IN response to Mr Polkinghorne’s letter last week, I appreciate his position but I’m afraid it seems we are talking past one another.
Firstly, I am genuinely unable to understand where Council Policy No.129 has been violated in this instance.
“Vaccination Status” is not a protected identity listed within the policy, nor is it listed in the Victorian Human Rights and Responsibilities Act of 2006, which the policy complies with.
However, Council does have an Occupational Health and Safety policy (no.033) that states its aims, among other things, “to promote welfare and preservation of health”, which I’m sure incorporates abiding by Federal and State public health mandates during a global pandemic. These mandates included restricting access to public facilities in the interest of public health, and were not unique to Gannawarra.
Secondly, it is not hypocritical that the RLG are calling out councillors who haven’t “taken the pledge”, they are interacting with the necessary political bodies in order to affect their desired change, just as you have done in trying to fly the “Dove Flag”, as should be your right.
Thirdly, equality doesn’t rely on you or I stating that we personally believe in it, nor do we get to define human rights on our own terms. They are reflected in the structures and actions of our institutions, and gauged upon the results that they produce. Not all the groups you mentioned face the same levels or types of discrimination, if indeed at all. However, there is a multitude of evidence to suggest that LGBTQ+ people face systemic inequalities in many ways.
Striving for equality isn’t a case of simply declaring it; it consists of recognising the intrinsic barriers that people face and implementing strategies to ensure equitable outcomes for all involved. This isn’t a simple process, and while raising a flag doesn’t do this alone, it starts the shift in consciousness required to make real change happen.
What has been raised implicitly through questioning Council’s flag policy is who warrants recognition, who doesn’t, and more importantly, who has the power to decide. Those who hold political office, (or own newspapers), have more power to influence those decisions than the average citizen, and have a responsibility, if they believe in equality, to use that power towards those ends. Roadblocking efforts to fly the Rainbow Flag, in my estimation, does not further those ends; in fact, it does the opposite, hence the charge of bigotry.
LGBTQ+ people, or any oppressed minority for that matter, don’t need platitudes of compassion; they need compassionate action, and not from you or me alone, but from those who have the power to affect real institutional change.
Ultimately, this is not a matter of individual squabbles over two opposing viewpoints. The point is that in any society seeking equality we need critically engaged citizens using their collective solidarity to take care of each other. My hope is that we can realise this for some of our most vulnerable community members. Other councils have managed this without incident, and I think we can too.
Luke Holdstock,
Kerang
