Top Diplomat Criticised for Cancelled Australia Day Function in London

Published on December 12, 2023

A top Australian diplomat has drawn fierce criticism for cancelling an Australia Day event due to supposed “sensitivities” around the national celebration. The Australia Day Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation and the organiser of the annual Australia Day gala dinner, decided not to hold the event in January 2024 in response to instruction from Australia’s High Commissioner to the UK Stephen Smith. According to The Sydney Morning Herald newspaper, the cancellation of the popular fund-raising dinner, which has been held for 20 years at the High Commission of Australia building in London and normally attracts famous names, was the result of moves by Mr. Smith to cancel “parties without purpose.”...

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