I’m 100% with ScoMo on this one. It’s very rare that I agree with a politician. You can’t erase what happened, moving it or pretending it didn’t happen doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. I think we all just need to get along and celebrate living in this fantastic country. The generation of today isn’t responsible for the fighting their predecessors did. I’m not sure another day for the indigenous is the answer either. If we still have Australia Day there will always be whingers and haters. And don’t forget they get naidoc week to celebrate all things aboriginal

He has got it so wrong! Has he even asked the Indigenous community what they want? We should not be celebrating a day that white men came and slaughtered millions of people and stole the land! We need to move the date and start again fresh with a complete new day for all Australians.

Australia Day is being used as a day to get drunk and muck about. The real message is being lost to most. Yes Aboriginals need to be recognise as the original owners of Australia. Maybe a separate day might be the answer or maybe we should all learn to get along with each others. We now have outsiders telling us what we should do with our country, those should go back to their home lands. We need to find a way for new and old Australians to get along.

• • 
  • • mom265671 replied
    • 25 Sep 2018 , 11:51 pm

  ---

  Well said.

  ---

  • • 
    • • Ellen replied
      • 26 Sep 2018 , 7:21 am

    ---

    

    Yes I agree.

I agree the the current generations cannot be held responsible for what happened in the 1700 and 1800 years. Not all consider themselves as the stolen generation . I personally know two ladies who were brought to Adelaide. Their Dad worked but he wasted some of the money. They never starved but rarely had other necessities so suffered in other ways. Living in hostel situation they received good practical clothing including shoes, nutritious food, clean water, a good education – something they definitely would not got at home. The House Parents (it was actually a family) who cared for them never took advantage of the allowances they were paid. The girls had the advantage of having the clothes the girls in the family grew out of. If the stitching of clothes broke the Lady would fix them for them. All the girls living in the hostel seemed very happy and well cared for. They never complained about not having things. I personally knew 2 of the girls very well as I went to school with them and also played netball in the same team. In the 1960s one of them said to me that a few indigenous people would make it bad for the rest of them. I’m guessing the situation has been worse that she thought it would be.

I think the message of Australia Day needs to change. It should be a day of coexistence. No apologies of today can make up for the affects caused to generations of native Australians in the past. But we can create awareness and package it better. You will always have a selection that treats like a day off in summer, which backs on from Christmas and NYE piss ups. Although NYE is also about resolutions, making better choices for yourself and Australia Day can echo that message of making better choices as a country.

Ick. I hate him. I hate that I sort ofagree with him though. I don’t want the date changed. I want what we do with that date to be changed. I want the day to be less about bogans getting drunk and wearing flags and more about making an effort to understand what us arriving in Australia meant to the indigenous population.