In the relative quiet of January 2023, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton was able to seize the reins of the debate around that year’s coming vote on a constitutionally enshrined Indigenous advisory body in a way Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was never really able to recover from. Looking for a similar culture war topic in 2024, Dutton has attempted to shock the fading debate around Australia Day back to life.
Here’s a rundown of how that’s played out so far this year.
January 7, 2024: Sparked by the growing number of Western Australian councils opting to cease holding citizenship ceremonies on January 26, Perth city Lord Mayor Basil Zempilas criticises Albanese for an apparent “cop out” on Australia Day. Zempilas says the prime minister is unfairly leaving the decision to councils and that he should “get on” with changing the date of Australia Day if that’s his intention.
Zempilas, a media personality in Perth thanks to his many years contributing to WA’s dominant media company Seven West Media, who parlayed this planet-sized conflict of interest into a narrow political success, is likely to run for the Liberal Party in the next state election and is already rumoured as potential future party leader in the state.
January 10: After questions from Channel 7, Woolworths Group confirms its Woolworths and Big W stores would not sell Australia Day-themed merchandise this year. “There has been a gradual decline in demand for Australia Day merchandise from our stores over recent years,” reads a statement from the group. “At the same time there’s been broader discussion about 26 January and what it means to different parts of the community.” The statement further notes that customers can still order merchandise online through its shopping website MyDeal.
January 11: The Daily Telegraph runs a front page with the Headline “Woolies Goes Woke”, claiming that the “supermarket giant cancels Australia Day”.
NSW Premier Chris Minns calls the move “odd” while Nyunggai Warren Mundine (here described as an “Indigenous advocate”) calls it “disgraceful”. “If Woolworths isn’t proud of this country they can pack up and bugger off,” he is quoted as saying.
Dutton posts on Facebook that Woolworths is “peddling woke agendas” and “trying to cancel Australia Day”.
The same day he tells 2GB that for “Woolworths to start taking political positions to oppose Australia Day is against the national interest, the national spirit”. The opposition leader tells people to “boycott Woolworths” — “I would advise very strongly to take your business elsewhere and go to IGA or Coles or Aldi.”
Dutton adds a faintly conspiratorial touch, saying that the Woolworths CEO Brad Banducci (like Qantas CEO Alan Joyce before him) is “trying to please the prime minister”, reiterating that the Liberals were no longer the party of big business (completely true, if you ignore literally every actual policy they have).
He is joined in this condemnation by Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, who tells 3AW “I think we should be boycotting those who are prepared not to be proud of this country”. Coalition backbencher Henry Pike calls the move “yet another pathetic attempt by big corporations to impose their woke ideology on us and to cancel our national day by stealth”, and Victorian backbencher Jason Wood takes a break from stealing cute animal content to claim “big corporations are trying to appease Labor”.
January 12: Aldi confirms it will also not sell Australia Day-themed merchandise.
Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce tells Sky News he agrees with Dutton’s calls for a boycott:
Rather than reduce Australia Day, try reducing the prices and helping out with the cost of living. That’s what you should be focused on, not involving yourself in the Voice and our Australia Day and basically go careering into politics because you believe you’re entitled to because of the position you hold in corporate world, not in a democratically elected government.
Business groups come out in support of Woolsworths — “Businesses shouldn’t be boycotted because they make commercial decisions based on demand for products from their customers”, Business Council of Australia head Bran Black says.
Pollster and former deputy state director of the Victorian Liberal Party Tony Barry tells the Australian Financial Review that “public sentiment is currently very anti-big business, but they also believe that the Liberal Party are its allies and supporters, so we get handcuffed to them”. According to Barry, the AFR summarises, Dutton is “looking to snap the public’s ‘toxic’ association between the Coalition and big business at a time when voters were battling cost-of-living pressures”.
NCA, the News Corp Newswire does a vox pop piece collecting the public’s views on the decision. Of the seven people they speak to (a family of three and four other individuals) most complain about price gouging and the lack of support provided by Woolworths to Australian producers. Only the “all-Australian” family, who moved to Cronulla from South Africa in 2000, expressed any specific attachment to Australia Day on January 26. The piece runs under the headline “Aussie family said they will ‘think twice’ before shopping at Woolies”.
January 14: The Tele and The Courier-Mail run front-page stories on a poll that reported “more than half of Australians” believed the Albanese government has “failed to address the cost of living crisis”.
January 15: A Woolworths Metro in an inner-city suburb of Brisbane has “5 days 26 Jan Aussie Oi Oi Woolies fuck u” painted on its exterior in the early hours of the morning. A flare is allegedly set off, triggering fire alarms and forcing the evacuation of nearby apartment buildings.
January 13-17: Meanwhile, conservative politicians start paying for ads on Facebook promoting the controversy. Shadow immigration and citizenship minister Dan Tehan repeats the charge that Albanese is “getting councils to do his dirty work”.
Andrew Hastie pays for an ad that states “Australia Day is under siege by politicians, corporate elites and unelected bureaucrats”, adding that the Albanese government “is waging a war on Australia Day, along with corporate elites like Woolworths and Big W”.
Do you care what nationalistic knick-knacks Woolies decides to sell or not to sell? Let us know 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.
Good summary. Dutton and his crew are a spendid example of Dr. Johnson’s famous remark made in 1755, as recorded in Boswell’s biography of the man:
Patriotism having become one of our topicks, Johnson suddenly uttered, in a strong determined tone, an apophthegm, at which many will start: ‘Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.’ But let it be considered, that he did not mean a real and generous love of our country, but that pretended patriotism which so many, in all ages and countries, have made a cloak for self-interest.
Beautifully said! The hypocrisy is stunning.
Well said!
Onya Sam. He’d be a good bloke to have a yarn (& a drink) with.
WRT Boswell’s statement, my understanding was that when all else failed for the scoundrel, he would enlist.
AFAIK, although it was easy enough at that time for someone who might be charged with a run-of-the-mill crime to avoid those problems by joining the army or navy, it is much more probable Johnson had in mind the newly formed Patriots Party of Whig politicians, formed in opposition to Robert Walpole and led for a time by the elder, and then the younger, William Pitt.
Woolworths and others made a business decision as no one wants the rubbish sold as Australia Day gadgets. It is, of course, manufactured outrage. But we should all have sympathy for the staff at these stores who can and probably will be targeted. Already a store has been vandalised. If any are put at risk, it will be on Dutton’s head and he should be held accountable for it.
Well said. Will Dutton et al accept responsibility? Hell, no. Let’s just wave our little Australian flags that are almost certainly made overseas and pretend it’s a patriotic gesture.
Outrage is the only thing we manufacture in Australia any more. Everything else comes from China.
The sort of confected scandal, that is brought to you by people who look at the hysterical, degenerate freak show that the American Republican party has become, and think that it might be a great idea to import that madness.
From Trump to Brian Houston there are any number of Holy Rollers who would try to sell us their Prosperity Gospel – the apotheosis of what Jesus stood for.
If I was a believing person I’d think that they’re all possessed by fabrication cooked up by the Prince of Lies.
I didn’t think it would be possible to have sympathy for Woolworths. Dutton et al have proven me wrong.
So conflicting. There are so many legitimate reasons not to shop at Woolies. But now I have a sudden urge to frequent the Fresh Food People.
Nine media, Seven West and News Core, all large domestic or multinational corporation and revving up and reporting the anti-business sentiment, are showing scant respect for their colleagues in the business world.
Perhaps the rest of the business world should boycott 9, 7 and News in protest.
Perhaps ‘DF’ they don’t realise that the Supermarkets are very large advertisers?
Oh God help us! Not these Muppets again?
Imagine being stuck in a lift with Peter Dutton, Ben Fordham, Barnaby Joyce and Jacinta Price. Barnaby’s noxious Toohey’s-flavoured emissions would be the least offensive element.
The sinister thing in all of this is not just the co-aligned agendas of the MSM and the LNP, but more so the obvious attempt to take a MAGA-like populist, anti-corporate position when we all know they are its henchmen.
Imagine being stuck in a lift with them breeding!
Worse than a fart in a lift.
Whenever the LNP start talking about ‘woke agendas’ you should brace yourself for some outright stupidity.
I know for a fact what the LNP are capable of coming up with some dumb ideas. Do they really think it’s necessary to parrot the stupidity coming from the right wing of US politics?
Well, if the lift cable snapped and we all dropped to our deaths , at least I know that I would not have died in vain .
Yes, henchmen and women who have been developed to become media content creators and influencers for sociocultural narratives focused on above median age (& mythical ‘forgotten’ or ‘quiet’ Australians), to fill the space with ‘noise’ and dominate to preclude any pause for thought, analysis etc. vs. don’t think, just act.
Many pop up offshore via the same content being shared within and/or between media groups, but especially social media channels.