There is no specific policy on the renaming of the Cooks River.
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This is the message from Cooks River Alliance executive officer Dr Andrew Thomas following reports that the Alliance wanted to rename the river Goolay' yari - Aboriginal for Place of Pelican Dreaming.
"This is factually incorrect," Dr Thomas said. "There is no specific policy on renaming the Cooks River at this moment.
"It's not that we are for or against it. We just don't have a position on it yet because we have not engaged with the community officially," he said.
While there is no policy on the renaming of the river, there would be a renaming of the existing Cooks River Alliance as the Goolay'-yari Alliance.
This is one of nine goals set out in the Cooks River Alliance Aboriginal Community Partnership Strategy.
The Partnership Strategy was written by indigenous consultant, Professor Gregory Andrews of Lyrebird Dreaming in Canberra.
"We asked Gregory to come from Canberra and engage with the local Aboriginal community. He based the Cooks River Alliance Partnership Strategy on their feedback," Dr Thomas said.
The Partnership Strategy lists nine goals including establishing a joint river management committee with the Aboriginal community, revitalising the Wurridjal Festival of the river, and establishing an Aboriginal Boatshed and Cultural Hub.
One of these goals is the renaming of the Cooks River Alliance as the Goolay'yari Alliance.
This would reflect a commitment to acknowledging and celebrating the Aboriginal history, heritage, knowledge and significance of the river.
"Goolay'yari" is a name of cultural and historical importance, resonating deeply with many Traditional Custodians, local Aboriginal community members and the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council," the Partnership Strategy states.
"A rename would symbolise the Alliance's vision of a strong and collaborate partnership that genuinely values and promotes the Aboriginal heritage of the Cooks River and its people
"A consultation process led by an Aboriginal person is recommended to confirm and secure consensus on the rename of the alliance."
Dr Thomas said the Cooks River Alliance has given in-principle endorsement to the Partnership Strategy.
"We will implement that strategy over the next few years," Dr Thomas said.
"But we haven't identified the renaming of the river as a goal. We don't have a policy either way.
"There are a number of steps we have to go through before any renaming. The Alliance want to ensure that any renaming of the river is respectful of the Aboriginal community,
"There has been some misinformation spread in the media regarding changing the name of the Cooks River. The suggestion that the Cooks River Alliance or its members may soon have a position on the naming of the river is factually incorrect," he said.
