Change the date

Australia Day should be for all Australians. But for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people 26 January is a painful day that marks the start of colonisation. Let’s #ChangeTheDate so all Australians can celebrate together.

Right now, Australia Day is not a celebration for everyone. For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, it marks the beginning of hundreds of years of suffering and inequality.

Rodney Dillon, Palawa man and Indigenous Rights Advisor at Amnesty International Australia, puts it best:

“26 January is a hard day for all of our mob. Aboriginal people always feel sad on Australia Day; it marks the end of freedom for our people.”

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have been protesting 26 January for a long time and in recent years the tide appears to be shifting. More people, local governments and organisations are joining the #ChangeTheDate movement. In November 2017 radio station Triple J announced it would change the date of the Hottest 100, traditionally broadcast on Australia Day, to the fourth weekend in January.

Momentum is building and now is our chance to create an inclusive national celebration. Let’s respect the survival and resilience of our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and #ChangeTheDate.

Find out more about the history of protest and celebrating on 26 January, courtesy of NAIDOC Perth.

Tammy Solonec, Amnesty Australia’s Indigenous Rights Manager and a proud Nigena woman from Derby in Western Australia, puts it beautifully:

Like other Australians, I enjoy a public holiday and like to celebrate. But as an Aboriginal person, 26 January is a painful and alienating day. It marks the start of the colonisation and the suffering of our people— it is no celebration for us.

Let’s respect the survival and resilience of our Indigenous peoples and change the date so we can all celebrate Australia Day together.

It’s simple. Let’s keep Australia Day and move the date to one that unites us.