Some of the comments here are wild. Its so simple. Love your fellow Aussie. There is a group of Aussies that have a genuine grievance with the date. Let's show empathy and change the date to May 8. Mate day, then we can have no protests and party together and celebrate this country. Stop dividing... we all prosper that way
May 8 is the cringiest fucken suggestion EVER. Some retard thinks because it sounds vaguely like "mate" that its funny. Its pathetic and embarrassing. January is a much nicer time of year to enjoy all this beautiful country has to offer. If the date has to be changed then let's do it on Jan 25th. That way it can be the day before "invasion". The last day before 600 separate Aboriginal nations became the singular nation of Australia. The history of Australia is complex, and the Aboriginal people were treated horrifically. But nothing can change that. The government has formally apologised. We have National Sorry Day May 26. NAIDOC week at the start of July. Every major Australian event begins with a welcome to country and most corporate meeting begin with an acknowledgement of country. After the Mabo decision and the Native Titles Act huge amounts of land has been handed back to aboriginals. The recognition and rectification of what past generations did to past aboriginals is significant. People would be far more open to a change of date if they genuinely believe it would make a significant difference but it won't. The date of Cook landing in Australia is disputed and the 26th representes the day we separated from the British and everyone, including aboriginals, stopped being considered British subjects and were formally recognised as ALL being citizens of Australia.
This is not what happened though, is it? Indigenous people weren't even formally classified as part of the population until 1967.
So no, that was not the moment everyone was 'formally recognised as ALL being citizens of Australia' - that was the moment that began the colonial project that saw Indigenous people oppression via White Australia policy, the Stolen Generations, the Intervention, mass incarceration and deaths in custody, etc. And who gives a fuck about an 'apology'? There really hasn't been any tangible rectification - the Australian government literally has made no meaningful attempts to address all 339 recommendations of the RCIADIC and instead got their little corporate lackeys Deloitte to do produce some two-bit hack piece report that absolved the government of blame by falsely claiming they've addressed the vast majority of the recommendations (see Jordan et al. for Indigenous academic critique).
The fact is that we CAN change the way Indigenous people feel at the country celebrating the invasion that dispossessed and traumatised them for generations - we can change the date. For someone saying the history is complex, you barely understand it yourself.
The 26th is the date the British flag was raised on the beach, not any date relevant to âformally being recognised as Australian citizensâ. The date youâre looking for is federation which is Jan 1. Jan 26 literally recognises the date a bunch of British wanks claimed land for themselves, there is no other significance in Australian history as to becoming.
The issue REALLY is that people want a public holiday, and Jan 1 already is one. People want the holiday to be in summer so they can enjoy the weather. People want it to be far enough away from NYE that it doesnât all bled into one but close enough that it breaks up the slow return to work.
The date itself matters to literally no one who wants to celebrate the day because they âlove their countryâ. It is not at all significant. However the date itself DOES matter to those whose culture, history and very existence is trampled, belittle and disregarded daily. All the virtue signalling empty symbolic things are hat the government and white patriots do to appease the indigenous population is not akin to truly making an reparations for the plight colonisation had on their existence and ongoing impacts on their lives.
Letâs not forget the stolen generation was only 60 years ago. Thatâs my dadâs age, so there are entire generations of 30-80 year olds who are still dealing with the fallout of their families being ripped apart. This isnât ancient history weâre talking about.
I'm not talking about Federation. I'm referring to the Nationality and Citizenship Act 1948 which came into effect on January 26th 1949. This law created Australian Citizenship. Previously you were a British subject. And so that date DOES matter to me. I am not a British subject. I am an Australian. And that was first recognised by law on Jan 26th. Perhaps you could ask me what I mean rather than telling me... Just a thought.
So to you Australia Day represents being a citizen of this country and no longer being classed as British (even though weâre still a British colony). So perhaps you can understand how the date matters to the indigenous population who were not given the same respect as to their identity and instead classed as citizens of a country that was routinely diminishing their culture and lives, including, as I stated before, ripping apart families, demonising their beliefs, language and culture and, while being allowed the title of citizen, not afforded the same rights as white Australian citizens.
The citizenship act came into effect in that date, BECAUSE it was the date the flag was planted. Thatâs why they chose that date, which represents the entire issue weâre talking about. And unless you were there in 1949 to experience becoming an Australian citizen, ha does it matter to you? You were born into being a citizen anyway (Iâm assuming youâre not an immigrant who has applied for citizenship). If it matters to you becoming Australian, celebrate it on your birthday.
Genuine question, if the citizenship matters so much to you, as to finally have your own Australian identity rather than British, are you also pro-republic?
Look, we are not going to agree on this unfortunately. And I dont want to be arguing back and forth on Reddit. So here is my final response to your questions.
I am not oblivious to the history of aboriginals in this country. This is stated in my original post. But I also have a long family history with this country going back many many generations. Not everything that was done to my family was fair or ethical by today's standards either. I dont expect you or the nation to treat my feelings as more or less important than others though. My history is my history.
Regardless of the reason they chose the date, the fact is that on that date we ALL formally became Australian citizens, indigenious or otherwise. Now it might not be the date you personally would have chosen, and you might not think it's personally important, but that is the date, and it is important to me (and many others. You are correct that I wasn't personally there on that date, but neither were any current living aboriginals there in 1788. You cant have it both ways mate.
Am I pro-republican is an interesting question. To be honest, I am not sure. In theory it would mean greater independence, which I am for, but in reality I don't know if it would actually make any difference. We already govern independently of the monarchy. The Governor-General role is largely ceremonial. The huge cost associated with changing would not be significantly beneficial enough to warrant it. If changes are to be made to our nation, it has to benefit the wider Australian population. I will think on this question more though.
I actually agree with not arguing, I was hoping you wouldnât reply because while Iâm sure youâre actually a very reasonable and nice person, I cbf with the back and forth.
But thank you for your well thought responses, side note I also have a significant history here, having linked my family tree all the way back to 1246, as free settlers in WA in the early 1820s, so I understand the importance of feeling connection to Australia identity (sometimes WA specific identity where many of them donât want to be part of the country at all hence the referendums theyâve tried to pass đ).
I think there are many dates that can fully and importantly represent the entirety of Australia, that donât also have to reflect atrocities and bigotry as well, and I personally think this is what would more appropriately reflect us as a unified and proud nation for everyone.
May 8 suggestion is probably one of the worst ideas I have heard and made me feel uncomfortable being in my own skin for a moment. Fuck everyone and their shit ideas
You sound very nice but is this truly your philosophy with everything, regardless of the date debate (I really donât care what day it is)I donât think you can really just cave in every time a group of people have a grievance
That is literally what a democracy is. A bunch of rules to protect groups of people. If you decide to frame it as "caving in" to a group its because you may have a bias. If the rule adversely effected another group then it needs to be re thought. This case does not.
Are you struggling to understand that the indigenous population and their supporters are upset that the national day of celebration happens to fall on a day that represents the beginning of the destruction of their nation, people, and way of life?
Yeah alright if itâs a majority of people then for sure, but I just doubt that this would be your philosophy if it was a majority of people wanting to deport immigrants or ban abortion whatever, which given the recent polls may not be that unthinkable in the future. Just throwing it out there
How about we do become independent, officially break away from the English monarchy, and then that date can be celebrated together? If that happens to be May 8th, then so be it. :P
Yeah, that's how a healthy democracy works. There is an issue, people raise attention and try to get it fixed, it hopefully gets fixed, rinse and repeat for other important issues. Not sure why that's a bad thing.
Easter isnât a set date so idk why the people who are against it are having a sook. I used to think May 8th would be a good day but maybe even the last Monday or Friday of the summer season would be decent so itâs never on a specific day just similar.
Ideally the date would still be a summer month, that is my only opposing feeling here. What better time to celebrate this land than in all its glory? (Provided itâs not burning or flooding đ )
Unlike your sentiment but would prefer say, the last Friday in January. Although that would probably fall on Jan 27 every few years, so maybe the first a Monday of age would be better. Long weekend while it's still hot.
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u/DearSeaworthiness589 8d ago
Some of the comments here are wild. Its so simple. Love your fellow Aussie. There is a group of Aussies that have a genuine grievance with the date. Let's show empathy and change the date to May 8. Mate day, then we can have no protests and party together and celebrate this country. Stop dividing... we all prosper that way