Victoria’s taxpayer-funded Indigenous affairs organisation, the First Peoples’ Assembly, has come under fire for encouraging the public to participate in anti-Australia Day protests and advocating for a change to the date of our national holiday.
Despite the organisation being allocated $82 million in government funding in 2023-24, the Assembly has concentrated on promoting Anti-Australian activism, in the form of petitions and rallies, rather than addressing key issues affecting aboriginal communities.
Opposition Leader Brad Battin, while speaking to Sky News, criticised the initiative, describing it as “disappointing” and pointing out a lack of focus on meaningful improvements in indigenous lives.
The calls to change the date of Australia Day from January 26 are both misplaced and divisive. This date, which commemorates the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788, has been criticised by activists who claim it represents genocide and oppression.
The First Peoples Assembly wrote an article on this recent controversy. The article can be found on their tax-payer funded website where they ask for donations. According to the organisation”
“If we want to move on together, we have to accept the truth about what was done to aboriginal people and how January 26 represents the beginning of dedicated attempts to wipe our people, our cultures, and our languages off the face of the planet. It shouldn’t be surprising that throwing a party on that date is offensive to a lot of aboriginal people (Ngarra Murray).”
However, respected historians like Keith Windschuttle have challenged these assertions, highlighting that claims of widespread genocide are often based on myths rather than substantiated evidence.
While it is important to recognise historical injustices, equating European settlement with a deliberate effort to “wipe out” aboriginal people is a narrative that lacks historical backing.
The push to change the date ultimately amounts to tokenism, offering symbolic gestures rather than tangible benefits for indigenous Australians.
As Brad Battin noted, taxpayer-funded bodies like the First Peoples’ Assembly have allocated significant resources to advocacy for protests and petitions, rather than addressing pressing issues which aboriginal advocates have highlighted, such as domestic violence, substance abuse, and gaps in education – real challenges that will not be resolved by simply altering the date of a public holiday.
The argument that changing the date of Australia Day would promote “unity” falters when it alienates a large portion of the population who view January 26 as a day to honour Australia’s nationhood.
Numerous surveys indicate that the majority of Australians are opposed to changing the date and intend to celebrate the holiday as is. The push to alter this public holiday largely comes from cultural influencers who seem more focused on eroding Australian culture than addressing the real challenges faced by aboriginal Australians.
This is evident in recent events, such as the attack on the Queen Victoria Memorial in Queen Victoria Park, Melbourne. The monument was vandalised with red paint, and pieces were broken off.
The words “Decolonise” and “F U” were also scrawled across the granite and marble, a troubling display of hostility toward our heritage, under the false premise of supporting Aboriginal causes.
How can unity be achieved when the focus is on catering to one group’s perspective while dismissing another’s?
Attorney General Sonya Kilkenny recently acknowledged that “January 26 means different things to different people.” This diversity of views is worth respecting, but it does not justify dismantling a long-standing tradition.
Changing the date will not resolve historical grievances or improve lives. Instead, it risks deepening divisions and fostering further resentment of Australian culture.
The focus of January 26th should remain on celebrating Australia Day, in the way that it was intended.
Header image: Left, The First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria at an event calling on the public not to celebrate Australia Day. Right, an anti-Australian calendar sold by the Assembly (First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria – Facebook).
