Is it fair to change the date of Australia day?

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Intrinsic Random Event

Ultimately it depends on what meaning you apply to Australia day.
I see no need to celebrate the arrival of the First Fleet in Australia personally. Why is this more significant than Captain Cook's discovery of the coastline? I think there should be a holiday, but if having it on a different day is an opportunity to make a gesture of respect and sympathy to the Indigenous people, then I think the change is worth it. Are we going to celebrate 26th January forever? Things change, sometimes because we are bold enough to make a statement of change in our time. We personally may not have practiced the racism or instituted the policies that have oppressed and marginalised Aboriginies in the past, but that is all the more reason to differentiate ourselves from that past, to say "They are Australians and we are Australians and we now both belong here, with each other, with all our differences."

BTW I utterly hate that "We are one but we are many" song, you know the one I'm talking about Aussies...

didums

i am aboriginal and i even think its wrong to change it! australia day is to celebrate the great country that we live in and even if people dont wana believe it, how easy we have life here in oz.
and it should stay that way and as aboriginals are australian they should celebrate it as well!

cc_of_0z

I think Australia day needs to be on a date that unites the country and not divides it. We can't use January 1 (the date of Federation) because that's already taken for new years day. I think a far better date would be July 9. This is the date the constitution was signed and Australia effectively became an independent country. This date unites all of Australia no matter their creed, origins or history.

baye

Brad B and CC of Oz - I agree with them. I am not posting my own opinion because I am Aboriginal and nobody really wants to hear my opinion. I know I will just get abuse for my opinion if I posted it, nothing has changed, democratic country my ...

Mel

Someone else already posted this question.

Honestly, the Aboriginal community would never be happy. I think they are being very un-Australian that they don't want to celebrate our wonderful country. A date is just a date, why change tradition.

Brad B

god everything i read here is blatant disrespect to aboriginal people.

australia day doesnt mean we celebrate how great australia is, british came and destroyed aboriginal culture, murder, rape etc and u want to celebrate that? it is invasion day and it should be a day such as anzac day where we commemerate, and show respect to aboriginal people who wear affected heavily, and having Australia day on a different day gives it the chance to be a day where we DO celebrate australia for how great it is. but how is it so great when people keep ignoring what happened to aboriginal people and show no repect to them.

people in this country really need lsten to themselves when they say ' a fair go for all' and then turn around and disrespect aboriginal people. one day in their shoes and u would see how badly u treat them.

Ranjeeh D

You cannot deny history, never mind how many sorry campaigns. They came, they saw and they conquered. Territorial campaigns have been happening for many, many years throughout the world.

Look at it positively, they were brought from the Stone Age to the Free Pension Age without having to endure the Bronze Age or Iron Age.

molly

Most aboriginal people I know and I know a lot and am related to many wouldn't wont the date changed.
I sick of those people that think things like this are helping their people become part of main stream Australia when all they are doing is making sure they have a job and couldn't give a stuff about those they are supposed to be looking out for.

andy

sweet p , ranjeeh d , tukmyham they all have right on answers i agree with i say keep it!

Tukmyhamster

I don't care either way but if it means a lot to the Aboriginal people maybe it should be considered.

Or maybe we could change the name to Australia Invasion Day and have Sorry Ceremonies in the morning and celebrate and get drunk in the afternoon, that way everybody wins.

SaRaH

right on didums

Rocky

No.

And who are they to want to change the date?

Show me one who is a full blood aborigine & who wants the date changed & I will jump off Sydney Harbour Bridge!

Iskandar

No we should not change it.

I don't care if they call it invasion day, they can call it whatever they want. I call it Australia day.

Why shouldn't I celebrate it on that day? That's when our ancestors came. Europeans destroyed aboriginal culture? That may be true, but it had to happen to every stone age race on earth eventually.

Now they get free pensions and alcohol, limited to 30 cans per person a day. jk

Sweet_P

No! It should be kept; the whole point of Australia Day being on the 26th of Jan is that this was the arrival day of the first fleet. If it changes, then what is the point of even HAVING an Australia day?

Anyone who thought this nonsense was going to stop with 'Sorry day' needs their head read........

Tor

Yes the date should be changed because Osama Bin Laden loves you Aussies

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