A third Melbourne council will vote on whether to move Australia Day away from January 26 out of respect for Aboriginal people.
Moreland City Council will vote on the matter on Wednesday following decisions by Yarra and Darebin councils to move their citizenship ceremonies away from Australia Day.
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Protesters storm council meeting over Australia Day ban
Nine protesters from the Party Freedom Group interrupted a Yarra Council meeting to rally against the decision to stop referring to January 26 as Australia Day. Vision courtesy: Channel 7's Sunrise.
"We see the pain it causes them (Aboriginal people) and they talk about the suffering that the day represents," Moreland councillor Samantha Ratnam said.
An earlier proposal to change the date of Moreland's January 26 citizenship ceremony was voted down in June.
It was rejected five votes to six.
"This motion is even more broad-reaching than that action because it explicitly commits council to that 'change the date' campaign," Cr Ratnam said.
However, unlike Yarra and Darebin, even if the vote to dump Australia Day is successful, Moreland will still hold citizenship ceremonies on January 26, honouring its previous council decision.
"The motion doesn't include moving the citizenship ceremonies as the council made a commitment to keep the citizenship ceremonies on this date earlier this year," Cr Ratnam said.
"We're very much looking at this process as a journey and taking it one step at a time. For the council to commit to the change the date campaign builds momentum and opens dialogue for future changes to be made."
Cr Ratnam, who chairs the Reconciliation Advisory Committee, said she was hopeful the motion would garner strong support from the majority councillors this time around.
"A number of councillors supported the idea of changing the date, but were concerned about the impact moving citizenship ceremonies would have on the migrant community," she said. "I would hope they would honour their words."
At the time, councillor Annalivia Carli Hannan said removing ceremonies may create a greater gap in the community.
"My concern with this new direction is that it's pitting our marginalised first nation people against our marginalised new migrant community," she said.
In 2015, Moreland moved its annual citizen awards ceremony to October.
Cr Ratman said if the vote was successful, Moreland would join forces with Yarra and Darebin council to lobby the federal government to switch Australia Day nationally from January 26, a date that marks the arrival of the First Fleet from England.
The federal government last month stripped Yarra and Darebin councils of their right to host citizenship ceremonies after successful votes to shift them to another day.
This week far-right protesters disrupted a Yarra Council meeting in opposition to its Australia Day ban.