Marcus Fernandez says he will give out national flags himself if his local district the City of Monash does not celebrate Australia Day on Jan. 26.
Fernandez, who runs the Voices of Monash initiative after narrowly missing out on a Jells Ward councillor seat during the Victorian local government elections in November, has been campaigning to restore national pride back to inner-city Melbourne on Australia Day.
City of Monash will not host any Australia Day ceremonies outside of its citizenship ceremony.
This is something Fernandez, who also owns a small business as a nutritionist, wants to see changed.
“It is a shame. They do run the citizenship ceremony, but there doesn’t seem to be anything that I could see celebrating Australia Day,” he told The Epoch Times.
“So I was considering handing out a couple of hundred small Australian flags. I’m going to go to local shops and do what I can.”
Fernandez says national day celebrations would have broad appeal to the 203,560 residents in the City of Monash region, which includes Glen Waverley, Huntingdale, Mulgrave, Oakleigh and parts of Chadstone.
“I did ask the question,” he said.
“They [council] replied with ‘The City of Monash will hold a special Citizenship Ceremony, celebrating 100 community members becoming citizens. Featuring Welcome to Country, raising of flag by cadets, national anthem and a free BBQ for all attendees after.’
“While this is great for those with family members becoming citizens, it was not clear to me if this event was open to the general public.”
Where Was the Australian Flag?
Fernandez said a concerned City of Monash resident sent him a picture of the new mayor, Paul Klisaris, in front of both an Aboriginal flag and a Torres Strait Islands flag, with no visible Australian flag in the background.The photo appeared in the monthly newsletter, the Monash Bulletin.
Fernandez took those concerns to City of Monash’s communications team and said the reply he received was “No flag was chosen over another, it was merely the angle.”
But he doesn’t think the photo was a one-off issue.
“If you go to their website, they don’t have the Australian flag anywhere. They only have the two Indigenous flags. There’s a big Acknowledgement of Country focus,” he said.
City of Monash said acting mayor, Councillor Brian Little, has previously commented in media reports about the citizenship ceremony it will host on Jan. 26.
Vote Recount Request Denied
In October 2024, Fernandez won the two-party preferred count for the Monash seat of Jells Ward, picking up 3,560 votes to Elisha Lee’s 2,763.But votes after preferences saw Lee narrowly prevail and win the seat by a margin of just 42, with 4,775 votes to Fernandez’s 4,733.
Fernandez said he was denied a vote recount on four occasions, making the defeat difficult to take.
“I had such a lead in the primaries, and it was quite unheard of to fall short,” he said.
“I always knew that preferences were likely to go away from me, but I was surprised to that extent.
“Knowing I got the most votes out of everyone and still lost is very disheartening.”
Some votes also went missing from an Australia Post van, adding a question mark over the final numbers Fernandez picked up from his solo grassroots campaign, where he did not have the benefit of preferential voting support.
It urged any voter who lodged their ballot pack at Australia Post boxes at seven locations in Mount Waverley, Oakleigh East, and Oakleigh to request a replacement vote.
“These post boxes are in the City of Monash and it is possible that post by residents from these areas, and anyone visiting these areas, may have been in the vehicle at the time,” the statement said.
“Ensuring that every ballot pack in returned to the VEC safely and securely is critical to the integrity of the election.
“Voters can be assured the VEC is working closely with Australia Post to ensure every ballot pack reaches its destination. Australia Post and Victoria Police are investigating this incident.”
Fernandez said before the results had been declared, he twice asked for a recount. He then lodged a separate complaint to the Victorian Electoral Commission but was also denied.
“I understand that recounts can go either way, but I just think it was worth looking into because it was unprecedented to have something like that [missing votes] occur,” he said.
A City of Monash spokesperson issued the following statement to The Epoch Times.
“The Victorian Electoral Commission is the authority on electoral matters. I believe they’ve been in contact with Mr Fernandez about the issues he raises, and you’re best placed to contact them with any questions,” the statement said.
Conflict of Interest
Fernandez is also disappointed that no conflict of interest involving Lee was declared before the election, an issue he has been trying to bring attention to.Lee worked as a senior policy advisor in the economic division of the Victorian Department of Treasury and Finance before the election.
“She had to excuse herself from the chamber when they discussed state matters,” he said.
“It makes sense that she’s going to be conflicted, but I’ve been told that it’s within her rights, as long as she discloses it and excludes herself whenever there’s talk around those issues.
“But that’s like having someone with one arm tied around their back to represent the people.”
Fernandez said he is still hopeful of getting a City of Monash seat in the future, particularly after the recent appointment of Bev McArthur as the shadow minister for local government and scrutiny of government.
McArthur has pledged to make sure councillors represent their taxpayers.
“It’s good to know down the road that if there’s a change of government, she would be the minister responsible,” Fernandez said.
Fernandez added he took solace from the fact that he had secured the most votes on a two-party preferred basis.
This is why he is continuing to run his Voices for Monash campaign, with his ambition for this group to meet more local residents and create change.
But he has not yet decided whether to run in 2028.
“It’s not a case of what I stood for and my ideology not resonating with the people, but rather I tried to take a higher ground and an ethical stance which backfired by not having any runner or dummy candidate with me,” he said.
The Voices for Monash website states that it is committed to analysing all major decisions of Monash Council, as well as those making them, to ensure the community is aware of the decisions and conduct of its elected representatives.
