Con: Pet insurance can be expensive. The latest report from Reconciliation Australia shows that 90 per cent of Australians want to learn about past issues, and that 89 per cent support a formal truth-telling process. We heard this from our Prime Minister just days ago: "Australia Day is about how far we've come," Scott Morrison said. As one Gumbaynggirr elder said this week: "Change the date, it doesn't matter, we'll always be marking our survival. This was in spite of the fact that its estimated more than 500 First Nations groups had already inhabited the continent, with the total believed to be about 750,000 people. CNN Sans & 2016 Cable News Network. Those opposed to Australia Day, mainly for the date on which is celebrated, do so because of the historical significance the British invasion and the destruction it brought. However, it has dangerous animals and is much further away for travel. The Prime Minister is showing admirable leadership in his care for the words he uses when referring to the terrorists. 1. Mitigation of election restrictions. Not everyone sees it as a reason to celebrate. More than half (53%) of millennials (those born between 1986 and 2002) think we should not celebrate Australia Day on January 26. January 26: Australia Day vs Survival Day. This is part of a series examining Australian national identity, especially around the ongoing debate about Australia Day. Mitigation of gender inequality. Last time I went camping was at Wee Jasper. Send it! We must be patient and be wary of deliberately insulting other cultures as this makes integration of recent immigrants more problematic. Born in Australia 88 years ago, I would like to endorse Ester Gaia's call for a change in the date when we celebrate our national day (CT, January 13). Christianity's history of brutality, conducted in the name of a man of peace, is longer than and as nasty as Islam's but this is never mentioned. There are good arguments in favor of and in opposition to longer school days. There is an extra cost in building DST support into computer systems and keeping them maintained, as well as manually changing clocks. We could all make a list of the things that should be better: trust in politicians, economic competitiveness, standards in schools, safety on our streets (especially in Melbourne), congested roads and inefficient public transport, and yes the well-being of the First Australians, but is anything to be gained by this annual cycle of agonizing over the date of our national day? The consequences of that have filtered through the generations, contributing to huge differences in health and financial outcomes for First Nations people, higher rates of incarceration and the number of children in out-of-home care. The chair of Family Matters campaign, Sue-Anne Hunter says its indicative of a broken system that is not working for our kids. Surely Westfield Retail could display some moral fibre by granting shop owners rent relief from the colossal sums it saves from avoiding Australian tax, as identified by the international Tax Justice Network and Uniting Church research (12 January)? The cost of living is high. Services Australia can pay these 28 days over . Safety is one of the more solid arguments for keeping the lighter evenings of DST. While money goes much further here than in larger Australian cities such as Sydney and Melbourne, it's by no means a cheap place to live. Like Christmas Day, Australia Day is a holiday where most can relax and socialise, and reflect on matters that are of importance to them. I agree with Aboriginal elder Robert Isaacs: It [Australia Day] brings the community together, it brings the Australian people together and it celebrates the good this country has provided for everyone. It introduced violent summary justice, official corruption, social neglect, alcohol poisoning, and military rule. It is understandable for indigenous Australians to note January 26 as the start of a hostile occupation which led to massacres and cultural destruction. When the bus comes, they don't take the rubbish with them. Australia has excellent weather with 300 days of sunshine and temperates never dipping below 10C. Such gullibility would be funny were it not so ominous in this powerful and warlike nation. I dont want Australia Day undermined in the future and just see it sort of fade away, Morrison said. 'An unthinkable tragedy': How did this train crash happen? So, someone working a four-day week would be entitled to: 4 days x 5.6 weeks = 22.4 days. In the United States, there's been a number of states who have ditched Columbus Day in favour of Indigenous People's Day. Australia was completely unprepared. Few former British colonies celebrate their national day on the actual day of colonization. Every year in Australia, once the New Year festivities are behind us, the same debate mounts in the press, on social media, and around dinner tables. Boney received a wave of negative comments on social media after her speech, but also a large number of articles and commentary in support of her position. The day before Australia celebrated its national day Friday, a statue of British explorer James Cook in Melbourne was vandalized, covered with pink paint and the words No pride.. Time and Date AS 19952023. Its really important that we have a national conversation about this together and that to me, is extremely powerful.. That cant be dismissed as black armband history as if that was merely an opinion. Through extensive research, it seems that the argument in favour of a bill of rights is significantly more convincing. Let's celebrate. It is hard to determine the economic cost of the collective tiredness caused by DST, but studies have found a decrease in productivity after the spring transition. I will never see it finished but will be glad I saw the start. It was nice to read Jack Waterford's more balanced and humanist appraisal (Times2, January 14) of the issues that surround the Charlie Hebdo incident. The latest poll from think tank the Institute of Public Affairs, found 69 per cent of Australians supported the January 26 holiday. Read our Privacy Policy. This is a day most Aussies look forward to: a day off work with friends and family, food, fun, and laughter. Your digital subscription includes access to content from all our websites in your region. If offended, there are a range of peaceful options, such as: a letter of complaint to the editor; never purchasing the publication again; a public demonstration in a nearby park; a boycott of companies advertising in the publication. Its very hard for Aboriginal people to celebrate a day that represents the beginning of the end, she says. More sleep: Teens may be more likely to get the recommended amount of sleep. For some, however, the time change can have more serious consequences to their health. Letters may be edited. If not perhaps it should be, after all, those Australian nationals fighting against our way of life overseas and here, are surely traitors? Too many people forget that a tent is not a wall. Protesting about the day, I believe, is a smokescreen to obscure the real problems that many Aboriginal Australians face today. The data tells us that those discussions whether they be in Canberra among the nation's leaders or around your family dining table are likely drawn on generational lines. There is no excuse for the attack on Charlie Hedbo. The dispossession of Australia's First Peoples began on this date in 1788 representing a day of mourning rather than celebration. Updated For both Mr Dawe and Ms Burney, reconciling the suffering caused by Australias colonial must start with education, acknowledgment and truth. We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we live, learn, and work. Weve changed the date before in fact, January 26 has only been a national public holiday since 1994 and must do so again if we want to achieve a national day that unifies all Australians. Write an article and join a growing community of more than 160,400 academics and researchers from 4,572 institutions. Sure, not everythings perfect in contemporary Australia; and its possible that Aboriginal life could have continued for some time without modernity bursting upon it, had governor Arthur Phillip not raised the Union flag and toasted the king on January 26, 1788, but its hard to imagine a better Australia in the absence of the Western civilization that began here from that date. They treasure it and use the anniversary to mark it, as do their children. Benefits of delayed school start times include: 2. The commemoration of this day has grown contentious in recent years as a result of a "change the date" campaign, in which supporters demand that Australia Day be moved from January 26 to May 9. Lisa Wilkinsons defence in her defamation case states she is not a lawyer and understood Tens colleagues had fact-checked Brittany Higgins allegations. It had not maintained substantial armed forces during the years of peace. And as we confront our history, re-write our curriculums, maybe the side of history we chose to honour on our national day changes too. A small number of local councils have already tried moving the celebration which is also the date new citizens receive their Australian citizenship from January 26, out of respect for the wishes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Did you encounter any technical issues? I choose not to repeat myself, because the date will change. However, I question the motives and sincerity of those claiming to be upset because of injustices committed in the past by what boils down to what one set of my ancestors did to another set of my ancestors. Consider the celebration of Christmas Day. The very fact that Benjamin Netanyahu (Prime Minister of Israel) and Mahmoud Abbas (President of the Palestinian Authority) marched in the same parade is a tribute, in itself, to the French concepts of brotherhood, liberty and equality. By changing the date, Australia can show that it is ready to truly accept and include Indigenous histories, cultures and contributions as a valued part of the Australian story. Changing the time, even if it is only by one hour, disrupts our body clocks or circadian rhythm. This used to be the greatest country on Earth, but weve lost the plot.. Read More. The debate has been revived by the Greens, because it is a perfect issue for the party. Privacy & Terms, Circadian Rhythm: Your Bodys Master Clock. Our human rights are also . The equivalent for Australia is July 9, 1900. 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We should acknowledge this and celebrate what a great country Australia is - and work together to make it even better. Easier to Set Up 6. It's not magically going to undo centuries of marginalisation and disadvantage. In recent years there has been a call by left-wing groups to move the date to a less controversial day. Australia has its downsides, too, and more than just some truly terrifying wildlife. Australia, weve always believed in a fair go. Immigrants do more than create stronger local economies. They also help to contribute to a stronger global economy. Conclusion. Published This Wednesday marks the 234th anniversary of the First Fleet sailing into Sydney Cove in 1788, after Captain James Cook claiming the land for the British Crown. The Australian flag was chosen in 1901, when a competition was held to design our country's flag. Let's get started. Australia has changed almost beyond recognition in regard to Aboriginal people in recent years. Just over 26 per cent of our 24 million Australians were born overseas and many were granted their citizenship on January 26. Australia Day can be a day of remembrance and reflection, as well as celebrations. This means that expats will need a good salary to cover the cost of accommodation. The high rates of violence in the Aboriginal population, particularly against women, are well documented and widely known yet there is comparatively little outrage. Referring to the cartoons published in Charlie Hebdo, Marguerite Castello asks how might we react to cartoons depicting Christians in a similarly offensive manner (CT, January 13). Before we can settle on a way forward, there is more work to be done in terms of raising awareness of the fraught symbolism of January 26, and what Australia stands to gain by changing the date of our national day to one that represents the shared values of modern Australia. For anyone who has had an awkward conversation with an older relative at a family barbecue, that's probably not so hard to believe. Depletion Level is High 5. But conservative politicians refused to be deterred, even raising the possibility of passing legislation to set the date as January 26 to hamper any future attempts to change it. It wasn't until 1994 less than 30 years ago that all states and territories declared it a holiday. In this article the truth is January 26 should be first fleet day, not Australia day by Smith in the. Millennials and Gen Z were far less supportive of celebrating January 26, at 58 per cent and 47 per cent, respectively, in the SRC poll. In calling for a change to the date of Australia Day (yes, it's that time of the year again) Ester Gaia (CT, January 13) uses the emotive "British invasion and occupation" language to try to reduce the significance of the date. 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