Sky News Hosts Target Melbourne Council’s Rainbow Crossing

Sky News hosts have targeted an inner-Melbourne council’s decision to install two rainbow crossings, calling the move “an utter and complete waste of money”.

Earlier this year, the Merri-Bek City Council passed a motion to spend $45,000 installing the crossings on opposite ends of the municipality, with every councillors but one voting in its favour.

The Late Debate hosts, James Macpherson, Freya Leach, and Caleb Bond criticised the move on Wednesday night’s episode.

“Because if there’s not a pride flag painted on the road, all of a sudden, it is highly dangerous, in inner city, Melbourne, for people of diverse backgrounds,” Leach said.

“I mean, give me a break. What does this achieve? And what an utter and complete waste of money.”

“I’ll tell you what it achieves,” Macpherson said. “It gives you the opportunity to drive your great big diesel guzzling vehicle over the top of the homosexual flag.”

Leach argued that the money could be used to serve the community in a different way “that actually might go and represent them.”

“Now with councils, they just seem to… think they are so much better than what they are,” she said. “They need to stick with roads, rates and rubbish. That is what the council’s job is.”

Visibility a “form of resistance and solidarity” says local councillor

Introduced by Greens councillor Ella Svensson, the motion was made to affirm the area’s queer community, with 1 in 4 Merri-bek residents identifying as LGBTIQA+.

“Merri-bek’s community has a proud history of queer resistance and radical queer activism,” Svensson told Star Observer earlier this year.

“This is one symbol of visibility and acceptance, but there is much more we can and will do. As a city with a proud LGBTIQA+ action plan, I know we can keep showing up for our incredible queer community.”

Svensson said that the comments made on The Late Debate were a perfect demonstration of the crossings’ importance.

“When marginalised communities are under attack, visibility becomes a form of resistance and solidarity,” she told Star Observer on Friday morning. “Rainbow crossings show every young queer person, every trans resident, every rainbow family, that Merri-bek has their back. That’s exactly why right-wing commentators hate them.

“This is more than just a symbol. When we first passed my proposal to build the crossings, our community told us loud and clear just how much this would mean to them.”

Community engagement on the council’s first LGBTIQA+ Action Plan found that while 4 in 5 participants agreed (or strongly agreed) that Merri-bek was an inclusive city for LGBTIQA+ people, only 45% saw Merri-bek Council ‘as a leader in the LGBTIQA+ space’.

The move to install the crossings comes following the Trump administration’s orders to remove rainbow crossings throughout the country. In August, Floridian officials caused outrage when they painted over the rainbow crossing outside of the Pulse nightclub memorial in Orlando.

“Visible signs of support for our queer community make people feel safer,” Svensson said. “In a time when trans peoples’ lives are put up for debate just for clicks and attention, this is more important than ever. We’re here to build a community where everyone feels safe, seen, and celebrated.”

Sky News Australia were contacted for comment but did not respond by the time of publication.