A prominent Tasmanian Aboriginal leader is once again urging the Prime Minister to change the date of Australia Day.
Nala Mansell from the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre says continuing to celebrate Australia Day as it currently stands is ‘hurtful, racist and denies the injustices committed against Aboriginal people’.
“We are calling on the Prime Minister to stand up, hear the voices of the people and announce that change before January 26th this year,” Mansell said.
“It’s clear to see, right across the country that January 26th is a day that completely divides this nation.”
Mansell believes attitudes towards celebrating Australia Day have shifted in Tasmania, with more people attending ‘Invasion Day rallies’ than traditional Australia Day festivities.
“Each year the masses continue to take to the streets calling for the race-based celebrations of January 26th to be abolished and for a new date to be decided on, but the PM has so far refused to budge,” she said.
“The Prime Minister has shown that he is completely out of touch with the people. We call on the PM to take the lead and reflect the growing public sentiment to find a day that unites us all, rather than divides.”
The discussion comes as people employed in Tasmania’s state service can choose a different date for their public holiday instead of January 26th.
“Union’s called for that to be an option for public servants and so we’ve facilitated that and that’s a choice, a personal choice, that our public servants can make,” Minister Jo Palmer said on Thursday.
But Palmer said any permanent change to the date needs to be a national conversation.
“As a country we need to be mature and have this conversation at that federal government level,” she said.
“I want to celebrate Australia Day on a day that all Australians can celebrate.”
“I don’t want to have an Australia Day where some of my children don’t want anything to do with it and my other children are happy to be involved.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has previously indicated that there are no plans to change the date of Australia Day.
