High commissioner to snub Australia Day for a second time
Australia’s high commissioner to the UK, Stephen Smith, has signalled he won’t attend an annual Australia Day dinner a year after citing sensitivities around celebrating the day.
Australia’s high commissioner to Britain, Stephen Smith, has signalled to organisers that he will not attend an annual Australia Day gala dinner, a year after he cited sensitivities around celebrating the day.
Mr Smith, hand-picked by Anthony Albanese, has indicated he may not be in London for an annual gala dinner to celebrate Australia Day, sparking criticism from organisers and attendees that he was abandoning the national day.
The then-newly appointed high commissioner ignited uproar last year when he informed organisers he would not be opening the doors to the Exhibition Hall of the Australian high commission in London for the fundraising event.
The black-tie gala, run by the Australia Day Foundation, has been a fixture of the London social calendar for two decades, and has been attended by some of the nation’s most prominent business and industry leaders living in Britain.
The event has also attracted some of Australia’s greatest exports, including Kylie Minogue, Delta Goodrem, Natalie Imbruglia, Tim Minchin and band Human Nature, and showcased food cooked by celebrity chefs including Maggie Beer and Neil Perry.
The annual celebration of the Australian-Britain relationship will be held at the Peninsula Hotel in London on January 25 and will be attended by 400 ticketholders, with Mr Smith indicating to organisers last week he would not be among them.
Phil Aiken, who chaired the Australia Day Foundation for 13 years, said it was disappointing to hear Mr Smith would not attend the landmark social event.
“It’s great that the Australia Day dinner will happen again this year, albeit not at Australia House,” he said. “And it’s disappointing that I understand the high commissioner is unable to attend.”
Proceeds from the fundraising event go to supporting Australians studying in Britain.
This is the second year the event has been affected by controversy, after Mr Smith told organisers it would not be appropriate to hold the gala around January 26, which marks the First Fleet’s landing in Sydney in 1788.
The event is traditionally hosted on the closest Saturday to Australia Day, which has been dubbed Invasion Day by some Indigenous campaigners and become the subject of protests.
The Australian understands Mr Smith will attend a diplomatic reception marking Australia Day scheduled for January 23.
The high commissioner’s suggestion he will not make an appearance at the dinner two days later has been criticised by those involved in the event as disrespectful, considering the national day has not been officially changed from January 26.
Mr Smith, a former Labor cabinet minister in the Rudd-Gillard governments, has reportedly sought to eradicate pointless parties from the social calendar since assuming the role in January 2023.
The high commissioner cited concerns around cost as the reason he axed the charity dinner last year.
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