Palestinian flag to be lowered from city hall after fiery debate

A Palestinian flag flying above a council building in Melbourne’s north for more than two years will soon be lowered after months of debate over its future.

On Tuesday night, after a 90-minute debate, Darebin City Council voted on the municipality’s new flag policy, which includes no longer flying any international flags at all unless required by legislation.

The Australian, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags will continue to fly in council buildings and are not affected by the vote. However, the Palestinian flag flying above the council’s main chamber in Preston must be lowered within 10 working days, and will be marked with a “brief respectful ceremony”.

The council reached a final decision on the drawn-out dispute over how and when to fly different flags after three formal attempts to pass a motion on Tuesday. During the meeting, some people in the public gallery jeered and shouted, and were warned multiple times by Mayor Emily Dimitriadis to remain silent during debate, with one threatened with ejection.

The Palestinian flag was raised above Preston City Hall after being endorsed by councillors on December 18, 2023.

Tuesday’s successful motion, moved by independent Councillor Connie Boglis, prohibits new international flags and removes the chief executive’s discretion to approve community requests. Boglis described the policy as a “careful balance” that provides “transparency, equity and accountability”.

The policy came after a community consultation process that received more than 500 submissions. Labor councillor Kristine Olaris noted that while councillors held strong personal views, the feedback was “quite clear” that a majority of the community did not want any international flags flown. Labor councillors Olaris, Dimitriadis, Matt Arturi and Vasilios Tsalkos all supported the motion, as did Boglis.

The motion was opposed by independent Councillor Angela Villella and Greens councillors Ruth Jelley and Alexandra Sangster.

Villella was most vocal in her opposition, saying councillors should be “ashamed of ourselves” for stripping residents of the right to have different flags flown.

“We are actually denying our residents a right to have a say. I can’t understand it … it’s outrageous,” she said. “How dare we say that to the community? Who the hell do we think we are that we can say that?”

Sangster successfully moved a subsequent amendment to provide the community with a 10-day “grace period” before the Palestinian flag is removed, allowing time for residents to prepare a ceremony for what she described as a “deeply distressing moment”.

Following the Bondi terrorist attack, an urgent meeting was called in late December 2025, where chief executive Anne Howard asked councillors to take down the flag and replace it with a “peace flag” – in part due to complaints made to council staff from locals after the mass shooting.

A special council meeting was held in February to discuss the future of the flag, where councillors voted to delay a decision until adopting a formal flag policy in March.

In both meetings, councillors knocked back the “peace flag” suggestion.

Darebin Council’s policy was developed partly by examining international flag policies elsewhere in Victoria. Council documents show Greater Dandenong, Surf Coast Shire, Manningham and Yarra Ranges councils permit international flags to be flown during official visits of dignitaries or under other strict conditions.

In Greater Dandenong, international flags may also be flown as a show of support during a crisis, in the Yarra Ranges only to acknowledge a significant event, while in the Surf Coast foreign flags can also be displayed as directed by state or federal governments. In Manningham, only the flags of nations recognised by Australia can fly alongside the Australian flag.

Palestinian flags were previously raised at Darebin, Merri-bek, Dandenong and Maribyrnong councils in the early months of Israel’s war on Gaza.

Merri-bek’s flag was flown until a ceasefire in 2025. However, last September councillors voted to fly it indefinitely outside the town hall in Coburg.

In a statement, a Darebin Council spokesperson said the consideration and finalisation of the flag policy was informed by feedback.

They said community members could still submit requests to fly flags on community flagpoles, but international flags would not be permitted.

Get the day’s breaking news, entertainment ideas and a long read to enjoy. Sign up to receive our Evening Edition newsletter.