A proposal from a Tasmanian council to lobby the federal government to change the date of Australia Day has been criticised by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Tasmanian Liberal Senator Eric Abetz.
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Hobart City Council debated the potential change to its Australia Day citizenship ceremony and how best to consult Tasmanian Aboriginals on a better date for Australia Day celebrations.
Hobart lord mayor Sue Hickey said the council hopes to take a recommendation to the Local Government Association of Tasmania’s annual general meeting.
“We want to ask all councils to have a conversation with their population and then write to the federal government to see if there is a more appropriate day,” she said.
“We also want to take it to the national body to see if they will do the same thing as well. The reason is because local gov is the closest level to the people and it’s very easy to get a hold of your local councillor and express yoru views whereas it’s not very easy to get a hold of the Minister for Immigration.”
Ald Hickey said she understood the council had no legal right to move the citizenship ceremony but local government did have a role to play in the debate.
Senator Abetz said the Hobart City Council’s proposal was “bizarre” and the council needed a “reality check”.
“Australia is the best country on earth and that is something which all Australians can and do celebrate on Australia Day,” he said.
“[The move] is was out of step with ratepayers’ expectations who just want them to focus on their core business such as traffic flows and basic services.”