Australia Day citizenship ceremony limits relaxed by Albanese government

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says he won’t be moving Australia Day from January 26 after the government granted local councils the freedom to hold citizenship ceremonies on the three days either side.

Immigration Minister Andrew Giles on Friday said the “pragmatic” change meant citizenship ceremonies could take place from January 23 to 29, reversing a Morrison government policy that required councils to hold one on January 26 as part of their Australia Day celebrations.

“Invasion Day” protests are also held on Australia Day - the day on which local councils were previously compelled to hold their citizenship ceremonies. Credit: Chris Hopkins

The change comes days after Merri-bek City Council in inner-north Melbourne voted to follow the lead of the Yarra and Darebin councils by moving its Australia Day citizenship ceremonies away from January 26, which many Indigenous people consider a day of mourning.

“The Australian government has today announced an update to the Australian Citizenship Ceremonies Code, removing red tape to allow councils to hold Australia Day citizenship ceremonies on or around Australia’s national day, as a part of their Australia Day celebrations,” Giles said.

Albanese said Labor supported citizenship ceremonies being held on Australia Day but “the rules, the way that they were fashioned [by the previous government], meant that citizens who are not part of the decisions of when ceremonies would be were missing out on becoming Australian citizens”.

“We want people to become Australian citizens. And that is why we should not place red tape for ideological reasons in front of that opportunity.”

Opposition immigration and citizenship spokesman Dan Tehan criticised the move, claiming Labor had yielded to pressure from local councils.

“Make no mistake, this is Labor laying the groundwork to abolish January 26 as Australia Day despite Anthony Albanese promising during the election campaign that Labor had no plans to change the date of our national day,” Tehan said.

“It is a great shame that the Albanese government won’t stand up for Australia Day. We can celebrate the best of us on January 26, and honour the truly incredible richness of our history that spans 65,000 years.”

But Albanese dismissed Tehan’s claim, saying: “I support Australia Day, the government supports Australia Day. There are no changes here [to the date].”

Giles said it was still the government’s “strong expectation” that councils would conduct citizenship ceremonies on January 26, despite the policy change.

“Australia Day holds great significance to many people across Australia. Our national day provides all Australians with the opportunity to reflect, respect, and celebrate,” he said.

“The Australian government implores councils to have new citizens as their key focus, recognising that many community members want to complete their journey to Australian citizenship in connection with Australia Day.”

First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria co-chair Marcus Stewart thanked local councils for listening to Indigenous people.

“Celebrating January 26 just rubs salt into old wounds at a time we should be finding ways to bring everyone together,” he said.

“[Former prime minister] Scott Morrison tried to whip councils into line with his outdated world view by punishing councils that chose to take a stand in solidarity with First Peoples. So it’s good to see those punitive rules scrapped.”

The peak body for local councils, the Australian Local Government Association, also welcomed the move as a “common-sense decision”.

“Common sense has prevailed as Australia Day is an important recognition of our diverse origins and what it means to be Australian,” ALGA national president and City of Sydney councillor Linda Scott said.

Xana and Marvin Elliott and their daughter Zyla were among those who took part in this year’s Australia Day citizenship ceremony at Melbourne Town Hall. Credit: Scott McNaughton

“Hosting citizenship ceremonies is a great honour for councils, and it’s one we take very seriously.”

Merri-bek City Council earlier this week confirmed plans to shift its ceremony away from Australia Day despite Darebin and Yarra councils being stripped of their rights to hold citizenship ceremonies at any time of year in 2017 by then prime minister Malcolm Turnbull after pulling the plug on January 26 ceremonies.

In 2019, Morrison, then prime minister, went further and legally bound local councils to hold citizenship ceremonies on Australia Day.

Merri-bek mayor Angelica Panopoulos welcomed the federal government’s shift on Friday, saying the council would hold its next citizenship ceremony on January 24.

“We are grateful that the federal government will allow us, and all councils, to listen to our communities and make decisions that are right for us when scheduling citizenship ceremonies in January,” she said.

Giles also announced the reinstatement of Yarra and Darebin’s right to conduct citizenship ceremonies.

Yarra mayor Claudia Nguyen welcomed the decision, saying her council had advocated strongly since the new federal government was elected for the decision to be overturned.

“The decision by the former government to remove Yarra’s ability to hold citizenship ceremonies unfairly punished local residents,” she said.

A number of Victorian councils, including City of Melbourne, the City of Greater Geelong, Surf Coast Shire and Maribyrnong Council, have recently grappled with how to acknowledge Indigenous Australians on the controversial date.

City of Melbourne, Boroondara Council, Stonnington, the City of Greater Bendigo and South Gippsland Shire all told The Age on Friday their upcoming citizenship ceremonies would go ahead as planned on January 26.

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