Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has sidestepped questions about Peter Dutton's pledge to mandate Australia Day events on January 26th while the Opposition Leader insists on recognizing the national day despite ongoing controversy.
Anthony Albanese has sidestepped questions regarding Peter Dutton 's pledge to compel councils to organize Australia Day events on January 26th. Peter Dutton has declared his intention to reinstate regulations mandating Australia Day citizenship ceremonies to be held on January 26th. Anthony Albanese has chosen not to comment directly, stating only that he anticipates Mr. Dutton's presence at the national event in Canberra on Australia Day .
The prime minister has skillfully avoided addressing inquiries about Liberal leader Peter Dutton's commitment to force councils to hold Australia Day events on January 26th if he secures victory in the upcoming federal election. Mr. Dutton has intensified his longstanding cultural campaign following last year's call for a boycott of Woolworths due to its decision to refrain from stocking Australia Day merchandise, and last month's assertion that he would not stand beside the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags at press conferences if he became prime minister. With some councils moving away from official celebrations on January 26th, the opposition leader has pledged to require them to conduct citizenship ceremonies on Australia Day, arguing that the nation should not be 'ashamed' of its national day. Mr. Dutton emphasized that Australia should acknowledge both the positive and negative aspects of its history, rather than shying away from them. 'There are millions of Australians who have embarked on the migrant journey to our country; they have enriched this nation, and for many of them, Australia Day is sacred because they became citizens on that day,' Mr. Dutton stated. 'We have an extraordinary Indigenous history that we should celebrate, and we have an incredible migrant narrative that we should also celebrate.' The regulations governing ceremonies were amended in 2022 to permit councils to hold events on Australia Day or three days before or after, but Mr. Dutton seeks to revert this change.The date on which Australia Day is observed has become contentious because it marks the arrival of the British First Fleet to Australia and, for many Indigenous Australians, the commencement of generations of discrimination and dispossession. Thousands of people gather at Invasion Day rallies across the country, demonstrating support for Indigenous calls for a change or abolition of Australia Day. However, the government has attempted to avoid a 'culture war' as the federal election approaches, focusing the narrative on cost-of-living issues and the government's election commitments. When pressed again this morning about the issue, Mr. Albanese declined to take a stance, merely noting that his local council in Marrickville holds events on January 26th. 'I will be attending the national Australia Day commemorations as I have done every year in which I have been Labor leader,' Mr. Albanese stated. 'I hope that Peter Dutton this year makes a choice to join the national Australia Day celebrations in Canberra. That is what I did as the opposition leader.' Finance Minister Katy Gallagher echoed this sentiment when asked this morning, stating that she had attended the official ceremony in Canberra for years but was 'not sure' if she had ever seen Mr. Dutton there. Mr. Dutton asserted that the government is attempting to straddle both sides of the issue, and that such behavior is divisive. 'Part of the reason we have found ourselves in the predicament at the moment with councils running in every direction is because the prime minister removed the requirement for councils to hold their citizenship ceremony on Australia Day,' Mr. Dutton stated. 'If the prime minister doesn't possess the fortitude of leadership to stand up to mayors and others who are reluctant to celebrate Australia Day, then our country is in deeper trouble than we initially realized.' Mr. Dutton stated that he would not attend the national event in Canberra on January 26th and dismissed Mr. Albanese's suggestion. Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore, one of the most outspoken council members on this issue, stated that her council supports changing the date of Australia's national day. 'The date of a national celebration should not coincide with Invasion Day. The dispossession of Australia's First Peoples formally began with the proclamation of British sovereignty on 26 January 1788. That's why the 26th of January is so painful for so many – it is not a day of unity but of mourning, or survival,' Ms. Moore told the ABC. Australian Local Government Association head Matt Burnett stated that governments should adopt a practical approach to the occasion. 'We have to be pragmatic and welcome the flexibility to hold these ceremonies, as there are various reasons why some councils don't hold events on 26 January, including extreme heat, staff numbers, and costs,' he said. 'As the closest level of government to our communities, and most trusted, it's important we reflect and respond to the needs of our local areas.'
Australia Day Peter Dutton Anthony Albanese Citizenship Ceremonies Invasion Day Indigenous Australians Council Celebrations
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