If you are in immediate danger, call 000. It involves an active commitment to reform, which includes paying the rent. 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. People are catching up and contributing their voices to the call to change the nation, but this is not a new discussion. And remind them that we have robbed them? For years now, Aboriginal people have said that January 26th is not a day of celebration for them. Check out our tips for writing to your MP here. breadboard. The date is also known as Survival Day or Invasion Day to many. Watch: What January 26 means to different Australians. document.links[t].removeAttribute('target'); Australian Ethical Superannuation Pty Ltd (ABN 43 079 259 733, RSE L0001441,AFSL 526 055) Trustee of the Australian Ethical Retail Superannuation Fund (ABN 49 633 667 743, USI/SPIN AET0100AU). The problem here isnt whether a couple of prime ministers agree with the debate of changing the date of Australia day or not. But we are ready to rectify this. It wasn't until 1994 that the Australia Day public holiday was consistently held on 26 January each year. } Women and men had differing thoughts on the question of whether Australia Day should be moved it wasone of the Australia Talks survey questions on which men and women were most divided. 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. new Date().getTime(), event: 'gtm.js' 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. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. Changing the date would show that we have aspirations for this country to become greater than it is. That will take policy designed in concert with Indigenous communities and leaders, representation in places that matter, understanding of past wrongs, and likely several decades. We know that many of our staff will still choose to have 27 January off to fit in with their family and friends plans. j = d.createElement( s ), dl = l != 'dataLayer' ? The fight for rights is not over. Moreover, another fire was lit when a 15-year-old Noongar Yamatji boy, Cassius Turvey, died in 2022. In 2017 thousands marched in protests across the country. Keeping politics out of Australia Day The conclusion is quite simple. 4. document.links = document.getElementsByTagName('a'); The annual public holiday on January 26 was establishedin 1994, and thousands of new Australians use the occasion to attend their citizenship ceremonies. The only reasons I can fathom for opposition to changing the date is white privilege, or perhaps even racism. 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 . The date will change. Enoch said there are arguments on both sides of the . if(ignore != '' && all_links.href.search(ignore) != -1) { It compares the demographics of the 60,000 survey respondents with census data to weight responses by sex, age, education, language, geography and vote to ensure the views of Australians are accurately reflected. 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.. For many people, January 26 means two things: a public holiday and a boozy BBQ celebration. var ignore = 'https://imgix.pedestrian.tv'; 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. I would like to receive the IndigenousX monthly newsletter. } Luke Pearson, Why I No Longer Support #changethedate, IndigenousX, January 2019. s.async = true; j.async = true; if(all_links.href.search(/^http/) != -1 && all_links.href.search('www.pedestrian.tv') == -1 && all_links.href.search(/^#/) == -1) { For those that protest, there are mixed views over whether to change the date or abolish the national holiday altogether. function external_links_in_new_windows_loop() { It was inconsiderate to have changed the date in 1994 to the 26th January. display: none !important; Its like ignoring the pleas and plights of the biggest populace of what makes Australia uniquely Australia. Read more stories fromThe Latchand follow us onFacebook. We are willing to look at our bias, and we are ready to put your needs first because we know we could have done better. I need to convert it to UTC timezone first, then change it to a date format. 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. I would also like to see January 26 marked as a far more sombre occasion. Many companies have actually started giving their employees another day off, like January 27th, and leaving January 26th as a working day. Secondly, changing the date would spare indigenous Australian and islanders the painful reminder of their loss of country, family and culture. "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. The opinions on these two options are incredibly mixed and each person has their own take on the issue. We want to use this platform to provide some information on why we believe that Australia Day should not be celebrated on January 26, if at all. if (!document.links) { 5. (Supplied: Australian War Memorial)January 28. 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.. "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. When Ms Reys began her work with Reconciliation Australia, she observed limited support for changing the date of Australia Day. Australia Day should be the day we become a republic. Australia Day: Change the date? Former Federal Communications Minister, Mitch Fifield, also joined the conversation, saying he was bewildered by the decision. .custom-menu-item a { An elderly man walking along the boardwalk was adamant the date should not be changed. Kamilaroi dancer Russell Dawson's cultural education and performance company Koomurri Entertainment has seen a rise in bookings on Australia Day. By the 1900s, the indigenous population was reduced by 90%, through a systematic method of displacement, and indoctrination of the tribes into the British culture. Post continues below. 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Gemma McKinnon, If Indigenous Voices Cant Even Be Heard on Australia Day, What Hope Have We Got? ABC News, 23 January 2018. A good house requires a great foundation, and a great nation requires a solid ground as well. When is Australia Day? That was the day that Australias course changed forever. Today's episode is a very important one. Now, she said, Australians from all walks of life are more invested in learning more "about our shared history [and] understanding Indigenous perspectives". IMPORTANT INFORMATION: CLICK HERE FOR UPDATES ON COVID-19 AND YOUR SUPER, Muslims in Australia A brief history into the trade, migration and settlement of Muslims in Australia, Islamic superannuation Crescent Wealth receives honour roll award for their stance against weapons from ICAN . Articles, podcasts, videos, research & courses tackling the issues that matter. The date signifies the beginning of a long, painful history of bloody genocide, slavery, stolen land and stolen children that lasted hundreds of years. text-align: center; There are flag raising ceremonies all around the country and it is a day when many migrants (people from other countries who want to live in Australia) become Australian citizens at citizenship ceremonies. Additionally, the origins of celebrating Australia Day on January 26 dont actually date back that far. In fact, Australia comes in thetop five nations for inclusiveness, only be beaten by Canada, USA, South Africa, and France. Events and interactive experiences exploring ethics of being human. } )( window, document, 'script', 'dataLayer', 'GTM-W5PMGDG' ); Hi everyone. But Australia Day ends up being a blight on this picture-perfect scene. I still think it should remain in January so that people can enjoy a public holiday in summer and celebrate all the things that are great about being Australian. func(); "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. Since Australia Talks last surveyed Australians on changing attitudes around Indigenous recognition in 2019, tens of thousands of people have marched through capital cities as part of Black Lives Matter protests. } If we want to see Australia as a colonial outpost for the British then maybe that day makes sense, but if we want to regard Australia as a vibrant multicultural nation, and if we want to regard Indigenous peoples as a core part of the modern Australian identity then it makes absolutely no sense whatsoever to have Australia Day on that date. Plus, there are other days that do acknowledge the horrors of colonisation: National Sorry Day on May 26, Reconciliation Week, which starts on May 27, and Mabo Day on June 3. The Indigenous communities declared it a Day of Mourning that remains recognised to this day. Changing the date is accountability, its saying that we f**ked up, real bad. 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. Warning: This article contains images of Indigenous people who have died. No & it wasnt 1994, it was 1946 that the 26th January became our National Day & as a Ngadjuri Aboriginal all my Mob celebrate our National Day with pride. It will always be the day that the First (not really) Fleet came to Australia. Already others have suggested alternative dates such as ANZAC Day on April 25th. 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. Many are asking whether Australia Day should be on January 26th. s.src = 'https://au-script.dotmetrics.net/door.js?d=' + document.location.host + '&t=other'; h.appendChild(s); There is a growing movement in Australia to 'change the date' of Australia Day to a day more inclusive of all Australians. Australia Day was made a national holiday in 1994. The dispossession of Australia's First Peoples began on this date in 1788 representing a day of mourning rather than celebration. Before acting on it, consider its appropriateness to your circumstances and read the Financial Services Guide, the Product Disclosure Statement and Target Market Determination relevant to the product which is available on our website. Wouldnt that send a better message to everyone that Australia Day is a day intended for ALL Australians to celebrate? Changing the date of our current Australia day celebrations provides an outlet for all Australians to come together and rejoice for everything good about our nation whilst being respectful and helping to break down colonially embedded stigmas around Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. See where you fit on the issues that matter. The Australia Talks National Survey asked 60,000 Australians about their lives and what keeps them up at night. January 26 does have historical significance. There is growing opinion that although January 26th is Australia Day, the celebration of Australia Day on January 26th does not allow all Australians to join in celebrating Australia's greatness, and every day we get to spend being part of this great Nation and the opportunities it gives us is an 'Australia Day' we celebrate separately, so why not choose a day that we can All celebrate . 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. 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. Whyshould Australia Day be changed? If you need help applying or want to talk super, call us on 1300 926 626. 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This happened back in 1788, and it marks the proclamation of British sovereignty over the eastern seaboard of Australia. It is not just Indigenous people who have a long history of opposition to this date. So its understandable that 26 January is not a day of celebration for our Aboriginal community. Heres a list to get you started: 1. Then to have a separate day of celebration, inclusive for all. } Change the Date and we will dismantle the systems and structures that oppress us.. The same holds true if someone names "co-executors" or "several . Why not that day instead of a day that signifies the death of native cultures that occupied Australia for more than 60,000 years before? 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 . Its worth noting that it was on the third ever national Australia Day that a notable Indigenous protest was created. Before you arc up, no one is suggesting we dont celebrate this beautiful country we live in. 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, 15 . A day we come together and reflect on our collective national history. Mr Wyatt questioned the Australia Talks findings. And that's one of many reasons why Australia Day should be changed from January 26th to some other more suitable day. 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. Today many Australians celebrate Christmas for other reasons: family; end of another hard year; food and drink; and summer holidays. // console.log('Changed ' + all_links.href); While its undoubtedly an uphill battle to get governments to listen, its not impossible, which is why pressure needs to be continually applied for them to listen. Eugenics ( / judnks / yoo-JEN-iks; from Ancient Greek (e) 'good, well', and - (gens) 'come into being, growing') [1] [2] is a fringe set of beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetic quality of a human population. I want an Australia thats worth celebrating. But there are some, like prime minister Scott Morrison who believes that the day should remain as it is. These antiquated worldviews of white superiority will continue to haunt Australia until a critical mass has self reflected on power and privilege and whiteness, and acknowledges past and present injustices. "It's a very significant day for the foundation of Australia, and . Were joiningChange It Ourselves, celebrating Australia Day on a different date. That was not the . Join us! 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. display: none !important; Minister for Indigenous Australians Ken Wyatt said he did not agree with changing the date. padding-left: 16px; According to the official Australia Day website, all states and territories didnt use the name Australia Day to mark the occasion until 1935. }; 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. AFS Licence 365260 Its time to rethink our decision to celebrate a day that is painful for so many. Governance Documents, Crescent Institute 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. 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