A pop-up engagement session has been held at the Geelong Show to seek public feedback on the way the City of Greater Geelong marks 26 January - which is currently celebrated as Australia Day.
A public forum will also be held at 5pm on Tuesday 25 October at Wurrki Nyal, 137-149 Mercer St, Geelong. Places at the forum are limited and registrations will be taken via Eventbrite.
The City will continue taking feedback from First Nations People and the wider community until consultation closes at the end of the year.
Share your views at Have Your Say.
Aboriginal Affairs Councillor Jim Mason
We have now commenced the second stage of our conversation, which is with the broader community; and we're urging everyone to ensure their voices are heard about how we mark 26 January in Greater Geelong.We've learnt from the experiences of those Councils that have already consulted on this issue. The result is that rather than the standard approach to community consultation, we're holding broader conversation over a six-month period, going out into the community to seek face-to-face feedback, and undertaking online engagement.
The Geelong Show is such an important community event here, so it was great to get out and talk to people about 26 January and a variety of other issues that are important to our community.
We have seen already that a different approach, including hitting the streets has had a definite impact. During the first stage alone, we received 173 survey responses, which is the largest we have ever experienced from the First Nations community on any issue.
We are committed to continue encouraging feedback from First Nations Peoples and the wider community right up until the close of consultation at the end of this year.
