The Victorian Greens have today introduced a motion into the Upper House calling out the hypocrisy of the Victorian Labor Government over its "disrespectful" decision to rename Maroondah Hospital.
In the state budget last week, the Government referred to Maroondah Hospital as "Queen Elizabeth II Hospital", seemingly confirming that the name change it flagged last year had been set in stone.
This is despite previous criticism from the First Peoples' Assembly, and the fact that more than 56,000 Victorians have signed a Change.org petition calling on the Government to reverse the decision.
The Greens' motion condemns the inadvertent confirmation of the name change in the budget, and calls on the Government to consider ways of protecting and enshrining First Nations' place names on an ongoing basis, as an important part of truth-telling.
Victorian Greens member for the North-East Metropolitan region, Aiv Puglielli, said changing the name of a hospital from a First Nations word to the name of a late, foreign monarch representing colonisation was not what Treaty looked like.
He added that as Victoria embarked on its historic Treaty process, it was important that Labor listened to First Nations communities and didn't erase First Nations language or history.
As stated by Victorian Greens member for the North-East Metropolitan region, Aiv Puglielli MLC:
"What is Labor thinking changing the name of a hospital from a First Nations word to the name of a foreign monarch representing colonisation?
"It is a disrespectful decision that erases precious Woi-wurrung language. This is not what Treaty looks like.
"The Greens stand with First Nations communities and the tens of thousands of Victorians that are against this disrespectful decision."
