Decision details

By Councillor Scott

It is resolved that:

(A)        Council note:

(i)          that the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation are the original custodians of the land now occupied by the City of Sydney, that these custodians were dispossessed of this land, and that sovereignty over this land was never ceded;

(ii)         truth-telling and recognition of these facts is a vital part of the reconciliation and recovery process;

(iii)        the City of Sydney acknowledges the Indigenous history of this land and the present-day Aboriginal community wherever possible and appropriate; and

(iv)       that there is no consistent signage across NSW naming traditional nation boundaries;

(B)        the Chief Executive Officer be requested to:

(i)          refer a brief proposal for state-wide signage indicating Aboriginal nations boundaries to the City’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Advisory Panel and relevant staff working on the Resilient Sydney Strategy for consultation; and

(ii)         following this consultation, refer this proposal to the Local Government Aboriginal Network (LGAN), requesting their consideration of and support for the NSW State Government to undertake this project;

(C)       the Lord Mayor, following consultation with the City of Sydney Aboriginal and Torres Strait Advisory Panel and LGAN, be requested to write to the Premier of NSW, the Hon. Gladys Berejiklian MP, and the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, the Hon. Don Harwin MP, as well as the NSW Acting Leader of the Opposition, the Hon. Penny Sharpe MLC, requesting them to undertake this project in collaboration with first nations groups in NSW.

Note – at the meeting of Council, the content of the original Notice of Motion was varied by Councillor Scott. Subsequently, it was:

Moved by Councillor Scott, seconded by Councillor Scully –

It is resolved that:

(A)        Council note:

(i)          that the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation are the original custodians of the land now occupied by the City of Sydney, that these custodians were dispossessed of this land, and that sovereignty over this land was never ceded;

(ii)         truth-telling and recognition of these facts is a vital part of the reconciliation and recovery process;

(iii)        the City of Sydney acknowledges the Indigenous history of this land and the present-day Aboriginal community wherever possible and appropriate;

(iv)       the City is working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists to create seven major public art projects symbolising the Eora Journey - a visionary project that celebrates the living culture of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in Sydney;

(v)         signs in the City's parks now welcome people with the words ‘bujari gamarruwa’, which means ‘good day’ in the language of the Gadigal people of the Eora nation;

(vi)       the Resilient Sydney plan recognises that by acknowledging our shared past, we are paving the way for a future where all Australians are embraced, and commits to acknowledging and embracing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and cultures in our city’s past, present and future; and

(vii)      that the Local Government Aboriginal Network is considering state-wide signage naming traditional nation boundaries;

(B)        the Chief Executive Officer be requested to invite the Local Government Aboriginal Network to present to the City’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Advisory Panel on state wide Aboriginal nation signage for consideration.

Carried unanimously.

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