Australia day 2018 will be celebrated on January 26th, which for most of us means a long weekend with a BBQ and a dip at the beach.
2018 could be the last year that we observe the national day of commemoration on the 26th, but luckily most Australians (56% to be exact) couldn’t give a toss which day we celebrate our fair nation, as long as we do.
In fact, it turns out that most Aussies have no idea what historical event Australia Day actually commemorates.
A poll from The Australia Institute revealed that only 38% of respondents could correctly identify the events of the 26th as the First Fleet landing at Sydney Cove.
Ebony Bennett, Deputy Director of The Australia Institute said this could be the reason more than half of us don’t mind the day we celebrate Australia.
“When asked to choose which date Australia Day should be celebrated on, less than a quarter (23%) chose the current date from a range of options,” she said.
“Half (49%) agreed that Australia Day should not be on a day that is offensive to Indigenous Australians, while 36% disagreed. However, only 37% agreed that the current date of Australia Day is offensive to Indigenous Australians, while 46% disagreed.”
Bennett finished by saying that a national conversation about Australia Day is an important chance for us to reflect on Australia’s history alongside the history of Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders.
“We need to ask ourselves what kind of country we want to be in the future.”
What would the date of Australia Day be changed to?
This is still up for debate but there has been a lot of support for Federation Day – 1 January.
“I personally think changing to this date has a certain elegance to it but it’ll be interesting to see how the conversation unfolds,” Greens Acting Co-Deputy Leader and spokesperson for Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Issues, Rachel Siewert, told the Weekly.
There’s also been a show of support for May 8 – get it – “Mate”.
