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.
The January date is the day when Captain Arthur Phillip’s First Fleet arrived in Sydney Cove (now known as Circular Quay) and claimed Australia for the British Crown. It is perceived by the majority of Australians as a celebratory occasion where Australians commemorate the birth of their liberal country and democracy….