By Ethan Benedicto
More than 600 people were in attendance during the community-wide meeting at Berwick Springs/Guru Nanak Lake on the evening of Tuesday 19 November.
Organised by Berwick MP Brad Battin, South Eastern Metropolitan MP Ann-Marie Hermans and petition heads Michael Ball and Aldonio Ferreira, cheers and claps echoed throughout the streets as the people called for a repeal of the renaming.
The recent string of events has been mired with confusion, with residents adamant on having no clear and definitive answer if it truly is a naming or a renaming as originally stated.
Ball said that Berwick Springs is “standing up for all Victorians”.
“I think that’s what’s happening here tonight, people don’t realise that we are the precedent for all of Victoria, Daniel Andrews [basically] said in 2018 that they can change the name of your street.
“The government is putting out all these releases saying it’s not part of the Remember a local, Name a place campaign, but Ingrid Stitts on 9 November said that; Melbourne’s Water press release said that; City of Casey’s media release says that,” he said.
He is resolute that due process should have still been followed regarding the renaming of the lake, adding that the state is now trying to “backtrack” on their initial statement of renaming Berwick Springs Lake to Guru Nanak Lake.
A Victorian Government spokesperson previously confirmed that the naming of the lake “does not relate to the recently announced ‘Name a Place’ campaign”.
The campaign, which is delivered by Engage Victoria and Geographic Names Victoria aims to name 6000 new – not existing – places in the state in recognition of the people who have made significant contributions to the local community.
However, Ball, in his speech to the people, said that initial media releases from the State Government on 9 November, as well as email responses to him from Melbourne Water and the City of Casey, have stated the recent event as a ‘renaming’.
“Regardless of how they’ve done it, whether it’s through Engage Victoria or whatever, they still have to follow the same requirements, they still have to consult us, they still have to have an objections process, an appeals process,” Ball said.
“Tonight was about telling people how this happened, it’s calling people out who are responsible for not consulting us, it’s giving respect to the Sikh community who the people here have no issue with whatsoever.
“I feel on their behalf that this is a joyous occasion for them, they should be celebrating what’s happening, and yet the State Government’s created this division just because they didn’t follow their own process.”
In an email addressed to Ball by Narre Warren South MP Gary Maas, it was acknowledged that “the previous media releases and information calling it a ‘renaming’ has regrettably led to some confusion”.
Maas touched on Daniel Andrews’ promise in 2018 who made a public commitment to name a landmark in honour of Guru Nanak Dev ji in recognition of the significant contributions of the Sikh community.
It still stands, however, that Berwick Springs Lake is not a gazetted name with the Victorian Government and cannot be found on Geographic Names Victoria; this means that the lake had not been officially named before and thus took on the neighbouring estate’s title as an ‘interim name’ prior to recent events.
Maas further added that in 2022, the Multicultural Affairs portfolio consulted with the Bunurong Land Council who confirmed their support for this project, as well as other stakeholders such as the Victorian Multicultural Commission, City of Casey, Melbourne Water, Emergency Management Victoria and Geographic Names Victoria.
Various Sikh communities were also consulted, such as the Victorian Sikh Gurdwaras Council, Sikh Interfaith Council of Victoria, Siri Guru Nanak Darbar, Compassionate Hands Inc., Dream Harmony Seniors Club and Sikh Cultural Society of Victoria/Sri Guru Singh Sabha.
Maas also confirmed that the naming of the lake will not affect the Berwick Springs Estate.
Ball strongly reiterated on numerous occasions that the Sikh community nor Guru Nanak Dev Ji are the targets of this backlash, and this is a focus on the lack of consultation from the responsible authorities.
In the same speech, Ball criticised the other petition in support of the lake’s new name, which has since garnered 3480 signatures as of 20 November, claiming that its statement that it is not a ‘renaming’ is false, once more citing on what Ball referred to as the State’s decision to “backtrack” on their original statement.
At the same time, Ball actively called for the resignation of the Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Ingrid Stitt, which was met with loud, booming cheers and applause from the crowd.
“It is really disappointing and offensive for the multicultural minister, to discriminate and segregate the people in our community,” Ball said.
“I might be a simple man but multicultural affairs means to me multi-affairs, the Sikh community – with no offence to them and I make that very clear – represents a small per cent of the people here, what about the other community groups that live in our area?
“For that reason tonight, I publicly call for her resignation on behalf of the people of Victoria, not just Berwick Springs.”
According to the 2021 ABS census, Victoria is home to one of the largest Indian communities in Australia, with 371,901 Victorians with Indian ancestries.
As for the City of Casey, with 365,239 residents according to the same census, 44,967 of these people are of Indian ancestry; furthermore, with 25.1 per cent of the India-born population in Victoria identifying with Sikhism, applying that same number sees 11,290 Casey residents that are of Sikh faith.
Touching on attendance, while the numbers remain unclear, Aldonio Ferreira, who oversaw physical petition signatures, said that more than half of the crowd had put down their signatures.
Ferreira, who had lived in the area for over two decades, was in disbelief when the news of the new lake’s name first arrived.
“You know, I said, how is this even possible that this is happening?” he said.
“It was a sense of loss, that something had been taken out, something that’s part of the identity of Berwick Springs.
“This is the reason why I thought we had to do something, we had to stand up for our rights, and we had to stand up for democracy, which is really what it’s about, the people need to be heard.”
The local lake has seen widespread attention, gaining coverage from other news outlets, independent and established as well as international and local, to traction in online platforms such as TikTok.
While there had been no connection, invitation, or prior consultation with the organisers as well as the MPs, a number of men dressed in black shirts with crosses on them had also expressed their concern on the recent naming of the lake, with one of them adding that it sets a precedent for other places in Australia.
Also in attendance was Monique Davis, a resident who has lived in the Berwick Springs Estate for over 45 years, and whose parents purchased the original farm in 1972.
Her family’s original homestead still remains in the estate, a home which they moved into in 1979.
Touching on the history of the area, Davis spoke on the Greaves Family and their contributions to the area, from local farms, hunt clubs and activities, to a widespread equestrian community as well as market gardens.
“To me, the name Berwick Springs Lake acknowledges the history of the property and the entire use of the land,” Davis said.
“I think it’s important to keep our heritage and to carry it forward into new generations, I have photos of our original farm and growing up here on this land, history is important and I believe names should not be changed.
“This is not meant to disrespect the Sikh community, it is the legal process and the disregard of this place’s history that is being questioned.”
Brad Battin also addressed the crowd, initially apologising on behalf of Kowan Ward councillor Shane Taylor who had not been able to attend and praising the Sikh community for their contributions to Casey and Victoria as a whole.
“First and foremost the Sikh community do an amazing job, if anyone here is in the fire services, if you go out and volunteer on those campaign fires, the first truck to turn up is the Sikh truck with food to help you,” he said.
“They [Sikhs] have done it for a lifetime, however, when we are renaming government assets it is my personal view that we should not be renaming them after any religion, it is just divisive.
“I’m going to stand up for this one because I thoroughly believe that by naming this lake – or using the word ‘renaming’ – is factually incorrect, we want to acknowledge those communities that help out.”
Battin touched on the Rob Porter Recreation Reserve in Officer, how it was named after Rob Porter after his contributions of over 55 years to catering for the grounds, and how the naming process underwent community consultation of over three years.
Ball, who touched on the fact that he believes the name could be called “Little Baby Jesus Lake”, but it would not matter if they were not consulted and that he is not a local, is something that Battin echoed.
“I would be more than happy to have a Father Bob Lake who did so much in our community and name something after a genuine hero in our community,” Battin said.
“That’s what we should be doing, I am going to be calling on the government and say to them that they need to take a step back.
“I’m going to continue my discussions in my seat with the community as well and explain to them that the people in the audience here are not anti any religion, they’re not anti any faith, they’re not anti any person or background.
“This community has come forward because all they wanted to do was to be heard and we will make sure you are heard by starting a consultation period so that you can have a say.”
Ann-Marie Hermans spoke after Battin, admiring the crowd for their willingness to “take a stand”.
She touched on her locality in Casey, adding that the city had been her home, her partner’s and his family’s home for a long time and that she sees herself as a local and that local issues have a real impact on her.
“I’m not against the Sikhs. I’m not against any religion and I think that everything that’s been said today has to be echoed,” she said.
“Normally as Australians, we are very laid back and we’re happy to just get along, it doesn’t matter what your religion is, what your race is, to just get on with our lives and look after our families and make it a great nation.
“But right now when you have a situation like this, it becomes divisive and that’s not Australia, it is not the Australia that I raised my kids in and that’s not the Australia that I would want for anybody’s kids in the future.”
Hermans finished her speech by thanking the people for being present and letting their voices be heard, and while not naming names, also criticised local MPs for not being locals and, therefore, not having any true connection to the community.
The current petition on Change.org to repeal the decision sits on 6561 signatures as of 20 November, with more to come after physical signatures are finalised in the coming days.
