Anthony Albanese dodges major Australia Day question – after Peter Dutton promised huge overhaul
- Citizenship ceremonies used to take place on January 26
- Anthony Albanese removed the requirement in 2022
- But Peter Dutton has promised to reinstate the rule if elected
- The Albanians refused to be informed about the matter on Tuesday
- READ MORE: Generation war erupts on Australia Day
Anthony Albanese has refused to take inspiration from Peter Dutton’s pledge to force councils to hold Australia Day events on January 26.
The Prime Minister was pressed on the issue after the Opposition Leader announced on Monday he would make it mandatory for councils to hold citizenship ceremonies on Australia Day.
In late 2022, the Labor government scrapped a previous rule requiring councils to hold citizenship ceremonies on Australia Day.
It led to more than 80 councils deciding last year not to hold Australia Day ceremonies on January 26.
But Dutton has vowed to reintroduce the old rules if the coalition wins the federal election, which must be held before May.
Albanese was pressed on the issue on Tuesday but declined to comment on his rival’s high-profile effort.
“I will be attending the national Australia Day commemorations [in Canberra] as I have done every year I have been Labor leader,” Mr Albanese said.
“I hope Peter Dutton makes the choice to take part in the national Australia Day celebrations in Canberra this year. I did that as opposition leader.’
The Prime Minister was pressed on the issue after the Opposition Leader announced he would make it mandatory for councils to hold citizenship ceremonies on Australia Day
It led to more than 80 councils deciding last year not to hold Australia Day ceremonies on January 26
Finance Minister Katy Gallagher, who appeared at the press conference with Mr Albanese, was asked about the issue and also tried to highlight how Mr Dutton was often a no-show at the Australia Day ceremony in Canberra.
She claimed she was “not sure” if she had seen the opposition leader there in previous years.
But the Liberal Party leader rejected the criticism and laid the blame for the number of councils pulling out at the Labor government’s door.
“Part of the reason we’re in the mess at the moment with councils going in all directions is because the Prime Minister has dropped the requirement for councils to hold their citizenship ceremony on Australia Day,” Mr Dutton said.
“If the Prime Minister does not have the strength of leadership to stand up to mayors and others who do not want to celebrate Australia Day, then our country is in more trouble than we initially realized.”
Mr Dutton said Australians should recognize the good and the bad in their history and not be ashamed of their national holiday.
“There are millions of Australians who have made the migrant journey to our country, they have enriched this country, and for many of them, Australia Day is sacred because they became citizens on that day,” Dutton said.
“We have an incredible Indigenous history to celebrate, and we have an incredible migrant story to celebrate as well.”
But Mr Dutton (pictured) has vowed to restore the old rules if the coalition wins the federal election, which must be held before May.
Australia Day, celebrated every year on January 26, marks the landing of the First Fleet in 1788 when the first Governor of the British colony of New South Wales, Arthur Philip, hoisted the Union Jack at Sydney Cove.
But for many indigenous peoples it is considered ‘Invasion Day’ or the ‘Day of Mourning’.
A recent poll conducted by the right-wing Institute of Public Affairs (IPA) found that 69 percent of 1,002 respondents agreed that the national holiday should remain on January 26 – an increase of six points from 12 months ago .