Australians are becoming less attached to January 26, but politicians aren’t, leading some MPs to dominate the culture war in a way that doesn’t reflect public sentiment, an expert says.
The yearly debate has reignited after Opposition Leader Peter Dutton called on Australians to boycott Woolworths when the supermarket giant revealed it would not sell Australia Day-themed merchandise because of declining sales.
Dutton, alongside a host of conservative politicians such as Pauline Hanson, last week condemned the move as an “outrage” born from Woolworths’ “woke agenda” and said most Australians likely thought the same.
But Australian Catholic University sociology lecturer Rachel Busbridge says this may not be the case.
She said there had been a general shift towards support for changing the date with only half of Australians celebrating, which is very different to the dynamic presented by politicians.
“We see a lot of polarisation from that top level of politics [and] it tends to come from the right side,” Busbridge said.
“But when we look at people’s attitudes on the ground, it’s a lot less polarised.
“We can see a slow but steady drift towards recognising that the day is a bit problematic for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and if we want to all celebrate together, then that may mean that we have to find another day.”
Though First Nations peoples in Australia have a long history of leading Invasion Day or Survival Day protests focused on January 26, the day was only made a federal public holiday in 1994.
Since then it has become the subject of increasing scrutiny as more Australians oppose the public holiday.
Many local councils have chosen not to hold celebrations on January 26 or hold alternate events that acknowledge colonial legacies.
The City of Sydney, for example, hosts a dawn reflection event where the Opera House sails are illuminated with First Nations art.
In 2023, the Victorian government axed its Australia Day parade opting instead for a flag-raising ceremony and gun salute at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne.
There has also been a slow trickle of companies — such as Woolworths, Aldi and Kmart — drifting from the celebration, though this is likely a response to Australians spending elsewhere rather than corporate leadership, Busbridge says.
“If there’s really no demand for these types of items, then I don’t know the extent to which the politicisation and outrage that comes along is really reflective of public sentiment.”
Grassroots collectives are continuing to arrange Invasion Day parades across the Australian capitals.
A spokesperson from Warriors of Aboriginal Resistance, an organiser of the Melbourne rally, says the changing public opinion is heartening.
“This date isn’t a day of celebration, it marks the beginning of Aboriginal people losing our land, families and lives and it’s a stain on Australia that we celebrate this,” the spokesperson said.
“It’s great to see the shift and we hope that more places can listen to the calls for justice by amplifying Aboriginal deaths in custody and First Nations climate justice.”
Do you support the push to change the date? Should politicians be focusing on more important issues? Let us know your thoughts by writing to letters@crikey.com.au. Please include your full name to be considered for publication. We reserve the right to edit for length and clarity.
If the majority of First Nations People are uncomfortable celebrating Australia Day on January 26 (and it’s easy to understand why) then it should be changed to another date … no questions – it’s a no-brainer. Australia Day must be for all of us.
I’m getting very tired of the hearing the word ‘woke’. It’s typically used by nasty people to deride and mock those who show consideration for others, particularly those in a minority group. In this case, it’s used to attack those who show empathy for the first inhabitants of this land. Pretty sad when it’s being used by the alternative PM.
“woke”, a black word out of the US and popularized by the ‘black lives matter’ movement has entered the mainstream, and apparently once this happens, it takes on a negative connotation and is appropriated by right wing ideology. Since late 2018, commentators in the US have been calling for ‘woke’ to be put to sleep.
https://www.npr.org/2018/12/30/680899262/opinion-its-time-to-put-woke-to-sleep
https://pages.gseis.ucla.edu/faculty/agre/conservatism.html
Yes, decrying everything they’re reflexively opposed to as ‘woke’ is the be-all and end-all for right-wingers these days. Despite having lost virtually all meaning since appropriated by the right (eg. DeSantis and Dutton), who haven’t a clue of its provenance, it’s replaced ‘left’ in their lexicon of negative words. Instead of developing policies – regardless how conservative, reactionary or just plain nasty – the right just squall about things that are ‘woke’, nothing more; it’s a bizarre crusade.
Since Abbot (even longer in the US – probably Bush II) the intellectual breadth and depth of the political right has been little more than “not the [notional] left”.
(Mostly this is because the notional left has moved so far right they don’t really have anything meaningful to differentiate themselves with.)
Linguistically, the opposite can happen if a minority appropriates a ‘mainstream’ word (as in gay, queer, etc). Maybe we should pinch a mainstream word and use it mean a recognition of ancient rights and liberties, including acknowledgement of the position of aboriginal people and the history of colonisation. Let me see, how about “Conservative” ?
The people that use it generally have little empathy for others, particularly if they are people outside of what they consider to be ‘their’ group. Branding it as woke makes them feel better, because it’s then seen as a negative thing and helps them justify their own lack of empathy and complete self-interested focus
The total and instantaneous derogation implicit in the right’s whining is their own form of ‘cancel culture’.
‘Woke’, ‘virtue signalling’ and other similar denigrations of anybody who makes them feel briefly uncomfortable are words used by self-centred bigots suffering from a terminal lack of empathy and imagination. They represent an attempt by those people to convince themselves that they’re just as good as anyone else and other people are really the same narrow-minded racists as they are, just with extra sham marketing.
Good one Dave. Rachel Busbridge’s words are wise. Dutton, and his female anima Hanson thus stand out in the clear light of day, astride the ACU’s scholar’s words and her astuteness. Dutton and Hasen are opportunistic, sinister and should never have been given a public platform. They are all chutzpah and emotion, gaslighting and divisive.
A majority of First Nations People are a small minority of people….
Here’s a thought..either you’re into Australia Day or you’re not.
If you’re not, why do you care?
If you are, why do you care?
In short, why does anyone care?
My daughter used to be a penguin warden on the beach near Manly wharf. Each Australia Day, crowds of plastic flag carrying visitors would flood in on the ferry. They’d spend all day getting drunk and trashing the beach, leaving the place in a big mess. She tried to get them to take their Australia Day rubbish home with them, but they laughed and said “it was someone else’s job”. My daughter would come home in tears. She cared.
That’s an unfortunate experience but not sure what it has to do with Australia Day.
Interestingly when they were negotiating the Good Friday Agreement to bring peace to Northern Ireland they were able to agree on the release of former terrorists and murderers, but not on ending the marches.
Yes people were willing to see the person who murdered their loved ones leave prison but fought for the right to do their stupid little marches.
Culture wars are toxic. Best steer clear.
Yeh, but if a minority don’t like something, the majority must always change? This worked well for the yes campaign? Here we are again with a minority pushing their views forward, promoting a culture war which unfortunately the right tend to win. Ain’t we learned nothing from Brexit, Trump etc?
Dutton is going after the traditional blue collar Labor voters, ‘Howard’s Battlers’. He’s lost his core constituency of educated wealthy Liberal voters who now vote Teal.
The ‘outrage’ is aimed directly at the same nongs who voted against the Voice out of ignorance and fear, carefully cultivated by this conscienceless bully who’ll do anything to keep his name in the fishwraps and his leadership of the sinking ship that is the Coalition.
Doesn’t he have better things to do with his narrow, miserable life? Why doesn’t he take up painting and walking the dog? At least he would be doing something productive instead of trying to win the Prime Ministership without a single positive idea of what to do with the power once he has it.
Brainless, uunimaginative, greedy and cruel. Definitely the leader Australia does not need now or ever.
And yes, let’s dump Australia Day and celebrate something worthwhile about this country, other than the murder of thousands and the destruction of an ancient culture and landscape.
The polls are suggesting Dumbledore might make it to be PM using his miserable tactics. Another possibility is we will see an even bigger group of Teals supported by those said to be disillusioned with current Labor but who are not returning to the LNP.
Australia Day, as it is presented these days, was ‘created’, or perhaps I could say ‘re-badged’ by advertising, marketing and political players in much the same way that the Anzac Day narrative was given a makeover to appeal to a younger generation.
The current date was only gazetted as a national public holiday in 1994, before some of the people who cause trouble and intimidate others were even born. Older people may also benefit from a brief ‘history’ refresher, too.
A quick glance through an article titled ‘The Many Different Dates We’ve Celebrated Australia Day’ available on sbs.com.au might be more enlightening than accepting and/or acting upon divisive and concocted outrage from Peter Dutton and others recently.
Sadly, an attack on a retail store has already occurred in Brisbane…I wonder if Mr. Dutton has taken pause to consider the ramifications of stirring up social unrest for spurious political gain? There’s too much hate in the minds of many people around the world, as it is; urging more won’t help anyone.
Educate yourself, become an informed citizen/resident of this wonderful country, then choose how and why you, personally, celebrate, mourn, support, stand with, wave a flag…or vote, for that matter.
I know a song about him GG https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POnNCCInDXQ
Maybe bludgeoning those blue colour voters with educated progressive priorities like whether 1788 was an invasion or not, is not a good way to get them not to support Dutton. Like how well the yes campaign worked and helped indigenous people.
Sometimes I go to a shop and they don’t have what I want… I don’t go off on an anti-woke agenda conspiracy rant.
Personally, I stay at inside on survival day, the racists come out in force and they’re all drunk well before midday.
I’d be pretty sure that Peter Dutton has never gone to Woolies to buy a $1.30 plastic Ausssie flag (Chinese made). In fact I have found out that federal MPs have a specific budget to hand out flags to their consitituents…. if you live in a liberal constituency please message your MP right now and ask for an extra large, high quality, Queen Anne Union Flag..!
Or not… Domestic flying of flags (i.e. unless you’re a govt instrumentality or the defence forces) is unAustralian. It’s the US and others of their ilk that do that sort of thing. Most of us are smarter – we already know which country we’re living in and don’t need our memories jogged.
Frankly, I have become less & less enchanted to be Australian, disinclined to wave the flag on any date let alone the 26th January.
While our governments prioritise funding dud submarines over the thousands of homeless & vulnerable Australians – or those displaced by floods/fires – our nation has decreasing bragging rights. While refugees rot in detention, while indigenous people continue to die when incarcerated & while we vote not to allow the original owners a voice to parliament, what’s to celebrate? The weather…?
This country has been trying to tell us just how stupid and brutal it is forever. With the exception of the all-too-brief Whitlam era (and look how that ended), everything we were proud of was basically a lie.
Remember how we loved Hey Hey it’s Saturday? Remember how aghast Harry Connick Jr was at the blackface act when he was a judge on Red Faces? That’s about the size of it. Ignorance is bliss.
The silliest part of this was selecting January 26 in the first place. That’s a date for the colony, later state, of NSW. Each colony has its own foundation day equivalent. But that has bugger all to do with a national day of celebration. So, even on its own terms, it makes no sense at all.
Referendums were held in each colony in the 1890s to vote for federation – most in June or July 1898/99 – pick a date somewhere in that period (when public holidays are thin on the ground!), or just make it Jan 1 and , while we’re at it, let’s replace the King’s birthday holiday with a sorry/reconciliation day.
Honestly just make the last Monday in January Australia Day. Some years that might be the 26th, some not, but it would no longer be an explicit commemeration of Phillip’s landing at Circular Quay.
I suspect maintaining the basic rhythym of the Australian summer and guaranteeing a long weekend every year will pacify most of the audience Dutton is trying to play to.
Sydney Cove, not Circular Quay (the quay came later). And the ceremony was actually held on the evening of the 25th, not on the 26th.
My own personal choice is 3 March. The day the Australia Act came into force and Great Britain officially became a foreign country. That’s our actual independence day.
Another good day would May 8th…..the date of the first sitting of Federal Parliament.
Actually it was May 9 I understand. But “Mine” is not such a good pun, but actually perhaps more representative of todays Straya.
But Labour Day is only a week later. Whatever we want to celebrate, we can choose any old day for it, (like the Queen’s Birthday).
Its not any old day. It is close to the day when the Queen became Queen. Almost random but not completely.
Right. But I read your previous comments and was pretty cagey with my language. The current holiday does commemerate the landing, regardless of whether it is on the correct day or not.
3 March would be fine but I think the current timing actually functions well as it is as an end to the communal holiday season.
Jan 26 was the day anglophone white people arrived to stay, making your perfectly correct point about its referring only to NSW irrelevant to many bigoted white people.
But that’s not the day they arrived. They arrived in Botany Bay over three days, 18-20th. They got to Sydney Cove on the 21st for a look, and went back to stay, hoisting a naval ensign on the evening of the 25TH. The bulk of the fleet arrived the following morning. The whole 26th thing is a nonsense.
I propose MABO day