In short:
Wyndham Mayor Josh Gilligan has declared Australia Day celebrations will remain in place, rejecting calls for council to abandon events on 26 January.
Australia Day Staying, Mayor Says
Wyndham’s mayor has come out swinging in defence of Australia Day, declaring the national celebration is not going anywhere in the municipality despite renewed calls for council to scrap events on 26 January.
“Australia Day is here to stay in Wyndham and so is our commitment to recognising local heroes who make Wyndham a great place to live, work and raise a family,” Mayor Josh Gilligan said.
“We are a nation who created Wi-Fi, the cervical cancer vaccine, Vegemite and AC/DC, just to name a few achievements.
“We should be proud to celebrate all we’ve achieved on 26th of January every year.”
The comments follow criticism from a local advocacy group, Wyndham for Palestine, which has argued Wyndham should abandon Australia Day celebrations altogether.
The group claims the date causes harm and should no longer be treated as a unifying national moment, particularly for Aboriginal people and multicultural communities shaped by colonisation.
The group has also called for Australia Day itself to be re-examined nationally, suggesting any future unifying celebration should instead be tied to a treaty process with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Across Melbourne’s west, several councils have already moved away from holding events on the contentious date.
Wyndham has taken a different path.
Cr Gilligan’s remarks make clear the council will continue to publicly mark Australia Day and will not follow neighbouring councils in abandoning the 26 January celebration.
