The attacks on Australia Day, our national day this year have been unprecedented. We have seen three inner city Melbourne councils decide to cancel their Australia Day festivities. Although not a direct attack on Australia Day but certainly attack on our history there have been calls to remove our colonial statues from our major cities and rename venues named after colonial Australians and give then Aboriginal names. Vandals even saw fit to take it upon themselves to spray anti-Australia Day slogans on colonial statues in Hyde Park.

We recently saw the ABC’s youth radio station Triple J change the date for its Hottest 100 countdown from its traditional date of Australia Day to the last weekend in January. It claimed the decision was made after a listener poll and consultation with the music industry.

While we are not surprised by the push to change Australia Day from the cultural elite and academia, we should however be alarmed when it comes from our politicians. It is formal Greens party policy to change Australia Day and they have even launched a petition on their website calling on the federal government to change the date.

Although Bill Shorten has stated he does not support changing Australia Day he is certainly allowing Labor and its MPs to indulge the prospect or promote a new national day which they believe will be inclusive to indigenous Australians. In July Labor MP Linda Burney told the New South Wales State Labor Conference “There should be a public holiday that allows all Australians to celebrate in the spirit of truth telling and reconciliation”.

Yesterday the Greens attempted to pass in the Senate a motion calling on the government consult with the First Peoples of the nation on changing the date of Australia Day. The motion was moved by Western Australians Greens Senator Rachel Siewert, normally she is overshadowed by the regressive statements of other Greens, but her contribution yesterday certainly was up there with some of the worst.

Despite the motion failing Siewert still arrogantly claimed that the changing of the date of Australia Day was inevitable ‘It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when’. Her attack on the Senate for not supporting the her motion was actually aimed at the Labor Party, she accused the Labor Party of being behind progress like they always have been. She even compared changing the date of Australia to the fight for marriage equality, stating that Labor should at last be on the front foot of change.

Siewert may have a point, despite her motion being completely appalling, does one really trust that Labor Party which is drifting further and further left to continue to stand by Australia Day? Labor if it was a party that is in touch with its working class roots should know that Australia Day enjoys 85% in the wider Australia community, but sadly it has lost its way.

Certainly Australia Day 2018 is shaping up as when our national day needs a defence worthy of it. No doubt the left will try to stage invasion day protests in our major cities and overshadow all the celebrations. Which is why a Save Australia Day campaign has just been launched by Mark Latham’s Outsiders which will feature an advertising campaign headed by Alice Springs Councillor Jacinta Price.

The Greens or any other leftist group should not be able to claim Australia Day is in its dying days. It is a tradition like many others that should remain as it is celebration of our nation and its history, a history we should be proud off. The Australia Day resurgence has began.

 

Author Details
Tim Wilms is the Founder and Editor in Chief of https://theunshackled.net. the Host of Tim’s News Explosion, the WilmsFront interview program and The Theorists with Andy Nolch. He based in Melbourne, Australia where he also conducts field reports.
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Tim Wilms is the Founder and Editor in Chief of https://theunshackled.net. the Host of Tim’s News Explosion, the WilmsFront interview program and The Theorists with Andy Nolch. He based in Melbourne, Australia where he also conducts field reports.