Celebrating Australia Day either makes you a “wanker” or a patriot, while ignoring it is a sign of a respect for Indigenous people or evidence you’ve been “indoctrinated”, depending on who you ask.
Arguments on both sides of the January 26 debate have grown increasingly hostile and divisive in recent years, and this time around is no exception.
Many will still head to beaches and parks for barbecues with family and friends, while a host of official events will be held, including a concert at the Sydney Opera House and reception at The Lodge in Canberra for the new Australian of the Year.
Meanwhile, record crowds are expected at ‘Invasion Day’ rallies across the country, where they’ll declare there’s “no pride in genocide” and it’s “not a date to celebrate”.
While it remains a nationally recognised day of celebration, a growing number of companies are permitting their staff to work through and take the public holiday at a later time.
And this year, it’s been revealed at least 81 local councils across the country have canned citizenship ceremonies that typically take place on January 26.
“The public discussion has really been raised in recent years,” Professor Jane Lydon, a history expert from the University of Western Australia, said.
“It’s part of a broader debate about our national history and acknowledging that there are different perspectives on it and what our First Nations think and feel.
“I think change is inevitable. It’s hard to predict when, but I think it’ll happen.”
Can Australia Day survive in its current form or is change just a matter of time?
A painful day for many
For Aunty Munya Andrews, an Aboriginal Elder and co-director of cultural awareness and training firm Evolve Communities, January 26 is a day of contemplation and mourning.
“For a lot of people, myself included, it is considered a day of invasion,” she said. “For many Australians, January 26 can’t be seen as anything other than a day of mourning.”
Australia is the only country in the world that uses the start of colonisation as its national day, leaving First Nations people feeling hurt and alienated.
Rather than moving Australia Day and doing nothing on January 26, she wants to see the date used to recognise ‘Survival Day’.
“It’s important to acknowledge that January 26 marks the beginning of colonisation, which was a very dark time for my people. I’d like to see the day [used for] a time to reflect on our shared history and the resilience of our mob.”
Among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, the overwhelming majority do not support Australia Day being marked on January 26, opinion polls show.
Despite that and growing momentum in the broader community, Aunty Munya said change has been frustratingly slow.
“We can’t afford to wait for the government to make this change,” she said.
“For now we ask our allies to find a way to show their support for our mob on January 26. They might for example choose to work or to spend the day at a Survival Day event.”
Change will achieve little
Indigenous academic Anthony Dillon believes changing Australia Day is a “pointless” exercise that will do little to address disadvantage among First Nations people.
In an article for The Conversation, Dr Dillon – a specialist in positive psychology and a lecturer at Australian Catholic University – argued the campaign is a “smokescreen”.
“I respect people’s right to mourn and even to claim that Australia Day celebrations are causing them grief, insult, and suffering,” Dr Dillon said.
“However, I question the motives and sincerity of those claiming to be upset because of injustices committed in the past by what boils down to what one set of my ancestors did to another set of my ancestors.
“Why do I not see them upset by the injustices committed by Aboriginal people against other Aboriginal people today? The high rates of violence in the Aboriginal population, particularly against women, are well documented – and widely known – yet there is comparatively little outrage. Why?
“Protesting about the day, I believe, is a smokescreen to obscure the real problems that many Aboriginal Australians face today. In addition to the problem of violence there is poor health, community dysfunction, unemployment, child neglect, and poor school attendance.”
Real and pressing issues facing Indigenous Australians “will not be solved by changing the date”, he said.
He believes Australia Day can be both a time for celebration and reflection, honouring the country and its Indigenous heritage.
“In response to my words, ‘Australia is a great country to live in’ some will immediately retort: ‘Well, it’s not so great for many Aboriginal people.’
“I agree, and this should never be forgotten. But how will protesting about the date and Australia Day help those Aboriginal people most in need?”
Strong support for it to stay
Despite growing efforts to change the date, multiple opinion polls show the vast majority of Aussies are happy with things the way they are.
The latest, commissioned by conservative think tank the Institute of Public Affairs, found 63 per cent don’t support a change and another 20 per cent had no opinion.
“Importantly, over the past five years fewer than one-in-five Australians have indicated they do not support Australia Day on January 26,” IPA deputy executive director Daniel Wild said.
“Despite this, there is a continued, relentless campaign by inner-city elites, the political class, big business, and civil society to cancel our national day.”
Similarly, in-depth research released two years ago also found the vast majority of the population – 60 per cent of people – want to keep Australia Day on January 26.
Younger Aussies want change
The Deakin University study found deep splits among different demographics, with many younger Aussies uncomfortable about current arrangements.
More than half of Millennials – that is, those born between 1986 and 2002 – think the date should be changed, while in contrast, 74 per cent of those aged 75 and older disagree.
Some 70 per cent of Baby Boomers, born between 1946 and 1965, also oppose any change, along with 64 per cent of Generation X (born 1966 to 1985).
Professor David Lowe, chair of contemporary history at Deakin, said there’s “a gulf between Millennials and the rest of those surveyed”.
“One possible explanation for this is older people being more resistant to change,” he said.
“Their familiarity with Australia Day as an established end-of-summer day for social gathering is possibly stronger than their interpretation of the day’s historical significance or a political stance on the debate.”
Apart from age, the research found gender and geography also impact someone’s likely attitudes towards the date.
“Women were significantly more likely than men to want to change the date of Australia Day (43 per cent compared to 33 per cent men),” Professor Lowe said.
“Meanwhile, about 66 per cent of those living outside capitals cities were opposed to changing Australia Day. This reduces to 60 per cent opposed to change in capitals. This is driven by boomers in regional areas, who are significantly more opposed than boomers in cities.”
The results are based on a random sample of more than 5000 people were probed on their about when the celebrate Australia Day in late 2021.
Young Aussies being ‘indoctrinated’
The IPA’s polling mirrored Deakin’s findings that young Aussies are more likely to back changing the date – something Mr Wild conceded was a worry.
“It is concerning just 42 per cent of those aged 18 to 24 support Australia Day on January 26,” he said. “This is a direct result of relentless indoctrination taking place at schools and universities.
“You can hardly blame young Australians for having a negative view of their country given they are continually told it is not worth celebrating or fighting for. We all have a role to play to let young Australians know, while not perfect, how great our nation and its story is.”
He pointed out that 61 per cent of young people beyond their formal education years, aged 25 to 34, support Australia Day.
“January 26 is more than just a date – it represents the establishment of modern Australia as a free and fair country. It rightly should be celebrated.
“Mainstream Australians understand that cancelling Australia Day is an assault on the Australian way of life.
“It is simple. If we do not fight for Australia Day, we will lose it. Having lost the Voice to Parliament referendum, the attempts to destroy our national day by the elites and the political class will be unrelenting.”
‘Change It Ourselves’ momentum
Back in 2018, Melbourne designer Dale de Silva found himself wanting to do more to help usher in change.
“In researching how to support the cause myself, I found the only options seemed to be to attend the #ChangeTheDate march or complain on Facebook, but both of those felt like waiting for change from above,” Mr de Silva said.
“It occurred to me that workplaces can be very supportive of personal beliefs and there must be something in employee contracts to allow shifting of a public holiday – and as it turns out, in many cases, there is.”
He led the formation of a campaign dubbed Change It Ourselves, encouraging workplaces and organisations to support those who don’t want to celebrate on January 26.
Some six years on, a growing number of companies have made changes to policies to offer alternatives.
Consultancy firm KPMG will again this year offer its 10,000 staff the option of working on January 26 and taking the public holiday at a later date.
Its 14 offices across the country will remain open on the day for those who don’t want to celebrate. The policy, introduced last year, isn’t specific to Australia Day though.
“KPMG’s Cultural Leave policy allows our people to swap an existing public holiday with a different day, so they can recognise and celebrate religious or significant events relevant to their culture, heritage or religious beliefs,” a spokesman said. “This also applies to Australia Day.”
Billion-dollar Aussie tech start-up Canva observes January 26 “as a cultural learning day”, Jennie Rogerson, global head of people, said.
“We spend time learning from First Nations members in Canva’s community to create education and cultural awareness, including learning resources and events for our team on January 26, as well as throughout the week, and the year,” Ms Rogerson said.
“We also enable our team to decide how best to use this day for them and their families. If our team does not wish to take January 26 off, we offer the option to observe January 29 as an alternative option for this public holiday.”
Change is a ‘slow burn’
Despite an overall majority in favour of keeping things as they are, polling and in-depth analysis seem to indicate that change “is not so far off”, Professor Lowe said.
“We suggest our findings indicate a slow burn to change the date, based on strong foundations.
“While there remain differences among Australians, the combination of younger generational desire for change to Australia Day and strong enthusiasm among the broader population for more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history may suggest that change is not so far off.”
Professor Lydon also believes the date of Australia Day will eventually change – and likely within the next decade.
“You know, it’s actually more divisive to hold on to something which causes this pain and offence to a lot of First Nations people.
“I think the result of the referendum last year opened a lot of people’s eyes to what it means to live in this country as a First Nations person. And when it comes to Australia Day, many are stopping and thinking, hang on, what does this look like for them? Is this actually a slap in the face for them?
“The fact that the symbolism of this day is the date that the flag was raised by Governor Arthur Phillip at Sydney Cove and proclaimed British ownership of the colony … there are a lot of implications.”