Dan Andrews Slammed For Wanting To Change A Hospital’s Indigenous Name To Honour Queen Lizzie

First Nations peoples are slamming Victorian Premier Dan Andrews for an election promise he made that involves renaming Maroondah Hospital (which bears an Aboriginal name in the Woiwurrung language) to something that honours… Queen Elizabeth II.

There are multiple obvious reasons as to why this is an awful, abhorrent and frankly stupid decision on Andrews’ part. I mean surely he realised that naming a hospital after the leader of a racist, colonising nation and removing its current Aboriginal name is just insulting, right?

The rename was part of a $1 billion pledge Andrews made to improve the hospital “from the ground up.”

DjabWurrung Gunnai Gunditjmara woman and Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe slammed the decision on Twitter, saying that Andrews was attempting to “colonise us, again.”

Given the history of Queen Elizabeth II’s family and all the terrible things she represented, Thorpe is correct in saying that Andrews’ renaming decision is an act of colonisation.

Nira illim bulluk man and co-chair of the First Peoples’ Assembly Marcus Stewart also criticised Andrews’ proposed rename.

“With just a few words the government has turned the Maroondah hospital into a culturally unsafe place for our people,” he told The Guardian.

“This is a stark reminder of why treaty is so critical, it can put an end to the hurtful platitudes of the powerful.”

Jill Gallagher, Chief Executive of the Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (VACCHO), told The Age that the proposed rename was “deeply insulting”.

“Whilst we are surrounded by British culture in this country, Aboriginal culture and the Aboriginal way of life are almost invisible.

“Renaming the Maroondah Hospital will see yet another piece of our culture erased and replaced by the culture of the invaders.”

“The capital of Victoria is named after a British Prime Minister — it never ends.”

Andrews has defended his proposed decision claiming that because the hospital is getting a complete fix-up, it will be considered a “new hospital” worthy of a “new name”.

“We are going to get on and get this done and some may not agree with that, but they are the decisions we’ve made and the announcements we’ve made, and that’s what we’ll push on and get done.”

Quite the ridiculous hill to die on, Danny boy.

There is currently a petition to stop Dan Andrews from renaming Maroondah Hospital with over 7,000 signatures.

Image: Getty Images / Martin Ollman.