WA: Carnarvon council should be sacked

The entire Carnarvon council should be sacked after refusing to fly the Aboriginal flag during Naidoc week, the local MP says.

The Western Australian council was equally divided in voting on the matter at a meeting this week, until the president, Karl Brandenburg, cast the deciding no.

The decision sparked peaceful protests in the town but also threats to Brandenburg, he says, leaving his wife and children fearing for their safety.

The furore has attracted not just the attention of the national media but criticism from Labor, Liberal and National MPs.

The premier, Colin Barnett; the shadow treasurer, Ben Wyatt; and local MP Vince Catania have offered to give the town an Aboriginal flag, but Brandenburg insists the Australian flag will fly alone outside the council chambers during National Aboriginal and Islander Day Observance Committee week.

“There’s a huge problem in Carnarvon and it’s fantastic that they [politicians] want to support flying the flag but I’d rather they support children who are starving in the streets.

“The kids are just left to their own devices. They’re like orphans – that’s how sad it is. So if I can seize on this opportunity to bring attention to that, I’ll leave the flag exactly where it is.”

Brandenburg said he remained of the view that flying the Aboriginal flag outside council chambers would be “divisive” but he was happy for it to be displayed anywhere else in town.

“Everybody is very keen to make out that I’m a racist and I’m doing the wrong thing, but I still stand by my statements that it is divisive and we’re all Australian, and we should fly under one flag.”

Vince Catania said Brandenburg and the rest of the council should be sacked.

“There’s a systemic cultural problem at that shire,” he said.

Catania said he was considering introducing a private member’s bill to parliament to force councils in the state to fly the Aboriginal flag alongside the Australian and WA flags.