Palestinian flag to be lowered from city hall after fiery debate

A Palestinian flag flying above a council building in Melbourne’s north for more than two years will soon be lowered after months of debate on its future.

On Tuesday night, Darebin City Council voted on the municipality’s new flag policy, which includes no longer flying international flags unless required by legislation.

The Australian, Aboriginal, and Torres Strait Islander flags will continue to fly in council buildings and are not affected by the vote. However, the Palestinian flag flying above the council’s main chamber in Preston must be lowered within 10 working days, and will be marked with a “brief respectful ceremony”.

During debate on the matter on Tuesday evening, some people in the public gallery jeered and shouted, and were warned multiple times by Mayor Emily Dimitriadis to remain silent during debate.

The Palestinian flag was raised above Preston City Hall after being endorsed by councillors on December 18, 2023.

The decision to lower the flag comes after months of debate on its future. Following the Bondi terrorist attack, an urgent meeting was called in late December 2025, where chief executive Anne Howard asked councillors to take down the flag and replace it with a “peace flag” – in part due to complaints made to council staff from locals after the mass shooting.

A special council meeting was held in February to discuss the future of the flag, where councillors voted to delay a decision until adopting a formal flag policy in March. More than 500 submissions were received on the issue by mid-January.

In both meetings, councillors knocked back the “peace flag” suggestion.

The neighbouring Darebin Council’s policy was developed partly by examining international flag policies elsewhere in Victoria. Council documents show Greater Dandenong, Surf Coast Shire, Manningham and Yarra Ranges councils permit international flags to be flown during official visits of dignitaries or under other strict conditions.

In Greater Dandenong, international flags may also be flown as a show of support during a crisis, in the Yarra Ranges only to acknowledge a significant event, while in the Surf Coast foreign flags can also be displayed as directed by state or federal governments. In Manningham, only the flags of nations recognised by Australia can fly alongside the Australian flag.

Palestinian flags were previously raised at Darebin, Merri-bek, Dandenong and Maribyrnong councils in the early months of Israel’s war on Gaza.

Merri-bek’s flag was lowered until a ceasefire in 2025. However, last September councillors voted to fly it indefinitely outside the town hall in Coburg.