Whose Australia Day?

You should have come down with us at belgrave to ‘survival day’, surviving 200+ years of European settlement. Dancing, basket weaving, singing and kangaroo snags etc, etc. I’m glad I went.

Mark picked up on part of where I was going with hassling you Geoff. There is something that just completely irks me about white Aussies jumping on that “invasion day” bandwagon. If the indigenous folks want to use it because it expresses something for them, then I’m only too willing to listen. Sometimes reconciliation is about listening to the impact of an injustice from those affected.

The thing I don’t like about the whole “invasion day” thing is that when it doesn’t come from someone who paid a price because of it, it does anything but foster an attitude of reconciliation. We could change the date of Australia Day but it’s hardly going to change history. I’m not celebrating an invasion.

Here I am in 2008, Mr White Middle-Class Aussie. I acknowledge that European settlers used what was essentially military superiority to colonise this continent. I recognise that, from that point onwards, there have been a lot of negative consequences (to put it lightly) for indigenous people. I don’t like that very much. I don’t like that part of my ancestry is tied to that. Equally, I don’t have to repeat those mistakes. So here I am, being only too happy for the federal government to formally apologise to the Aboriginal people on behalf of the nation. I like the idea of making sure that indigenous people who need our care from a social justice perspective, receive that care. I’ll even let that influence me at the ballot box, when on face value I have no personal interest in being an advocate for their cause.

So here we all are in 2008, finally making some progress. On January 26th each year when we gather together to celebrate our national holiday, we have a choice. We can say “Hey, this is Australia. We know where we are at, we know how we got here and we’re having a red hot go at fixing the mistakes made along the way. We want reconciliation.”

Or, we can call it Invasion Day.

Interesting discussion – I wish I’d seen it earlier. I “remember” Australia Day, but I do not “celebrate it”, and Ms White Middle Class Australia, I’m perfectly happy remembering it as Invasion Day. I’m with you Geoff – and I chose to “remember” the day with some indigenous mates by going to a festival that celebrated indigenous cultures and survival.

Paul, I don’t really understand what you mean about “not being an advocate for their cause”. I don’t see this in terms of “me/us” (the whitefellas) and “them” – it’s about all of us being in this together. It’s about expressing solidarity with my indigenous brothers and sisters (and in saying “brothers and sisters”, I’m not being a wanker – I’m referring to my brothers and sisters in Christ, and to my mates who are like family to me)

Paul – yes, I agree with you. Calling it “Invasion Day” and going on protest marches tends to be rather ineffective – it’s just divisive and alienates those that need to hear the message most. It’s not that I disagree with the message of those who protest – I just think there might be more effective ways to get the message across.

That said, when deciding how I’ll “remember” Jan 26, I tend to be guided by indigenous mates who’s views I respect, and who are infinitely wiser than me when it comes to these complex issues…

hey.. i love this FLAG…

… being a migrant myself… this would be or should be the FLAG for our nation.

Good stuff on the FLAG… if you don’t mind can i use it as part of my Sticker for my bike ?

Cheers
Siva.

There was no Australia day before Europeans came here, just a land mass with a bunch of ununited aboriginal tribes scattered across it.