Play Nice Australia Day 2025

[Eagleboy2011]

Luckily the trend is the right way. 90k votes so far

Nine in 10 Australians believe Australia Day should be celebrated on January 26​

The overwhelming majority of Australians are in support of keeping our national holiday as is.

https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/news-life/nine-in-10-australians-believe-australia-day-should-be-celebrated-on-january-26/news-story/23b2de7c1719573506f1782e41fe35d1

Poll: 63% Of Australians Support January 26 As Australia Day Despite Relentless Attacks By Elites

“Despite the continued campaign of the political class and elites to denigrate and cancel our national day, a strong majority of Australians still support January 26 as Australia Day,” said Daniel Wild, Deputy Executive Director of the Institute of Public Affairs.

ipa.org.au

 

[CrowToon]

From Jacinta Price
Given we are continually being denigrated as a nation and bombarded by accusations of racism and bigotry, I felt it wasn’t only necessary to defend my home and the country I love but to also provide the overwhelming evidence that demonstrates these accusations are lies. If we can’t have pride in our own nation how are we expected to evolve successfully? If we keep telling a particular demographic they are victims of others of a certain skin colour we are effectively removing that demographic’s agency and that, to me, is completely un-Australian.
Here is a list of our nation’s achievements toward Aboriginal Australia and dare I say there’s very likely a whole lot that I have missed but we have to start somewhere right?
1856 – In South Australia all Men including Aboriginal Men were given the right to vote.
1896 – In South Australia all Women including Aboriginal Women were given the right to vote, 32 years before Women in England were given that right.
1948 – It is not well understood but no one in Australia was an Australian Citizen up until this year. We were regarded as British Subjects until the Citizenship Act was passed. Citizenship Rights were being extended to Aboriginal Australians gradually throughout the 1950’s and 1960’s by Coalition Governments’.
1962 – Aboriginal Australians were granted the Right to Vote by a Coalition Government.
1964 – Aboriginal Australians were virtually granted full Citizenship Rights under a Coalition Government when the Aboriginal Ordinance was repealed.
1967 – The Referendum went through with overwhelming support of well over 90% of Australians voting to allow Aboriginal Australians to be included in the Census and for Aboriginal Affairs to become a Commonwealth responsibility. Another successful Coalition Government initiative.
1968 - The Equal Pay decision was applied by a Coalition Government.
1970 - A state Coalition Government in Victoria handed back the Lake Tyers reserve to the Aboriginal community.
1971 - Senator Neville Bonner, a Liberal, became our first Aboriginal Parliamentarian. Since then there have been 43 Aboriginal MP’s throughout state and federal Parliaments in Australia. To add to this 8 MP’s have recorded Aboriginal Ancestry but have not been identified as Aboriginal. The Northern Territory gave us the first and only Government, at any level, led by an Indigenous Australian. This is not widely known or celebrated because Chief Minister Adam Giles was with the Country Liberal Party.
1976 – The NT Land Rights Act was passed by a Coalition Government. Under this Act around 45% of the land and 80% of the coastline of the NT has been handed back to traditional owners, I’m one of them.
1992 – The High Court overturned the Principal of Terra Nullius with the Mabo Decision.
1993 – A Labor Government passed the Native Title Act.
In Australia today we have experienced historically significant acts of symbolism that include the 1991 Reconciliation Walk Across Sydney Harbour Bridge. For six hours 250,000 Australians of all backgrounds walked together to demonstrate the fact we are not racist but are overwhelmingly in support of Aboriginal Australia. We have spent a week every year since commemorating this event and what it means.
A Labor Prime Minister said ‘Sorry’ on May 26th 1998 in recognition of the impact of the policies of forcible removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families. These days and others are commemorated every year to recognise historical injustices and to demonstrate that everyday Australians DO care for the plight of Indigenous Australians.
We spend days and weeks each year recognising Aboriginal Australia in the following ways:
National Apology Day
National Sorry Day
National Close the Gap Day
Anniversary of the Referendum
Reconciliation week
Mabo Day
Coming of the Light
NAIDOC Week
National Aboriginal and Islander Childrens’ Day
International Day of the worlds Indigenous Peoples
Indigenous Literacy Day
Anniversary of the UN Declaration of Human Rights of Indigenous People
Throughout Australia ‘Welcome to Country’ or ‘Recognition of Country’ is applied as standard ritual practice before events, meetings and social gatherings by governments, corporates, institutions, primary schools, kindergartens, high schools, universities, work places, music festivals, gallery openings, conferences, and so on and so forth.
Aboriginal Australia is a part of the daily life of us all in some way shape or form and yet we are still facing accusations of racism in our nation. We have been hoodwinked into believing that somehow reconciliation means appeasing the aggrieved, those who refuse to forgive, and we are held to ransom every time the goal posts are shifted.
The good will and support of the Australian people is always on display and it has only gathered momentum along the way.
It’s time now to recognise the efforts of thousands of Australians throughout our history who have done what was in their power to support Aboriginal Australia including those who are not Aboriginal but who call us family. It’s time to recognise that we cannot possibly be a racist country if over 87% of people who identify as Aboriginal in non-remote areas of Australia are in fact married to non-Aboriginal Australians.
We must also remember that our nation is not only simply black and white. We are rich with the contribution of Australians of many backgrounds and this is one of our greatest strengths as a nation. What of the 30% of Australians who were born overseas, from every country on earth. Are they all racist too?
It’s time to stop feeding into a narrative that promotes racial divide, a narrative that claims to try to stamp out racism but applies racism in doing so and encourages a racist over reaction. Yes, it is time for some truth telling.
We should be celebrating what we have achieved together before the good will of the nation runs out.

I love that there is more recognition of conservative governments being progressive on First Nations issues. The 1976 Land Rights Act was passed during a conservative government but it's a bit disingenuous to claim it. Very much a legacy of Whitlam.

The awkward silence of Howard-era is always amusing but we must remember they are not all like him.

 

[FR0GGY]

When Australia Day feel on a week day (Tuesday-Thursday) there wasn’t a great deal of celebration - all people were looking forward to was public holiday Monday.

Perhaps you ain’t old enough whilst some of us have been around for 60 odd years.

That was back in the days when no one was concerned about the 26th being a sad day yeah?

 

[kirky]

That was back in the days when no one was concerned about the 26th being a sad day yeah?

Australia Day - Invasion Day

Most Australians celebrate Australia Day as the day Australia was founded. In contrast, Aboriginal people mourn their history and call it 'Invasion Day'.

www.creativespirits.info

That would be a no, 1938 for them, us not so much.

 

[El Doederino]

It's a shame that this stupid white Australia protests occur on Australia Day. Why do so many of them need to cover themselves up... Many came from interstate for this. Displaying Nazi symbol given world events is inflammatory. Seriously get a life.

Police arrest 16 members of neo-Nazi group on Australia Day

www.9news.com.au

Those horrible neo nazi white supremacists and their … (checks article) … loitering.

 

[Cap]

I don't remember Australia Day being a big thing growing up.

I do remember the Cronulla riots taking a lot of steam out of these types of things, the invasion day type protests, from memory seeed to gather steam around this time.

Personally I don't care, haven't for many years, for a variety of reasons. But if I look at the loudest people wanting to keep it the same, I'm more inclined to change it.

 

[Kane McGoodwin]

Those horrible neo nazi white supremacists and their … (checks article) … loitering.

Yeah, they are so misunderstood.

Strange some feel the need fo hide their identity...