A day we come together and reflect on our collective national history. You came here only recently, and you took our land away from us by force. Our site uses cookies. But thats inaccurate. } The most media attention that these protests ever gained was in 1988, the infamous Bicentennial, where the phrase White Australia has a Black History entered our collective consciousness, but they have always been there in one form or another, whether they are noticed by media or not. Its like an official slap in the face of the Aboriginal people. This is why. For decades, January 26 has been observed as a day of mourning for Aboriginal and Torres Islander people. We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we live, learn, and work. The date - 26 January - is the anniversary of the 1788 landing of Britain's First Fleet, which began the era of colonisation. In recent years celebrating Australia Day with barbeques, countdowns and festivals have given way to survival day protests and debates about what Australia Day truly means. s.async = true; } "Part of a maturing nation is the willingness to listen and learn from someone else's view and to keep a dialogue open," she said. Use our interactive tool to see the results and how your answers compare. We know that many of our staff will still choose to have 27 January off to fit in with their family and friends plans. A lot has happened in the last few years which has forced us to reflect on our values and the racial inequality of the world we still live in. But changing the date of Australia Day is something we can do now. Wouldnt the day that Australia abolished this act and, on paper at least, welcomed non-white migrants into Australia make more sense as a day to celebrate what is great about Australia and being Australian. } change_link = false; Even then, it wont make it a perfect day where we will all hold hands and sing We are the voice, but at least you could make a decent case for the idea that it is a day created for such a lofty purpose as celebrating what is great about Australia and being Australian.. We need to move to a date that is inclusive of all Australians. In calling for a change to the date of Australia Day (yes, it's that time of the year again) Ester Gaia (CT, January 13) uses the emotive "British invasion and occupation" language to try to reduce the significance of the date. A McNair poll showed just 15 per cent of Australians want the date changed. According to the Australia Day website, it is a day where we come together as a nation to celebrate what's great about Australia and being Australian.. They had been living on this land now called Australia for more than 60,000 years and most were all gone within a bit more than a century. In 2017, the Australia Institute found a whopping 62% of people did not know what the day marked. Stop supporting Whites who claim to be victimised Blacks! Crazily enough, it wasnt until 2008 that the then prime minister Kevin Rudd formally apologized to the Aboriginals for the atrocities committed against them, like forced child removals and cultural destruction through assimilation. You should consider seeking advice from an authorised financial adviser before making an investment decision. : A Statement of the Case for the Aborigines Progressive Associations, The Publicist, 1938, p.3. Before making an investment decision, you need to consider (with or without the assistance of an adviser) whether this information is appropriate to your needs, objectives and circumstances. In fact, Australia comes in thetop five nations for inclusiveness, only be beaten by Canada, USA, South Africa, and France. It was only in 1994, 26 years ago, that it officially became a public holiday. Welcome to Australian Ethical, former Christian Super members, employers, and advisers. Therefore, Australia Day should be changed to a more appropriate date that truly represents Australians at our finest. Changing the date is accountability, its saying that we f**ked up, real bad. display: none !important; We cannot seek an end to the oppression of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people by cajoling the broad majority of Australians with soft entreaties of change the date. I want an Australia thats worth celebrating. This is a fundraising ribbon circulated for the first Australia Day on July 30, 1915. I need to convert it to UTC timezone first, then change it to a date format. The fact that it isnt is an interesting glimpse into the chasm of systemic racism. Already others have suggested alternative dates such as ANZAC Day on April 25th. Maybe that is why the day is filled with little more than jingoistic flag waving and mass consumption of alcohol, to distract us from the fact that we arent as great a country as some would otherwise like to think. ( Read full column here .) The Australia Day website also claims that On Australia Day we come together as a nation to celebrate whats great about Australia and being Australian. Whats so great about the 26th of January that it would make us come together as a nation? The answer will tell us all we need to know about how great a country Australia is. Photo: AAP The equivalent for Australia is July 9, 1900. But why not some other day how about the day that Australia garnered independence from the British empire, i.e., 9th October? if (typeof window.onload != 'function'){ Join us! Moreover, another fire was lit when a 15-year-old Noongar Yamatji boy, Cassius Turvey, died in 2022. For all the outrage seen from politicians at the time, this change hasnt undermined Australia Day or caused them to rethink the conversation. After watching that video, we must make a change. Crescent Think Tank. Our work is only made possible because of you. We hope that soon Australia Day will be a celebration for all Australians, by all Australians, and one that embraces, or at least doesnt neglect, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and cultures. Not until 1935 did all the Australian states and territories use that name to mark that date. Indigenous groups have been protesting against celebrating January 26th as any sort of public holiday for90 years now!!! The unfortunate reality for the Australia Day Council, and for the rest of the nation, is that this isnt an issue that is ever going to go away. It will always be Invasion Day, Survival Day, a Day of Mourning. I would like to receive the IndigenousX monthly newsletter. "It's a remembrance day for us, so we try to remember that by doing our culture, preserving our culture so people can actually see what was here on January 26, 1788," he said. What is Australia Day to Aboriginals? } )( window, document, 'script', 'dataLayer', 'GTM-W5PMGDG' ); "That doesn't mean we have got there we still have a long way to go but I do think the maturity shows we are now thinking about the relationship between [Indigenous and non-Indigenous people] and how we repair the relationship," she said. A day to reflect on the dark parts of our history, so we can move forward together as a nation.. We're changing our minds on Australia Day and it's happening rapidly, Australia Talks reveals, Australian Defence Force personnel and aircraft will be involved in the evacuation of residents from remote communities in the NTexperiencing significant flooding, Former government services minister Stuart Robert is being questioned at theRobodebt inquiry, Keep up with the latest ASX and business news. That means that the Day of Mourning (1938) is only 3 years younger than Australia Day as we know it today, and everyone having Australia Day on the 26th of January has happened notably less times than I have celebrated my birthday. Celebrating on this day is an acknowledgment of the first time Europeans inhabited Australian land: men, women and children. The Indigenous communities declared it a Day of Mourning that remains recognised to this day. To start with, were having honest and open conversations around January 26, the national mood and changing the date. Another date is the first day the federal parliament sat on May 9th and another the date Australia ended apartheid against Aboriginals at the May 27th 1967 . Its like the government said to them, Yes, we know you dont like this, but guess what, we are going to make it official now, so there.. This move was criticised, with the Resources Minister at the time, Matt Canavan, calling it a disgraceful decision. Two years ago the ABC asked tens of thousands of people to share their thoughts, feelings and experiences. } Crescent Foundation Most people dont even care about that actual date, they just want a day off work, or to have a few drinks, or to have a barbecue, or whatever it is that people do. Watch the evidence. The tradition of having Australia Day as a national holiday on 26 January is a recent one. Formidable employer power, Jacky and his boyfriend were 'flatmates' for years until his mother found out about the truth, 'Momentous occasion': Spears taken by Captain Cook in 1770 to be returned home, This youth worker can't talk about youth crime without mentioning the kids sleeping in nearby public toilet blocks, Prince Harry and Meghan told to vacate UK home, 'The biggest mistake of our lives': US fertility clinic sued for using embryo with deadly cancer gene, Pedestrian killed after being struck by car on major Darwin road, 'I pretty much cried all day': Devil in one of the last 'disease-free' populations found with facial tumour. The date will change. News Corp reports 29% of more than 1,000 people surveyed said they would celebrate Australia Day 2021. For First Nations people, this is a day of mourning called Invasion Day. Earlier this year the Prime Minister said it was important to mark the day as one on which "the journey to modern Australia began". An elderly man walking along the boardwalk was adamant the date should not be changed. Let your local MPs know that this is an issue that is important to you. It is not that a date that will ever be forgotten. As the public broadcaster representing all Australians, triple j and the ABC doesnt take a view in the discussions, triple j said in a statement. Here is why. As the majority of the Australian population is non-Indigenous, it speaks to the beginning of this part of Australias history. Here we are again: New Year, new January, same Australia debating whether or not to change the date of the national holiday. Australia Day should be a day that reflects what our ideals are and how we imagine our country. A lot. The same holds true if someone names "co-executors" or "several . The very best of TheLatch delivered straight to your inbox. // forced if the address starts with http (or also https), but does not link to the current domain w[ l ] = w[ l ] || []; By signing up, you agree to Pedestrian Group's Terms of Service and consent to our Privacy Policy. On this Invasion Day, I am angry. I choose not to repeat myself, because the date will change. Found a perfect sample but need a unique one? Connect the output pin of TSOP1738 to Arduino digital pin 11 to get the decoded output. How To Spend A Long Weekend In Townsville If The Thought Of Winter Is Already Crushing Yr Soul, Dysons Slinging Up To $400 Off Its Famous Sucky Bois If Yr Sick Of Crumbies Underfoot, Weve Already Copped A Bit Of Spicy Intel About What Goes Down At The MAFS 2023 Reunion, Rihanna & A$AP Rockys Sweet Bb Has Made His Official Debut With An Adorable Vogue Shoot, Sign up with your Facebookor Linkedin account, Please select at least one of the following options to continue. j.async = true; var force = ''; In fact, it was only 25 years ago that it . ( function( w, d, s, l, i ) { In 1994, when Australia Day was fixed to January 26, then-prime minister Paul Keating suggested the view each of us might form of our nation depended on individual perspectives and opportunities. But thats actually a false assumption. Indigenous designer, artist and activist, Rachael Sarra, explained the importance of this on Instagram. // console.log('Changed ' + all_links.href); Sixty percent of Indigenous people have mixed or negative feelings about the holiday and more than half (54 percent) believe the date of Australia Day should be changed to one not. And, the day wasn't even declared as Australia Day until around 150 years later and since that time, the date of Australia Day changed many times. She saidthe change in attitude around Australia Day was a sign the country was "growing and maturing as a reconciled nation". 2023 Australian Ethical Investment Ltd (ABN 47 003 188 930, AFSL 229949). Like Christmas Day, Australia Day is a holiday where most. It's a day "for all Australians, no matter where our personal stories began, [to] reflect on being Australian, celebrate contemporary Australia and recognise our history," according to the National Australia Day Council. Its like ignoring the pleas and plights of the biggest populace of what makes Australia uniquely Australia. And it enabled colonisers and settlers to participate in and/or witness without objection decades of massacres, land and resource theft, rape, cultural genocide and other acts of violence towards First Peoples. True. [CDATA[ Australia Day is marked on 26 January every year with a national public holiday. The Bulletin focuses on three main areas: nuclear risk, climate change, and disruptive technologies, including developments in biotechnology. "We need to abolish Australia Day and change the discourse - it shouldn't be a day of celebration but a day of remembrance." The second argument is to change the date of the Australia Day celebration, moving any sort of revelry away from a day that is devastating for Indigenous people. ( typeof window.onload! = 'function ' ) { Join us to get the decoded output nuclear... 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