Darwin Council has denied a request from the March for Jesus group to participate in the upcoming Darwin Christmas Pageant, saying the group’s behaviour last year was “overbearing, intimidating and confronting” but the Australian Christian Lobby said the group was simply Christians sharing the “glad tidings and good news of Jesus as they walk alongside other Darwinians, celebrating the birth of Jesus”.

Council chief executive officer Simone Saunders said in a statement that the decision not to approve the group’s application for the 2026 Christmas Pageant, to be held on November 14, followed complaints from community members about its participation in the 2025 event.

The group is made up of Christians from different churches, but council said other Christian organisations had been approved to participate.

“The primary concern was behaviour that attendees described as overbearing, intimidating and confronting, which is inconsistent with the family-friendly nature of the Christmas Pageant,” Ms Saunders said.

“The pageant terms and conditions include a requirement for all promotional material to be approved. The gospels handed out by this group were approved and were not of concern; however some other merchandise was not.

“Concerns were also raised about the nature of the language and volume used in chanting at spectators during the procession, which some attendees perceived as overbearing and confrontational, and not aligned with the family-friendly, festive and inclusive nature of the event.”

Ms Saunders said that while council had determined the group’s application, as submitted, could not be approved, it was still talking to the group about its participation in this year’s pageant.

ACL NT director Nicholas Lay said the council’s rejection of the group’s application was an “extraordinary move” and called on council to include the group and allow its members to celebrate Christmas alongside other members of the community. He said the “good news of Jesus” was the very origin of Christmas.

Christmas has Christian origins as a religious feast, alongside possible pagan influences on its timing and some customs.

“Regardless of whether people believe or not, the birth of Jesus is universally acknowledged as the reason for the season,” Mr Lay said.

“But in an extraordinary email to this Christian group, Darwin Council cited the ‘distribution of promotional merchandise to spectators’ at previous pageants as a reason for their rejection of the group’s 2026 application.

“In reality, these were not promotional materials, but copies of the Gospel of John, which is all about Jesus, the birth of whom Christmas pageants seek to celebrate.

“This is a shameful example of Darwin Council discriminating against a Christian group and seeking to take the Christ out of Christmas.”

Most scholars date the Gospel of John to about AD 90–100, or 60–70 years after Jesus’s death, and although traditionally attributed to John the Apostle, it is widely thought by scholars that the Gospel was written by an unidentified author who drew on traditions associated with a disciple of Jesus.

Mr Lay said the group was being excluded because its members are Christians and called on the NT Anti-Discrimination Commissioner to clarify publicly whether the council’s conduct was discriminatory on the grounds of “religious belief or activity”.

But the Ms Saunders said the rejection of the group’s participation was not religious discrimination.

“This decision is not about religion or religious expression. Other Christian and faith-based organisations have been approved to participate in this year’s Christmas Pageant, and City of Darwin values the contribution these groups make to the event and the broader community,” Ms Saunders said.