City of Melbourne under fire for supporting ‘Invasion Day Dawn Service’ to be held on Australia Day

While the Australia Day Parade has been cancelled, several events, including an “Invasion Day” dawn ceremony, are going ahead.

Melbourne City Council has been criticised for supporting a controversial “Invasion Day Dawn Service” to be held on Australia Day.

While the official Australia Day Parade has been cancelled by the Andrews Government, Victoria Police has confirmed it is dealing with a number of other events and protests planned for January 26.

The city council will provide logistical and Covid-safety support for the Kings Domain dawn event, whose Indigenous organisers say will “recognise that colonisation and genocide are ongoing processes … and that Sovereignty over Country was never ceded”.

An Invasion Day march held in Melbourne.

The council will mark our national day with a citizenship ceremony and morning tea at Town Hall, but has given a nod to the “Dawn Service” as part of a reconciliation policy of “truth-telling” about the city’s Aboriginal history.

Lord Mayor Sally Capp said Australia Day meant different things to Melbourne’s diverse community.

“It is important to provide events that are respectful to these differences and provide people an opportunity to reflect on or celebrate what the day means to them,” she said.

But Dr Bella d’Abrera, from free market think tank the Institute of Public Affairs, accused the council of pandering to “a minority of noisy activists which tells us that we need to be ashamed of our country rather than celebrating its success”.

“While businesses in the City of Melbourne have been decimated as a result of the lockdowns, it is outrageous that Town Hall is focusing on divisive politically correct nonsense that won’t help one business recover,” she said.

This year’s Australia Day Parade in the CBD has been cancelled.

Elder of Melbourne’s Wurundjeri tribe and Australia Day supporter, Ian Hunter, said that most of the people attending Invasion Day events would have no ancestral links to local Indigenous groups.

“How dare they come here to express their political ideals, let them go back to their own countries to do it,” he said.

But Jill Gallagher, chief executive of the Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation, said Aboriginal people could not celebrate Australia Day on January 26 due to the loss of lives, languages and culture.

“The impacts of intergenerational trauma by stolen generations lives with us every single day – ongoing pain and hurt, racism and disadvantage …,” she said.

A Victoria Police spokeswoman said the force was aware of several events and protests planned for January 26, and was talking to organisers and councils to ensure there will be enough police to maintain public safety.

“There will be zero tolerance for any anti-social or criminal behaviour, and anyone looking to cause trouble can expect a firm response from police,” the spokeswoman said.

City of Melbourne will hold a citizenship ceremony on Australia Day. Picture: Nicole Garmston

A state government spokeswoman said to stay safe and open meant following the chief health officer’s rules.

“Now is not the time to be putting all our hard-earned gains at risk by gathering in a potentially unsafe way,” she said.

Big organised public gatherings must submit a plan to health authorities to show how the event will be COVIDSafe.

State Opposition frontbencher Tim Smith tweeted: “So let me get this straight, the Andrews Labor government cancels the Australia Day parade due to Covid, but the City Council/state government is facilitating an ‘invasion day’ event on the morning of Jan 26. What a ridiculous and pathetic double standard.”

A City of Melbourne spokeswoman said there was no formal council endorsement of the Invasion Day Dawn Service.

“However, in the interests of supporting the community and in managing public health and safety, the event will go ahead with logistical support from the City of Melbourne,” she said.

The spokeswoman said the council had no formal position on the date of Australia Day, but “how we mark January 26” will be decided later by the newly-elected council.

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