Melbourne’s Darebin council has been stripped of its citizenship ceremony after agreeing not to celebrate colonialism.

Darebin has joined the City of Yarra in voting to stop referring to January 26 as Australia Day.

The Federal Government has responded in the same way as it did to Yarra’s decision – revoking the council’s citizenship ceremony to “safeguard the integrity” of citizenship ceremonies in Australia.

“The overwhelming majority of Australians support Australia Day remaining on January 26,” Assistant Minister for Immigration Alex Hawke said.

“Both Darebin and Yarra councils have had their ability to conduct citizenship ceremonies revoked.

“They were warned well in advance that politicising citizenship ceremonies would not be tolerated.”

People who would have participated in Yarra or Darebin’s citizenship ceremonies will be sent to events at nearby councils.

Darebin council’s decision was based in part on an online survey, to which 81 people responded.

Of those, 86 per cent supported the #changethedate campaign, 60 per cent wanted the citizenship ceremony moved and 48 per cent wanted the Australia Day Awards renamed.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews described Darebin's decision as a “a great shame”, while Liberal senator Eric Abetz said councils were “elected to collect rubbish, not talk rubbish”.

“The fact that local councils, such as Darebin council, are more focused on advancing the political correctness agenda (when not engaged on international junkets) is a disappointing reflection of the national and international activism engaged in by some local councils instead of focusing on their core business,” Mr Abetz said in a statement.

“Claiming a mandate from a survey of less than 100 people and then assuming they talk not only for the Indigenous community but the whole community is breathtakingly disconnected from ratepayers.”

Darebin Mayor Kim Le Cerf said Senator Abetz did not know her community.

“I think he is out of touch. We've been out in the community and the sentiment that we've been feeling is for much support of this decision,” she said.

“When there [are] issues of great importance, we feel like we have a role to play — we are the closest level of government to the community.”

Local Government Minister Natalie Hutchins criticised councils for failing to consult properly.  

Darebin voted for the following measures:

  • 1. Acknowledge that January 26 marks the beginning of the British invasion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander lands and oppression of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and is therefore not an appropriate date for an inclusive national celebration.
  • 2. Acknowledge the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people never ceded sovereignty of their land and have continuously cared for their country for over 60,000 years as the world's oldest living culture.
  • 3. Acknowledge the first Day of Mourning was held on January 26, 1938, being the 150th anniversary of the British invasion. The day was attended by Indigenous Australians and non-Indigenous supporters in protest of the national holiday and the "callous treatment" of Aboriginal people and continues to be held annually.
  • 4. From 2018 onwards, host an inclusive and culturally-appropriate event on an agreed date in partnership with the Darebin Aboriginal Advisory Committee that recognises and celebrates the world's oldest living culture.
  • 5. Support the #changethedate campaign and initiate an ongoing conversation, in partnership with the Darebin Aboriginal Advisory Committee, to build better understanding with the broader Darebin community of Australia's history and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community's pain in relation to the significance and history of January 26. This includes referring to January 26 merely as January 26 in all communications.
  • 6. Commit to engaging with Darebin's diverse community, including established and newly arrived communities, to raise community awareness and understanding.
  • 7. Advocate to the Federal Government to change the date in line with the resolution passed by the National General Assembly of Local Government in June 2017.
  • 8. Seek opportunities to collaborate and partner with Yarra council and other relevant stakeholders to support each other's events, advocacy and education initiatives.
  • 9. Continue to recognise excellence and service in Darebin, renewed as the Darebin Community Awards, and to be awarded on a day other than January 26.
  • 10. In collaboration with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders, introduce new categories within the awards that recognise and celebrate the achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who live, work or study in Darebin.
  • 11. Reaffirm a commitment to holding citizenship ceremonies in a positive and timely way on dates as required that will not include January 26.