A council has enraged ratepayers for using their money to fund a ‘Survival Day’ event on Australia Day.
Survival Day and ‘Invasion Day’ are names used for Australia Day by some Indigenous Australians and their supporters.
In a social media post, Mount Barker Council in the Adelaide Hills asked locals to ‘respectfully mark’ Survival Day on January 26 at an event organised by the Ruby Hunter Foundation and backed by the council with a $5,000 grant.
The post led councillor Rebecca Hewett to set up a Facebook poll asking the community if they supported council funding the event.
With 645 voters, 85 per cent of those having their say did not agree with the council funding the event.
But Ms Hewett deleted the post after she claimed Mayor David Leach emailed her to say ‘Your actions in the attached Facebook post are not acceptable and a breach of the behavioural standards for council members.’
Ms Hewett told the Advertiser she started the poll after ratepayers contacted her to say they didn’t want their money spent that way.
‘I had a lot of phone calls from residents and they were extremely upset about this,’ she said.
Councillor Rebecca Hewett (pictured) set up a Facebook poll asking the community if they supported council funding the event
But the councillor, who plans to run for One Nation in the seat of Mayo in the coming federal election, previously voted in support of funding the Survival Day event.
‘I fully supported them being able to run a Survival Day,’ she said.
‘At the time, I did not know that it was going to be run on January 26, so that information wasn’t provided to me when I voted for it.’
Ms Hewett tried to raise ratepayers’ concerns at a council meeting on Monday night, but claimed her statement was cut short by the Mr Leach.
In a recording of the meeting heard by the Advertiser, the mayor repeatedly interrupted a speech by Ms Hewett.
Last year’s Survival Day event was attended by more than 1,000 people, the council said.
Ruby Hunter Foundation chairman Eric Richards said the event is ‘for reconciliation, for healing, for our first people nation, and educating our younger generation’.
He said he was ‘upset’ by Ms Hewett’s poll, saying ‘it shows Aboriginal people that we do not recognise an Aboriginal nation in this country’.

A council is being called ‘woke’ and slammed by ratepayers for using their money to fund a ‘Survival Day’ event on Australia Day. Stock image of Indigenous smoke ceremony
Most responses to the council’s Facebook post on Survival Day were very clear that they disagreed.
‘January 26th is Australia Day. Why is the Mount Barker District Council supporting an event that is derogatory of Australia Day,’ wrote one.
‘No thanks, I will be celebrating Australia day with my family,’ wrote another.
But not everyone agreed, with one person writing ‘Thank you for promoting this event.
‘It sounds like an important avenue for people wanting to further educate themselves and respectfully acknowledge this day in a way of their choosing, I hope the event is a success.’
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Ms Hewett, Mr Leach and Mr Richards for comment.
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