The City Of Melbourne Has Elected Its First Ever Indigenous Councillor
Brooke Wandin has pledged to be "a voice for Indigenous people".
Youth worker, artist and educator Brooke Wandin has pledged to be “a voice for Indigenous people” after becoming the first ever Indigenous Australian to be elected to the Melbourne City Council.
Wandin is a direct descendant of famous Wurundjeri elder William Barak. According to The Age, she had initially intended to run as a deputy to lord mayoral candidate Nic Frances Gilley, but after an administrative mix-up found herself running as a councilor instead. She received just 369 votes in last weekend’s local elections, but enjoyed a strong showing on preferences.
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“We have now screamed and laughed and been humbled,” posted Wandin’s campaign on Facebook after the election results came in. “It still feels a little strange.”
Wandin wrote on her website that her election would mean that “council would have a person that could listen and understand the issues of Aboriginal people and bring them before Council,” and promised to be “a safe and sympathetic voice in the system at its highest level of representation.”
She said that she wished to create “an office of Kulin Nation leadership.”
“We could create a resource of local Aboriginal people who could train, educate, welcome, and guide for the Council, businesses, tourists, visitors, and at our events.”
Wandin has also pledged to fight homelessness and to lead the push to make all business and residential properties in Melbourne carbon neutral.