Councils warned on Oz Day

Threat to pull power to host ceremony

TASMANIAN Councils that have supported changing the date of Australia Day risk being stripped of their power to hold citizenship ceremonies under a hardline move by the Turnbull Government.

Assistant Minister for Immigration and Border Protection Alex Hawke will today formally write to all 547 councils across Australia to warn them if they test the Government with “politically motivated public attacks on Australia Day” they will be punished.

It comes as a growing number of councils, including Hobart and Launceston, have discussed moving Australia Day citizenship ceremonies to another day, citing concerns of the indigenous community.

Kingborough Council’s Australia Day Awards have been renamed and moved to January 6 while Flinders Island Council holds a Furneaux

Islands Festival across three days near Australia Day.

A Hobart City Council motion to consider lobbying the Federal Government to change the date of Australia Day was defeated at the recent Local Government Association of Tasmania general meeting by just one vote.

This was despite the Australian Local Government Association national general meeting last month passing the motion by two votes.

After the motion’s defeat Hobart Lord Mayor Sue Hickey launched a broadside at naysayers — describing those who disagreed as “pale, male and stale”.

She said those who voted against the motion did not reflect the community’s attitude towards changing the date.

“There is growing acknowledgment that January 26 is not a day of celebration for all Australians,” she said.

“Every year there are public rallies, with people protesting against the current legislated date for Australia Day because Aboriginal people view it as invasion day.”

Mr Hawke said the Commonwealth could strip the rights of councils to hold popular citizenship ceremonies.

The ceremonies could be done by neighbouring councils or facilitated by the Immigration Department, he said.

“The Australian Government will not allow councils to politicise and delegitimise citizenship ceremonies in a public attack on Australia Day being held on January 26,’’ Mr Hawke said.

“If councils want to ... fight an ideological war against Australia Day instead of ... delivering value for ratepayers, that is their business but they must leave Australian citizenship ceremonies out of it.”

Mr Hawke’s letter will remind councils of their duties under the Australian Citizenship Ceremonies Code.

“The Government views the recent public actions of Greens-dominated councils, using their ability to host Australian citizenship ceremonies to lobby against Australia Day on January 26 as a breach of the code.

“A small number of councils have waged a co-ordinated attack on Australia Day, and are doing so through the institution of Australian citizenship. The Government is committed to ensuring that citizenship is treated in the ‘non-commercial, apolitical, bipartisan and secular manner’ which our regulations mandate.

“A citizenship ceremony must not be used as a forum to protest the practice of celebrating Australia Day on January 26. This includes arranging a citizenship ceremony to align with an ‘anti or alternate Australia Day celebration’.

“Local councils are now on notice that if they politicise Australian citizenship, the Government will see it as a breach of the code and take the appropriate action.”