Secondly, changing the date would spare indigenous Australian and islanders the painful reminder of their loss of country, family and culture. Then, tune in at 8:00pm on Monday, June 21 to watch hosts Annabel Crabb and Nazeem Hussain take you through the key findings and explore the survey with some of Australia's best-loved celebrities. It was inconsiderate to have changed the date in 1994 to the 26th January. A day we come together and reflect on our collective national history. In fact to all Aboriginals, January 26th marks the beginning of a long-standing oppressive regime that took away their rights, their unique cultures, and their resources. The date was again changed on July 30, 1915, when "Australia Day" was held as a Red Cross fundraiser for Australian servicemen injured in World War I. A day to reflect on the dark parts of our history, so we can move forward together as a nation.. The very best of TheLatch delivered straight to your inbox. In fact, its a day when many immigrants become Australian citizens, which is a day of great joy for them to be finally included as an official member of a family and country they love so much. Did you find this helpful? Our treatment of Indigenous peoples, of asylum seekers, of the homeless, of the unemployed, of women, of veterans, of pensioners (the list goes on and on) is not great. Of course, many employees can choose to take both days off, so they can be with their families. } Indigenous groups have been protesting the date foralmost 90 years. 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. Warning: This article deals with the topic of targeted violence against certain groups and may be triggering for some readers. So its understandable that 26 January is not a day of celebration for our Aboriginal community. The dispossession of Australia's First Peoples began on this date in 1788 representing a day of mourning rather than celebration. He knew that Australia Day was not a celebratory day from an Aboriginal perspective, and did not bother with the pretense that it ever could be. In fact, many have decided to join the movement of Change It Ourselves. Instead of waiting for the governments to do something about it, they have decided to take the first step themselves. external_links_in_new_windows_load(external_links_in_new_windows_loop); Not until 1994 did they begin to celebrate Australia Day consistently as a public holiday on that date." var f = d.getElementsByTagName( s )[ 0 ], Having lived on this continent for close to 80,000 years and surviving the violence of colonisation and ongoing injustices of non-Indigenous settlement, the voices of First Peoples cannot be dismissed. color: yellow!important; The equivalent for Australia is July 9, 1900. Mr Wyatt questioned the Australia Talks findings. The national online poll canvassed the views of 1222 Australians between January 19 and January 22 on their views on changing the Australia Day date, its importance to improving the lives of Indigenous Australians and to what extent they think Indigenous Australians face racism in Australia today. . Trans-generational, or inherited trauma, is. But Its Not True, Indigenous X published on The Guardian, 22 January 2018. The answer will tell us all we need to know about how great a country Australia is. "A celebration of Australia should happen on a different date so we can have a day of reflection on 26 Jan for the broad Australian population to become familiar with the atrocities that have been committed to the Aboriginal people since white settlement." Many responders said they just wanted a public holiday. The conclusion is quite simple. Crescent Wealth acknowledges and pays respect to the past, present and future Traditional Custodians and Elders of this nation and the continuation of cultural, spiritual and educational practices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The first act that was passed after Federation was the Immigration Restriction Act 1901, commonly referred to as the White Australia Policy. There is no greater opportunity for that conversation than one simple question: What date should Australia Day be held on? 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.. "Australia Day is a day to celebrate Indigenous, British and multicultural history and look forward in unity with a determination to build a stronger and more rewarding Australia for all.". So, before you get into a Facebook comment war with a profile picture of a V8 Commodore, read the below excerpt from How to Win Every Argument: A No-Filter Guide to Being Right About Everything. // ignored if (typeof window.onload != 'function'){ } 18 January 2018. change_link = false; More than half (53%) of millennials (those born between 1986 and 2002) think we should not celebrate Australia Day on January 26. 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? Itll help, promise. Australia Day was only formalised as a national holiday in 1994 to some, thats not a very longstanding tradition. A nation that is not, and has never been fair, free or young. Thats where it all began, thats where Australia first started as it is known now, and thats where it needs to change first. But every celebration, every BBQ, every family gathering, is tainted by the knowledge that this day was the beginning of the end for many Aboriginal people. The Commonwealth of Australia was formed on May 9, 1901, when Australia's first parliament convened and the six British colonies merged to . It is not something that is worth celebrating, and there is nothing about the arrival of the First Fleet that gives pause to reflect on what it would take to become great. As a first-generation Australian I firmly believe that to truly understand the issue, we have to listen to First Nations voices of all kinds. For former Christian Super members, the USI is: CHR0001AU. Australia Day is the official national day of Australia.Observed annually on 26 January, it marks the 1788 landing of the First Fleet, and raising of the Union Flag by Arthur Phillip, at Sydney Cove in New South Wales.In present-day Australia, celebrations aim to reflect the diverse society and landscape of the nation and are marked by community and family events, reflections on Australian . This happened back in 1788, and it marks the proclamation of British sovereignty over the eastern seaboard of Australia. Check out our website to get more details. Jack Latimore, Its Convenient to Say Aboriginal People Support Australia Day. why shotgun shell shortage Earlier this year, we temporarily stopped shipments of Wegovy 0.25 mg, 0.5 mg and 1 mg dose strengths. [3] [4] Historically, eugenicists have attempted to alter human gene pools by excluding . I choose not to repeat myself, because the date will change. A good house requires a great foundation, and a great nation requires a solid ground as well. That was not the . Use our interactive tool to see the results and how your answers compare. So, how do we go about actually making this change? This shift became about as more folks became conscious and alert to the ugliness that followed the invasion of the land we now call Australia in 1788. } 'gtm.start': It also marks the start of Reconciliation Week. Many companies have actually started giving their employees another day off, like January 27th, and leaving January 26th as a working day. Putting ethics at the centre of everyday life. document.links = document.getElementsByTagName('a'); Things like festival pill-testing, renewable vs. fossil fuel-generated energy, whether free speech is dead and, yes, a whole chapter on Survival/Australia Day. 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. If we wanted to make the whole thing more Australian, we could celebrate the day the Constitution passed the Australian Parliament. According to the Australia Day website: "The tradition of having Australia Day as a national holiday on 26 January is a recent one. Watch the evidence. 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. In 1888 when Henry Parkes the premier of NSW at the time was asked if there was anything plannedfor Aboriginal people on Australia Day he said: And remind them that we have robbed them?. Several local councils around the country have stopped celebrating Australia Day on January 26 against the wishes of the Federal Government. //]]> After all, doesnt the national anthem say: Australians all let us rejoice? var ignore = 'https://imgix.pedestrian.tv'; What about that day says whats great about Australia and being Australia? But changing the date of Australia Day is something we can do now. Why would the Aborigines wish to celebrate this day every year? The Australia Talks National Survey 2021 has revealed a majority of people now believe Australia Day should not be celebrated on January 26, given the historical significance of the date for Indigenous nations. Seeing how this negatively affects Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be enough for white Australians to understand the importance of changing the date. window.onload = func; The interesting thing is that out of the 364 other days that could be potentially celebrated as Australia Day, why this day was particularly chosen is mystifying? The history of Australia, and the history of its national day, is fraught with controversy and suffering.There are a tonne of good reasons why the calls to change the date get louder each year and there is growing recognition amongst the non-Indigenous population that January 26th is not the date to celebrate. Australias First Peoples are diverse with different perspectives and views. We use cookies to improve your experience on our website. Australian Ethical acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the country on which we work, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, and recognise and celebrate their continuing connection to land, waters and culture. Shelley Reys has been at the forefront of the Reconciliation movement for three decades. Australia Day. This is especially so if you want to be a nation known for its inclusivity and multiculturalism. "We are a multicultural country and a lot of people have come and married into our family and we need to do the right thing and respect all cultures," he said. But thats actually a false assumption. Changing the nation involves settler colonialists being more aware of the history of invasion and brutal settlement, as well as the continuing impact on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. 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. Its like an official slap in the face of the Aboriginal people. Changing the date is accountability, its saying that we f**ked up, real bad. Social structures implanted by the new arrivals were not beneficial for First Peoples, who were barred from economic participation and denied genuine access to education, health and justice until approximately the 1970s. function external_links_in_new_windows_loop() { Luke Pearson is a Gamilaroi man living in NSW. Celebrating on this day is an acknowledgment of the first time Europeans inhabited Australian land: men, women and children. You could say that this was the day we finally came together as Aussies. The problem here isnt whether a couple of prime ministers agree with the debate of changing the date of Australia day or not. Before you arc up, no one is suggesting we dont celebrate this beautiful country we live in. It was also when Indigenous people began being oppressed - massacred,. May 9, the day of the first sitting of Federal Parliament in 1901 and the day that Parliament moved to Canberra in 1927. There are many things we want to celebrate about Australia, but 26 January doesn't represent an inclusive day for everyone. "Part of that is understanding the perspective of the other, and in this case it's about January 26, and possibly changing that date.". The two sides to the Change The Date discussion were written in consultation with Marlee Silva, founder of Tiddas 4 Tiddas. } #post-1784265 .brightcove-video-container { Its assumed by all Australians that January 26th was the day that the First Fleet landed in the land that more than 500 indigenous groups and about 750,000 people occupied. It is then we will be able to achieve a day that celebrates all the things we love about our great southern land and also creates a new, inclusive day of celebration for our First Australians. These are held every year around the country and allow you to support First Nations people on an upsetting day. var all_links = document.links[t]; 26 January has been celebrated in varying forms throughout our colonised history but it wasnt until 1994 25 years ago that it became a national public holiday. Out of the other 364 days that could be chosen, why January 26th? Its worth noting that it was on the third ever national Australia Day that a notable Indigenous protest was created. Obviously, he isnt considering the full picture and the entire experience of all the Australian citizens. Australia Day is a national holiday that takes place on the 26th of January every year - the day that Arthur Phillip landed his fleet on the eastern seaboard and established the first, permanent European settlement in Australia. Two years ago the ABC asked tens of thousands of people to share their thoughts, feelings and experiences. We know this isnt a solution, but we take it as a sign of solidarity with the First Peoples. Australia has a long way to go. Nebrass strategies are always focused on return on investments, customer retention and high brand value. It wasn't until 1994 that the Australia Day public holiday was consistently held on 26 January each year. The number of people who agree with that sentiment has jumped by 12 percentage points since the last Australia Talks survey in 2019 one of the biggest moves in public sentiment between the two surveys. The prime, simple reason for Australia Day staying put is that most Australians want it that way so they can salute their nation. Maybe some Australians dont think about the negative connotations of celebrating Australia Day on a day with such bloody history, but many think its unacceptable. "We're trying to dig a little bit deeper about making it more meaningful," she said. 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. But Australia Day ends up being a blight on this picture-perfect scene. Indigenous designer, artist and activist, Rachael Sarra, explained the importance of this on Instagram. January 26 is not a day for celebration - that's why news.com.au is campaigning to change the date of Australia Day, so we can celebrate the best country in the world, without leaving anyone behind. An elderly man walking along the boardwalk was adamant the date should not be changed. And how can we celebrate our nation on a date that so many mourn? }; This is a fundraising ribbon circulated for the first Australia Day on July 30, 1915. And thats one of many reasons why Australia Dayshould be changedfrom January 26th to some other more suitable day. AEST = Australian Eastern Standard Time which is 10 hours ahead of GMT (Greenwich Mean Time), abc.net.au/news/australia-day-january-26-views-changing-australia-talks-reveals/100223940, Get breaking news alerts directly to your phone with our app, 'We are not the same, that's why you not understand': An interview with a mother accused of a terrible crime, 'I just sit here and chill now': Tasha used to hide in her tent when pedestrians passed by, Man shot dead outside martial arts gym in Sydney's west, 'At what point do you put people's lives at risk? 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. 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. In 2017, the Australia Institute found a whopping 62% of people did not know what the day marked. Finally, Australia Day is irrelevant as the white Australia policy was abolished on march 24th,1966 Australia has now become a multicultural country, our population now comes from 200 countries globally. Indigenous groups have been protesting against celebrating January 26th as any sort of public holiday for90 years now!!! January 26 does have historical significance. Join the conversation SIGNS THAT UKRAINE COULD ACTUALLY WIN THIS It's a miracle. Whyshould Australia Day be changed? There has also been a marked shift in the number of people who "strongly agreed" celebrations should move. You should consider seeking advice from an authorised financial adviser before making an investment decision. Consider also using January 26 as an opportunity to donate to an Indigenous organisation or charity, take in anti-racist resources, and refresh yourself on how to support BIPOC in the long term. Your support will ensure IndigenousX is able to stay independent and keep making original content. But the generational differences are significant. Because, when it comes to this tradition, what exactly are we celebrating? As rightly pointed out by many, changing the date of Australia Day without the achievement of social justice or legal restitution in the form of Land Rights and Treaty only moves the celebration of unfinished business to another date. A catalyst that will make us pause, reflect upon, and discuss what sort of country we have been, where we are today, and where we want to be in the future. 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. Its like ignoring the pleas and plights of the biggest populace of what makes Australia uniquely Australia. Indigenous people have called Australia home formore than 60,000 years, being custodians of theworlds oldest continuous living culture. Change the nation. This is why. The date is the anniversary of the arrival of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove in 1788. if(typeof window.DotMetricsObj != 'undefined') {DotMetricsObj.onAjaxDataUpdate();} It should not be relied upon for tax, legal or accounting advice. I want an Australia thats worth celebrating. var force = ''; Its purpose is to shed light on important community-based issues facing minority groups. View policy.We respect your privacy; unsubscribe at any time. Kamilaroi dancer Russell Dawson's cultural education and performance company Koomurri Entertainment has seen a rise in bookings on Australia Day. function external_links_in_new_windows_load(func) You can buy her debut book How to Win Every Argument (from $4.99) here. In 2016, Fremantle Council voted to change its Australia Day celebrations out of respect for Indigenous Australians, while Byron Shire Council in New South Wales has moved some of its festivities from January 26. By comparison, Indigenous Australians have been protesting on the date since 1938 well before it was made a national holiday! If you would like to portray Australia as the inclusive and multicultural nation it already is, then one way to do it is to change the day of Australia Day. [CDATA[ Australia Day: Change the date? We pay our respects to Elders past and present and thank them for protecting Country since time immemorial. if(document.links[t].hasAttribute('onClick') == false) { will accept a renunciation made under section 34 of the Estates Act.2 If the renunciation is by a person entitled to administration with will annexed, the form may be varied and must include a statement that the will failed to appoint an executor, and must show the relationship of the person who . Ive written about that date before, its origins and forgotten storiesand recent almost-comical attempts to protect a public holiday. "It's a very significant day for the foundation of Australia, and . A catalyst for debate, an opportunity for change. If you are interested in our services or have any specific questions, please send us an enquiry. Luke Pearson, Why I No Longer Support #changethedate, IndigenousX, January 2019. /* ]]> */ } Even if the date is a floating one every year the same way Easter or the Melbourne Cup is decided. Read This If You Are Confused About Why People Wanna Change The Date Of Australia Day, I Used To Celebrate Australia Day Until I Realised What Jan 26 Meant For My People, How To Win Every Argument: A No-Filter Guide To Being Right About Everything, , No Matter Which Day the Country Chooses to Host, Its Australia Day, I Will Not Be Participating,, Why I No Longer Support #changethedate,, If Indigenous Voices Cant Even Be Heard on, Its Convenient to Say Aboriginal People Support Australia Day. Australia Day is our national day. One is to scrap the celebration completely, which, given that Australia is rooted in colonialism, and any celebration of it would be celebrating this fact is a fair argument. It is not that a date that will ever be forgotten. "It was mainly Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who were marching the streets and protesting, demonstrating and so no-one was part of a formal, larger, wider conversation," she said. First Peoples already had functioning, sophisticated social structures, law, spiritual beliefs, science and technology. 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. It's not magically going to undo centuries of marginalisation and disadvantage. Additionally, former Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, wasnt interested in changing the date either, saying, Australia Day is 26 January. 9, the Australia Institute found a whopping 62 % of people not! Us an enquiry func ) you can buy her debut book how to WIN every Argument ( from $ )... A solid ground as well White Australia Policy been at the forefront the! About actually making this Change Australia, but 26 January is not, it! The prime, simple reason for Australia is July 9, the Australia day was only formalised as a that. 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