‘Spineless’: Councils cancelling Australia Day ceremonies doing Albanese’s ‘dirty work’

Shadow Immigration Minister Dan Tehan says Prime Minister Anthony Albanese allowing councils to cancel Australia Day citizenship ceremonies is a “spineless way” of making councils do “all the dirty work” for him. More than 80 local councils across Australia have cancelled the traditional Australia Day citizenship ceremonies out of respect for Indigenous Australians. The Opposition has accused Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of “laying the groundwork” for Australia Day’s abolition. “The Prime Minister made a decision over a year ago to allow councils to do this, and he knew exactly what he was doing when he did it,” Mr Tehan told Sky News Australia. “It was a spineless way of making councils do all the dirty work, do all the groundwork for him in either moving or abolishing Australia Day. “At the time, when he made this decision, we warned that this is exactly what would happen.”