City Council offers free Australia Day merchandise in response to supermarkets’ stance: Proud and Grateful

An Australian city council will make Australia Day merchandise available for free after two major supermarkets confirmed they would not stock the products in 2024.

Supermarket chains Aldi and Woolworths recently announced they would not sell Australia Day merchandise ahead of Jan. 26.

Jan. 26 marks the 1788 landing of the First Fleet by Arthur Phillip at Sydney Cove in New South Wales. While the vast majority of Australians celebrate Jan. 26 as Australia’s national day, some have called for its abolishment, calling it the beginning of colonisation in the country.

Aldi and Woolworth’s decision to pull Australian Day products from shelves has met with criticism from communities, including the south western suburb of Fairfield. In response, its City Mayor Frank Carbone has decided to make the merchandise free in his council to counter the supermarkets’s decisions.

Mr. Carbone described the supermarkets’ stance as “completely against our Australian values,” arguing they shouldn’t “deny Australians the opportunity to be proud of who we are.”

“Major multinational organisations have no place in making political comments on our national day. This is something we are seeing more of—large organisations trying to tell people to think,” he said in a media release on Jan. 11.

A Day for Unification Not Division, Says Mayor

The mayor said that amidst a cost-of-living crisis, supermarket chains should divert their attention to reducing their prices instead of “telling people what to think and using their stories to make political commentary.”

He described the day as an occasion to “celebrate being Australian and appreciate the country we live in, whether we were born here or came here from somewhere else, and to recognise and respect the past.”

“I was born in Fairfield and my parents came here from Italy, and we are forever proud and grateful for the opportunities this country has provided for us,” Mr. Carbone said.

“Australia Day is on Jan. 26 and unless the government makes a decision to change the date, we will continue to celebrate on that date and be proud of who we are.”

He added that leaders should come together to unite the nation, not divide it.

“It is time for the prime minister and the premier to make it very clear what their intentions are for Australia Day and take leadership on this issue, instead of sitting back while commercial organisations weigh in on our national day with their unwanted opinions.”

Fairfield is a diverse region, with the majority of people coming from Vietnamese, Chinese, and Assyrian/Chaldean background. In 2023, the city welcomed over 5,000 new citizens, which is among the largest number across Australia.

Fairfield City Council said it had been proudly continued the tradition of holding citizenship ceremony on Australia Day and flying Australia flag.

This is in contrast to three councils in Melbourne that have voted to ban citizenship ceremonies on Jan. 26, including Darwin, Yarra, and Merri-bek.

“It is disappointing that as Mayor I need to speak up about this, but we want to make sure that the community is given the opportunity to display their pride on a day that is important to all of us,” Mr. Carbone added.

“I encourage other councils to do the same.”

He also called on the state and federal governments to provide funding to all local councils to ensure they could continue to celebrate the day.

Residents can pick up flags and other merchandise from Fairfield City Council’s administration centre, leisure centres and libraries from Jan. 22.