Page 2252 - Week 06 - Thursday, 6 June 2019
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On this point I note that the review process provides a relevant example from Yale University in the United States. There, a special committee was tasked with developing a set of principles for considering renaming proposals based on the values of the university. This provides a helpful point of reference for the committee to develop our own set of principles to assist both the committee and the community in assessing proposals and providing relevant information.
As I mentioned earlier, the Place Names Committee performs an admirable service for the ACT community, and the implementation of these recommendations will further strengthen their important role as a community representative.
Finally, I would like to address the particular place names raised in the motion. The review reports on two names which have been the subject of significant community disquiet, being Haig Park and William Slim Drive. The review report provides background information on the naming of these places and summarises the information currently before government.
In relation to Haig Park, the review presents three options for consideration. After considering these three options, and the recommendations from the Place Names Committee, I have decided to keep the name of Haig Park and to install new signage to tell the contested history of Field Marshal Haig’s wartime legacy. I believe that this recognises that there are differing views on Haig’s military legacy, and the new signage will provide an opportunity to further inform discussion and debate around Australia’s experience in the First World War.
In relation to William Slim Drive, the review presents two options: to keep the name or to change the name. I note that, with respect to William Slim Drive, the Place Names Committee was not able to provide a recommendation on the renaming decision. I have carefully considered all of the information before me, including the information put forward in the review, the allegations made to the ACT government and the submission made by the Slim family to the review. I have also considered the outcome of the recent Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, which delivered a recommendation that institutions should review their existing institutional honours, dedications and memorials to make sure that they do not honour perpetrators of child sex abuse.
Child sexual abuse is an abhorrent legacy and is not consistent with the values of the ACT or the nation, both now and in the past. It is important that we as a community make decisions in accordance with our values as a modern, inclusive and progressive city, and that commemoration and public place naming do not cause ongoing hurt to our citizens.
The naming of William Slim Drive has an association and a legacy that contravenes our values as a territory; therefore, I intend to change the name of the road. I will now undertake a process under the legislation to consider relevant matters and to consult with relevant parties before proceeding to a formal decision.
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