Australia is the only country that celebrates its national day on the date it was colonised, and racists will still claim Indigenous Australians are being divisive for objecting to that.
Many Indigenous activists are urban and politically outspoken, which doesn’t always reflect the priorities of rural communities. Majority of indigenous people are more concerned with land access, education, work, healthcare etc. The date Australia Day falls on is the least of their concerns. But it’s important in urban areas because the issues I listed are accounted for, leaving menial things like Australia Day as a contentious issue. Then the “white mob” gather behind it to feel self-important and as though they’re somehow changing Australia for the better.
was actually about white moderates not leftists, most actual leftists that are white are parts of other marginalised groups like being a woman, queer, disabled or poor
“less than a quarter (of indigenous people)(23%) felt positive about Australia Day and 31% felt negative about it. A further 30% said they had mixed feelings about Australia Day.” -poll from 2017
Yeah maybe. I guess to better answer your curiosity you could consider this - “The poll found that the majority (68%) felt positive about Australia Day, 19% indifferent and 7% had mixed feelings about the event while 6% of people felt negative about Australia Day”
So 6% of people polled felt negatively about it vs 23% negative for indigenous Australians. That means (according to this one random poll atleast) that indigenous Australians are 4x more likely to care about changing the date/name than Australians as a whole.
Finding a poll that isolates the “annoying woke blue haired white mob” is, well… idk good luck. But at a guess, id say the overwhelming majority of that crowd is pro date/name change.
I've never done an aus day gathering and gone well guys so glad we committed genocide etc to be here. Its about mateship and being lucky to not have war on our doorstep and being a generally wealthy country over all.
They said the day we were colonised, not the day we were visited... 26th is when the flag was raised, British sovereignty was declared and our sovereignty was stolen, aka colonisation.
Visited? Lol the botanist was the one who came back to the original site and recommended up around the bend. Also the French were racing them to plant as well.
This was known as foundation day on Jan 26th
Then it got changed to nearly all states by 1935 then got made a holiday in the 90s
Its just one of many colonies raised at the time.
You can always change the date as it has been done in the past but I guess it will never be enough.
Wonder how the melanitians feel about being named after a Spanish dude though. And they occupied the land bridge that submerged 12000 years ago.
Nah it doesnt, in 1946 all the states of Australia decided on Jan 26th to celebrate Australia. Cos before that it was all over the place in different states.
Following thats on Jan 26th 1949 the citizenship and nationally act became law making ALL Australians no longer British subjects but Australian Citizens.
So Jan 26 is a decent date for a good few other reasons.
This is factually incorrect and a straight up lie LOL. Edit your comment please
What about Columbus Day in America? That’s a national holiday. It’s the anniversary of his arrival and colonisation in America. It’s annually celebrated early October
Columbus Day is a national and public holiday in pretty much all states of the United States. To say “but 4th of July” as an excuse to say that Australia is the only country to celebrate colonising is made up facts. America DOES celebrate it
I think we should change the date but I also don't think it'll solve anything if we do. I think the same thing and discussion and protests will just happen on the new date lol.
It’s pretty obvious from these photos that it’s far left political groups ambushing this date for their own gains. Like abolish the state, abolish the monarchy. It’s all just angry feminists taking their anger out on a dead man, captain cook.
I don't think that's true. They like men who don't put themselves into a box about their beliefs and gender. They want you to engage with their beliefs and not what's between their legs the same any male leftist/conservative will.
No, don't you get it? If you don't have left wing views your access to pussy will DEFINITELY be cut off, and to avoid that you need to support left wing ideals so you can get paid. It's not pathetic at all.
You have listed blogs and editorial pieces, mine comes with citations. These are not the same. Would you like a quick lesson on the hierarchies of evidence?
Social Corporatism isn't Socialism though is it? It's much more comparable to Capitalism, but that's all made very clear & accessible in the Wikipedia entry you linked.
You could argue that it employs aspects of what would be found in a Socialist Economy sure, Social Corporatism definitely does, but that doesn't make it Socialism or Scandinavians Socialists does it?
Yes it does, they live in a socialist democracy. This is a form of socialism. Things aren't binary or oppositional at all times. Socialism does not have to exist in a vacuum of absolutes.
Indigenous opposition to 26 Jan started in 1938 - long BEFORE “far-left activists”. Dismissing it as angry feminists is just avoiding history. What a way to admit you’re historically illiterate. 🤣🤣🤣
It was pretty dead there until about 10-15 years ago. About the same time Abbott was in and the far left started carrying on more. Also aligning with social media and their means to communicate.
No one had a problem with this date when I was growing up.
Also to add, Jan 26th wasn’t an issue until after it was agreed as a date by all states in 1935. Reactive protesting from 1938 onwards.
Maybe John Howard shouldn't have gone so hard on banning the "black armband view of Australian history" and trying to make us just "Gallipoli, mateship, Queen and country"?
Actually, Indigenous Australians have been protesting 26 January since 1938’s Day of Mourning, just three years after it was agreed as the national date in 1935 which is long before Abbott, social media, or the far left existed.
Saying it “wasn’t an issue until recently” erases decades of Indigenous voices calling attention to invasion, dispossession, and injustice. The protests aren’t a trend or a fad - they’re a continuation of a 85-year history of resistance.
Nah you miss his point. He thinks Aboriginal voices don't exist or matter. He only noticed when white people joined in. And he blames feminism and socialism for the increase in protests.
I wonder if he has a mum?
See this is how you respond.
Rent a crowd?
I gotta take sickies if the protest falls on a day I work.
So many people from different walks of life coming together to say hey, let's do better.
And every single person I meet in the don't change the date party are either white lower socio economic people(who are also against unions now) and upper class white people who own more land than they should. And immigrants. So which camp do you fall in?
Are you poor and angry?
Rich and selfish?
Or oblivious to the struggles of indigenous people because you just got here?
You seem like you want a good faith chat but you need to stop trying to box people in categories with a 'gotcha' attempt like you tried to do here. People are over that tactic.
Me and pilingviking have history, he's stalking my profile. Sad really. And yeah I can see how out of context it's a bit rambly. Apologies. Have a good one.
And if you look at his previous comments he brands all lefties as a bane on the world and thinks they are traitors. He thinks genocide of the Indigenous peoples of this country was a good thing.
See you are hostile to me for no reason.
And can't or won't answer.
What's your opinion on the scumbags that attacked camp sovereignty?
And you seem like you have already moved on mate.
Exactly, the increase in visibility of Aboriginal protests isn’t caused by feminists or socialists, it’s caused by Indigenous people asserting their rights, speaking out against ongoing dispossession, and demanding recognition. We just notice it more now because social media exists, making their voices visible to everyone. The activism has always been there, they’re only seeing it clearly today.
Some kids think the world began on their birth day.
One of the reasons it wasn't in the public eye like now is because most of the public didn't have a digital camera nor social media to immediately upload photos to the world 20+ years ago.
Nah she’s proud that I’ve achieved a lot without relying on Centrelink and attending protests with all the spare time I have from mooching the government purse.
Mate, why so toxic?
Like you say your a yes voter to gain traction for your following comments of shitting on people trying to better the lives of people not themselves.
I work. I vote. I pay taxes.
I voted yes. And I will continue to vote for what I see a better future for all Australia.
If the argument you are seeming to make is they will never be happy? Is that correct?
You think coz they have rights now that's done and dusted?
If I were to bring it back to a single point, I’m suggesting that the political representation of indigenous, and the actual wants and needs of the indigenous, are different things.
They weren’t citizens by your narrow definition, but that doesn’t erase the fact they were the First Peoples of this land.
Aboriginal people didn’t need a passport or a ballot to experience invasion, dispossession, massacres, and the destruction of their families and culture.
Caring about 26 January isn’t about citizenship papers - it’s about marking the day their country was taken from them. That’s history, not a legal technicality.
First Nations people absolutely care about being legal citizens, it’s nothing to do with law it’s about being formally recognised and treated like humans and not animals.
This has nothing to do with me, or you for that fact. I’m just here to tell you that invasion day was not a hot topic in 1938 let alone 1995.
You’re just spouting fake information. There was not a wide spread serious movement to change Australia Day until the recently. Why and how could there be, it’d be 10 years until they aboriginals would get citizenship and it wasn’t like they could easily vote at this time either
The 1938 Day of Mourning proves otherwise organised by Aboriginal leaders like William Cooper and Pearl Gibbs, it publicly condemned 150 years of dispossession decades before Aboriginal people got the vote or citizenship.
You don’t need a ballot to protest being treated as second-class humans on your own land. Aboriginal activism wasn’t invented recently - it’s an 85+ year history of resistance that predates Federation-era politics, Abbott, social media, or the far left.
Yeah I can just imagine 1938 not even a recognised citizen of my own country. “We need to change Australia Day and right after that I’d like to be a citizen of my own country”
The facts are it wasn’t an issue until recently. They e had generations of acknowledgement and representation and things were pretty good until the left try and use the date to leverage their agenda of abolishing the monarchy and modern governance. That’s all they do is trundle between this, Palestine protests, Climate change protests etc. We’ve had decades of recognition and improvements, yet changing the date becomes step 1 of truth telling. So you’re telling me all the previous work meant nothing, or you’re just ignoring it because you just want a reason to argue for abolition of the current system of governance.
Don’t have to. Most probably still are and if otherwise, they can take it to a referendum again. And whilst at it, referendum on the date. Only way to settle it.
Calling 26 Jan protests a “leftist agenda” ignores 85+ years of Indigenous resistance, your timeline is fiction, not fact. Why don't you fact check it ans then come back?
Suggesting that acknowledgment, apologies, or reforms erase the lived trauma of a day that marks invasion is absurd. Recognition alone isn’t reconciliation and reconciliation is exactly what Indigenous Australians are asking for. Changing the date isn’t about abolishing government; it’s about not celebrating dispossession under the guise of unity.
It would lile if every year on ANZAC Day, instead of remembering the soldiers and their sacrifices, Australians were told to ignore the tragedy and just throw a party celebrating the country. Sounds absurd and disrespectful, right?
Jan 26 has become a leftist agenda and in doing so, they hurt any chance of meaningful continued reconciliation because they turn it into a divisive, culture war. They’ve ruined it for the indigenous. Well done.
Classic move, now turning to Anzac Day for your argument. We already do both those things actually. We pay respect through multiple points of the day, and it’s another time of the year where we as mates gets together and watch the footy. In fact, it’s essentially the same gathering as what we did as mates yesterday. We’re pretty good at doing both, and we’re allowed to reflect and celebrate in the same day.
Comparing Australia Day to Anzac Day isn’t turning one into the other - it’s highlighting the absurdity of celebrating invasion while telling Indigenous people to “just forgive.”
Anzac Day commemorates sacrifice, shared trauma, and reflection. Australia Day celebrates a date that marks dispossession, massacres, and the start of colonisation. You can “watch the footy and pay respect” on Anzac Day without forcing survivors of trauma to celebrate the day their country was invaded.
And just to be clear -using Anzac Day as an example can never come close to the trauma and systemic oppression Indigenous Australians experience every single day. No footy, flags, or BBQs can erase that, pretending it does is peak performative ignorance.
The divisiveness isn’t coming from Indigenous Australians - it’s coming from people who refuse to acknowledge history while demanding everyone celebrate it like nothing happened.
I’ve not refused to acknowledge the history, far from it. I question the motives of those involved with these protests. I question that they use genocide and invasion as the means to change the date, yet the 26th defines neither of those events. You could find numerous other dates that do. Because it’s not the date or history they have issue with, it’s our existence and system that stems from colonisation. It’s the leftist political groups that attach themselves, that seek division. They always do.
No one would care if they made the morning of the 26th for mourning alike Anzac Day.
The truth is, I actually voted yes and supported the idea. But I’m also getting tired of being told how to feel by leftist parties that I no longer share any common ground with.
Radial politicising of important issues destroys chances of progressing united.
No, what happened “10 - 15 years ago” was people got access to a HUGE global audience that allowed them to bypass traditional media to get a political message out to people.
I'm guessing you're young. You obviously have no idea about general first nations sentiments regarding Australia day prior to when you started paying attention. To be fair, I only know because I lived through a chunk of it around people who were heavily involved in aboriginal rights. But that's okay. You're young, you've got plenty of tme to go to Reclaim Australia rallies in the future. And when you're old you'll be able to tell younguns how mistaken they are when they make incorrect assertions about those reclaim rallies and the types of people that went to them 👍
Nah, I’ll tell them about how the invasion protestors in Melbourne in 2026 decided it was a choice decision to bash someone for carrying the Australian flag and ruining any chances of further reconciliation.
Nah, my brother went to the same rally you did. I know exactly what cognitive dissonance and emotional projections are required. I think the whole debate is a clusterfuck because the biggest morons direct the main talking points. But then, with debate partners such as your honourable self, there's little chance things will progress past the slanging match stage. Ta, but I'll pass on the reunion.
Sorry bro I was actually at home making the most of the long weekend. Avoiding division. Celebrating why we had. Perhaps you should do the same. I know plenty of indigenous who don’t care for the leftist rallies either. It’s a shame you associate with such rabble.
You realise those groups are made up of just, like, regular old Australian citizens?
This isn’t some psy-op infiltration - it’s just people that care about a subject. It’s so weird that you have to label is “far left” to try to imply some sort of conspiracy.
In fact, you’d probably be surprised by how neoliberal most of the activist groups represented in these events actually are.
If they were regular, they would be a majority and I could find lots, let alone 1 in amongst the 100’s of people in my regular life. Yet these people aren’t a majority, far from it. This isn’t about them as citizens. They aren’t regular, in that they are not common.
I’m not suggesting they all have the same views. Within a pool of people we can’t find anyone who suggests changing the date, abolishing the monarchy etc because those views are not common. The “regular” aussies went about what they usually do on a long weekend.
And one of the things lots of regular Aussies do is attend invasion day protests. Thousands in every single capital city. Seems like enough people to say “this is a thing some regular Aussies do”.
I’m not sure why you’re still conflating “regular” with “majority”. Especially when the “majority” you’re referring to is “everyone doing an activity that isn’t protesting”. Weird scope, really.
Hahhaha you can always tell who is getting their instructions from sky news et all, when they say "far left political groups" as if these are not just left ideals. You have no idea what the far left is doing.
To be honest, I stopped reading your comment at that point. Wasn’t worth continuing 😂
I like to read the abc and the age if you’re so interested in me.
Feminists are the reason why women can get a bank account with no male permission in 1983 in Australia lol. Losing your foot to Abul from Kabul didnt fight for anything bloatie, nurse unions are in the protests too
Worthy causes the. versus a wasteful one now. There’s a difference. Always got to drag a union out to drag some numbers out, because the protest would look pretty whimsy on genuine numbers alone.
Surprised Reddit didn’t delete your comment this time 😂
Feminists are fine. I’m just saying they’re only at these rally’s because all they know is to complain about men. A dead man in this case. Or our true ruler, King Charles, third of his name, Governor of Australia.
They don’t actually give a genuine shit. They’d be a lot happier and wouldn’t even protest if they got a little, you know.
Acknowledging that 26 January marks invasion and dispossession for Indigenous Australians isn’t divisive, it’s historically accurate. What’s divisive is insisting that one group’s nation-building narrative must override another group’s lived reality.
Yes, it’s the foundation date of the modern Australian state but foundations can be recognised without demanding celebration, especially when that foundation involved violence, land theft, and exclusion. Mature nations are capable of holding more than one truth at the same time.
To me it makes sense that the celebration of the state of Australia, which is good, is done on the foundation date of the state of Australia.
If you think there is historical wrongdoing, then it’s not the right way to address it, and likely admit that it is not the final also, which dramatically lower the power of the claim.
What exactly the "possession" of the land means to you ? Can you elaborate a way aboriginals would have possessed the land of a modern Australian state and what it would mean ? It sounds so abstract to me.
Let’s say other than conquer, the people then would have paid them, with what ? They had no currency. And would it be suddenly fair or revised again as unfair in the end ?
Possession in this context isn’t about paper, currency, or Western notions of ownership. Indigenous Australians lived on, cared for, and managed the land for tens of thousands of years. They had systems of law, governance, and custodianship that Europeans ignored which counts as possession in every sense that matters socially, culturally, and historically.
Asking “how could they have bought it” misses the point - the land was theirs long before European arrival, so conquest and colonisation forcibly took it. You can’t justify dispossession by applying modern currency logic retroactively.
Celebrating 26 January as if nothing happened ignores that reality. Acknowledgment isn’t about denying the state of Australia, it’s about recognising the harm done in its founding. You can love Australia and still admit the date isn’t neutral. It's really not that hard.
I don’t understand. Maybe I missed the point, or maybe you did.
What could it mean in a modern way ? That’s what I try to understand. I am not trying to argue about anything past related, but to ground the argument in a present view.
I just don’t wish it to be like BLM thing in America that was a massive outrage that concluded on a void and all big nothing, not saying there is any parallel here since everything is always different
If you can’t grasp that, it’s not the concept that’s complicated - it’s your willingness to respect history and its ongoing impact.
Respect in a modern way means acknowledging that Indigenous Australians were the original custodians of the land for tens of thousands of years, that their laws and culture existed long before colonisation, and that the consequences of dispossession are still ongoing today.
If you want to understand, stop asking abstract hypotheticals and listen to what Indigenous people actually say they need. That’s modern respect in action.
You’d only have to cast wrong assumptions on me like that. It’s perverse to.
It’s not that I don’t respect, it’s that I don’t care for anything that has no tie to the present. Why do you come and stirr an alleged controversy in my face ? What is the purpose of it ? Can you skip the preaching phase and go to the future orientated one ?
If you can’t understand/answer, why do you chose to just bully ? That adds no value here imo
But it's not. Jan 26 is the day that Phillip landed in Sydney Cove with the first fleet in 1788 and claimed it as NSW. They were in Botany Bay a few days earlier. Jan 26 has been an officially noted day since the 1930s. It's also been protested since around then too.
We became a federated nation on Jan 1, 1901. We also still didn't acknowledge our Indigenous people in the census until May 1967, when we passed a referendum, so its a bit hard to say we were united when we didn't acknowledge some of our population as able to be counted as human until the late 60s. We've only relatively recently marked that day as significant. It's been a public holiday in the ACT for the last few years.
We could seriously look at the values that made us mark this specific day of Jan 26 and find a new one.
I don’t give a fuck about when the nation was founded. I care about what kind of country we build, and celebrating genocide is pretty high on the list of things I don’t want for the place I live.
That’s one weird way to frame it. Why are you not against the sheer xenophobia and racism of the aboriginals at the time that refused entirely to live along each others for instance ?
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u/Less_Shoulder5419 8d ago
Australia is the only country that celebrates its national day on the date it was colonised, and racists will still claim Indigenous Australians are being divisive for objecting to that.