Across the public and private sector it is considered a sign of respect to acknowledge traditional Aboriginal land owners at the start of a meeting or event, but one Liberal-dominated Sydney council has repeatedly refused to adopt the practice.
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The Hills Shire Council, in Sydney's north west, once again rejected a motion on Tuesday night to update its meeting code of practice to include an acknowledgement of the Darug people, the traditional owners of the area, as well as arranging an annual smoking ceremony for council chambers.
The motion, moved by three Labor councillors proposed the council begin each meeting's order of business with the words: "Council acknowledges that this meeting is being held on the traditional lands of the Darug people."
But the one-line statement, known as an "acknowledgment of country", was voted down by a block of seven Liberal councillors, despite requests from Darug elders to adopt the practice.
Darug elder Ros Fogg, who was among a group of locals which appealed to the council in June, said the outcome was "really disappointing".
"This is a really big issue of recognition," she said. "If we can't recognise there are still Darug people living on Darug country, that's a shame."
"Councillors should listen to the community and Darug elders in their request," Labor councillor Ryan Tracey told the meeting on Tuesday as he spoke in favour of the motion.
But the motion failed after two Liberal councillors - Mike Thomas and Peter Gangemi - mounted arguments that the practice was divisive, tokenistic, and grounded in political correctness.
Cr Thomas said he was "disappointed" the debate had been brought before council, and told the room an acknowledgement of country generated exclusivity.
"When you treat one group differently to others that's exclusive," he said, adding "It's never been clear to me how we can recognise people based on race and not be racist."
The Hills Shire Council was a "modern, progressive and sophisticated council," he said, which "treated all people equally."
The Hill Shire Council's resistance to adopting the practice has placed it at odds with its neighbouring councils, including Blacktown, Hornsby, Ku-Ring-Gai, Parramatta, Cumberland, Penrith, and Hawkesbury councils, all of which begin their meetings with an acknowledgement of country.
At the state level, NSW government protocol issued by the department of premier and cabinet lists an acknowledgement of country as a "minimum requirement" which "should be undertaken" at government events or ceremonies.
In August, the 45th federal parliament was officially opened with a traditional indigenous Welcome to Country and a smoking ceremony.
But Cr Gangemi dismissed the argument that the council was out-of-step with accepted practice, telling the room "we make our own decisions".
"For me personally, political correctness is something I'm wary of," he said.
An acknowledgement of country "can be a tokenistic gesture by non-indigenous Australians to make them feel better about indigenous Australians" and contained no practical benefits, he said, echoing the words of former prime minister Tony Abbott who dismissed the practice in 2010 as "out-of-place tokenism".
"The land belongs to all of us equally now. While efforts like this motion mean well, for me personally it enhances past divides and actually pushes people apart," Cr Gangemi said.
Ms Fogg disputed the claims of tokenism, saying it was up to the Darug people to determine its value.
"If we're asking for it, we clearly don't think it's tokenistic," she said.
The motion on Tuesday was comprehensively rejected after a division of the 11-member council saw seven Liberal councillors rise to defeat it, including mayor Yvonne Keane.
Liberal MP Mark Taylor, who serves on council while simultaneously serving as the local member for Seven Hills, was the only member of his party to support the motion. He joined Labor councillors Raymond Harty and Ryan Tracey as the only councillors who voted in favour.
Labor councillor Tony Hay, who co-signed the motion, was absent from the vote for medical reasons.
"It's simply an embarrassment," said Raymond Harty who, since he was elected to council in 2004, has been involved in four attempts to have the council adopt an acknowledgement to country.
"When we've got a mayor who said her priority was to preside over an inclusive and connected community and then votes against this motion, those are just hollow and empty words."
Fairfax Media attempted to contact Cr Gangemi, Cr Thomas and Cr Keane, none of whom responded to a request for comment.
