Should Australia Day date be changed?

woodublieve12 · Post by **woodublieve12** » Tue Jan 24, 2017 9:49 am

Seems to be a bit of a hot topic at the moment...

Booney · Post by **Booney** » Tue Jan 24, 2017 10:07 am

Psyber · Post by **Psyber** » Tue Jan 24, 2017 10:09 am

I don't feel strongly either way but perhaps it may calm down some of the emotion about the past we cannot re-write if one of these dates were chosen:
"The Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act (UK) was passed on 5 July 1900 and given Royal Assent by Queen Victoria on 9 July 1900. It was proclaimed on 1 January 1901 in Centennial Park, Sydney."

Of course we may need to create an extra public holiday so we have one for Australia Day and one for Invasion Day, and we can't chose January 1 or we'd lose a public holiday...

Booney · Post by **Booney** » Tue Jan 24, 2017 10:12 am

Call it what you want, move it to where you want, but January 26th will always be Australia Day.

The Bedge · Post by **The Bedge** » Tue Jan 24, 2017 10:12 am

woodublieve12 wrote:Seems to be a bit of a hot topic at the moment...

Change the date.. everyone wants to be able to celebrate all things great about this country, so why not on a date that is going to make all comfortable - especially Australia's first people..

The old "Dont change it, it's always been on this date" is stupid - Australian Day has only really been celebrated as a national holiday for 25yrs! Hardly "always".

I reckon if you asked 10 people what Australia Day was about, why they celebrate it etc, 9x would give you an answer along the lines of "Celebrate this great country" ... without giving reference to the first fleet, "discovery" of Australia or its history... therefore to me it says the date isn't actually important to most people but rather the reason to celebrate.

The Bedge · Post by **The Bedge** » Tue Jan 24, 2017 10:15 am

Booney wrote:Call it what you want, move it to where you want, but January 26th will always be Australia Day.

It would only take a few years to change peoples thoughts - Jan 26th would be always known as the arrival of the first fleet, but don't think it would be viewed as Australia Day.

Like other public holidays that the date varies i.e. Queens Birthday, the celebration for Australia Day would fall on the date chosen, and that's all the people would see and recognize.

Booney · Post by **Booney** » Tue Jan 24, 2017 10:15 am

Zartan wrote:The old "Dont change it, it's always been on this date" is stupid - Australian Day has only really been celebrated as a national holiday for 25yrs! Hardly "always".

That's just simply not true.

The Bedge · Post by **The Bedge** » Tue Jan 24, 2017 10:17 am

Booney wrote:
Zartan wrote:The old "Dont change it, it's always been on this date" is stupid - Australian Day has only really been celebrated as a national holiday for 25yrs! Hardly "always".

That's just simply not true.

http://www.australiaday.org.au/australia-day/history/

The Bedge · Post by **The Bedge** » Tue Jan 24, 2017 10:20 am

Question: If there was NO public holiday for Australia Day, would that have any effect on people's feelings towards changing/keeping the date?

Booney · Post by **Booney** » Tue Jan 24, 2017 10:24 am

Zartan wrote:
Booney wrote:
Zartan wrote:The old "Dont change it, it's always been on this date" is stupid - Australian Day has only really been celebrated as a national holiday for 25yrs! Hardly "always".

That's just simply not true.

http://www.australiaday.org.au/australia-day/history/

As a national holiday, I'll grant that, but the day has been celebrated nationally for decades, the alignment of public holidays is academic and not at the heart of the discussion and really is more about compensation for working on a public holiday, pay rates etc which is more about unions and working conditions than the nations day.

bennymacca · Post by **bennymacca** » Tue Jan 24, 2017 10:25 am

My preference would be to move it to ANZAC day, which is often sighted as the "birth" of our nation and the first time we came out from behind the shadows of Britain.

Aslo a date which invokes an amount of patriotism but is less divisive than the date of the arrival of the first fleet

Magellan · Post by **Magellan** » Tue Jan 24, 2017 10:31 am

Don't really care too much, because I'm not sure what in particular we ought to be 'celebrating', apart from a day off work.

I look at Australia as a place with a relatively short past that is characterised by its share of good and bad history. Also, I'm not really one for jingoism, patriotism and running around with flags, particularly one with another country's flag on it.

However, I do think the type of civil society we've developed deserves recognition, although I can't help but feel this is starting to fray at the ends and we're seeing this with the current trends in ours and other nation's politics.

That said, happy for it to be moved to a date. Not sure which date would be appropriate, though. Plenty of stakeholders to consult with!

Booney · Post by **Booney** » Tue Jan 24, 2017 10:35 am

Magellan wrote:Don't really care too much, because I'm not sure what in particular we ought to be 'celebrating', apart from a day off work. I look at Australia as a place with a relatively short past that is characterised by its share of good and bad history. Also, I'm not really one for jingoism, patriotism and running around with flags, particularly one with another country's flag on it.

However, I do think the type of civil society we've developed deserves recognition, although I can't help but feel this is starting to fray at the ends and we're seeing this with the current trends in ours and other nation's politics.

That said, happy for it to be moved to a date. Not sure which date would be appropriate, though. Plenty of stakeholders to consult with!

There in lies the conundrum with moving it. For mine Anzac Day should remain untouched, it is as close as most Australians get to a sacred day in the modern world, those who aren't religious anyway. Anzac Day would be about the last day that I would think appropriate to move it to.

Magellan · Post by **Magellan** » Tue Jan 24, 2017 10:41 am

bennymacca wrote:My preference would be to move it to ANZAC day, which is often sighted as the "birth" of our nation and the first time we came out from behind the shadows of Britain.

Weren't we sent to off to fight at the request of the Poms, all part of Churchill's plan?

Anyhoo, I must beg to differ. ANZAC Day commemorates the sacrifice of those people who served across multiple conflicts. I don't see a focus on Gallipoli as any reason for national celebration, let alone acknowledging a coming of age. The ANZACs were sent to be slaughtered.

Post by **heater31** » Tue Jan 24, 2017 10:47 am

No way we should be celebrating this on ANZAC day. The day is comparable to Memorial Day in the US.

Ronnie · Post by **Ronnie** » Tue Jan 24, 2017 10:59 am

Leave as is, although of course there are other dates that could be used. But this one has been recognized for a long time.
Shouldn't be a day of triumphalism, but a day of thanks that we live in a country still incredibly well placed by world standards. Lucky to have a British heritage, but one that has been built on by various groups over many years. Understand though the issue of indigenous dispossession.

Post by **Wedgie** » Tue Jan 24, 2017 11:03 am

Auatralia became a nation on January 1st 1901, celebrating on any other day doesnt make sense. January 26 is the most inappropriate day to celebrate it, an even worse day in our countrys history than when the Japs tried to invade us.
Having said that I'll have something to celebrate on January 26, my girlfriemd becomes an Australian in 2 days time.

Pseudo · Post by **Pseudo** » Tue Jan 24, 2017 11:31 am

Magellan wrote:That said, happy for it to be moved to a date. Not sure which date would be appropriate, though. Plenty of stakeholders to consult with!

The middle of August would be good, only because it would give us a much needed public holiday in the four-month stretch between the Queen's Birthday and Labor Day.

Aerie · Post by **Aerie** » Tue Jan 24, 2017 11:34 am

I've always thought of ANZAC Day as the most important national day and the time we can look back and be thankful for what previous Australians did for us to enable us to live the way we do today.

Australia Day should be moved from January 26 to respect those indigenous groups who view it as the day of invasion. I would just move the public holiday to the first Monday in December. Have a long weekend to celebrate our nation and the arrival of summer!

Post by **Footy Chick** » Tue Jan 24, 2017 11:35 am

Pseudo wrote:
Magellan wrote:That said, happy for it to be moved to a date. Not sure which date would be appropriate, though. Plenty of stakeholders to consult with!

The middle of August would be good, only because it would give us a much needed public holiday in the four-month stretch between the Queen's Birthday and Labor Day.

I pick August 9 - for purely selfish reasons