"Throw another shrimp on the barbie!"
This issue is really about two things: Aboriginals' valid historical grievance over the mass-murder and expropriation that accompanied British colonisation. Like Native Americans reluctant to celebrate Columbus Day, it's understandable that Aboriginals don't feel like throwing a party on January 26th. And the rest of the population isn't too attached to the date either: Australia has had many 'national holidays' and only settled on today's date in 1994.
Aboriginal protests against that date began shortly thereafter, but it's only recently that secondary issues have been grafted onto what is really just a request for a change of date, with the usual suspects from campuses and leftist organizations vigorously rubbing salt into the historical wound in an attempt to convince the indigenous population to weaponise their victimisation and strike at the heart of White GuiltTM, in the hopes of accruing power and wealth to themselves. They really couldn't care less about the Aboriginals, but they'll appropriate their cause, thank you very much.
As reported in the mainstream media, some radical activists have even gone as far as claiming that there should be no date for Australia Day, 'so long as historical injustices against Aboriginal people have yet to cease'. They cite current social issues to support their case, like suspicious deaths of Aboriginals in police custody, and the fact that disproportionately higher numbers of them are in prison. But high incarceration rates of Aboriginals aren't the result of political prejudice - they're the result of high crime rates. And the causes of high crimes rates are complex and cannot be reduced to blaming historical injustices.
So what does the Australian public think (whenever it actually bothers to think) about all this? According to a poll conducted by The Australia Institute, 37% of 1,417 Australians surveyed agreed that, "The current date of Australia Day is offensive to indigenous Australians," and 49% agreed that, "Australia Day should not be on a day that is offensive to indigenous Australians."
More worryingly, the survey also found that a large percentage - 38% - of those surveyed didn't even know what they were actually celebrating (the most common erroneous belief is that it commemorates Captain Cook's 'discovery' of Australia), but leaving aside the issue of the Australian public's high levels of stupidity, ignorance, and naiveté, it's clear that a substantial section of the population does see this as a valid issue.
© The Australia Institute
It [January 26] is a great unifying moment for this country where we properly celebrate our history, our Indigenous heritage, our British foundations and the multicultural character of this nation.The previous week, prime minister Malcolm Turnbull took to YouTube to say that he was "disappointed" in those who 'seek to divide Australia':
I'm disappointed by those who want to change the date of Australia Day... seeking to take a day that unites Australia and Australians and turn it into one that will divide us.With Turnbull overseeing a redundant and exorbitantly wasteful same-sex marriage survey that Australians were needlessly subjected to last year, all for the purposes of currying political favours with his ostensibly conservative base, Turnbull is the last person in Australia who should be chiding the public about using emotionally-sensitive issues to divide the nation. Of course, Turnbull is a utilitarian through-and-through, so hypocrisy is just second nature to him.
Is the government's general position - that January 26th is a 'unifying' day - correct? Australia was founded as a nation on January 1st, 1901 - the day that the Federation of the Commonwealth of Australia came into force. Before then it had existed - similarly to the United States - as a collection of separate British colonies; these were formalised as States under the new Federation. January 26th, 1788 was the date of the founding of the first of the former colonies, the British Colony of New South Wales.
Prior to the arrival of the British, Aboriginal tribes are estimated, according to mainstream historical thought, to have arrived on the continent approximately 70,000 years ago, and numbered approximately 750,000 to one million inhabitants at the time of British colonisation. Their numbers declined over the next 150 years, mainly due to exposure to infectious diseases, although conflict over land usage also killed thousands.
In 1869, the government of the Colony of Victoria passed the Aboriginal Protection Act, which decreed a policy of 'assimilation' for the remaining indigenous population, leading to the crimes that resulted in the 'Stolen Generation', where children were forcibly taken from their families and resettled with whites in a ham-fisted and frankly barbaric effort to speed up their 'integration into society'. This policy was eventually publicly acknowledged as failed, and freedoms were restored to the indigenous population via the Aborigines Act of 1910.
In the mid-19th century, a desire to facilitate co-operation on matters of mutual interest, especially intercolonial tariffs, led to proposals to unite the separate British colonies in Australia under a single federation. However, impetus mostly came from Britain and there was only lacklustre local support. The smaller colonies feared domination by the larger ones; Victoria and New South Wales disagreed over the ideology of protectionism; the then-recent American Civil War also hampered the case for federalism. These difficulties led to the failure of several attempts to bring about federation in the 1850s and 1860s. [Wikipedia - Constitution of Australia]The Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act was finally passed by the British imperial government in 1900, which officially created the Federation of the Commonwealth and formalised the first Australian Constitution, which then took force on January 1st, 1901, although it wasn't until the Australia Act of 1986 that the UK parliament formally renounced any authority to make changes to the document. As we can see, national sovereignty has been a long, hard road for Australia.
Thus, there is no basis whatsoever for Turnbull and the Liberal-National Party government's claim that 'Australia' Day was a 'unifying' event, because Australia did not even exist at that point! Only including and after January 1st, 1901 did a sovereign and legal Australian nation exist. In that sense, 'Australia Day' is indeed a unifying event, but it is clearly on the wrong date. So, if the date of January 26th is wrong, does that make January 1st a more suitable day to celebrate Australia Day?
Technically, yes, but let's face it, with nearly 40% of Aussie people having no clue what it is they're actually celebrating, it's probably fair to say that the majority simply want a public holiday called Australia Day, and they aren't really that concerned with the date. This appears to be reflected in the above poll results, with 56% agreeing with, "I don't mind when we hold Australia Day, as long as we have a day to celebrate being a nation."
When, then, should Australia Day be held? I reckon David Donovan at Independent Australia found the solution:
After that [a referendum on establishing an Australian Republic], we could just celebrate Independence Day every year ‒ perhaps we could even call it 'Australia Day' ‒ and everyone might be content.Indeed. The best solution (and perhaps the only one) is to move Australia Day to a different date - one that is based on a democratic expression of will by ALL Aussies for their future. We could even work out in advance what date we'd like the public holiday to be on!
Reader Comments
To add, Fremantle Western Australia, as of last year[Link] [Link] [Link] did not recognize or celebrate Australia day on the 26th. Instead moving the date to the 28 and calling it One day. They were the only city in Aus that did this causing a big stir however, this year more cities are opting out of 26th.
crikey.. you guys are still a colony!
Australia is a federation, a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary democracy. This means that Australia: Has a Queen, who resides in the United Kingdom and is represented in Australia by a Governor-General.
that sounds a lot like a duckbill platypus to me.
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this tune is right up there with nine inch nails.. 'closer'..
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P s. There's nothing wrong with monotremes, or being unique.
We love the word 'bloody' as an adjective so why not call it Australia's bloody invasion day.
I actually don't agree moving the date would be effective. I'd just rather people became educated about what happened on that day and every day thereafter.... leaving out no detail, then shall we see who is still proud to be an Aussie!
they are scattered all across my country.
one time in Colorado.. I pulled over in my truck to sleep.. (I knew that I was on a reservation near Cortez CO)
in the morning.. I was woke up by injuns! and they were on the war path! yikes!
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Unpaid credit at the roulette table?
after they checked me out. all was good. they really are cool people.
do you know what a 'Hogan' is?
A hogan (/ˈhoʊɡɑːn/ or /ˈhoʊɡən/; from Navajo hooghan [hoːɣan]) is the primary, traditional dwelling of the Navajo people. Other traditional structures include the summer shelter, the underground home, and the sweat house.
it is a different world out west in the United States.
I highly recommend southern Utah territory. and yes, that is approved by Kokopelli himself!
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communities that still live quite primitive compared to the rest of society and are happy to do so. The Australian government urges them to integrate sometimes by force, cutting off essential supplies like land and electricity. The integration into western living doesn't go so well for many of our indigenous brothers and sisters. They suffer with more illness physical and mental and there is a rather large problem with substance abuse also.
I honestly don't know how well it would work to give certain cultures their own governance within the Aussie booarer. Unless they are living like they always have in the past before white man came along then all I see is a recipe for disaster and mayhem- I'm not being racist but their DNA is just not adapted to western (actually mostly European) lifestyle.
they are not hated here. in fact, I would say that they are adored.
but no, they do not seem to know what to do with themselves dear..
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This gives a good insight to the Indigenous way of the land: [Link]
Government treatment of the Indigenous over land: [Link]
history of the fight for Land rights: [Link]
If interested: [Link]
Social adaption is another thing entirely even with migrants coming from similar backgrounds. This is probably where the concept of racism comes from.
As far as the 'many indigenous people who have adapted to Australian society' goes, many of them were part of the 'stolen generation' who were forcibly removed from their parents (by white authorities) and some of them were only partly (genetically) aboriginal.
I don't think a 'level playing field' exists for anyone, at any time, in any form, as it is part of the STS experience on this planet. Although I could be wrong.
It’s difficult to estimate the current level of integration with western society by the indigenous in Australia, but employment rates in general have been going up over the last century. The fact that issues like mental illness, substance abuse, discrimination and ‘inequality’ are being highlighted with more focus by indigenous social workers rather than basic civil rights (voting etc) shows that, over the years, the colonial mindset has ceded rights formerly reserved only for those considered to be part of the dominant culture. This could not have happened without effort made on the part of the indigenous themselves. Credit where due. Admittedly there are certain “big issues” like a treaty etc that are still yet to be resolved, but these are being dealt with one step at a time.
It may be considered unwise of me to take the position that a subjugated indigenous culture can ever completely integrate with a dominant colonial one, but a new balance can be achieved if the subjugated culture are willing, in good faith, to bring something to the table. To assume that Aboriginal culture can be completely disposed of “in toto”, without repercussions to their conquerors may be to make a grave mistake. As the saying goes, “Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.” Aboriginal culture has a wealth of geographical, botanical, mythological and astronomical knowledge that may provide clues to new discoveries and ancient mysteries. To condone an evolutionary demise for them is short-sighted, or so I think.
Racism, like most divisive ideologies, has probably been around since pathology first appeared on the scene, maybe circa 20,000 years ago.
As for ‘level playing field’ - of course it does! It just depends on the context. For instance, parents go out of their way to create a ‘level playing field’ for their kids’ junior footy matches. They want the game to be played fairly, after all. Now, you can claim that some kids have an advantage due to height or weight etc, but those are the players, not the field. ;-)
Psychopathic behavior is not confined to white people, nor men for that matter. I suppose, in the same vein, neither should racism be confined to white people, or 'Westerners'.
My issue with changing the date of Australia Day is that it fixes nothing! It doesn't redress the crimes of the past by asking the current generations to 'do' something. It never will. It doesn't create a better understanding of Aboriginal culture, nor does it advance their health or well being. These two things, for such an ancient culture, are inextricably linked! Their culture is dying, their members are dying, and it's not because of what day Australia Day is on!
our own native Americans did not believe in the ownership of land. all anyone can ever really own..
is what one builds on the land in question.
I went to the ceremony of land this morning and one thing stood out from an elders speech: it was the fact that traditional owners never had time or dates; so to them, a date for Australia day was not important. What was important was that everyone come together to celebrate the traditional ways, and to share in the cultural exchange, thus keeping their heritage alive. So, to discuss a date to change Australia day is only to appease the European blood: the Indigenous do not care, outside of celebrating the day British settlers arrived that is.
Also if you look at the time frames for the Native American treaties, the timing was not right and the conscious elevation was not there. However, I think in todays' world, a treaty would be more understood by the traditional owners and not allow for 'slight of hand' wording by lawyers/politicians. Therefore giving clarity to which they sign.
The traditional inhabitants of the land may not have had any belief in linear time, but to claim that no indigenous person cares about an event that began a traumatisation of their people lasting hundreds of years is a simplistic (and gross) generalisation. Plus, you are insinuating that only mixed-heritage individuals are the ones protesting - wrong. I’m sure that some Aboriginal tribes were (and are) full of navel-gazing ‘dreamers’ that thought the world only existed to be “shut out”, but there were likely many that actively engaged with the world and felt wrongs done to them as something that demanded a response.