SYDNEY: On Thursday, thousands of Australians participated in rallies in support of Indigenous people to mark the country’s national day. Many Australians refer to the anniversary of the British fleet’s entry into Sydney Harbour as “Invasion Day.”
In Sydney, virtual entertainment showed a huge group accumulated at an “Intrusion Day” rally in the focal business region, where certain individuals conveyed Native banners and a Native smoking function occurred.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reports that around 2,000 people attended similar protests in Adelaide and other Australian state capitals.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese honored the nation’s Indigenous people, who have occupied the land for at least 65,000 years, during a flag-raising and citizenship ceremony in the nation’s capital.
Mr. Albanese urged the audience to “let us all recognize the unique privilege that we have to share this continent with the world’s oldest continuous culture.” He stated that there were no plans to alter the date of the holiday, despite the fact that it was a “difficult day” for Indigenous Australians.
This week, Roy Morgan, a market research company, conducted an annual poll and found that nearly two-thirds of Australians still believe January 26 should be celebrated as “Australia Day.” The remainder consider it to be “Invasion Day.”
Despite the debate, some businesses have adopted a more flexible approach to the holiday. This year, Telstra Corp., the largest telecom provider in Australia, gave its employees the option to work on January 26 and take another day off.
Vicki Brady, chief executive officer of Telstra, posted a LinkedIn post titled “Australia Day… marks a turning point that saw lives lost, culture devalued, and connections between people and places destroyed.”
In what the government refers to as “entrenched inequality,” many of Australia’s 25 million Indigenous people, who make up about 880,000 of the country’s population, lag behind others on social and economic indicators.
The holiday this year comes at a time when the center-left Labour Party government led by Mr. Albanese is planning a referendum on including Indigenous people in the constitution and requiring them to be consulted on decisions that have an impact on their lives.
As Indigenous voices emerge as a crucial federal political issue, the government intends to introduce legislation in March to set up the referendum later this year. The country’s Indigenous people are not mentioned in the constitution, which went into effect in January 1901 and cannot be changed without a referendum.
Abi George, one of the protesters in Sydney, stated that it was not a happy day for all Australians, particularly Indigenous people. She stated, “Nobody has the right to celebrate genocide.”
Vivian Macjohn, a second protester, stated that the rally against the national holiday was an expression of support for Indigenous people.
