Council voted to reinstate the vandalised statue of Caption James Cook located on the St Kilda Foreshore. The statue was cut down by criminal vandals prior to Australia Day, only hours before security arrangements were to be activated. This coincidence does not go past unnoticed.
The act is driven by hate, and is a criminal act of vandalism to the heritage listed statue which will come at a cost to the community. This was perpetrated by extreme political activists who painted the plinth with “the colony will fall’. On the eve of Australia Day in 2023, the same statue was covered in red paint raising concerns about the merit of restoring the statue when future acts of vandalism can be expected.
Cr Robbie Nyaguy brought a motion to Council only one week prior to the council meeting without seeking support or giving notice to all Councillors prior to the February 7th meeting. His motion was essentially NOT TO RE-INSTATE the statue until such time as the council had ‘established the costs and timeframe for the reinstatement’ of the Captain Cook’s Statue and ‘to conduct a community engagement process to understand community views on the reinstatement or removal of the statue ahead of any works being undertaken’.
The motion surprised many residents as Premier Jacinta Allen said the State Government would assist with the cost of reinstating and supported immediate action.
It was therefore odd to see a motion from a labor councillor which was not supported by the public view and did not align with the statements of the premier.
Cr Nyaguy advocated for a lengthy and costly community engagement process prior to reinstatement, yet he has already commented in the Herald Sun that he doesn’t want to put the statue back up.
Because of numerous submissions from the public including a full Gallery preparing to speak to the matter at the meeting, and a letter from the Boonwurrung Land and Sea Council requesting the statue be reinstated immediately and denouncing the criminal act, Cr Nyaguy was forced to rush changes to his motion during the meeting. However he pressed on with devising wedge politics and prosecuting a now, watered-down motion. He changed tactic to allow for the statue to be restored immediately and ‘to conduct community engagement to understand community views on the location and context of the statue’. The councillor patched together an amended motion during the meeting as he knew his original motion would not get up, without amending the motion to immediately restore the statue.
Councillors spent almost two hours debating the amended motion. The debate was often acrimonious and nasty at times with numerous points of order and threats. Mayor Cunsolo did an excellent job to chair the meeting and at one point, a resident was ejected from the public gallery.
The amended motion was rejected because community consultation was unnecessary because of strong feedback already received and the Mayor and CEO advised that the CoPP are already working with the Boonwurrung Land and Sea Council to recognise local indigenous history.
It is somewhat strange that this labor councillor would continue with such a motion that was spoken against by 100% of the large gallery in attendance. The Age survey also showed that 66% of people wanted the statue back in place and the Herald Sun survey showed 95% wanted immediate reinstatement. The community of the Boonwurrung people believe that this act should not be supported by further discussion. Is this a case of the individual ideology of one councillor being more important than the opinions of the Boonwurrung people and the community at large? How can one justify such a position as democratic rather than divisive, given that it is clearly the well-worn path of wedge politics that was adopted in this case.
Cr Rhonda Clark said, ‘Vandalism and criminal behaviour should not be rewarded or condoned by anyone in the community, no matter what you believe in’. Cr Sirakoff said ‘We cannot allow vandals to get away with their actions. We need to send a strong message to vandals that removing the statue does not change our history. If we do not restore the statue then we are setting a precedent to allow vandals to tear down other monuments in the City of Port Phillip.’
Councillors agreed to reinstate the statue without conditions and voted down the amended motion with a division called.
For: Baxter, Crawford, Martin and Nyaguy.
Against: Bond, Clark, Cunsolo, Pearl, Sirakoff
The James Cook statue was erected and unveiled by Victorian State parliamentarians and St Kilda City Councillors in 1914 by the St Kilda council because of his services to maritime history and exploration. The statue is heritage listed by the National Trust of Victoria.
Jacinta Allen, the Victoria Premier has publicly supported the reinstatement of the Captain Cook statue, aligning with a vision that respects our collective history and heritage, advising we must stand against vandalism and for the rule of law, ensuring our public spaces and historical markers are respected.
