Australian flag banners are set to fly from poles along the main street of Umina Beach next Australia Day after Central Coast Council Administrator Rik Hart made some late amendments to the Draft Street Banners and Flying of Flag Policy before finally adopting it on October 11.

Following a last-minute impassioned plea from Peninsula Chamber of Commerce President, Matthew Wales, in the public forum before the meeting, Hart amended the draft policy to allow for flying the flag banners from poles in West St.

Council said it had received conflicting advice from Ausgrid, which owns the poles, prior to and following the release of the draft policy.

CEO David Farmer outlined the change in advice received from Ausgrid at the meeting.

“On July 21 Council received advice from Ausgrid that Council’s (stance) that banner poles should not be used to display Australian flag replicas aligned with Ausgrid’s policies and standards,” Farmer said.

“This was repeated in correspondence received on August 22.

“So the recommendations in the policy were consistent with the information provided (by Ausgrid).

“However, on October 7, subsequent to the publishing of the draft policy, Ausgrid changed its position, advising Council that the community, working with Council, should decide the matter.”

Hart said that while Council had followed appropriate due process in putting the documents together, the change in Ausgrid’s position called for an amendment to the draft.

“There has been significant media coverage (on the issue), much of which has been incorrect,” he said.

“Council is actually increasing infrastructure to fly the Australian flag – specifically it is looking at supplying new flagpoles at Umina and at an increased number of Council assets.

“I am delighted that (the change in advice from Ausgrid) now gives us the opportunity to display flag banners on existing infrastructure and I look forward to seeing the flags displayed at Umina.”

The amendment allows for the Australian and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags to be displayed at Umina in equal proportion on Australia Day.

Wales said the Peninsula Chamber of Commerce would “take the win” but was “deeply concerned that both Ausgrid and Central Coast Council could get things so wrong”.

“Last night, we won our democratic right to fly the national flag in our town centre as proud Australians.”

“The Chamber had requested that the matter be deferred due to the inconsistencies in the report relating to references to Ausgrid’s policies that were clearly wrong.

“However, following representations made by the Chamber of Commerce and Ausgrid, Council has backflipped and agreed to the installation of the Australian flag banners together with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags leading up to Australia Day in 2023.”

Wales said a statement by a representative at the public forum that Ausgrid did not have objections to the flying of the national flag from its infrastructure left Council with “nowhere to go” other than amending the policy.

“What should have been a simple policy decision based on the Chamber’s request has ended up as a huge embarrassment for Council at a time when it should be boosting its tarnished image in the community,” he said.

“The Chamber will now be seeking answers as to why the wrong information was provided to Council by Ausgrid and why Council did not check the facts before putting the policy before the Administrator.

“Sadly, after two years of battling Council, this could all have been avoided if they had sat down with the local business community and come to an agreement.”

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