Fury as Australia Day event is cancelled over sensitivities around celebrating the national day
Australia Day #AustraliaDay
Anthony Albanese’s high commissioner to the UK has scrapped the annual Australia Day fundraiser, citing ‘sensitivities’ over the controversial public holiday.
Stephen Smith, Australia’s highest-ranking diplomat to the UK who previously served as defence minister and foreign affairs minister under the Rudd and Gillard governments before retiring from frontline politics in 2013, has put an end to the popular Australia Day Gala dinner.
It was held annually for the past 20 years in the marble-clad Exhibition Hall of the Australian High Commission on the Strand on the Saturday closest to January 26.
The black-tie evet, which is run by the not-for-profit Australia Day Foundation, has previously attracted some of Australia’s biggest exports, including singers Kylie Minogue, Natalie Imbruglia, Tim Minchin and entertainer Barry Humphries and broadcaster Clive James.
A spokesman for the High Commission of Australia told The Sydney Morning Herald it was ‘well known that Australia Day touches on sensitivities for some Australians’.
Stephen Smith (pictured, left), Australia’s highest-ranking diplomat to the UK, has put an end to the popular Australia Day Gala dinner held annually for the past 20 years in the marble-clad Exhibition Hall of the Australian High Commission on the Strand on the Saturday closest to January 26
The black-tie evet, which is run by the not-for-profit Australia Day Foundation, has previously attracted some of Australia’s biggest exports, including singers Kylie Minogue (pictured at the event in 2015), Natalie Imbruglia, Tim Minchin and entertainer Barry Humphries and broadcaster Clive James
‘The high commissioner is happy to acknowledge that was part of the decision-making process with respect to the various alternative dates suggested by the foundation,’ the spokesman added.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton called on Mr Albanese to ‘reverse this bad decision’.
‘Australia Day is our national day and it shouldn’t be cancelled like this,’ he said.
Mr Smith told the organisers that it would not be appropriate to hold the 2024 event around January 26, which marks the First Fleet’s landing in Sydney in 1788.
The High Commission of Australia reportedly wanted to charge the charity £29,000 ($55,000), impose a curfew of 11pm and proposed the event be held in March instead.
Phil Aitken, founding member of the foundation told the paper, the lack of support for the event after 20 years was ‘very sad’.
‘I was very disappointed to be told that it was not appropriate to have a function around Australia Day that might be interpreted as insensitive back in Australia,’ he said.
Mr Smith (pictured outside 10 Downing Street) was believed to be the Prime Minister’s third choice for the ambassadorial role as the government struggled to fill the post for nearly a year
Advertising titan Bill Muirhead, who was also a founding member of the foundation, slammed the decision as ‘un-Australian’ .
‘The last time I checked, January 26 was still Australia Day,’ Mr Muirhead told the paper.
The event has turned a profit in recent years which has been used to fund scholarships for Australians to study in the UK.
Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham called on the federal government to overturn Mr Smith’s decision.
‘It’s not a high commissioner’s place to unilaterally change the date of Australia Day,’ Mr Birmingham told the paper.
‘Stephen Smith doesn’t just look like a killjoy who’s ashamed of Australian history but is also trashing a prime event that promotes investment, travel and trade with Australia.
‘Penny Wong and Don Farrell should overrule this ridiculous decision that burns the goodwill and reputation of an event built up over many years by proud expats happy to give their time to promote our nation.’
Mr Smith was believed to be the Prime Minister’s third choice for the ambassadorial role as the government struggled to fill the post for nearly a year.
Earlier this year, he stoked controversy when he said it was ‘inevitable’ that Australia will become a republic and remove King Charles as head of state.
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