January 26 will be the day that migrants call Australia home under the federal government’s decision to oblige councils to hold their citizenship ceremonies on Australia Day.
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Some MIA mayors have thrown their support behind the decision, while others say it’s federal government overreach that strips people of the right to choose.
Murrumbidgee Council mayor Ruth McRae is of the latter view, and she said new Australians should have the right to choose the date of their own citizenship ceremony.
“I don’t think anybody should dictate what day people get their citizenships,” Councillor McRae said.
“Some people want their citizenship ceremony to be an intimate family occasion, and we should value their choices.”
Griffith City Council mayor John Dal Broi, on the other hand, said he wholeheartedly supported the change, saying that Australia Day was the ideal time to hold citizenship ceremonies.
“Australia Day is a special day of celebration,” Councillor Dal Broi said.
Part of the changes to the citizenship day ceremony include a ban on board shorts and thongs – a ban which has been widely hailed as un-Australian.
Cr Dal Broi said in all his years of running the ceremonies he had never once seen anybody rock up in boardies and a singlet.
“All the people we’ve seen get dressed up in all their finery; we take photos of them and their families, and we embrace them and make them feel welcome.”
Bland Shire mayor Brian Monaghan said he was a staunch supporter of Australia Day, and that he also supported the idea of holding citizenship ceremonies on that day.
“Australia Day is a traditional day, and I for one am a traditionalist,” Councillor Monaghan said.
Leeton deputy mayor and Australia Day Committee chairman George Weston said he also supported the changes.
"I think it is a good idea. Unless for some reason someone needs to have it done urgently, I think Australia Day is a great time to do it,” Mr Weston said.
"It is a great way to welcome people into the community, in front of the community."
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the changes would stop people from “playing politics,” a veiled jab at councils that changed their citizenship ceremony dates at the request of their indigenous residents.
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Kenji Sato
Kenji Sato is a handsome journalist at The Daily Advertiser who enjoys writing flattering bios about himself in the third person. He can be contacted by email at kenji.sato@dailyadvertiser.com.au or by mobile on 0448 927 612.
Kenji Sato is a handsome journalist at The Daily Advertiser who enjoys writing flattering bios about himself in the third person. He can be contacted by email at kenji.sato@dailyadvertiser.com.au or by mobile on 0448 927 612.
