Australia Day 2022: Monash, Whitehorse Councils cancels activities due to Covid surge

Two major Chinese New Year festivals in Melbourne’s east have been put off due to Covid-19, not long after the local councils also canned their Australia Day activities.

Lion dancers at Box Hill's Chinese New Year Festival in 2019. Picture: Hamish Blair

Two of Melbourne’s biggest Chinese New Year celebrations have joined the growing list of events scrapped due to surging Covid-19 cases.

The Whitehorse Asian Business Association has postponed its annual Lunar New Year festival in Box Hill, planned for February 13.

According to festival organisers, it is the biggest annual event in Whitehorse and attracted 150,000 people when it was last held in 2019.

In a statement on its website, the association said it would look to stage another celebration later in the year.

“Rescheduling the event will enable us to provide the experience that our sponsors, stakeholders, guests as well as the general public expect and deserve, all in a safe environment,” the association wrote.

Box Hill’s Chinese New Year festival has been put off again due to the rise in Covid-19 cases. File picture.

Monash Council cancelled its Australia Day activities due to the Covid-19 situation last week.

The Monash Chinese Events committee has also cancelled its annual lantern festival and activities planned in Glen Waverley on the same day.

The announcements come after both local councils pulled the pin on their Australia Day activities for similar reasons late last week.

Monash Council scrapped a planned community barbecue and entertainment program and decided to move an in-person citizenship ceremony at its library in Glen Waverley for 50 new Australians online.

Mayor Stuart James said the council had no choice but to cancel its activities due to an expected peak in Covid-19 cases in the coming weeks and staff shortages across the organisation.

“We are incredibly disappointed that we won’t be able to come together to celebrate Australia Day for the second year in a row, but the health and safety of our community is paramount,” Cr James said.

“The growing number of Covid-19 cases is impacting on many services and events statewide, and we are also feeling these impacts in Monash.”

Cr James said making changes to the citizenship ceremony was also regrettable as the council realised it was “a very special day for people who are set to become new citizens”.

Whitehorse Council has also cancelled its Australia Day concert at Nunawading’s Tunstall Park and will move its awards ceremony online.

Last week, the state government cancelled Melbourne’s annual Australia Day parade in the CBD, but not specifically due to Covid-19.

The government has denied the cancellation was also due to a growing movement to abandon the national day due to cultural sensitivities.

Councils including Yarra, Darebin and Moreland have stopped celebrating Australia Day in recent years.

Fellow inner city councils Stonnington and Port Phillip plan to only host indigenous themed “mourning” and “healing” ceremonies, along with citizenship ceremonies, in a Covid-safe manner next week.