Change The Date

Let’s change our national holiday January 25, 2016 12:00am MICHAEL MANSELL Mercury IT is time to reflect on why January 26 is better as Australia Day than any of the other 364 days of the year. The only significance of January 26 is to mark the coming to Australia of the white race in 1788. That makes the celebration a race-based day. The British were armed to the teeth, and from the moment they stepped foot in Australia, the slaughter and dispossession of Aborigines began. It is one ... Read more

‘Why is such a divisive day celebrated?’ January 26, 2016 11:56am PATRICK BILLINGS Mercury AS Australians celebrated nationhood, indigenous Tasmanians have spoken of the sadness the date bestows on their people. For many Aboriginals January 26 isn’t a date for rejoicing but one signifying “rape, murder and the taking of our children”. More than 300 people yesterday marched through Hobart in solidarity with the message that the date for Australia Day must change. On parliament’s lawns a series of Aboriginal activists implored Australians to tackle “the moral question” ... Read more