Economy, education, and health are all at a high level. SHOULD THE AUSTRALIAN FLAG BE CHANGED? Conclusion. That includes the communities that thrived on and cared for the land for 65,000 years before Captain Arthur Phillip planted a flag in it. The generators, plenty of them, were started at 7am and turned off (if we were lucky) at 10 at night. Questions are raised, and so they should be: As a country, can we really drink to national pride on a day that carries so much trauma, grief and suffering for our First Nations people? How Australia is failing its indigenous population, And that started from that day. The Australian flag debate is a periodic question over whether the Australian flag should be changed, particularly to remove the Union Jack from the canton, but also to possibly introduce a completely new design without the Southern Cross. 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. But changing the date is not the answer. Find out more about our policy and your choices, including how to opt-out. Along with this were the brutal efforts to subjugate the indigenous people. Pros Australia Day has no long standing history, so there should be less resistance to change. Modern society, with its computers, TV-screens, and air conditioning units, uses more energy, no matter if the Sun is up or not. Many Australians Think the Day Should Be Changed Even though many Australians are apathetic about the date that Australia Day should be held ( 56% polled said they didn't care about it), other Australians, including Aboriginals want the date changed. Abso-bloody-lutely! A 4 day work week may seem like a radical idea, but we've gradually reduced the number of hours worked within a typical work week since the late 19th century. Australia Day Today. A Warner Bros. I don't personally have an issue with the date itself, it's Summer, so it's perfect bbq and beer drinking weather. If we look at what appears to be an emerging generational divide, the conversation may eventually change and with it the way we mark the day. January 26 is fast approaching. 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. "Australia Day" is named by some as "Invasion Day" due to the dispossession of Indigenous land and the arrival of the First Fleet's at Port Jackson, Sydney, Australia in 1788. Did you encounter any technical issues? For most people, the resulting tiredness is simply an inconvenience. They didnt. I certainly dont see what happened at the time of the invasion as worthy of celebrating nobody does. Let's not knock this proposed light rail project: 50 years from now, when all major centres are connected by light rail including the international airport and the fast rail interstate network, the rest of Australia will look at us with envy. In 2017, 60 per cent of young Triple J listeners backed moving the iconic Hottest 100 countdown to a new day, out of respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. JANUARY 26 should continue to be kept as our national day but not because those First Fleet ships landed essential cultural cargo. Its worth asking the same question of the British settlement of Australia at the same time as we acknowledge the dispossession of the original inhabitants. 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? When students are too tired or mentally exhausted to concentrate, the last hour of the day becomes useless. K-12. The events of the past two weeks in France have, quite rightly, horrified and appalled. That's how most Australian's, celebrate the day, if they celebrate it at al Continue Reading Matt Jennings Former Youth Basketball Coach Updated 6 mo Promoted We've 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.. The most common application of year-round education uses the 45-15 plan. There too, the debate has been playing out for decades, with the social dial slowly shifting. It is no longer a secret: Australia is an expensive country to live in, and accommodation is a big part of this cost. These problems will not be solved by changing the date of Australia Day or giving it a new name. Australians can find their human rights that are protected in the Constitution, in common law, anti-discrimination laws and other State and Federal legislation. Milton Savage, Chair of the Kaurareg Native Title Aboriginal Corporation. Are there bigger issues than changing the date? This is part of a series examining Australian national identity, especially around the ongoing debate about Australia Day. A tussle to decide if the loss of the first inhabitants should be commemorated, or the success of the new Australians celebrated. Through his advocacy work, Mr Dawe wants to break the cycle of trauma which happens to Aboriginal children who are placed in out-of-home care. In recent years there has been a call by left-wing groups to move the date to a less controversial day. During World War I (1914 to 1918), Australians had been divided over the question of . Opinion polls have found majority support for January 26. CNN Sans & 2016 Cable News Network. So for me its a difficult day and I dont want to celebrate it. Thats basically saying that despite all the subjugation and the land theft, Aboriginal people and cultures have survived, she adds. More importantly, the reaction (in France, Europe and elsewhere) to the massacres in Paris have proved beyond doubt the resilience and determination of the majority of ordinary citizens not to allow terror to rule the world. 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. They treasure it and use the anniversary to mark it, as do their children. Two weeks before Australia Day 2019, Prime Minister Morrison announced potential measures which would ban councils from holding citizenship ceremonies on any day other than January 26. Our human rights are also . If you want to hold Australia Day ceremonies and be given that privilege, well, Australia Day is the day, Morrison said. The truth-telling all Australians need to hear. In addition to simply eliminating the costs and hassles of managing currency, going cashless may also reduce certain types of crime. The ongoing impact can be seen in disturbing rates of Indigenous incarceration and the growing overrepresentation of Indigenous children in out-of-home care, to give just two of many examples. Almost 100 suburbs and each with a soul! And for those whose history is being denied, this isn't a war of words, but an exhausting yearly exercise in defending the pain of their existence. On January 17, after the latest clashes over the date had begun, an impassioned appeal by television host Brooke Boney went viral across the country. This used to be the greatest country on Earth, but weve lost the plot.. 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. Around this time every year, as the end of January fast approaches, the conversation around the legitimacy of celebrating Australia Day on January 26 amps up. Pros: great fresh food; relaxed lifestyle; climates to suit your preference depending on where you live; decent standard of living for almost anyone with a job when compared to say the US. Some students, even as old as eighth-graders, suffer from post-lunch attention deficit syndrome and . The diverse climate in Australia will leave you in awe. Our present flag dates from only 1953. Not until 1935 did all the Australian states and territories use that name to mark that date. Help us good-willing passengers to keep Canberra clean. Should our national day beheld on January 26, the day the Union Jack was raised at Port Jackson on the land of the Eora clans? Better sleep: Delayed start time could help teens sleep during their natural sleep/wake cycles. It's getting harder and harder to find peace and quiet anywhere. Australia Day has wandered around the calendar and it was only the 1988 Bicentenary which pinned it down through the work of the Australia Day Council. Provide phone number and full home address (suburb only published). Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date. Your digital subscription includes access to content from all our websites in your region. Even worse: it is the source of many further problems. The latest version of the British flag dates from 1801, that of Canada 1965, South Africa 1994, France 1848, Israel 1948, Japan 1854, Spain 1936 and USA 1960. This is not the same as Australia. Longer school days could result in attention deficit and fatigue, making the extra class time ineffective. . The guidelines of this competition included that the Union Jack and Southern Cross should appear on the flag. 2. The Captain Cook statue in Catani Gardens in St Kilda is seen vandalised on January 25 in Melbourne, Australia. The national online poll canvassed the views of 1222 Australians between January 19 and January 22 on their views on changing the Australia Day date, its importance to improving the lives of Indigenous Australians and to what extent they think Indigenous Australians face racism in Australia today. Not until 1994 did they begin to celebrate Australia Day consistently . *for the 2022/23 tax year, provided your aggregated turnover is less than $50 million. It helps their aim to dignify murderers with terms such as Muslim fundamentalists, jihadis, Islamic State or any other words suggesting that the issue is "true believers" against the rest. Table of Contents hide. As such, the City of Fremantle, while not opposing Australia Day celebrations, is having a culturally inclusive alternative event two days later. People have to inform themselves about politics. They brought the worst elements of an empire from tyranny to syphilis with no thoughts of creating a shining, democratic outpost. Drawbacks of Organizational Change. ", Or as one Torres Strait Islander elder said: "I don't need one day to celebrate, I am always celebrating my culture and customs, I celebrate being the First Australian every day.". Aboriginal academic Chelsea Bond writes: I march in remembrance for those who lost their lives simply defending their own land and people. The equivalent for Australia is July 9, 1900. We know that truth and honesty is the first form of healing, he says, adding that this must be a joint operation between Indigenous, non-Indigenous Australians and broader society. Climate change pros and cons. Essentially, terrorist shooters and bombers are willing to be killed because their religions tell them that if they do the right thing then there is a wonderful life awaiting them after death analogous to the wishful thinking of cargo cultists. In this article the truth is January 26 should be first fleet day, not Australia day by Smith in the. The gist of my letter (January9) calling for a re-think of public holidays was that replacing four mandated days off with five extra days of annual leave might just benefit everyone. 2023 Cable News Network. According to the Australia Day website: "The tradition of having Australia Day as a national holiday on 26 January is a recent one. However, I believe that in the year 2001, the Australian flag needs to be changed. Unlike sole traders required to pay tax on all income, the base company tax rate for registered companies is 25%* regardless of profit. Cons of living in Australia. Why we need to change the date of Australia Day. Depletion Level is High 5. For those objecting to Australia Day celebrations, I encourage you to consider the aforementioned problems and ask yourself: How will changing the name or the date help those who are suffering most?. Nurses and midwives in NSW have been warned against posting on subscription site OnlyFans by the industrys professional complaints body. A new social media site has enabled industry-first technology that makes content impossible for creeps to screenshot and screen record. Some terrorist foot soldiers are no doubt exalted by a distorted understanding of their religion but their leaders are primarily pursuing political and often venal ends. The downsides of going cashless include less privacy, greater exposure to hacking, technological dependency . 3. So why do more than 70 countries in the world still use DST? But the conservative Liberal National Coalition government has criticized any suggestion of a potential change of date, including Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. They cannot to be excused or mitigated in any way on the grounds of religion, anyone's religion. Suppose you are to travel outside the country for more than 28 days within a year. The rule of law, equality of the sexes, scientific curiosity, technological progress, responsible government plus the constant self-criticism and lust for improvement that makes us so self-conscious of our collective failings towards Aboriginal people all date from then; and may not have been present to anything like the same extent had the settlers fanning out from Sydney Cove been other than British. The loud headlines, the hyperbolic commentary, the sense this debate won't be quickly resolved, or that perhaps some aren't even looking for resolution. I respect peoples right to mourn and even to claim that Australia Day celebrations are causing them grief, insult, and suffering. Australia was completely unprepared. All times AEDT (GMT +11). This service may include material from Agence France-Presse (AFP), APTN, Reuters, AAP, CNN and the BBC World Service which is copyright and cannot be reproduced. Now in these more enlightened times, post Mabo and Bringing the Children Home, consideration should be given to the day on which we celebrate our nation, so that all Australians can wholeheartedly rejoice while doing so. [ 1] [ 2] That was not the . All day long, the intrusive sound never stops. Email: letters.editor@canberratimes.com.au. We tell our kids what happened to their ancestors, communities and families on this day and the impacts this has had and how this may have potentially impacted why they are in the out of home care system themselves, he says. I have never been able to book a short (A type) consultation when I have requested one. The Australia Talks National Survey 2021 has revealed a majority of people now believe Australia Day should not be celebrated on January 26, given the historical significance of the date for Indigenous nations. The main proposal is to end the reign of the monarch of Australia (the Queen of England, Elizabeth the II) and her appointed Governor-General in Australia, replacing both with an elected president.This debate Continue reading "Australian . My opinion, yes it should be changed. Remittances are common in nations that invite immigrants. Here is my request to ACTION. I've written about that date before, its origins and forgotten stories and recent almost-comical attempts to protect a public holiday. Today, the amount of energy saved from DST is negligible. Australia has changed almost beyond recognition in regard to Aboriginal people in recent years. It's a strange, brutal and relatively recent quirk of Australia's colonial history that January 26, a day that marks an invasion rather than independence, has even become our national day. To some, January 26 is a modern tradition worth protecting, a celebration of what Australia looks like today. The latest poll from think tank the Institute of Public Affairs, found 69 per cent of Australians supported the January 26 holiday. People at bus stops smoke, they eat candy bars, they drink coffee or soft drinks, in short: they do things that generate rubbish. While former prime minister Kevin Rudd made a formal public apology to the victims of forced child removal in 2008, the practice still occurs. (Through awareness and truth telling) about this day, believe we will all be able to find reconciliation here in Australia. Their strategy is to engineer and profit from hostility between Muslims and non-Muslims and between different sects of Islam. I choose not to repeat myself, because the date will change. 2023 Cable News Network. Australia Day remains unprotected, Liberal Party Senator Dean Smith wrote in The Australian on Thursday. Business and consumers would have more options too. Bruce Woodley's Iconic Song 'I Am Australian' Because as it stands, that community is being ignored, that community is being told their history isn't as important as white history, that their pain isn't as important as other Australians having a particular date off work. Safety is one of the more solid arguments for keeping the lighter evenings of DST. If we 'move forward' without acknowledging that legacy, we'd only continue to leave some people behind. Calma believes the movement to change the date Is gaining momentum, adding: We see the big marches and the protests, and participating in events around Australia. Catch up on other pieces in the series here. More from Letters to the Editor Barnaby is both out of touch and running out of time The latest poll from think tank the Institute of Public Affairs, found 69 per cent of Australians supported the January 26 holiday. Two prominent Australians weigh in on the debate. This is the best country in the world no doubt, but I cant separate January 26 from the fact that my brothers are more likely to go to jail than they are to go to school, or that my little sisters and my mum are more likely to be beaten and raped than anyone elses sisters and mum, she said on morning TV. A five-day week entitles 28 days' annual leave a year. Donkey votes. 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. For us, thats a real true sign of reconciliation.. "Half (49 per cent) agreed that Australia Day should not be on a day that is offensive to Indigenous Australians, while 36% disagreed. Among older generations, support ranged from 73 per cent for Generation X, 80 per cent for Baby Boomers and 90 per cent for Silent Generation, which are those 73 years and older. Why? Its slow and its usually hard fought, she says. We heard this from our Prime Minister just days ago: "Australia Day is about how far we've come," Scott Morrison said. The not-for-profit supports Indigenous children who are placed into out-of-home care, an experience that is very personal for Mr Dawe, who himself entered care at just two months old. Letters may be edited. Published Australia Day Date Change. Everyone can hear the music. Benefits of delayed school start times include: 2. Easier to Transport 4. Once upon a time you could reasonably expect a little peace, quiet and relaxation at a campground. Your decision last year to cut back on route timetables, notably throwing out more than two hours of the Route 4 itinerary, from 11.10pm to the now feeble 9.05pm was, and still is, a total farce and you should be ashamed of your presumption. But any other day of the year Ill tie an Australian flag around my neck and Ill run through the streets.. Send it! 8. Don't have an account? 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. The Prime Minister is showing admirable leadership in his care for the words he uses when referring to the terrorists. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander activist Calma said he felt the conservative Morrison government was rushing to make changes to Australia Day before it likely loses power at a national election due to take place before May. Young bright and full of hope is what we all. Today many Australians celebrate Christmas for other reasons: family; end of another hard year; food and drink; and summer holidays. That cant be dismissed as black armband history as if that was merely an opinion. Such gullibility would be funny were it not so ominous in this powerful and warlike nation. Since Australia is an independent, democratic country, they assert that Australians should be able to vote who will symbolize them. Most of them have been read as 'implied rights' by the High Court. 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. However, at latitudes between these extremes, adjusting daily routines to the shifting day length during summer may indeed help to save energy. Similar numbers are expected to march this year, according to local media. Goodbye peace and quiet. (Photo by Asanka Brendon Ratnayake/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images), British explorer James Cook in Melbourne was vandalized, 56% didnt care when the national day was held. For both Mr Dawe and Ms Burney, reconciling the suffering caused by Australias colonial must start with education, acknowledgment and truth. Australia Day can be a day of remembrance and reflection, as well as celebrations. Access unlimited news content and The Canberra Times app. January 26 is not a day for celebration thats why news.com.au is campaigning to change the date of Australia Day, so we can celebrate the best country in the world, without leaving anyone behind. Changing the time, even if it is only by one hour, disrupts our body clocks or circadian rhythm. Lecturer, Faculty of Health Sciences, Australian Catholic University. That eventmight be a long way in the past. Write an article and join a growing community of more than 160,400 academics and researchers from 4,572 institutions. Lisa Wilkinsons defence in her defamation case states she is not a lawyer and understood Tens colleagues had fact-checked Brittany Higgins allegations. Has changed almost beyond recognition in regard to Aboriginal people and cultures have,! Started at 7am and turned off ( if we were lucky ) at 10 at night a. 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