A West Australian shire has voted to retain a plaque dedicated to disgraced entertainer Rolf Harris.

Tributes to Harris have been pulled down around the world since the entertainer and convicted sex offender was sentenced to more than five years in jail for indecently assaulting four girls in the UK between 1968 and 1986.

But the Shire of Wyndham-East Kimberley has gone against the tide.

At last night's council meeting, a motion to take down the Harris plaque was voted down five votes to four.

But the vote has been complicated by the theft of the metal commemorative plaque from its stand in a Kununurra park several days ago.

It is now unclear whether, having decided to retain the Harris commemorative piece, the Shire will now have to pay to replace it.

Shire of Wyndham-East Kimberley councillor Keith Wright, who put forward the motion, said he was disappointed by the decision and hoped a fresh vote can be held before the shire has to foot a bill to replace the plaque.

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"Some of the councillors argued you can't change history, and cited the example of Ned Kelly being revered as a national hero, and the fact his background and record was questionable," Mr Wright said.

"But I argued that you can't compare standards of a hundred years ago to the standards that we now adopt and are proud of in society today."

He said he hoped the council could resolve to permanently remove the plaque in order to save the shire and the community the expense of replacing it.

But Shire President John Moulden, who voted against the plaques being removed, said there was an open and public discussion of the matter before the vote, and council's decision should be respected.

"I can see on social media there's a bit of disquiet about it this morning, and I really do understand where people come from on this," he said.

"But I'd point out that local government and council in particular is democracy at work in almost its purest form."

He said the decision had yet to be made on whether the Harris plaque would be replaced.

The council also decided to keep plaques commemorating disgraced former WA premier Brian Burke, and retired Anglican archbishop and governor-general Peter Hollingworth, who admitted not having done enough to prevent child abuse.

This is the second plaque dedicated to Harris stolen in WA, after a similar commemorative plate in Harris's home suburb of Bassendean, in Perth, was stolen earlier this month.

The Town of Bassendean had voted to remove the plaque, which was vandalised, and place it in storage indefinitely.

But before they could do so, the plaque was taken.

The council also voted to strip Harris of all honours and remove his art from display following his conviction.

The City of Perth also voted to remove a commemorative plaque in Perth's CBD earlier this month, while the City of Geraldton decided not to display Harris's art works.