'A matter of respect': Illawarra councils vow to keep Acknowledgement of Country

Last week the suburban Adelaide council City of Playford voted to scrap the practice of paying respect to the local Traditional Owners at the start of their meetings.

This followed on from a decision of the Northern Areas Council - 200 kilometres north of Adelaide - to remove the Acknowledgement from its correspondence.

The City of Playford motion was moved by Cr David Kerrison who felt reading the Acknowledgement at every meeting was "going overboard".

"I listen to the younger generation who attend university and colleges and it's being read out at every lecture - I think it's gone a little too far," Cr Kerrison said in the meeting.

According to the three Illawarra mayors, there is no appetite to make a similar change.

"It's something I felt was extraordinary on the back of the referendum and was actually quite saddening," Shellharbour Mayor Chris Homer said of the City of Playford decision.

"It's not something I would entertain here at all.

"I was all for the Yes vote and I don't know if [the Playford decision] has come out of that. We and I really value First Nations people and First Nations culture in Shellharbour and I don't think that's the kind of message that I would send to First Nations culture in Shellharbour."

Like the other two Illawarra mayors, Kiama's Neil Reilly reads the Acknowledgement of Country before every meeting - and has no desire to stop that practice.

"Absolutely not - it is a matter of respect," Mayor Reilly said.

Rather than read the same statement at every meeting, Mayor Reilly said he preferred to change the wording to keep it fresh.

"I think it can easily fall into a perfunctory statement that sort of gets rattled off and doesn't necessarily mean as much as it should, so I like to vary mine," he said.

"It always keeps its essence, which is to be able to recognise that we live in a complicated world but we owe so much of the beauty of our place and the heritage and the way we think about it to the First Nations people."

Wollongong Lord Mayor Gordon Bradbery said the Acknowledgement had become "entrenched" at the council.

"It's just been part of the protocols of council and council events and, as far as I'm concerned, it will stay that way," Cr Bradbery said.

"I don't think there's any mood in any way shape or form to have that changed.

"It's important that every council acknowledge the space in which its located and more specifically the local Aboriginal custodians. I'm quite surprised that any council would contemplate doing that."