JANUARY 30, 2018 \ STARWEEKLY.COM.AU
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Top citizen, big surprise
(Joe Mastroianni)
Brimbank’s Citizen of the Year is “blown away” to receive an honour that caps off a lifetime of community work in the area. Rod Boyd was announced as the winner of the award at last week’s presentations, but was unable to receive his gong in person after suffering a back injury – but he told Star Weekly it was a huge honour. “I honestly thought, ‘What hope have I got?’ – so when I heard I had won I was blown away,” Mr Boyd said. “It was a huge thrill for me and my family. My grand-daughter has already told me I have to come to her class with the award for show and tell.” Mr Boyd has played a number of roles in Brimbank, including serving in the police force in the 1970s and as a radio announcer with 3UZ. For the past 21 years, he has been the general manager of community radio station Stereo 974. Stereo 974 has grown into a multicultural broadcaster, with shows in 12 different languages. Mr Boyd has also implemented a small business program for young offenders at Port Phillip Prison, with his “Doin’ Time” program selling T-shirts to raise money for charity. To date, it has raised more $150,000. “I want them (prisoners) to come out of there as better people who are good community citizens, and we’ve had a lot of success with that,” Mr Boyd said. Ewen McRae
Debate over Australia Day By Tate Papworth Brimbank City Council hasn’t ruled out moving its Australia Day celebrations away from January 26. At last week’s Brimbank Australia Day Awards ceremony, chief executive Helen Morrissey said the council was committed to a respectful debate over the controversial issue. “We [Brimbank council] recognise this particular date is a sensitive subject … and we are committed to having a respectful debate around that subject,” she said.
Last year the Moreland, Darebin and Yarra councils opted to dump January 26 as their day of celebration, arguing that the date was offensive and inappropriate to indigenous Australians. The move prompted the federal government to strip the Darebin and Yarra councils of the right to hold citizenship ceremonies. However the debate was ignited again this month when the Greens announced they were planning to use their numbers in local governments to push for a shift of date. And last week, the State Opposition vowed
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to sack councils who do not celebrate Australia Day if elected in November. During a council meeting last September, then Brimbank mayor John Hedditch said the council would discuss the date during the review of its Reconciliation Action Plan. “We’ll be reviewing our Indigenous Action Plan from September through to November this year and we feel this will be a timely period to discuss the matter,” Cr Hedditch said. “This review will be held under the guidance of an experienced indigenous consultant … the findings will be presented back to council to
discuss.” In November, the council hosted two community consultation sessions to help inform the development of the next four-year draft Reconciliation Action Plan. Mayor Margaret Giudice said consultation with indigenous leaders is ongoing. “We’re undertaking consultation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community representatives and a range of local aboriginal organisations,” Cr Giudice said. “Australia Day is amongst a range of topics discussed as part of this process.”
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