An attempt to remove Aboriginal acknowledgements from Hobart City Council meetings and events has been resoundingly defeated.
Proposed by councillor Louise Elliot at Council's meeting on Monday, the motion called for Welcomes to Country and Acknowledgements of Country to be scrapped from meeting agendas and proceedings of council-run events.
Following more than an hour's debate, Council voted eight to four to reject the proposal. The majority were in opposition, arguing in favour of the importance of recognising the state's Indigenous history through Welcomes and Acknowledgements at Council events.
During debate councillors were critical of Cr Elliot's proposal, with Deputy Lord Mayor Zelinda Sherlock labelling the motion a "contrived culture war".
"If you refuse to acknowledge the murders of innocent men, women and children, that's your choice," Cr Sherlock said, the ABC reports.
"But don't frame it as, 'I'm not given a choice and I don't have consent,' [because] you are not forced to do it at all."
Councillor Ben Lohberger was also opposed, labelling Cr Elliot's motion as "political grandstanding".
"It is political grandstanding reminiscent of the culture war politics we get from the likes of One Nation and Donald Trump and it doesn't belong in this room," Cr Lohberger said.
Cr Elliot announced her intention to move the motion last week, a proposal swiftly rejected by Tasmanian Aboriginal Elder Rodney Dillon.
Mr Dillon told National Indigenous Times he was saddened to hear of Cr Elliot's proposal.
"It's acknowledging the history of our past and where we're going so we can go ahead better in the future," Mr Dillon said.
"I think better understanding our history and our culture, where we've come from to where we are here today, I think is very important.
"So I'm a bit saddened that this person feels like that."
Reconciliation Tasmania chief executive Pauline Cook also criticised Cr Elliot's move. She said Acknowledgments of and Welcomes to Country are "small but powerful signals, arising in ancient tradition, which acknowledge the undeniable truths of our history".
"Keeping Acknowledgements as a visible and routine part of our protocols creates changes slowly changes hearts and minds," Ms Cook said.
"Regular repetition of an Acknowledgement to Country is a statement of truth to say 'We know whose land this is. We recognise history. And we are willing to say it out loud'.
"They might sound like a small ritual, but they're helping build a future where truth, respect, and recognition are normal. And that's how real change begins."
In introducing her motion to Council on Monday, Cr Elliot said Acknowledgements of and Welcomes to Country were "overused, divisive, demeaning, tokenistic, and ineffective" while likening them to "quasi-religious rituals".
"It's obvious that these are political and quasi-religious rituals," she said, the ABC reports.
"I think it being left on the agenda is a form of harassment and I think it exposes the council."
The Hobart City Council does not have a formal stance regarding Welcomes to and Acknowledgements of Country.
Some attendees at Monday's meeting called for the process to be formalised, with the possibility of a policy on Acknowledgements of and Welcomes to Country flagged as a topic for exploration in the future.
