ANOTHER Australia Day is another opportunity for all of us to reflect on our great nation.
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It is the time to celebrate the incredible achievements of such a young country but also a time to acknowledge mistakes of the past.
When the First Fleet sailed into Port Jackson on January 26, 1788 after nine months at sea, the moment marked the birth of modern Australia. It marked the opening up of the Great Southern Land to the rest of the settled world and started our nation on a path of growth and development that continues today.
It also marked the beginning of the end of a remarkable civilisation that had survived and thrived in across an inhospitable continent for around 40,000 years. It marked the start of generations of bloodshed and maltreatment, of stolen land and stolen children.
Those two truths cannot be separated – and nor should they be.
Every Australia Day we return to the debate over whether January 26 is an appropriate date to celebrate our nation.
Those pushing for a change maintain it is insensitive to celebrate on a day that marks the disenfranchisement of an entire community. And while that is a reasonable point of view, it misses the point that changing the date of Australia Day would do nothing to change our history.
No country can be proud of every chapter of its past but it is far better to acknowledge our country’s mistakes and to continue working towards a reconciliation.
Maintaining Australia Day on January 26 serve to maintain historic links to both sides of the story of our nation’s creation.
January 26 allows us to rejoice in the creation of Australia in the face of great adversity while also recognising the great injustices that occurred along the way.
January 26 should remain the day when we celebrate and commemorate together just as April 25 both celebrates the traits of mateshift and courage while at the same time commemorating the tragic loss of thousands of young lives.
As a mature nation, Australia must now face up to the pain and suffering European arrival caused for indigenous populations.
We must continue striving to make amends and to move forward as one people, bringing the vulnerable and disadvantaged along with us as we grow.
January 26 is an annual reminder of that responsibility.