Therefore Scott Morrison will make it compulsory for the 537 councils in Australia to hold citizenship ceremonies on January 26 and September 17. Boardshorts and thongs will be banned.

“By ensuring councils hold citizenship ceremonies on Australia Day, we’re protecting our national day from people trying to skirt the rules or playing politics,” Mr Morrison said via Twitter.

It’s an odd mandate. 

Firstly, Tasmanian councils have found a balance that suits their constituents.

Flinders Island, for example, chooses to celebrate the week before with their own festival. They do so because 17 per cent of their population are Indigenous and, as a region, they respect the issues the date January 26 may raise for their fellow members of the community.

This does not diminish their national pride.

Other councils celebrate on January 26 and some celebrate the day before depending on the day of the week and other events in the area.

Australia Day festivities for Launceston are held the day before at Royal Park. 

The Australian Government awards Australian of the Year the day before Australia Day.

January 26 is a conflicting date in our history. It’s the beginning of modern Australia, but also a brutal day in history for Indigenous Australians. Removing the date, Australia Day serves to unite and instil pride in the land that we call home. 

If you remove this from the current conversation, the other surprise with the PM’s announcement is government intervention in local government planning. 

Meanwhile, in Tasmania, we can’t seem to achieve state government intervention in the necessary council amalgamations.  

The Prime Minister’s decision is an odd decree and perhaps one that again shows the push for the Liberals to move back further right than the right of centre they had been operating in the past couple of years.

The announcement also shows that we have entered federal election mode.