The City of Darebin council, which covers northern suburbs including Northcote, Preston and Reservoir, voted 6-2 for a series of controversial changes.
The council’s Australia Day citizenship ceremony will be scrapped, and its Australia Day awards will be renamed the “Darebin Community Awards” and will not be presented on January 26.
The council also voted to acknowledge that January 26 marked the beginning of “British invasion” and was an inappropriate date for celebrations.
It will stop referring to “Australia Day” in all communications, and instead use the term “January 26”.
Darebin’s nine councillors include four Greens, three independents and two backed by Labor.
Last Friday, the council decided to bring forward the vote saying it was “in response to an emerging public debate regarding Australia Day and the #changethedate campaign which Darebin councillors have been actively engaged in”.
It followed neighbouring Yarra council’s decision to no longer refer to January 26 as Australia Day and hold an Indigenous-themed event instead of an annual citizenship ceremony on the day.
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