Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan has no plans to reinstate Melbourne’s Australia Day parade and is taking other steps to downplay the date.
Victorian public servants will have the option to work on January 26 and take a different day off, while a popular Australia Day Ambassadors program is losing most of its state government support.
While the parade, which was canceled by former Prime Minister Dan Andrews four years ago during the Covid pandemic, remains off the table, Allan’s Labor government will mark the national day in other ways.
These include the annual 21-gun salute at the Shrine of Remembrance, a RAAF flyover and Flag Raising Ceremony and open day at Government House.
The Co-Chair of the First Victorian People’s Assembly, Ngarra Murray, told the Herald of the sun It was right to cancel the parade permanently.
“The Aboriginal community has different views on January 26, but whichever way you look at it, it is a day of mourning for many of our people,” he said.
“So, it’s not a date to celebrate.”
Thousands of government employees working for Victoria’s Department of Premier and Cabinet will have the option of taking another day off if they are not comfortable with the date.
Victorian Prime Minister Jacinta Allan has no plans to reinstate Melbourne’s Australia Day parade and is taking other steps to downgrade the date (file image)
“We also recognize that January 26 means different things to different people,” a spokesperson said..
“On this day, we encourage conversation and reflection on the different meanings of the day for all Victorians.”
Industry groups have expressed concern that this sets a precedent for the private sector.
The state government is also withdrawing most of its support for Victoria’s long-standing Australia Day Ambassadors Programme.
The program, which sees prominent members of the community appointed as Australia Day ambassadors, will no longer be administered primarily by the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.
Ambassadors received emails in November informing them that it would be up to local councils and communities to organize events in which they participated.
Comedian Lawrence Mooney, who has been an Australia Day ambassador for more than two decades, said he was not surprised by the decision as Dan Andrews had previously avoided all events.
He said the move was a shame because ambassador events, especially in more remote regions, always demonstrated “enormous community spirit, great joy and happiness.”
A government spokesperson said the change was to create local ambassadors who “reflect and resonate” with their communities.
They said a trial of the decentralized program had received good feedback.
If councils or cities could not find a local ambassador, they could still contact the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet for help.
Previous ambassadors have included Christine Nixon, David Mann, Dr Sally Cockburn, George Donikian, Greg Evans, Lisa Edwards, Brendan Nottle, Nathaniel Diong, Robert ‘Dipper’ DiPierdomenico and Sue Stanley.
The Australian National Day Council has approved the Victorian Government’s changes to the Ambassadors Programme.