A regional NSW council voted to remove the Aboriginal flag to promote ‘unity’ – it did the opposite

Senior Bangerang custodian Kevin Atkinson says a recent council decision against flying the Aboriginal flag is removing Indigenous history from view. Photograph: Otis Filley/The Guardian

Kevin Atkinson knows his history, which is rooted deep in the red gums that line the Murray River. But he says a recent decision by a local council against flying the Aboriginal flag is removing that history from view.

“If they want [Aboriginal] people to respect them and their history, they gotta do the same to us,” the Bangerang elder says. “That’s the way that you move forward together, instead of two different groups going in two different directions.”