Renaming bridge not erasing history, but a 'step in the righ

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The Aboriginal Land Council of Tasmania has come out in support of City of Launceston councillor Tim Walker's motion to take action to rename Batman Bridge. 

Aboriginal Land Council of Tasmania general manager and Palawa woman Rebecca Digney said having an iconic Tasmanian landmark named after a person who was reported to have deliberately murdered two Aboriginal people for walking to slow was a "horrible".

She said a name change would be welcomed and a "step forward in the right direction and it's a really positive step in terms of truth-telling". Ms Digney said for local councils to take on actions like this was an act of reconciliation. She said Cr Walker had reached out to the Aboriginal community. "He certainly hasn't gone off and done this without any consultation or without lengthy discussions with people within the Aboriginal community," Ms Digney said.

In regard to "erasing history", she said history was not something found only in names of monuments. "History isn't contained in statues or the names of bridges, the history still exists regardless," Ms Digney said. She praised Cr Walker for his work with the Tasmanian Aboriginal community and his "bold and brave" stance and for local government leading the way "in terms of truth-telling in this state." After his amended motion passed without his vote, Cr Walker said he was "disappointed".

"We're only just at the beginning of this discussion. There's different opinions, that's exactly why I was suggesting a citizen's jury or assembly to forward this process," he said.

"We're a moderate community, and they [council] want to take moderate steps forward." He said a citizen's was a chance to inform and educate given the controversy around renaming a Tasmanian landmark. "My concern is that we're back in a situation when nothing much will happen," he said. Cr Walker said this was an opportunity for councillors to take a step towards a democratic process. "Change is hard. If change was easy, it would have happened by now," he said.

In regards to what the name of the bridge should be Ms Digney said it was a difficult question and should be done with a variety of consultation beyond the Aboriginal community. "In the Aboriginal community, the way that we tend to do things in a cultural way is we tend to consult and we do things on the basis of consensus," she said. "Any name would be more appropriate than calling the bridge after somebody who quite cold heartedly and maliciously murdered Aboriginal people."

LINK: https://www.examiner.com.au/story/7876900/motion-was-bold-and-brave-says-community-leader/