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Double Down: On Stamping out Divisiveness and Identity Politics

Yesterday, 26 January, was the national holiday known as Australia Day. This date marks the arrival of the First Fleet on Gadigal land in 1788, which formally began British colonisation of Australia. 

However, the holiday “Australia Day” didn’t truly take shape until the late 20th century, with public observances held close to 26 January in the 1930s and 1940s. It only became a national holiday in 1994.

At the very least, we must acknowledge that “Australia” as we understand it today has a much deeper history than 1788. This land has been home to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples for up to 65,000 years. It was never ceded; it was taken.

In seeking grace and empathy, we can recognise that the arrival of the British signified the beginning of violence and dispossession for Indigenous communities - an impact that resonates to this day. For many, this day is not one of celebration; it is a day of mourning.

For many, Australia Day has become a focal point of political divisiveness. Political leaders, especially Peter Dutton, have seized the day as an opportunity to drive us apart, playing on identity politics to create division.

“I’m very strongly of the belief that we are a country united under one flag and if we’re asking people to identify with different flags, no other country does that, and we are dividing our country unnecessarily,” Mr Dutton remarked regarding the presence of both Aboriginal and Australian flags in Parliament House.

Earlier this month, he labelled Woolworths and Big W “woke” for refusing to stock Australia Day merchandise. Queensland Coalition backbencher Henry Pike claimed it was yet another “pathetic attempt by big corporations to impose their woke ideology on us and to cancel our national day by stealth”.

What are the implications of this stance? What point are the Liberals trying to make here, except that it’s somehow wrong to consider the perspectives of the traditional owners of this land regarding Australia Day?

As Bundjalung woman Karen Mundine, CEO of Reconciliation Australia, told The Guardian, increased divisiveness around the day makes it harder for real debate to be heard: “It results in name-calling and pushes people into divisive positions without listening What if, instead, we used Australia Day to listen and learn? To understand the perspectives of those who feel strongly about retaining the date, as well as the reasons why many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples find it deeply painful.

We both observed “Australia Day” by spending time with our families, enjoying nature and reflecting on the privileges we have in this beautiful country.

We acknowledged that our ability to climb Mount Oberon in Wilson’s Promontory National Park is connected to a painful history of dispossession experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Their communities faced devastating impacts from introduced diseases, violence when resisting dispossession, and generational separation from their families. The repercussions of these experiences are still felt today.

Maybe that’s what Australia Day should be about: reflecting on how fortunate we are to live in this beautiful country and acknowledging the historical and ongoing challenges faced by Indigenous peoples. Surely, there’s nothing divisive about that?

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