Launceston councillor wants to change Batman Bridge name

Councillor Tim Walker has put forward a motion asking the council to acknowledge the name of the bridge is inappropriate, to write to the state government to request it begins a renaming process and to seek support from the West Tamar Council and George Town Council on the rename.

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The motion came after the GTC proposed an art sculpture and plaque to commemorate the Litarimirina people at the site last month, before an Indigenous leader said a name change should occur before this happened.

Cr Walker said historical records clearly showed Batman was directly responsible for the death of Tasmanian Aboriginal men, women and children.

"For this reason his name should not be used in any public nomenclature," Cr Walker said.

"Historical records also show John Batman was involved in significant colonial events.

"In removing John Batman's name from the bridge over the kanamaluka/Tamar River, we will not change or forget history, but we will contribute to reconciling the future."

Batman had a Victorian electorate named after him until recently. In 2018, it was renamed Cooper, in honour of Indigenous rights campaigner William Cooper.

Calls to rename the bridge resurfaced last year after a global push to tear down monuments of racist historical figures.

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Following its decision last month, the GTC has written to the CoL and WTC to request collaboration on the artwork and plaque.

The council's chief executive officer Michael Stretton said Cr Walker's motion was political.

"Given that the Batman Bridge is not located within the City of Launceston and is a state government owned asset, consideration of this motion is political in nature and there is no need for professional advice to be provided," he said.

He said the council received correspondence from the GTC and replied it would be discussed at a future workshop.

"A response would be provided once this workshop has been conducted or after a decision of council is made on the matter. We advised that this process may take some time to complete," Mr Stretton said.

The motion will be voted on by Launceston councillors at the council meeting on Thursday.

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