To the Mayor and Councillors of Darebin City Council,

We, the undersigned residents and supporters of Darebin, formally call on the Council to reject the proposed Flag Policy at the March 24th meeting. We demand that the Palestinian flag remain flying at Preston Town Hall as an unbroken symbol of our community’s solidarity with a people enduring genocide, occupation, and displacement. This symbol must be maintained until a permanent, agreed alternative is established to honour the victims of this genocide.

Why This Matters

The Palestinian flag is more than a symbol; it is a reflection of Darebin’s commitment to human rights, multiculturalism, and justice. In the face of escalating regional violence in Lebanon and Iran, and the federal government’s failure to hold war criminals accountable, our local Council must remain a sanctuary for moral clarity.

Fatal Flaws in the Proposed Policy

The proposed policy is not a neutral administrative update; it is a targeted attempt to silence community expression through the following "logic gaps":

1. The Democratic Deficit: The policy transfers decision-making power from elected Councillors to an unelected CEO. This removes direct accountability to the ratepayers and allows a single bureaucrat to veto community sentiment.
2. Federal Overreach: By proposing that international flags only fly "as directed by the Commonwealth Government," the Council abdicates its independence. Local government exists to represent local views, not to act as a rubber stamp for the foreign policy of the major federal party in power.
3. Arbitrary Restrictions: The "7-day limit" per year for international flags is an affront to the reality of global crises. A week-long gesture is insufficient for a decades-long struggle against colonialism and an active genocide.
4. Breach of Trust: This policy seeks to bypass the standing December 2023 Council resolution without genuine, transparent community consultation. 
5. The summary of the community consultation is fundamentally flawed, as it lacks both the transparency needed for public accountability and the statistical rigour required to accurately represent the overwhelming community sentiment. The CEO has failed to share a "detailed community consultation report".
6. To date, the CEO has failed to consult with advocacy groups leading the call for the flag to remain, despite councillors explicitly calling for such consultation. This failure is deeply concerning and raises serious questions about the CEO’s intent and commitment to a genuine consultative process. 

Our Demands

1. Maintain the Palestinian Flag: The flag must remain at Preston Town Hall until a permanent, meaningful alternative—such as a public mural or memorial—is established through genuine community participation.
2. Reject the CEO Power Shift: Decisions regarding community symbols must remain in the hands of elected representatives who are accountable to the public.
3. Darebin should maintain its commitment to human rights and justice, acknowledging that our local diversity is shaped by global histories of displacement, inequality, and struggle.

Until Palestine is free, no one is free. We stand for a Darebin that leads with conscience, not one that hides behind bureaucracy.