Cumberland City Councillor Steve Christou has made a bold push to abolish 'Acknowledgment of Country' ceremonies at council meetings, arguing the practice is an unnecessary, divisive ritual that Australians are tired of.

Christou, a long-time critic of “woke nonsense,” introduced the motion seeking to remove Acknowledgments of Country from civic functions and council meetings.

However, every other councillor, including those from Labor, the Greens, independents, and even the Liberals, voted against it, with one abstaining.

Despite the defeat, Christou stood firm on his position, saying, “I believe in equality for all, not division. We are all Australians, we want to stand arm in arm.”

“This is not an attack on Indigenous at all, people are over it,” he added.

Cumberland, which had one of the highest No votes in the country during the Voice to Parliament referendum at 64 per cent, is in Western Sydney, an area where opposition to identity politics has been growing.

Just lost the vote on abolishing acknowledgement to country at our Council meeting tonight. Every councillor Labor, Liberal, Our Local Community, and Independent voted against me. One Independent abstained. This is a Council that had one of the highest No Votes in Australia on…

— Councillor Steve Christou (@ChristouSteve) February 26, 2025

Christou expressed disappointment that the Liberal councillors rejected the motion, claiming their stance contradicted federal Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s commitment to ending symbolic gestures.

“It is weak and inconsistent messaging. How can the voting public take Peter Dutton and the Federal Liberal Party seriously when four of his councillors on a local council vote against his own proposal and commitment to the Australian public?” Christou said.

“I knew that my fellow councillors were going to vote against the proposal. Whilst I expected this outcome from Labor, and the Green I was somewhat surprised by the stance of the four Liberal councillors who voted against me.”

Christou warned that the decision could cost the Liberal Party support at the next election, saying voters would turn to alternatives like the Libertarian Party.

“This woke nonsense has to stop. People are sick and tired of being told that the land they were born in, migrated to; never was, never will be theirs,” he said.

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