‘Bring back the awards’

Mayoral candidates promise action over scrapped Aus Day Awards

By Mitch Gaynor

THE Australia Day Awards could return to the Sunshine Coast after unanimous agreement from every mayoral candidate that the scrapping of the program without community consultation was unacceptable overreach by the council.
The traditional awards ceremony was last year replaced by the environmentally-focused “UNESCO Biosphere” awards after a majority of councillors backed a council proposal to end the long-standing Australia Day Awards.
The decision was met with criticism from some councillors as well as concern from the community at the loss of the community-focused awards.
At the final hinterland Meet the Candidates forum in Landsborough last week, mayoral candidates agreed the decision was wrong.
A question from the public asked the candidates their position on that decision.
Jason Opray, who was a councillor at the time said he was absent during the vote and would have backed the continuation of the awards.
“I have always been a supporter of Australia Day,” he said.
“I must make it really clear that decision was made with my absentee and that is very much on the record.
“If you would like the committee see that come back to council that is something we could most certainly do.”
Rosanna Natoli said she “could not believe they moved to the Biosphere Awards without community consultation”.
“Who wants to be a Biosphere Hero? People want to be Australian of the Year, not Biosphere hero.
“This has been our number one question… it has come up over and over again.”
Wayne Parcell said: Australia Day is determined by the Commonwealth of Australia.”
“It’s Australia Day until it isn’t. Australia Day is for all Australians and should not be to divide and exclude people. I disagree wholeheartedly with the approach and process taken to do what was done.”
Michael Burgess added: “It’s even worse because the biosphere is a project on which the council is going to spend $100m and of course they will borrow that in your name. So there is an agenda once again that is all about what the council intends to do and changing from Australia Day to Biosphere Day is part of that agenda.”
Ashley Robinson said council staff told him they didn’t want it to go to the community because it would have been “World War III”. “The thing that amazed me was when I asked the question of the councillor, they said that the decision was made without community consultation, because the staff said if they had community consultation there would have been World War III,” he said.
“I think that sums up the fact the tail is wagging the dog in council.
“I think everyone agrees that while there is Australia Day there’s Australia Day Awards and the Biosphere awards can go to somewhere else.”
Min Swan summed up the mood with this response: “Ditto.”

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