The Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations (AFUO) condemns Town of Port Hedland Councillor Adrian McRae for his sickening support of Vladimir Putin and calls on the Town’s council to sanction him for his behaviour
“Adrian McRae has shown a shocking lack of judgment by offering his support for Putin’s recent sham election,” said Stefan Romaniw OAM, co-chair of the AFUO.
“It is farcical to stand in a local council election and then not be around for your swearing-in because you’re over in Russia talking about their ‘transparent’ election processes and congratulating the dictator Putin on his ‘comprehensive’ victory,” said Mr Romaniw.
“Putin’s Russia is no democracy. Opposition figures are murdered, jailed, forced abroad or barred from running; the independent media has been quashed; voter fraud, manipulation and intimidation are standard practices.
“We’re lucky in Australia to have a participatory democracy which runs free and fair elections at local, state and federal levels year in, year out. Cr McRae has benefited directly from those processes, but seems not to grasp that the same cannot be said of Russia. That is indefensible for someone who is now an elected representative,” said Mr Romaniw.
“The reaction to Cr McRae’s comments of Western Australia’s Premier Roger Cook and former Port Hedland shire president Arnold Carter tell you all you need to know: McRae’s views are completely out of step with those in his community and he is unfit to be their representative,” said Mr Romaniw.
“Cr McRae’s actions and comments are a complete betrayal of the trust his community has placed in him when electing him to serve on the Town of Port Hedland council,” said Mr Romaniw.
“The AFUO calls on Cr McRae to resign and will be writing to the City of Port Hedland to urge that he be formally sanctioned for his behaviour,” concluded Mr Romaniw.
Sign our petition https://www.change.org/p/shame-councillor-adrian-mcrae-for-supporting-putin-and-his-sham-elections to:
- Call for Cr Adrian McRae to resign. His actions and comments supporting a brutal, undemocratic regime have raised serious concerns regarding public trust and confidence in his ability to act with integrity, as required by the Town of Port Hedland Code of Conduct.
- Urge the Town of Port Hedland Council to denounce Cr McRae’s statements and actions, which have seriously compromised the reputation of the Council.
