Campaign Letter No.8: Our Community Centre Must Be Decided By Us And Us Alone
CAMPAIGN LETTER No. 8
OUR COMMUNITY CENTRE MUST BE DECIDED BY US AND US ALONE
Dear Community Members,
At the General Assembly held on 6 June 2026, an incident occurred that left many attending members deeply concerned and prompted a number of them to ask us to speak out.
1. What happened at the Community General Meeting
A community member proposed that the Aboriginal flag be incorporated into the activities of our Community. We responded clearly that this is a sensitive matter, one that falls outside the unilateral authority of the Executive Committee. Should we be entrusted with another term and should community associations formally request it, as Consititution 2024, we would be prepared to convene a Special Community Meeting for all members to discuss and vote on the matter together.
Following that, the Team Representative of the Chung Sức team stood up and argued that this is Aboriginal land, and that under Australian law we are required to fly the Aboriginal flag at our Community Centre. What is particularly noteworthy is that the Team Representative is herself a local government councillor. She knows full well that passing any resolution requires a proper and transparent democratic process. Yet she put forward legally inaccurate arguments before the entire assembly, and we could not allow that to go uncorrected.
The truth is that no law in Australia, whether at the Federal or Victorian State level, requires a community organisation such as the Vietnamese Community in Australia – Victoria Chapter to fly the Aboriginal flag. According to the official guidelines of the Australian Federal Government, this is entirely a matter of free choice for each organisation. Even local councils fly the flag as a matter of their own voluntary policy, not because any law compels them to do so.
Throughout our response, the Chung Sức Team Representative repeatedly shook her head in disapproval in front of the entire assembly. We consider that to be an attitude inconsistent with the mutual respect that should characterise our community gatherings.
2. Our unwavering principle
The Executive Committee has always been consistent on this principle. When a community member previously proposed that a portrait of the late President Nguyễn Văn Thiệu be enshrined at the Centre, we did not make that decision unilaterally. We brought it to a Community General Meeting for members to deliberate and vote on together. Every significant matter must be decided by the community. That principle does not change regardless of where the proposal comes from.
3. Closing remarks
Dear Community Members, the Community Activity Centre is the property of the Vietnamese Community in Victoria. It is where the Yellow Flag with Three Red Stripes flies proudly and where generations of Vietnamese Australians come together to preserve their cultural identity. We are committed to ensuring that the Yellow Flag with Three Red Stripes remains our irreplaceable symbol and that the Centre remains the shared home of free Vietnamese people.
We ask you to consider this carefully. If the leader of the Chung Sức team was willing to put forward legally inaccurate information at a public General Meeting in order to argue for political changes at our Centre, what might happen if they were to take control of our Community for the next four years?
On Sunday 28 June 2026, we respectfully invite you to cast your vote for Team No. 1: the Xây Dựng và Phát Triển Team.
ENCOURAGE EACH OTHER TO VOTE. VOTE IN NUMBERS. VOTE WISELY. CHOOSE WELL.
Yours sincerely,
Nguyễn Quang Duy
Team Representative and incumbent President Free Vietnamese Community in Victoria Melbourne, Australia, June 2026
