Should Australia Day be celebrated?

As patriotic Australians we pride ourselves to be a nation that accepts and respects the
beliefs of all cultures, but on this historical day majority of Australians tend to forget the true
meaning behind the celebration. If you ask today’s society, what they did this Australia day
mass numbers would respond with “binged on alcohol” and “indulged in a barbecue.”
Consequently, this day cannot be called a national celebration when some of our fellow
Australians are grieving while others are out celebrating an occasion they know little about.
Giving due regard to the indigenous people and their mostly negative perspective on this
issue should be a priority. A new date, not the 26th of January should be established, as
rather than unite, it seems to divide Australians into different viewpoints.

Celebrating Australia day is like holding a party without inviting the hosts. While many
Australians celebrate this holiday, they have little knowledge behind the events that occurred
and why it is celebrated. If I’m honest, I haven’t been brought up, like many of my
generation, to understand and acknowledge the events which occurred on this day. Instead
for as long as I can remember I have seen the day as a public holiday where mum drags us
to a boring family gathering, to play backyard cricket and observe the adults consume
excessive amounts of alcoholic beverages. According to a poll conducted by Review
Partners, much of the Australian population are unable to accurately name the event the day
commemorates. While a sample of voters were asked to identify the historical event that
occurred from six possible alternatives, only 43 percent were able to name the landing of the
First Fleet at Sydney Cove in 1788. Therefore, this displays the day as one not being utilised
to educate the population about their history, which should be at the heart of the celebration.
With this in mind, we should recognise the challenges and sorrows the Aboriginals face with
embracing this national event. We should demonstrate that we are willing to celebrate
together by altering the date for the reason that not enough of society have an
understanding on the historical meaning anyway, and by doing so it will minimise the hurt
caused to Indigenous Australians.

While people are out enjoying the celebrations of this holiday, we are ultimately
disrespecting the Indigenous community on their day of mourning by ‘getting smashed.’ A.B
Original, an Indigenous hip-hop duo, have strong beliefs about the day, which are expressed

ggÉEfth☆#E
through their song January 26th, "I said, "How about March 8th?" (that 's a good one)And we
_T e_t☆-sIt&_ff@@gfEgg
can do it on your Nan 's grave, We can piss up, piss on her face."
The pair have selected lyrics that express their strong opinion in a manner that is clearly
satirical. They make an example for the non-Indigenous Australians, that by them ‘getting on
the drink
colas
piss’ and celebrating on this day, is ultimately like holding a celebration on your
grandma’s grave. This highlights the disrespect we show to the Indigenous Australians on
this very day.

From an Indigenous perspective “January 26th is a reminder of the pain and loss caused by
230 years of dispossession, dislocation and mistreatment. It is impossible to celebrate when
it brings to mind the deep hurt born by our ancestors and how that suffering continues to
impact today” according to Richard Weston, of the Healing Foundation. Today, there is a
focus on the partying when instead it should be a day of mourning by all. The strong views of
the Indigenous community should be taken into consideration, their views should be made a
priority, to reach a resolution that will stop the hurt and the protests. Michael Mansell’s
suggest “Australia Day is a celebration of an invasion which resulted in the ethnic cleansing
of Aborigines. To participate would be to abandon the continuing struggle of my people.” In
the hope that we understand that from the landing in Sydney Cove on the 26th of January
1788, only brought misery to the Indigenous communities as trauma was caused by
government policies, and the conflicts between settlers. In recognition of the events that
followed the landing on our beautiful Australian shores, we should be able to acknowledge
that all views are as equally important. According to a recent poll, 56%, just over half the
nation do not mind when the holiday is held, while only 23% choose the 26th as the best
available date. Furthermore, while some say, 'it’s tradition’ and the day should be kept, in
reality the public holiday has only been held on the 26th of January, nationwide since 1994.

To be able to celebrate as a nation, changes have to be made to the current date to create
an inclusive day, that does not represent one of booze, barbecues and bloodshed, where no
culture feels disregarded or unequal. The ideas of celebration need to be changed as
intoxication should not be the outcome of the day, but instead love and respect should be
encouraged, while being able to embrace all aspects of Australia past, present and future.
Lowitja O’Donoghue, Australian of the Year 1984 pleads “Let us find a day on which we can
all feel included, in which we can all participate equally, and can celebrate with pride our
common Australian identity.” If all Australians cannot enjoy this celebration, we are
disregarding the claims of our national anthem which state “We’ve boundless plains to
share; With courage let us all combine.” In support of this message we should discontinue
with the celebration on the 26th of January as it ultimately divides our nation, rather than
brings us together. In other words, a new reasonable date should be established as by
wanting to change the date certainly doesn’t mean you hate Australia, but instead it indicates
that you want to make us a nation that is fair and inclusive to all.