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'Daggers drawn' in Australia Day debate as Canberrans reveal mixed feelings on date change
The federal Greens campaign to change the date of Australia Day received a mixed reception in Canberra as the bush capital weighed in.
Australia Day has been officially recognised since 1934, before becoming a national public holiday in 1994 to mark the anniversary of the First Fleet landing in Sydney Harbour.
Aunty Jenny Munro is an Australian Wiradjuri elder and a prominent activist for the rights of Indigenous Australians.Credit: Jamila Toderas
Director of the National Centre for Indigenous Studies and former Australian of the Year Professor Mick Dodson said Australia Day was celebrating the establishment of a prison in a country the British invaded.
"For Aboriginal people it represents the invasion [...] and acquisition of Australia and the dispossession of the native peoples," Professor Dodson said.
Dion Devow from Darkies Design believes there are bigger priorities than changing the date.Credit: Sitthixay Ditthavong
"Australia didn't start being for Australians until [Federation in] 1901."
Professor Dodson suggested the anniversary of Federation, January 1, would be a more appropriate date for Australia Day.
Aunty Jenny Munro, a Wiradjuri elder, said the changing the date debate was "just a symptom of the sickness".
"It's a denial of history," Ms Munro said.
She said Aboriginal deaths in custody and national arrest rates showed there was still work to be done.
In the ACT, ACT police arrest Aboriginal Canberrans more often than non-Aboriginals and Indigenous Canberrans are over represented in Canberra's jails: making up 21 per cent of inmates despite being 2 per cent of the territory's population.
The ACT also had the third-highest national rate of removing Aboriginal children from their families into out-of-home care.
"We didn't just pop up yesterday. This is not an issue that popped up yesterday," Ms Munro said.
Ms Munro said it may take a few more generations before Australians grasp what Australia Day means to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.
ACT Australian of the Year and founder of Darkies Design, Dion Devow, said he was more interested in closing the gap rather than changing the date of Australia Day.
He said while the date change was worthy of national conversation, more needed to be done to address national incarceration rates of Indigenous Australians, the life expectancy gap, Indigenous university attendance and Indigenous business ownership.
Mr Devow said establishing an indigenous treaty was a bigger priority than changing the date.
"A treaty is an acknowledgment that we are the first peoples of this nation, we're the oldest living culture in the history of mankind and it's about respecting that," Mr Devow said.
He pointed to how in New Zealand, where the British signed a treaty with the Maori people, Maori language and culture is taught in schools and celebrated.
"I'd love to see that happen here in Australia: the non-Indigenous population embrace Aboriginal culture as part of being Australian."
Professor Dodson said the argument of priority was arguing Australians should do nothing instead.
"We should do something about it [issues affecting Indigenous Australians] now. We've had 200 years to do something."
"Of course we agree there's greater priorities, doesn't mean to say ... everything has to be put on hold."
ACT Greens leader and MLA Shane Rattenbury was lockstep with his federal counterparts on changing the date.
"There's no question that January 26 is a divisive day for our community. It's a day of dispossession, and does not reflect a true account of our nation's history," Mr Rattenbury said.
"By changing the date of Australia Day, we're ensuring that all Australians can come together in celebration, both united and more reconciled."
Mr Rattenbury said he was keen to discuss this with his Labor and Liberal colleagues.
Chief Minister Andrew Barr agreed the current date was divisive and should be changed in the future to a nationally agreeable date.
"The obvious date for this new national is the date we become a republic," he said.
"It would be very difficult to find another unifying date."
ACT Liberals leader Alistair Coe said the Greens were using the occasion to divide Canberrans.
"Australia Day is a time for gathering around the [barbecue] with your friends and family," Mr Coe said.
Former chief minister Jon Stanhope said it was a complex issue he's learned more about since working at Winnunga, an Aboriginal health service, where his colleagues refer to January 26 as "Invasion Day".
"[European settlement] had a devastating impact on the traditional owners of this land. It's had a devastating and continuing impact," Mr Stanhope said.
"We need to addresss that rather than just getting into two camps and coming at it with daggers drawn."
Mr Stanhope hoped Australians could find a way to celebrate their heritage and home whilst recognising its history.
Daniel D'Onofrio on the changing the date debate.Credit: Jamila Toderas
Canberran Daniel D'Onofrio said it was important to respect Australia's traditional owners but also to balance that with non-Indigenous cultures.
"It's about community for me. It's about being together," he said of Australia Day.
Neah Williams said there were bigger issues for Indigenous Australians than changing the date, but for her Australia Day was about family.
"I think it's a time you take to ... appreciate what you have," she said.
Cameron Lawrence talks about his views of Australia Day and changing the date.Credit: Jamila Toderas
Cameron Lawrence said Australia Day should stay where it is and the talk of changing the date leaves a bitter taste in his mouth.
"It's always barbecues, beaches, beers ... [to] just celebrate being Australian."
Polling by the Australia Institute showed 56 per cent of Australians don't mind when Australia Day is held, with 37 per centsaying it was offensive to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.
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