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Qld councils under fire over Australia Day move

Councils that won’t hold citizenship ceremonies on Australia Day have dismissed widespread backlash, insisting the decision was unrelated to growing hostility towards January 26. SEE WHICH COUNCILS

‘Spineless’: Councils cancelling Australia Day ceremonies doing Albanese’s ‘dirty work’

Queensland councils that won’t hold citizenship ceremonies on Australia Day have dismissed widespread backlash, insisting the decision was unrelated to growing hostility towards January 26 and its significance for Indigenous Australians.

The Saturday Courier-Mail reported more than 80 local governments across the country will move the date of the traditional ceremonies.

These included eight in Queensland – Bundaberg, Cassowary, Charters Towers, Gladstone, Ipswich, Isaac, Rockhampton, and Toowoomba councils.

Burdekin Shire Council and Whitsunday Regional Council were also originally on the list, but both have since clarified they will still hold citizenship ceremonies on Australia Day.

The shift away from January 26 prompted federal opposition immigration spokesman Dan Tehan to accuse the Albanese government of “laying the groundwork” for the national day’s abolition.

Mr Tehan attributed this to the Albanese government’s decision in December 2022 to revoke a rule that effectively forced local councils to hold citizenship ceremonies on January 26.

However, Bundaberg, Rockhampton, Toowoomba, and Gladstone councils said on Saturday they had simply moved the ceremonies to the day before Australia Day for logistic reasons and dismissed assertions the decision was related to controversy surrounding the date.

Bundaberg councillor Greg Barnes said the revelation the region had moved the date prompted fury among locals, with nine residents voicing their opposition to the move at a public appearance on Saturday morning.

Mr Barnes said he got “absolutely hammered” by residents about the issue, and insisted the ceremony will be held the day before January 26 to allow all councillors to attend the event.

He said he was supportive of the national celebration, declaring: “Australia Day to me is Australia Day”.

Rockhampton Mayor Tony Williams said his council also planned to hold the ceremony the evening before to avoid severe heat at outdoor events, citing an instance at last year’s Australia Day where an attendee suffered heat stroke.

He also insisted the decision was unrelated to Indigenous insensitivity, saying “that wasn’t part of the thinking”.

“It was just around the heat and consideration of the elderly people sitting in the crowd,” Mr Williams said.

Toowoomba mayor Geoff McDonald said due to the size of his council’s jurisdiction and the many local towns who previously held their own citizenship ceremonies on Australia Day, he and other councillors had struggled to attend all of the ceremonies they needed to.

Mr McDonald said the decision to instead hold one big citizenship ceremony on the afternoon or evening of January 25 was simply about “practicality”.

He said Indigenous concerns around January 26 were not a factor, but added that neither the community nor the council’s Indigenous advisory committee had raised it as an issue.

Gladstone Mayor Matt Burnett said the region has held the citizenship ceremony on Australia Day eve for at least a quarter of a century.

“We didn’t move it — we’ve always had it on the night before,” he said.

“Our citizenship ceremony is held in conjunction with our Australia Day Awards, so we have all our award recipients get their awards on the same night as the citizenship ceremony.

“It’s magnificent – it’s a celebration of people who have made the community what it is, and the new people who decided to make the community their home.”

Ipswich Mayor Teresa Harding said her council will hold an Australia Day Citizenship Ceremony on January 23.

“Holding our citizenship ceremony on 23 January recognises the importance of Australia Day while allowing room for a broad range of official and community events to be held over the Australia Day long weekend,” she said.

However, Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner is unphased by the other 10 councils, saying Brisbane City Council will continue to hold an Australia Day citizenship ceremony and there are no plans to end the longstanding tradition.

“As a young man, my father came here as a German migrant and he became an Australian citizen in Brisbane City Hall,” he said.

“Given my own family’s migrant story, it’s a huge privilege to welcome the newest citizens into the Australian family on our national day.”

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Original URL: https://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/qld-politics/qld-councils-under-fire-over-australia-day-move/news-story/879cc113d9e015027a73a9e34d6023db