Thats a full 64 years before the day became an official holiday. Australia Day: Change the date? 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. Your support will ensure IndigenousX is able to stay independent and keep making original content. There is no greater opportunity for that conversation than one simple question: What date should Australia Day be held on? 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.. Even if the date is a floating one every year the same way Easter or the Melbourne Cup is decided. There are no sound reasons why the date shouldnt be changed but there are plenty of reasons why the nation needs to change. It will always be the day that the First (not really) Fleet came to Australia. Many companies have actually started giving their employees another day off, like January 27th, and leaving January 26th as a working day. January 26 does have historical significance. Ive written about that date before, its origins and forgotten storiesand recent almost-comical attempts to protect a public holiday. Not until 1935 did all the Australian states and territories use that name to mark that date. 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. I would also like to see January 26 marked as a far more sombre occasion. I want an Australia thats worth celebrating. If it doesnt really matter to most people when Australia Day is held, but it does to the Aboriginal community, then why not just change the date of Australia Day? Counselling and bespoke consulting programs to help you make better decisions and navigate complexity. "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. Whatever people choose to call that day, it is not a date suitable for rejoicing. The Bulletin focuses on three main areas: nuclear risk, climate change, and disruptive technologies, including developments in biotechnology. // console.log('force ' + all_links.href); Six years later, triple js Hottest 100 is just as popular, despite not occurring on January 26 and theres barely been any discussion about the date change since. Why not share this news? "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. // forced if the address starts with http (or also https), but does not link to the current domain Watch the evidence. The voice of whiteness is also found in present arguments, like when the violence of settlement is justified by what the British introduced. "It's a very significant day for the foundation of Australia, and . 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. The colonisation of Australia was done through force, displacing Indigenous communities from their ancestral homelands. Many Australians might not care which day Australia Day is held on, but for others, it is a day of major celebrations. In 2019, just 28 per centof respondents were strongly in favour of seeing a shift to the date, in 2021 that went upto 39 per cent. color: yellow!important; Its also not like this day has been celebrated for a very long time. I need to convert it to UTC timezone first, then change it to a date format. By signing up, you agree to Pedestrian Group's Terms of Service and consent to our Privacy Policy. Not to mention, the colonial structures that are at the foundation of the Australia we now know are still very much impacting on the experiences of Indigenous people, and ultimately, continuing to oppress and disadvantage them systematically. Not until 1935 did all the Australian states and territories use that name to mark that date. Sienna-Swan, 12, said it was a "fun, kind and respectful" way to spend the day. Get the latest inspiration, intelligence, events & more. We use cookies to improve your experience on our website. Therefore, Australia Day should be changed to a more appropriate date that truly represents Australians at our finest. 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. Each year, a growing number of Australians acknowledge that the 26thof January is not an appropriate date for an inclusive celebration. 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. Back in 2019, 28% of respondents were strongly in favour of seeing a shift from the date. 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. 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. window.dm = window.dm ||{ AjaxData:[]}; Cancelling the commemoration completely would move the conversation around racism forward in this country, while also highlighting the needs of First Nations peoples. -------------------------------------------------------------. Each year since 2015, Essential Media has managed a poll with results showing a steady decline in people celebrating on January 26. } else { .page-id-1799240 .entry-title { var f = d.getElementsByTagName( s )[ 0 ], } January 26: Its one of Australias most divisive days. Isnt that the epitome of cruelty? 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. Just over 26 per cent of our 24 million Australians were born overseas and many were granted their citizenship on January 26. Write letters to your elected officials and demand change. By comparison, Indigenous Australians have been protesting on the date since 1938 well before it was made a national holiday! 18 January 2018. 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. He is the founder and CEO of IndigenousX. It could be: A rolling date, set on the third Friday in January to guarantee a long weekend every year (very much here for this). For those that protest, there are mixed views over whether to change the date or abolish the national holiday altogether. /* ]]> */ The sovereignty of approximately 600 distinctly different cultural/language groups was never ceded. (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. Australia Day: Should we change the date? It also marks the start of Reconciliation Week. Australia has only had 21 years of holding Australia Day on the 26th of January, surely that isnt too many years to acknowledge that it was a poor choice and move it to a better day. The date signifies the beginning of a long, painful history of bloody genocide, slavery, stolen land and stolen children that lasted hundreds of years. Additionally, the origins of celebrating Australia Day on January 26 dont actually date back that far. new Date().getTime(), event: 'gtm.js' It is white superiority to insist science, language, religion, law and social structures of an invading force are benevolent gifts. When is Australia Day? When Ms Reys began her work with Reconciliation Australia, she observed limited support for changing the date of Australia Day. According to SBS, Yarra Council and Darebin Council in Melbourne also voted to cancel citizenship ceremonies on this date for the same reason. Learn more about our use of cookies: Cookie Policy, Why So Many Australians Are Changing Their Minds About Australia Day, Tesla Investor Day 2023: Elon Unveils Plan for Eco-Friendly World Domination, The Headlines: Why a Greece Train Crash Killed at Least 40 People, The Latest Inflation Rate Figures Are in and They Are, Once Again, Bad, According to the ABCs Australia Talks National Survey 2021, Victorian Aboriginal owned and led social enterprise, donate to an Indigenous organisation or charity, Why the Indigenous Voice to Parliament Isnt Going to Be as Straightforward as You Think, Know Better, Do Better: The Best Aussie Podcasts to Educate Yourself on Indigenous History, Chances Are the Super Changes Are Never Going to Affect You (and If They Do, Lucky You), The Headlines: House Prices in Australia Stabilise, Rise in Sydney, Talking About the Weather, the BoM Says We May Have Finally Given La Nia the Flick. j.src = As one Aboriginal person said, You dont visit someones house, rape, and pillage them, and then tell them you are going to celebrate that day as their birthday.. Many are asking whether Australia Day should be on January 26th. if(force != '' && all_links.href.search(force) != -1) { They asked the government to consider what that day meant to them, the First Peoples, and called for equality and justice. Through his advocacy work, Mr Dawe wants to break the cycle of trauma which happens to Aboriginal children who are placed in out-of-home care. external_links_in_new_windows_load(external_links_in_new_windows_loop); In this announcement, triple j said it could no longer ignore the issue after a survey conducted by the station revealed that 60% of listeners wanted the Hottest 100 moved to a different date. Australia has a long way to go WATCH: Do Uni Students Have Skin Care Routines? Changing the date is accountability, its saying that we f**ked up, real bad. Today many Australians celebrate Christmas for other reasons: family; end of another hard year; food and drink; and summer holidays. What is Australia Day for? But changing the date of Australia Day is something we can do now. In recent years, Australia Day protests have swelled and tens of thousands of people Indigenous and non-Indigenous march together all across the country. The prime, simple reason for Australia Day staying put is that most Australians want it that way so they can salute their nation. 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. Kamilaroi man and Channel 9 sports journalist, Jake Duke told Clothing the Gap that he would like to see the date of Australia Day changed. A catalyst for debate, an opportunity for change. 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. The ABC shouldnt be buying into this debate, Fifield said at the time. We asked 60,000 Australians about their lives. Australia Day is marked on 26 January every year with a national public holiday. Connect the output pin of TSOP1738 to Arduino digital pin 11 to get the decoded output. 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. 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.. Crescent Wealth 2021 | Privacy Policy|Legal Notices | TFN Collection Statement. Now, she said, Australians from all walks of life are more invested in learning more "about our shared history [and] understanding Indigenous perspectives". Lets show the Aboriginals that they are a true and essential part of the unique inclusivity that makes up Australia. This is a movement we support as a company. document.links[t].setAttribute('onClick', 'javascript:window.open(\''+all_links.href+'\'); return false;'); var d = document, What is Australia Day to Aboriginals? The commemoration of this day has grown contentious in recent years as a result of a "change the date" campaign, in which supporters demand that Australia Day be moved from January 26 to May 9. var change_link = false; 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. According to the official Australia Day website, all states and territories didnt use the name Australia Day to mark the occasion until 1935. In fact, it was only 25 years ago that it . The very best of TheLatch delivered straight to your inbox. 26 January is an important day in our history, but it is not a day for celebrations. And remind them that we have robbed them? They treasure it and use the anniversary to mark it, as do their children. This movement sparked a number of much-needed conversations including the ways in which systemic racism operates within this country. The Hottest 100 wasnt created as an Australia Day celebration.. change_link = false; So, how do we go about actually making this change? 8 Reasons Why The Date for Australia Day Should Be Changed. Out of the other 364 days that could be chosen, why January 26th? To change this we need a lot more than just changing the date of Australia Day, but to change this we might need a catalyst. Nayuka Gorrie, No Matter Which Day the Country Chooses to Host Its Australia Day, I Will Not Be Participating, NITV, 24 January 2019. function external_links_in_new_windows_load(func) You want a day to celebrate Australia. We invest in companies to have a positive impact on the planet, people and animals. You should obtain a copy of the relevant product disclosure statement and target market determination, before making any financial decisions in relation to these products or services. While it has been celebrated in NSW as far back as 1818, weve only been doing it as a united country for a couple of decades. //