Left-Wing Melbourne Council Votes to Stop Holding Citizenship Ceremonies on Australia Day

Jetski’s fly the Australian and Aboriginal flags during Australia Day celebrations at Circular Quay, in Sydney, Australia, on Jan. 26, 2021. AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts

A Melbourne council led by the left-wing Greens Party will cease holding citizenship ceremonies on Australia Day on Jan. 26 and instead host a “day of mourning” event for Indigenous Australians starting in 2023.

The Merri-bek council in Melbourne’s north will be the third council in the city after two other inner-north Greens-led councils, Yarra and Darwin, to abolish the citizenship ceremonies on Jan. 26.