Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke has been accused of using citizenship ceremonies for political gain, with his department admitting to scheduling them to fit his busy calendar ahead of the election.
Home Affairs Department Secretary Stephanie Foster revealed Mr Burke personally instructed staff to schedule the ceremonies to fit his availability.
The admission comes as the government faces scrutiny over the timing of the citizenship events, which critics have tied to political interests ahead of the election.
“He asked us to schedule … ceremonies, and obviously gave us a window of availability,” Ms Foster said.
The request to have ceremonies fit Mr Burke’s busy schedule came despite an already extensive delay of 105 days for citizenship applicants waiting for the ceremony.
Timing of the ceremonies has raised eyebrows, as the events, which took place at Sydney’s Olympic Park, came just weeks out from the federal election.
This has led to accusations that Labor has politicised what have traditionally been a non-partisan event.
Thousands of citizens were sworn in at the ceremonies, many of whom reside in the electorates of key western Sydney battlegrounds, where Labor is fighting to retain seats.
At the event, attended by about 4,500 new Australians, Labor MPs took the opportunity to pose for pictures alongside the soon-to-be first-time voters.
While Labor MPs Jerome Laxale of Bennelong and Anne Stanley of Werriwa attended, Mr Burke has been accused of excluding independent MP Dai Le.
Ms Le, who represents the seat of Fowler, accused Mr Burke of using the citizenship ceremonies to gain political advantage on Monday.
She claimed she was not invited to the Homebush citizenship ceremony despite contrary claims by the office of Mr Burke.
“The truth is, I was never invited to the event. The invitation was extended to the Mayor Frank Carbone, and as per standard protocol, it wasn’t transferable,” she said.
“So, how could I have ‘boycotted’ something I wasn’t even invited to?”
It came after a spokesperson for Mr Burke said Ms Le “chose to ignore invitations and boycotted” the ceremonies.
Ms Le also took issue with the Home Affairs Minister’s actions, claiming the ceremonies were turned into political spectacles.
“I feel for the new citizens who had their important day turned into a political campaign event by the Minister,” she said.
“They missed out on the opportunity to become citizens of this country in a local ceremony, surrounded by the people they love.
“Instead, they were used as political pawns, all because the Minister chose to put the interests of his election campaign above the significance of this moment for them.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese recently defended Mr Burke and dismissed the criticisms as a “complete non-story”.
“Dai Le, for reasons that I find very unusual, isn’t just the federal member for Fowler; she ran for council last year and is the deputy mayor of Fairfield as well,” he said.
“This was a big citizenship ceremony in Homebush which is in the electorate of Reid… not even next to Fowler.”
While the ceremony was held in Homebush, the citizens’ electorates included Bennelong, Parramatta, Reid, Werriwa and Fowler – held by Ms Le.
Mr Albanese did not address the fact Mr Burke’s office attacks Ms Le for “ignoring” and “boycotting” the event.
