Lake Macquarie council scraps its Australia Day citizenship ceremony

The council joins a list of about 80 others that won't be holding a ceremony on January 26, after the Albanese government canned a rule in late 2022 that effectively forced councils to hold an event on Australia Day.

A Lake Macquarie City Council spokesman said councils now have the option to hold a ceremony on Australia Day, or in the three days before or after it.

"To meet this requirement, council will be holding a citizenship ceremony on January 25," he said.

"We believe this is the first time a citizenship ceremony hasn't been held on January 26 in Lake Macquarie.

"Hosting a citizenship ceremony on January 25 offers new citizens, their families and the broader community the flexibility to mark Australia Day in a way that suits them."

Two years earlier, City of Newcastle made the most of the federal government's flexibility and shifted its Australia Day ceremony to January 25.

At the time, lord mayor Nuatali Nelmes had written to Immigration and Citizenship Minister Andrew Giles' office asking permission to move the event.

The council undertook a survey of almost 700 new citizens conferred between 2020 and 2022, which Cr Nelmes said at the time "overwhelmingly" called for the ceremony to be moved to "a more culturally appropriate date".

The Newcastle Herald asked Lake Macquarie City Council what, if any, community consultation was undertaken before changing the date of the event and did not receive a response - except to say that the decision was not made by elected officials.

The council spokesman said the move also takes into account the higher operational costs involved in hosting the ceremony on a public holiday, which includes paying staff overtime.

"Citizenship ceremony frequency is based on demand, and ceremony dates are an operational matter determined in accordance with the code [the Department of Home Affair's Australian Citizenship Ceremonies Code]," he said.

"High demand in 2023 resulted in more regular ceremonies, including two held on the same day.

"Typically, they're held once every three months, with about 90 to 100 people becoming citizens at each ceremony."

Aside from the January 25 ceremony, others are scheduled for April 12, August 2 and October 25.

Lake Macquarie joins 16 other councils across the state in canning a 2024 Australia Day citizenship ceremony, including City of Newcastle and Central Coast Council.

Shadow Immigration Minister Dan Tehan has since said the Coalition will reinstate the Australia Day citizenship ceremony tradition, arguing the shift away from holding ceremonies on January 26 will "undermine" the country's national day.

Mr Tehan has publicly claimed Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is "laying the groundwork" to abolish Australia Day, which the prime minister has denied.

The Herald has contacted Biraban Local Aboriginal Land Council for comment.

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