Why a Moreland City councillor voted against changing ‘racist’ name

A City of Moreland councillor who voted against a motion to change the council’s controversial name says it can’t be justified financially alone.

But he’s in the minority.

The council voted in favour of changing its name over links to a 19th century Jamaican slave estate this week.

Oscar Yildiz told 3AW the main reason he rejected the motion was the cost.

“Even though the councillors that put forward the motion said it would cost $500,000 over two years, if you actually read into it, it actually says the changes will happen incrementally over 10 years and will basically take money out of the existing budget,” he said.

“This could actually cost millions – I’ve heard around $9 million – that’s a lot of money.”

He said valuable ratepayer money could be better spent.

“I want to ask the latte-sipping Brunswick trendies when was the last time they actually went into an Indigenous community and witnessed the challenges of our Aboriginal people,” Cr Yildiz said.

Press PLAY below to hear him explain why he voted against the motion

Picture: Getty iStock