A local council in South Australia has reversed its decision to move Australia Day celebrations to January 26.
Councillors in the City of Unley, a small council area covering Adelaide’s affluent southern centre, voted 8-4 on Monday night to move the citizenship ceremony and Australia Day awards to January 26, after previously voting to move the events to the evening of January 25.
The reversal, proposed by Councilwoman Rebekah Rogers, followed a resident survey that found 60.6 percent of residents wanted the council to hold the ceremonies on Jan. 26.
“We cannot ask the opinion of our community and then not listen to the results,” Ms. Rogers said on Monday.
‘Tonight’s vote is about a consultation process.
‘The community wanted a say and we gave them that.’
Ms. Rogers introduced the previous motion to dismiss on January 26, which the council passed 7-5 in March 2023.
In her new motion, she asked the council to recognise that January 26 was a “divisive date” for many Australians, but that Unley should nevertheless hold its citizenship ceremony, Australia Day awards ceremony and community event on January 26 and allocate $20,000 for the 2025 celebrations.
An Adelaide council will continue to commemorate Australia Day after a shocking backflip. A patriotic Aussie is pictured celebrating the national holiday
The Australian Citizenship Ceremonies Code has been amended to allow councils to hold ceremonies on 26 January or within three days before or after the date. Pictured is a Dawn Reflection and Smoking Ceremony at Bondi Beach on Australia Day earlier this year
The vote sparked strong emotions among the public and council members.
Before the vote, Indigenous elder Major ‘Moogy’ Sumner AM spoke out against January 26 and urged councillors to maintain their original position.
“We can all enjoy another day,” he said.
“Why change it back? To rub salt in the wound? Or to say, ‘Well, we’re going to have it whether you like it or not.'”
On 26 January the British First Fleet arrived at Sydney Cove, a source of sadness for many Indigenous Australians.
“I don’t think anyone wants to celebrate the day that all the Jews in the prison camps died, on that day,” Uncle Moogy said.
‘That’s how we feel. We feel the pain inside ourselves.’
Tensions surrounding Australia Day ceremonies have been running high across the country since Prime Minister Anthony Albanese amended Australia’s Citizenship Ceremonies Act in 2022, allowing councils to hold ceremonies on January 26 or within three days before or after that date.
More than 60 percent of residents wanted Adelaide City Council (pictured) to allow the ceremonies to go ahead on January 26
Councillor Jennifer Bonham spoke out against the motion, saying January 26 was a day that could be compared to “celebrating the Holocaust”.
“A day that is essentially a celebration of the colonisation of Australia, rather than the resilience of First Nations,” she said.
Councilwoman Jane Russo said the survey data wasn’t detailed enough to truly understand the community’s feelings.
Councillor Don Palmer has slammed the federal government for putting local councils in the position of voting on controversial social issues.
“Take responsibility and don’t push it off on local government,” he said.
Unley Councillor Rebekah Rogers proposed pushing the change back to January 26 to reflect the wishes of the community
Ms Rogers, who said she personally opposed the January 26 date, argued that councillors “must not turn away from our community”.
“Otherwise they won’t do business with us, and they won’t trust us,” she said.
“We were elected to serve our community.”
With this vote, Unley becomes the first council to reverse a decision to change Australia Day.