Another Melbourne Council Is Set To Vote On Whether To #ChangeTheDate Of Australia Day
#ChangeTheDate
Another Melbourne council will vote on whether or not to hold citizenship ceremonies on Australia Day, as the #ChangeTheDate campaign continues to gather momentum.
The City of Darebin council, which covers suburbs in Melbourne’s north including Northcote, Coburg, Preston and Reservoir, will meet on Monday to consider moving its Australia Day citizenship ceremonies to January 25. The council will also vote on whether its annual Australia Day Awards should be renamed the Darebin Community Awards.
“Australia Day, and its history, is complex for many Australians, in particular Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people,” reads a report on the City of Darebin website. “Darebin has a strong tradition of affirming a proud history of respect and recognition of all of its citizens, particularly our First Nations people.”
Darebin Mayor and Greens councillor Kim Le Cerf has previously spoken out in favour of changing the date of the national holiday. In a speech on January 26 this year, she called the date “a symbol of the unfinished business we have with our First Australians in this country”.
The debate around Australia Day continues to gather steam at the local government level. Last year the City of Fremantle in Perth voted to cancel its January 26 fireworks, while on Tuesday the City of Yarra in Melbourne voted to stop referring to the date as Australia Day altogether. In both instances, the federal government intervened by revoking the councils’ authority to hold citizenship ceremonies.
This week in parliament, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull slammed Yarra council’s decision as “utterly out of step with Australian values”.
Turnbull, Australia Day is not what makes this Nation great. It represents exclusion & oppression in a modern era
— Rhianna Patrick (@IndigenousX) August 15, 2017
Having Australia Day on the 26th of January doesn’t “offend” me as an Aboriginal person.
It excludes me as an Australian.
— Nakkiah Lui (@nakkiahlui) August 16, 2017
But despite Turnbull’s assertions, it would appear as though more and more Australians are getting behind the idea of changing the date. Tens of thousands of people turned out for Invasion Day rallies this year, while triple j is considering moving the date of the Hottest 100 countdown.