EXCLUSIVE
More than 150 councils across the country will not be holding citizenship ceremonies on Australia Day this year, as the Coalition calls for an end to the division over January 26.
Staggering new figures, unearthed by a Daily Mail Australia audit of the country’s 500-plus councils, underline how the public holiday has become increasingly politicised under Labor.
In late 2022, the Albanese administration scrapped a previous rule which mandated that councils held citizenship ceremonies on Australia Day.
At the time, Mr Albanese insisted there were ‘no changes here’. But it led to over 80 councils last year deciding to scrap citizenship ceremonies on January 26, up from just four a year earlier.
Now, this publication can reveal that at least 154 councils are not welcoming any new citizens on 26 January.
The number is likely to be far higher, given just under two-thirds of Australia’s 537 local councils responded to our questions.
Many of those councils surveyed revealed that was just one of the measures they were taking to make January 26 feel more inclusive, with some lowering flags to half-mast that day, and others holding healing ceremonies for their new citizens.
Opposition deputy leader Sussan Ley – who led a petition to force her local Albury Council on the NSW/Victoria border to restore citizenship ceremonies on Australia Day – promised that the Coalition would reinstate the old rule for councils if elected.
Daily Mail Australia can reveal that at least 154 councils are not welcoming new citizens on 26 January (pictured: Australia Day celebrations on Bondi Beach in 2022)
Deputy Leader of the Opposition, Sussan Ley (pictured) told this publication that she was ‘proud to be an Australian and I am proud of our national day’, promising that the Liberal Party would reinstate the old rule forcing councils to hold citizenship ceremonies on the 26th if elected
‘It is time to end the division on Australia Day and it is time for Councils to get back in their lane,’ she said.
‘An elected Coalition government will reinstate the requirement for councils to hold citizenship ceremonies on Australia Day, this will be done in the first 100 days.
‘It will be a sign of pride and nationalism in our country – a move for Australia and Australians to be united, not divided; to stand up for what we believe in.’
But that is not a view shared by a vast number of councils across the country, with many instead opting to hold their citizenship ceremonies on Friday 24 or Wednesday 29 January.
Australia Day, observed each year on January 26, marks the landing of the First Fleet in 1788 when the first governor of the British colony of New South Wales, Arthur Phillip, hoisted the Union Jack at Sydney Cove.
But, for many Indigenous people and younger Australians, it is regarded as ‘Invasion Day’ or the ‘Day of Mourning’, with protests being held in every major city each year.
In late 2022, the Albanese government scrapped a previous rule which mandated that councils held citizenship ceremonies on Australia Day. At the time, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (pictured) insisted there were ‘no changes here’
But it led to over 80 councils last year deciding to scrap citizenship ceremonies on January 26, up from just four a year earlier. Now, this publication can reveal that at least 154 councils are not welcoming new citizens on 26 January
City of Sydney Council Lord Mayor Clover Moore said she ‘strongly supports’ calls for the date of Australia Day to be changed, as she said Anthony Albanese’s rule change had allowed her to move the city’s citizenship ceremonies.
‘The date of a national celebration should not be on Invasion Day,’ she said.
‘The dispossession of Australia’s First Peoples began with the arrival of the First Fleet on 26 January 1788.
‘That’s why the 26th of January is so painful for so many – it is not a day of unity but of mourning, or survival.
‘Advocating for a change of date won’t resolve the devastating and far-reaching impacts of colonisation, but it does provide a platform for an ongoing and honest conversation.’
Instead, the City of Sydney council supports the Yabun Festival, ‘a day-long community celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, held at Victoria Park on 26 January’.
In WA, the City of Fremantle council is holding its citizenship ceremonies on 23 January because it is ‘more inclusive’.
Australia Day, observed each year on January 26, marks the landing of the First Fleet in 1788 when the first governor of the British colony of New South Wales, Arthur Phillip, hoisted the Union Jack at Sydney Cove (pictured: an ‘Invasion Day’ rally in Sydney last year)
But, for many Indigenous people, it is regarded as ‘Invasion Day’ or the ‘Day of Mourning’ (pictured: an ‘Invasion Day’ rally in Brisbane last year)
The council will not put on any large events on the 26 but instead invites citizens to ‘attend a film festival across that weekend, showcasing First Nations stories, as part of our ongoing Truth Telling program and commitment to reconciliation’.
In Tasmania, Glenorchy City Council is committed to its ‘Reconciliation Action Plan’.
‘A demonstration of this commitment was to remove the division caused by calling January 26 Australia Day as we work towards a brighter and more inclusive future for all our citizens,’ a council spokesperson said.
‘This has included holding our January citizenship ceremonies on an alternative day, which this year will be 29 January.’
The City of Prospect Council in inner-city Adelaide has refused to hold a major community event or celebration on January 26 for more than 15 years.
‘Prior to 2019, when the Australian Government mandated that councils hold citizenship ceremonies on January 26, we also did not hold our January citizenship ceremonies on this date,’ a council spokesperson said.
The shocking new figures, unearthed by a Daily Mail Australia audit of the country’s 500-plus councils, underlines how the national day of celebration has become increasingly politicised under Labor (pictured: Australia Day revellers on Cronulla Beach in 2022)
Meanwhile, several councils in Victoria will solemnly fly their flags at half-mast on Australia Day as a mark of ‘respect for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’.
Others, such as Moonee Valley Council and City of Stonnington Council, are holding ‘healing ceremonies’ after welcoming their new citizens.
Maribyrnong Council, in Melbourne’s ultra-trendy inner-west, acknowledges that it is a ‘day of mourning for many First Nations people’.
‘Council has also written to the Prime Minister and other ministers advocating to potentially change the date and include more First Nations information in Citizenship tests,’ the council website states.
Surf Coast Shire Council in Torquay, 100km south west of Melbourne’s CBD, will hold a ‘truth-telling’ event at sunrise on January 26, which will begin with a ‘Welcome to Country and Smoking Ceremony from Wadawurrung Traditional Owners’.
The council’s citizenship ceremonies will be held on 23 January.
Toowoomba Regional Council mayor Geoff McDonald said his council ‘would comply with a future request to stage citizenship ceremonies on January 26’ but said it was more practicable to hold them on the 24th this year.
Pictured: revellers soak up the sun in North Bondi on the national day of celebration
‘With around 100 candidates to be presented with their Australian citizenship certificates this year, it is far easier to hold the ceremony ahead of Australia Day,’ he added.
‘This allows our new citizens to attend January 26 functions as Australian citizens.’
Many mayors and council leaders were defiant in the face of pressure to change the date for citizenship ceremonies.
‘Australia is the best country in the world to live which is why so many people want to call it home,’ Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said.
‘I think it’s right that Australians continue to celebrate the freedom and opportunities they enjoy on our country’s national day.
‘Welcoming new citizens on Australia Day is a tradition we’ve long held in Brisbane and it’s something our Council intends to continue.’
Many councils are hosting family friendly events on 26 January 26, from raft races, air balloon displays, fun runs, fireworks and face painting to pool parties, inflatable mazes and movie nights.
Port Pirie Regional Council in South Australia is even holding a watermelon eating contest.
Many councils across Ausralia are hosting family friendly events on the 26 January, including raft races, fun runs, fireworks, face painting, pool parties, inflatable mazes, and movie nights
Camden Council in Sydney’s south-west is holding its annual parade where free Australian flags will be handed out, while City of Darwin will go big to mark the national day.
‘City of Darwin will hold an Australia Day ceremony on Sunday 26 January 2025 which will include a Welcome to Country, traditional cultural dance, didgeridoo performance and smoking ceremony, Flag Raising and Citizenship Ceremony and free pool entry for the community to attend the three local pools,’ a spokesperson said.
‘There will also be a 21 Gun Salute and a fighter jet flypast happening on the day.’
A total of 264 councils said they would hold some form of event on January 26, even if it was just a tea morning.
Alice Springs Town Council in the Northern Territory will confer citizenship on 70 residents on 26 January, while the City of Moreton Bay in Brisbane’s north will welcome 451 new citizens.
Meanwhile, a family of four from South Africa will become Australian citizens in the City of Port Lincoln on the southern tip of the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia on Australia Day
Several councils were not holding citizenship ceremonies on the January 26 because they had no new citizens to welcome.
Balonne Shire mayor Samantha O’Toole said her in south-west Queensland council ‘supports holding citizenship ceremonies and celebrating Australia Day on January 26’.
‘This Australia Day we will be holding an event to honour our Balonne Australian of the Year Award recipients,’ she added.
‘However we currently have no conferees awaiting a citizenship ceremony within the Shire.’
Many councils are opting instead to hold citizen of the year Awards, while others will put on breakfasts, picnics and barbecues.
A recent poll, conducted by the right-wing Institute of Public Affairs (IPA), found that 69 per cent of 1,002 respondents agreed that the national public holiday should remain on January 26 – a six point increase from 12 months ago.
