City makes its call on January 26 events

That process was taken a step further at its meeting on Tuesday, September 19 when councillors voted to cease hosting and supporting Australia Day activities on January 26 from 2024.

They also voted to provide opportunities for communities to acknowledge Australia Day on alternative dates in late January and to continue to lobby the government to change the date of Australia Day.

“This particular day is extremely sensitive for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with regards to the awful clashes that occurred,” Cr Greg James, a proud Yorta Yorta man, said.

“Consequently, this now is known by our people as Invasion Day, or a day of mourning, because the course of Aboriginal history, culture and our existence and our connection to land etc changed somewhat.”

Council consulted the community on the issue earlier this year through a public survey.

It said the results showed strong support for changing how council acknowledged the date, particularly among younger residents, while support was also shown for Australia Day to be still marked on January 26.

Council said the consultation also indicated that the community valued aspects of the celebration, including awards ceremonies, citizenship ceremonies and opportunities for the community to celebrate collectively; however, the value placed on such events was not strongly linked to the date of January 26.

Cr Anthony Brophy told the meeting he believed there was a “change in the wind” regarding peoples’ attitudes to celebrating Australia Day on January 26.

“What is clear is that the date — January 26 — to most non-Indigenous Australians is not that important. I’m talking about the date,” he said.

“The day is, however, to celebrate all that is great about our nation.”

Cr Sam Spinks said while council could not change the date Australia Day was celebrated nationally, it could change how it acknowledged the day locally.

“What we are deciding today is a legacy moment for Greater Shepparton on the path to reconciliation and on behalf of an Australia that fully celebrates all that call this land home,” she said.

Cr Geoff Dobson said council’s wish was as simple as a change of date.

“There’s a few people in the community who are saying we want to give away Australia Day — that couldn’t be further from the truth,” he said.

“What we want to do is recognise Australia Day on another day rather than January 26.”

Cr Seema Abdullah also supported the motion, but she questioned why a fifth point to the resolution declaring that council not formally participate in Australia Day events held on January 26 out of respect for First Nations people was withdrawn.

She said it diluted council’s attempts to show it was standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the city’s Aboriginal community.

“I’m not sure, by removing this particular point, how we are demonstrating that,” Cr Abdullah said.

Cr Dinny Adem said for him, a key aspect of the resolution was advocating to the Federal Government to have the date changed.

“To me, that is the crux of the whole issue here,” Cr Adem said.

The motion was carried, with only Cr Fern Summer not voting in favour.

Cr Summer objected to the timing of the vote, saying it would undermine support for the Yes campaign in the upcoming referendum on an Indigenous Voice to Parliament.

“I do generally support the changes presented, obviously, but I do feel the timing is inappropriate,” she said.

Cr Ben Ladson voiced his support for the resolution and pointed out that it aligned with council’s reconciliation action plan.

Mayor Shane Sali said he backed the motion, saying it struck the right balance, and thanked Cr James for his contribution to the issue.

“I just want to acknowledge Cr James for your strong advocacy regarding this, not only from a council perspective but for your own First Nations community as well, so good on you for doing that,” he said.

Cr James thanked his fellow councillors for their support and said he hoped one day all people could feel comfortable celebrating Australia Day.

“A lot of pain and hurt is surfaced on this day as a reminder and it’s not a good reminder, from our cultural point-of-view, of what happened on that day to our people, to our culture, to our existence as the rightful custodians of this remarkable country,” he said.

“I am very honoured that we have come to this decision for our community.”