie, I know residents who

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Speaker 2: have very good reasons why they're going to go yes.

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Speaker 2: Some of them told me they see this is the

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Speaker 2: only way for Indigenous views to be properly heard. And

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Speaker 2: acted upon to address key issues, longstanding issues like help, housing,

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Speaker 2: education and all that disadvantage. But then I've got other

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Speaker 2: residents who say, Brian, that's all good government can do

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Speaker 2: that anyway. They shouldn't go changing the constitution. The Constitution

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Speaker 2: is actually for all Australians, regardless of who you are.

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Speaker 2: So that's why I say there's double arguments on both sides.

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Speaker 2: Now do you I mean, do you think counsel make

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Speaker 2: their own decision?

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Speaker 1: Well, and that's what that was going to be my

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Speaker 1: next question. Do you think that the council should be

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Speaker 1: weighing in on this at all? I mean, at the

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Speaker 1: end of the day, it is a referendum where we're

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Speaker 1: all going to head to the polls to vote ourselves.

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Speaker 2: Yeah. No, No, Personally, I don't believe councils should get

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Speaker 2: involved in at all. I think people should seriously go

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Speaker 2: and inform themselves make a rational decision, I respect whichever

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Speaker 2: they vote yes or no. And that's absolutely right, and

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Speaker 2: it's a really important referendum. But as far as Counsel

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Speaker 2: getting out there and openly supporting one side of the

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Speaker 2: agment not the other, I don't think that's right.

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Speaker 1: Now, Brian, I know you are away at the moment,

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Speaker 1: but I'm keen to ask you, just very quickly whether

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Speaker 1: you have seen the vision of the Chief Minister being

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Speaker 1: allegedly assaulted yesterday at the Nightcliff markets and just your

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Speaker 1: take on things.

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Speaker 2: Yes, I did, and you know it's been pretty topical

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Speaker 2: online and so on, so it pops up on your

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Speaker 2: food's pretty qock. Look, I find that disgrateful actually, for

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Speaker 2: all we say, no violence is any good violence, right,

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Speaker 2: and you don't use violence to go and argue your point.

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Speaker 2: Sure you can be disappointed, you can make representation, you

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Speaker 2: can tell people that you disagree with them. But taking

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Speaker 2: those things and the Chief Minister, she's a good person

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Speaker 2: that I think all the politicians that go there are

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Speaker 2: good people in their own right. I may disagree with

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Speaker 2: that policies absolutely, but you've got to treat people with respect.

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Speaker 2: And if someone can't walk up the markets and get

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Speaker 2: on with their lives, there's something wrong there.

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Speaker 1: Well play the politics, not the person. Hey, That's what

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Speaker 1: I always think. You may you know, you may not

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Speaker 1: like someone's policies, or you may not like the decisions

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Speaker 1: that they make. I mean, goodness me, I talk about

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Speaker 1: them every single day there's plenty I don't like, plenty

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Speaker 1: of decisions that I don't like, but you don't treat

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Speaker 1: people in that way.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, you've played the ball, not the man to full

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Speaker 2: person and except when we're calling, when we're playing gwis.

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Speaker 1: Well, Brian Gallagher, I really appreciate your time this morning. Mate.

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Speaker 1: Please keep us up to date with how things go

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Speaker 1: tomorrow night. That motion's being voted on, isn't it.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, And look, I just hate this think and if

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Speaker 2: there was going to be an issue that I would

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Speaker 2: say counsel might want to step in, not this type

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Speaker 2: of motion. I would just urge that we encourage people

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Speaker 2: to go and vote because the low voter turnout in

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Speaker 2: the last by elections and so on is really disappointing.

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Speaker 2: So I would encourage everyone to go and vote in

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Speaker 2: the referendum.

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Speaker 1: Well, Brian, thank you so very much for your time

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Speaker 1: this morning. Much appreciated and we'll talk to you very soon.

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Speaker 2: Okay, thank you Katie and all for your listeners.

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Speaker 1: Thank you