Dr Benjamin Jones, senior history lecturer at CQUniversity, said: “This is a social movement really, and we’re observing social change in how Australians view their history and view their past.
“And it will likely be something that when enough of the population demand a change, then the government will respond.”
For some, celebrating the day that the First Nations people were colonised and dispossessed is not particularly patriotic, he told CNA’s Asia Now. “The politically safe thing for both the government and the opposition is just to keep things as they are for now.
“But increasingly, it’s just a day that people aren’t comfortable celebrating, so it’s a day that divides many Australians and that’s the opposite of what it’s meant to do.”
On whether the government will bend to this grassroots movement, he noted: “The government always has its eye on polls, and governments are usually pragmatic enough to try and weigh up issues by how many votes they might gain and how many votes they may lose.
“But it’s a very uncomfortable day at the moment, and there have been what I would call band-aid solutions by trying to change the tone of the day,” said Dr Jones, whose expertise is in Australian political history. “Also, Australia is considering becoming a republic again…
“And if Australia becomes a republic on a different day of the year, then that also may give the government of the day an easy alternative and say well, let’s have it on this day because that’s a logical day to celebrate a national holiday.”
NO PLANS TO CHANGE DATE OF NATIONAL DAY
Speaking at a flag-raising and citizenship ceremony in Australia’s capital Canberra on Thursday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese honoured the country’s Indigenous people.
While it was a “difficult day” for Indigenous Australians, there were no plans to change the national holiday’s date, he said.
Last month, Mr Albanese said a referendum on an Indigenous Voice to Parliament will be held before December this year, giving an institutional voice to the long-suffering indigenous population.
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