Australia Day divisive date debate: WA councils poll ratepayers on whether to keep or shun January 26

Perth councils are polling ratepayers on whether or not Australia Day celebrations should be held on January 26 as debate over the divisive dates rages on another year. Cottesloe and Subiaco councils — which both currently host citizenship ceremonies on the original date — are the latest to announce they’ll be consulting later this year whether to change the date. It comes after Rockingham and Wanneroo councils reverted their celebrations back to January 26 this year on the back of a resident survey. The City of Bayswater also snubbed the traditional date in March after its ratepayers were evenly split over the issue, announcing in March that a ceremony and citizen awards would be held the day after the public holiday. Subiaco Mayor David McMullen said the City had committed to “investigate” the preferred date with local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, as part of a Reconciliation Action Plan decision in April last year. “However, this does not suggest a particular outcome. It means our staff are looking into the matter,” Mr McMullen said. Vincent, Fremantle, Nedlands, Belmont, Mosman Park, Bassendean, Cambridge, Victoria Park, Peppermint Grove are also marking Australia Day on a different date. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese changed the rules for Australia Day ceremonies in 2022, permitting councils to hold them three days on either side of January 26. His leadership over the issue has been slammed as weak and divisive, with many stating he needed to make a clear call on the future of the celebration. Opposition leader Peter Dutton has stated Australians should “unashamedly” celebrate on January 26. After celebrating at a three-council combined event hosted by Mosman Park on January 27 in 2024, Cottesloe and Peppermint Grove have both gone their separate ways this year. The Town of Cottesloe changed back to a January 26 ceremony with no celebrations and the Shire of Peppermint Grove have boycotted Australia Day all together — opting to hold “Peppermint Grove Community Day” instead. Even the City of Fremantle — which had been the first in WA and the nation to change the date back in 2017 — will hold some form of an event across the Australia Day weekend. The city had hosted a “One Day” event after scrapping the traditional festivities but transitioned to a “year of truth telling” program throughout 2024. Mayor Hannah Fitzhardinge said this year the program would continue with a First Nations Film Festival to be held at Walyalup Fremantle Arts Centre across the Australia Day long weekend. It will include three feature length films, a short film, and Q&As with one of Australia’s top filmmakers, Tom Murray, who specialises in truth-telling documentaries. There will also be a special First Nations edition of the Art Centre’s regular Sunday Music program that weekend. While it’s held on January 26, City of Stirling’s Australia Day citizenship ceremony and awards are invited only. WA Local Government association president Karen Chappel said the State’s 139 councils marked Australia Day as varied and diverse as the people they represent. “Individual Councils are best placed to respond to the unique characteristics and sentiments of each of their communities on any number of activities, including how they wish to mark Australia Day,” she said. Australian Day is scratched from at least a dozen local government calendars, with no promotional posts on social media channels. And several councils who have publicised events, have changed the name to drop “Australia Day” or appear careful in their language when advertising. The City of Greater Geraldton said they would hold “respectful and inclusive Australia Day events”, while the City of Cockburn referred to their main event as the “Coogee Beach Festival”. Cambridge council have called their event “Celebrate Summer Festival” and will host it a week earlier on January 19, while Bassendean will host a “Basso Summer BBQ” with citizenship ceremony on the evening of January 25. Mayor Kathryn Hamilton said she hoped the Federal Government would make a decision on a harmonious date rather that leaving councils to pick up the pieces. In January this year, the Shire of Manjimup was among councils to call for guidance on hosting the day. They had voted to move its Citizen of the Year Award to a different date, but still had Australia Day celebrations on January 26. City of Perth will have a sky-show, family festival and their citizenship ceremony on January 26. upermarket giant Woolworths has also had a backdown of sorts after sparking controversy last year by axing the sale of themed merchandise. The move sparked backlash, with even Opposition Leader Peter Dutton calling for Australians to boycott it last year. The major retailer now says stores and Big W would now mark Australia Day — with customers able to buy themed products on the Big W website but not in store. CQUniversity historian Dr Benjamin Jones said there was a greater sense of awareness to Indigenous sensitivities around the date. “There won’t ultimately be any resolution between people who have fundamentally different concepts of January 26,” he said. January 26 marks the date the British flag was planted in Port Jackson, or what is now modern Sydney, in 1788, setting in train the development and foundation of modern Australia. ANU historian Professor Angela Woollacott said the now annual blast of controversy around the day had developed alongside a “growing awareness” of the country’s disputed history. “I’m old enough to remember when Australia wasn’t controversial,” she told NewsWire. “I think it has become controversial in the last couple of decades because of growing awareness around the suffering of Indigenous people and the symbolism of calling it Invasion Day, having that date stand for everything that British settlement or invasion of Australia represents.”