In short:
Wyndham City Council was the only council in Melbourne’s western suburbs to not acknowledge today’s national day of mourning for the victims of the Bondi terrorist attack, while nearby and neighbouring councils marked the occasion publicly. with the Jewish community.
No Social Media Acknowledgement
Wyndham City Council was the only council in Melbourne’s western suburbs to not publicly acknowledge the national day of mourning held today, 22 January, for the victims of the Bondi terrorist attack.
Today, nearby and neighbouring councils including Maribyrnong City Council, Hobsons Bay City Council, Brimbank City Council and Melton City Council acknowledged the national observance on their official Facebook pages. Greater Geelong City Council also made public mention of the day.
By contrast, Wyndham City Council did not issue any public post or statement acknowledging the day of mourning or the victims of the Bondi attack. The council also did not publicly describe the incident as terrorism, racism or antisemitism last month.
The absence of acknowledgement has drawn attention from some residents, particularly given that only weeks earlier the council publicly labelled graffiti incidents targeting other religious communities as racism.
The differing language and response has prompted questions about consistency in how incidents involving hate or extremism are addressed.
The Mayor of Wyndham also did not post about the national day of mourning on his social media channels today, while mayors from several nearby and neighbouring municipalities did so.
As a result, questions are being raised within the community about why the council appears reluctant to explicitly call out antisemitism, and what the lack of public acknowledgement may signal to Wyndham’s Jewish community regarding solidarity and support.
As of today, 22 January, Wyndham City Council has not publicly explained its decision not to acknowledge the national day of mourning or its choice of language regarding the Bondi attack.
