2017/01: Should Australia change the date of Australia Day?
Introduction to the media issue
Video clip at right:On January 25, 2017, the United States news site, News Beat Social, televised a report on Freemantle's decision to celebrate Australia Day on January 28, and also gave an overview on the debate around the issue. If you cannot see this clip, it will be because video is blocked by your network. To view the clip, access from home or from a public library, or from another network which allows viewing of video clips.
What they said...
'We can't reasonably expect indigenous Australians to "draw that line in history" [between past wrongs and present reality] while we continue to celebrate on a day which marks the beginning of their dispossession and the loss of their cultural control of this land'
Former federal Resources and Science Minister, Ian Macfarlane
'The shire needs to retract what it's doing. It's not in line with community attitudes. I strongly condemn them for this whole thing. They've really upset a lot of people and are not representing the ratepayers. Australia Day is Australia Day'
Indigenous spokesperson, Robert Isaacs, criticising Freemantle's attempt to shift the date of Australia Day
The issue at a glance
On August 25, 2016, the Freemantle Council announced that the Western Australian city would no longer hold its Australia Day celebrations on January 26th. The change was made out of respect for the feelings of Indigenous Australians, many of whom do not find the date a reason for celebration as it coincides with the initial dispossession of their ancestors.
The Council subsequently announced that it would instead celebrate on January 28th with an event called 'One Day in Fremantle'. Citizenship ceremonies were also intended to be held on January 28th rather than the usual January 26th.
On December 5, 2016, the federal Government intervened and required Freemantle to hold its citizenship ceremonies on January 26th. The assistant immigration minister, Alex Hawke, claimed that holding citizenship ceremonies on January 28 would give an anti-Australia Day message. The Minister added, 'It's really important ... we've got hundreds of councils administering this around the country ... that they don't get the idea they can use citizenship as a political football.'
In the event, Freemantle held its citizenship ceremonies on January 26th and its day of public celebration on January 28th. Many Freemantle traders conducted their own 'Australia Day' celebrations on January 26th to coincide with the public holiday.
These developments served to accentuate the debate surrounding the suitability of the current date of Australia's national day. This is a dispute which predates the Australia-wide adoption of January 26th as Australia Day in 1994.