By Tanya Faulkner
Knox City Council has delayed its Australia Day awards ceremony for 2024, taking steps to reimagine the way they run their annual awards program.
The incoming changes are said to continue to recognise and celebrate exceptional contributions in our diverse community, however will not occur at the usual time on 26 January.
Knox Mayor Marcia Timmers-Leitch said a downward trend in the number of nominations and awards presented in recent years has prompted Council to rethink the awards.
“The Knox Australia Day Awards have recognised outstanding citizens since 1994.
“In recent years the number of nominations has been disappointingly low.
“While the quality of nominations has been excellent, the number of nominations is not reflective of the enormous contribution that volunteers make across the Knox community,” she said.
Cr Timmers-Leitch said the change of timing of the awards should allow more Knox locals to get involved, and increase interest across the community.
“We’re hoping by changing the timing of the awards, so that the nomination period doesn’t coincide with summer holidays, we will increase participation.
“We’re also considering what changes we might need to make to the format of the awards,” she said.
Knox City Council is not the only one to ‘scrap’ their Australia Day awards, joining the likes of the Greater Shepparton City Council and Strathbogie Shire Councils.
Some comments have arisen about the move being ‘politically’ driven, however Cr Timmers-Leitch said this is not the case.
“The decision to move the awards was not a comment or reflection of how Council does or should acknowledge Australia Day more broadly.
“However, we do recognise that for some people in our community Australia Day is not a day of celebration,” she said.
Cr Timmers-Leitch said that civic awards are an important way for our community to value and appreciate those who make a positive difference in Knox.
“They honour the important work volunteers do in preserving our environment, supporting those in need and helping important causes,” she said.
Earlier this year the Council sought community feedback on the awards program over five weeks.
This was promoted on their website, Have Your Say platform, Facebook, eNewsletter and an email sent directly to 250 community groups.
Only 19 responses were received from the community.
The low response along with the declining number of nominations indicates that the current timing and format of the awards is not resonating with the Knox community.
A further report will be presented to Council to determine a new awards format to be held later in 2024 that will provide a more meaningful platform to recognise exceptional contributions that enrich our community.
