At its Tuesday, September 23 meeting, council voted to update its Acknowledgement of Country, aligning it with the Reconciliation Action Plan — a strategic document for advancing reconciliation.
The new, revised acknowledgement includes new references to Aboriginal Elders past and present, a shared commitment to walking towards reconciliation, and an acknowledgement of the First Peoples’ connection to lands and waterways through cultural responsibilities.
The revised Acknowledgement of Country
The Shire of Campaspe is the traditional lands of the Dja Dja Wurrung, Taungurung and Yorta Yorta Peoples.
We acknowledge all First Peoples and their deep and enduring connection to lands and waterways, upheld through their cultural responsibilities to Country.
We pay our respect to Elders past and present for their resilience, sharing of cultural knowledge, and strength in sustaining community and Culture.
With a shared commitment to mutual respect, we walk the path of reconciliation together.
Council officers recommended the change, as the old version represented an earlier stage in council’s reconciliation journey, and did not fully align with current commitments under its RAP.
Cr Zoe Cook moved the motion and said it was a “great update”.
“(The new Acknowledgement of Country) has a bit more depth to what it says … it moves forward in recognising the path of reconciliation we are walking together,” Cr Cook said.
Cr John Zobec disagreed with the Indigenous countries listed in the Acknowledgement and said Campaspe was situated on Bangarang Country.
He also said he would “prefer the affirmation to Australia” over an Acknowledgement of Country.
“At the end of the day, we are Australians, and we are all one, and we should be all united,” Cr Zobec said.
“As the Federal Government found out the hard way, there is 61 per cent of the people don’t want Australia to be divided, and they want everyone to be equal.”
While supporting the motion, Cr Rob Amos pointed out that this was the first review in five years and advocated for a more frequent ‘continuous improvement’ approach in the future.
Cr Paul Jarman, who seconded the motion, spoke for the motion and to Cr Zobec’s remarks about the recognised Indigenous countries, and said the ones listed in the revised acknowledgement were the “recognised Aboriginal parties for this land”.
He also said that while council had a responsibility to represent the whole community, it also needed to “take everyone with us” into the future.
“These new words do reflect a refreshing of where we're at,” Cr Jarman said.
“I think the way forward is working together to make sure that we don’t go backwards.”
The motion was carried 8-1, with only Cr Zobec voting against.
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