January 26th is also Indian national day. It’s Insensitive to the Plight of the Indigenous Community. New research reveals our complex attitudes to Australia Day. But, its commemoration has changed over time - as it started as a celebration for … THE POINTS - against Australia Day has always been an issue for the aboriginals ever since the arrival of Captain Cook in Botany Bay the Aboriginal community have constantly taken up arms to fight for their freedom so they would not have to be pushed aside and live with the The social and political environment of the 1935 era is yet another reason to move the date. Many Australians refer to January 26 as "Invasion Day." Year on year, increasing numbers of non-Indigenous Australians would also like it changed out of respect for Indigenous culture. The debate around Australia Day and whether the date should be changed to better include Indigenous Australians has ramped up in recent years and now it seems prevailing attitudes towards the day have started to shift. The marking of January 26 is an important date in Australia’s history. DON’T change the date of Australia Day to appease a disgruntled minority. Why we should not change the date. Change it because it makes sense, writes Kylie Lang. In 2021, Mamamia will only refer to January 26 by its date, to acknowledge that it is not a day of celebration for all Australians. Australia was only founded as a nation on January 1, 1901. Throwing a national party on January 26 is deeply offensive to Australia’s First Nations Peoples. Australia Day is currently celebrated on the January 26 because on that day in 1788 the First Fleet arrived. On Monday Albanese told Radio National that 26 January was “a day of great sadness for Indigenous people” but his proposal “would change the meaning, rather than change the date”. Turnbull questioned why the government should be “bullied” by “a tiny minority” of people who want to change the date. Year on year, increasing numbers of non-Indigenous Australians would also like it changed out of respect for Indigenous culture. Why the Flag Should Change. The First Fleet is nothing to celebrate about. This is a movement we support as a company. There is a growing movement in Australia to ‘change the date’ of Australia Day to a day more inclusive of all Australians. Why we need to change the date of Australia Day. But for many people, Indigenous or otherwise, it also goes by "Invasion Day… Well, let's make September 25 the new Australia Day. because Australia is already super awesome and multicultural and respects Indigenous people*” (*possibly not an actual quote). Creating fuss over Australia Day is like France changing their Independence day, or USA changing theirs. In Opposition, Labor had promised Aboriginal people if it was elected it would change the date of Australia Day … references to Australia Day and joined the push to change the date of our national celebration. "Australia Day is our national day to unite us in celebrating the success, opportunity and lifestyle we all enjoy here. The Australian flag was designed in 1901 after a competition was held to allow Australians to design our own flag – something that had never been done before. The day was first called Foundation Day or Anniversary Day before becoming widely adopted by all States in 1935 as Australia Day. There is the argument to change it to the 25th of January, to mark what Australia was before the invader’s arrival, while others say May 8! By Chris Graham on January 26, 2016 Aboriginal Affairs. Celebrating on this day is an acknowledgment of the first time … In 1931 the Victorian Government signed off on a proposal to make the Monday nearest to 26 January a public holiday called Australia Day… Those opposed to Australia Day do so because of the historical significance, but I celebrate on January 26 because Australia is a great country to live in, writes Anthony Dillon. This article is more than 3 years old. You cannot say that Australia day embraces all Australians while simultaneously saying that people who think the date should change are unpatriotic by “turning their backs on Australian values”. That rhetoric sends a very clear message that diversity of opinion is not an important Australian value. Why should the date of Australia Day be changed? Australia Day’s date will not change while I’m prime minister, Turnbull says. My Overall point of View is that Australia day should be changed to the 1st of January, Federation Day. News Corp reports 29% of more than 1,000 people surveyed said they would celebrate Australia Day 2021. The first ever national day was celebrated on the 30th of July 1915, not in recognition of the establishment of the colonies, but instead to raise money for the WWI effort. Australia Day is not inclusive, it celebrates the triumph of imperialism whilst rejecting the guilt that the day represents; the guilt of displacement and disempowerment of the Indigenous Australians. Increased momentum around changing the date of Australia Day reflects a growing sense that January 26 is symbolic of the Australia we used to be, not the Australia we hope to become. This is not the same as Australia. Australia Day is currently celebrated on the January 26 because on that day in 1788 the First Fleet arrived. Australia did not become a nation until 1901 when the six British colonies united to form the Commonwealth of Australia. “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. It was a day in History, it was the birth of Australia being Australia, and should not be changed. By Chris Graham on January 26, 2016 Aboriginal Affairs. This is why we call Australia Day “Invasion Day.” For us, it is a day of mourning. Not until 1935 did all the Australian states and territories use that name to mark that date. News.com.au, 26/1/2017 'Here's a date that Governor Phillip and Bennelong might call Australia Day', SMH 25/1/2020 Polling commissioned by the Institute of Public Affairs, a conservative think-tank, showed just 10 per cent of 1,000 people surveyed want to change the date of Australia Day. Are they right to call for change? Australia Day, which commemorates the arrival of the British fleet in Australia in 1788, is held January 26. Why we should not change the date. Australia Day has changed over time. Why Australia Day should stay as it is | Opinion 3 years, ... not changing Australia Day. It makes Australia a more multicultural society and is less offending to the Aboriginal Australians. January 26 is Australia Day because it marks the birth of Australia as a modern western nation. A nation that is not, and has never been fair, free or young. According to the Australia Day website: “The tradition of having Australia Day as a national holiday on 26 January is a recent one. With Australia Day just around the corner, only half of young West Aussies believe the celebrations should remain on January 26. To many Australians, Australia Day is just another day off. For many, the jingoism behind Australia Day is representative of a settler colonialism state that should not be preserved. 75% of Australians support Australia Day being celebrated on January 26 according to a new poll of 1,000 Australian commissioned by the Institute of Public Affairs. CHANGE THE DATE: Read This If You Want To Know Why Australia Day Is So Offensive 0. The dispossession of Australia’s First Peoples began on this date in 1788 representing a day of mourning rather than celebration. The date of January 26th has been criticised as inappropriate for a day of national celebration as it is a day associated with loss and mourning for Aboriginal Australians and many non-Aboriginal Australians who support them. Should the date for Australia Day be changed? However, 116 years on and there is a debate on why the Australian flag should be changed. It is usual for national flags to change from time to time as a nation evolves. The date of Australia Day should be changed. As I was not born in Australia and only received my Australian citizenship in 1995, I have never really seen the significance of the public holiday; however one thing I do believe in, is that the date should be changed. Explained: Australia Day, and the controversy surrounding it; Explained: Australia Day, and the controversy surrounding it Australia Day: In recent years, the celebration has become controversial because of a "change the date" campaign, the supporters of which demand the date of Australia Day be changed from January 26 to May 9. These moves followed the City of Freemantle’s 2016 decision to cancel its Australia Day fireworks display, in favour of a more ‘culturally inclusive’ celebration to be held on 28 January. Well it marks a significant date in Australia's history but not everyone thinks it's a date that should be celebrated. Seven reasons not to change Australia Day THE ABC's website claims: “Momentum is building to change the date of out of respect for indigenous Australians — many of whom view 26 January as ‘Invasion Day’.” Australia did not become a nation until 1901 when the six British colonies united to form the Commonwealth of Australia. (Getty) Forty-one per cent of those surveyed believed changing the date of Australia Day would be important in improving the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. January 24, 2019 1.43pm EST. January 26 does have historical significance. But he opposes the push to change the date of Australia Day from January 26, a date many Indigenous people see as a mourning or invasion day. Our present flag dates from only 1953. Celebrating on this day is an acknowledgment of the first time … The date of Australia Day has changed many times before it was settled on the 26th of January. Because it sounds like ‘mate!’ On and on the opinions of what day we should celebrate go on, including those who simply demand we abolish Australia Day. On that day in 1788, 11 convict ships from Great Britain landed at Port Jackson in New South Wales, where Governor Arthur Phillip raised the British flag to … Australia Day, which commemorates the arrival of the British fleet in Australia in 1788, is held January 26. More and more local councils have begun to reject Australia Day ceremonies. January 26, 1788, was the day Arthur Phillip arrived in Sydney Cove and founded the settler colony of NSW. Australia Day has changed over time. Not everything about Australia’s history is worth celebrating. And they are wrong for seven reasons. THE ABC is now using its huge power to campaign to change the date of Australia Day. Its website even claims: “Momentum is building to change the date of out of respect for indigenous Australians — many of whom view 26 January as ‘Invasion Day’.” I want to change the date and I've got seven "other" reasons as to why January 26 is a really dumb date on which to celebrate our national day: More reasons not to celebrate Australia Day on January 26. The First Fleet arrived in Sydney on 26 January 1788 and proceeded to proclaim the Colony of New South Wales. The 'Immigration Restriction Act' goes … "Australia Day" is what you might hear in media and on TV. Australians celebrate their national day – Australia Day – on 26 January with a public holiday. That … So, I … An Australia Day reflection... AUSTRALIA DAY, 26th of January 1788. It's not like Mothers Day, which is an arbitrary date. It follows that if we are to have an inclusive Australia Day that the date must be changed. During this article, we will discuss both sides of the debate. Comment. But that happened in April of 1770. 2 min read. 'Being honest about our past means having this difficult conversation…' In a moving online exclusive, @teelareid explains why 2020 needs to be a year of reckoning, not reconciliation, with Australia's past. The day marks the anniversary of the First Fleet's arrival in Sydney in 1788. Therefore, Australia Day should be changed to a more appropriate date that truly represents Australians at our finest. The polling conducted by Research Now reveals that only 10% of Australians think the date of Australia Day should be changed. Keeping Australia Day on January 26 only shows Australia’s collective ignorance. Australia Day or "Invasion Day" as many know it does not necessarily need to be discarded but instead we should reflect upon the date which it is held. Only in Australia would such a discussion even occur. But critics want to change the date—or scrap the event altogether. The day was first called Foundation Day or Anniversary Day before becoming widely adopted by all States in 1935 as Australia Day. Kylie Lang. In what form though, I do not know. This whole change the date for Australia Day, which crops up anytime from New Year’s Day onwards, has absolutely nothing to do with Australia Day.. I am happy to have a day to celebrate the joys and culture that is Aboriginal, or a week of trying bush foods and looking at achievements. Our recent poll, conducted exclusively for The West Australian newspaper in collaboration with rewardingviews.com.au , revealed a clear generational shift in attitudes towards celebrating Australia Day on January 26. I choose not to repeat myself, because the date will change. This date marked the start of mass violence against Hindus which left a million people dead. Change the date on this one and it will be a win for those people who hate Australia and all it stands for. Any agendas of changing the date are … Australia's biggest names are calling for the government to change the date this January 26th - Australia Day to a day that can be celebrated by all. In Australia, the date of Jan. 26 goes by many names. The day the White Australia Policy was abolished - 11 April. The first ever national day was celebrated on the 30th of July 1915, not in recognition of the establishment of the colonies, but instead to raise money for the WWI effort. Australia′s flag has changed many times. January 26, 1788 was the last day Indigenous Australians were the sole custodians of their land. But what has changed markedly is the subject of debate around Australia Day. Like all national days, the significance attached to Australia Day has changed over time. Recently, there have been calls for Australia Day to move. The Australian flag debate is a periodic question over whether the Australian flag should be changed, particularly to remove the Union Jack from the canton, but also to possibly introduce a completely new design without the Southern Cross.. Third, 1935 was arguably the height of the white Australia … January 24, 2017 - 1:35PM. In 2004, a Newspoll survey that asked if the date of Australia Day should be moved to one that is not associated with European settlement found 79 per cent of respondents favoured no change… Some Australians have interpreted the date of Anzac Day to mean a celebration of Gallipoli, which they feel should be forgotten. Should the date for Australia Day be changed? Pros Cons Australia Day has no long standing history, so there should be less resistance to change. January 26 does have historical significance. In the cultural warfare over whether January 26 should be retained as Australia Day… That’s 5% down from last year and an … In Opposition, Labor had promised Aboriginal people if it was elected it would change the date of Australia Day … The controversy has led to a growing push to change the date of the country's national … Australia Day: Changing date 'pointless — and there is much to celebrate'. Now the talk is far more consequential, urgent and pointed. Australia Day is a national public holiday on the 26th of January, the anniversary of the arrival of the First Fleet in Australia. 71% of Australians support Australia Day being celebrated on January 26 according to a new poll of over 1,000 Australians commissioned by the Institute of Public Affairs. Indigenous leaders have been demanding to change date since 2000. ‘Australia Day’ itself was only formalised as a national holiday in 1994 and prior to … Indigenous Affairs Minister Ken Wyatt says date of Australia Day should not be changed based on ‘minority opinion’ Joanna Delalande The West Australian … Hint: It’s not the day Australia was founded. For Aboriginal Australians, the date Brooke Boney has given a powerful explanation about why she believes Australia Day needs to be changed from January 26. The social and political environment of the 1935 era is yet another reason to move the date. Let's face it, if you still don't think the date will be or needs to be changed you are simply denying the inevitable. It should have always been obvious that designating a date that British settlers arrived in the country as a national day of celebration would be offensive to indigenous Australians. Not only is the date inaccurate about the … Those opposed to Australia Day do so because of the historical significance. Third, 1935 was arguably the height of the white Australia … One such Australian was Paul Keating, who declared in 2008 that Gallipoli was a useless battle that was fought for British interests. 'Eight alternative days to celebrate Australia Day that are not January 26', SBS News 20/3/2016 'Change the date: When should Australia Day be held?' Advocates of change in Australia believe that another flag design would be more effective in representing Australia than the current flag. 'Why we should NOT change the date of Australia Day' "And for the Greens’ Richard Di Natale and Adam Bandt, go celebrate whatever you celebrate on another day and leave the rest of us alone." Sadly this symbolises, all too well, Australia’s treatment, to this day, of the traditional custodians of the land. Keeping Australia Day on January 26 only shows Australia’s collective ignorance. This is why. In 1931 the Victorian Government signed off on a proposal to make the Monday nearest to 26 January a public holiday called Australia Day… A huge line-up of events takes place around the country, including concerts, beach parties and parades that bring together communities from all … Most Australians would have been told of that joyous moment Captain James Cook sailed into Botany Bay and claimed the land as “Terra Nullius”. The latest version of the British flag dates from 1801, that of Canada 1965, South Africa 1994, France 1848, Israel 1948, Japan 1854, Spain 1936 and USA 1960. And the moral ledger is overwhelmingly in the positive. The day we celebrate Australia was based on events that happened 18 years later. Australia Day has become the annual starters gun for all … Why It Should Not Be Changed. But critics want to change the date—or scrap the event altogether. Not only will we celebrate, many will commiserate and call for the day to be changed. Currently Australia day portrays Australia as … While Anzac Day has very wide support in Australia, it is not universal. It is also, in its current form, relatively new. Personally, Australia Day does not mean a lot to me. But January 26 is the genesis of all the good things, as well as the bad. Are they right to call for change? What a … The 26th of January commemorates the establishment of the first settlement in the colony of New South Wales. 22 January 2020. The problem with Australia Day isn’t the actual celebration of our nation, it’s the day on which it’s held. More and more local councils have begun to reject Australia Day ceremonies. The quest to change the date isn’t about respect or making indigenous Australians lives better, it … 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. Indigenous leaders have been demanding to change date since 2000. 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