An Adelaide councillor has claimed she was “silenced” after opposing her council’s decision to fund a $5000 ‘Survival Day’ event on January 26, organized by the Ruby Hunter Foundation.

Councillor Rebecca Hewett, who plans to run for One Nation in the seat of Mayo in this year’s federal election, created a Facebook poll asking the community if they supported the funding. She said 85 per cent of the 1,200 respondents voted against it before the poll was deleted.

Some refer to January 26 as ‘Survival Day’ or ‘Invasion Day’ to acknowledge the survival of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and the impacts of colonization. The event is described as the only one of its kind in the Adelaide Hills this year.