Is the 'Change the Date' movement gathering momentum?

Normally I tune out to this annual debate since it feels so polarised and stale, but the messaging from Woolworths, Cricket Australia, the Australian Open and others this year suggests big companies are concerned about an attitude shift within Australian society. It seems they’ve decided the inevitable backlash is now worth it because the silent majority has begun leaning in favour of change.

Is this just a natural result of this being the first post-referendum Australia Day or is there a longer-term change unfolding here?

Aussiemandeus,
@Aussiemandeus@aussie.zone avatar

I have no idea, i think it should stay the same.

I say this as an Aboriginal Australian.

Australia day is still a day for celebrating Australia amd all thinga great. The only thing the 26th has is they named the settlement.

First fleet arrived before then.

Besides people will complain one way or another no matter what, ans unfortunately it seems everybody wanta something and if you winge enough you get it.

Nonameuser678,
@Nonameuser678@aussie.zone avatar

These companies have entire public relations departments that can see the writing on the wall. The people who want to celebrate Australia day as it currently is are dying out / becoming irrelevant. Millenials will soon be the largest generation. Sure there are still millenials that have no problem celebrating Australia day, but they are increasingly in the minority. Even moreso in gen z.

Personally I don’t even know if i think the date should be changed anymore. Maybe it would be better if we embraced Indigenous Australian’s experience and treated it as a day of mourning. Essentially, stop cebrating on this day and treat it more like rememberence day. A day where we reflect on the ongoing impacts of colonisation and commit to rectifying injustices. A day of truth telling. I’m happy to go with what Indigenous Australians think is best.

Gorgritch_umie_killa,
@Gorgritch_umie_killa@aussie.zone avatar

I’ve thought for a little while now that we should treat it like ANZAC day. The beginning of the day is reserved for ceremony and respectful reflection, which is followed by gradually more social things, like a community breakfast, then by lunch a more celebratory tone is adopted.

In this way the day comes round to identifying with all the emotions someone may hold in themselves about this place.

Sasha,

It’s certainly being discussed more and more in my circles, and while we’re talking about it please check out Pay The Rent and consider making an ongoing commitment!

paytherent.net.au

Longmactoppedup,

My work let’s us swap the day off. With it being on a Friday this year I don’t think many are swapping. Plenty did in previous years when it fell mid week. Ends up being a bit ridiculous with everyone taking different days though.

I’m really not attached to it being on the 26th. I think shifting it to always being the last Friday in January or first Friday in February would be better anyway. I reckon most people don’t give a shit either way about the actual date and just want a long weekend in summer.

When I was younger it was always a fun day, hottest 100 party and the fireworks in Perth. Hottest 100, I don’t even know when they do that and the fireworks have been canned also.

Maybe if a new day is picked then it can go back to being a unifying celebration. Probably not likely though, I think those pushing the divide and conquer thing like having excuses for culture wars. Getting people angry about stuff other than the massive wealth inequality in our country is their priority.

Aurenkin,

My workplace allows us to swap the Friday public holiday for any other day within one week so that’s something new. I’m guessing that it isn’t very widespread though

pendulum_,
@pendulum_@lemmy.world avatar

In niche online communities, yes. Among the general population, no.

Edit: obligatory related PBF

Marsupial,
@Marsupial@quokk.au avatar

Ah the classic “I was totally going to support X but you were mean to me” argument.

Always felt like a cop-out to me.

pendulum_,
@pendulum_@lemmy.world avatar

You can call it what you want. But Lemmy does not represent the general populace. Or Reddit. Or Twitter/X. Or Facebook.

This isn’t a real place. And it gets tiresome decade after decade seeing people shocked_pikachhu.jpeg when it turns out their online communities of choice aren’t the majority opinion.

Aurenkin,

Everyone exists in a bubble and Lemmy is just another bubble, I agree with that. I’m not totally sure how it relates to what the other person was saying though.

ada,
@ada@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

There is a longer term change happening here.

I think more and more Australians are starting to feel genuinely ashamed at the idea of celebrating a day/event that is a source of pain and grief for many.

Marsupial,
@Marsupial@quokk.au avatar

Eh I feel it’s more most people just don’t care about Australia Day.

We’re more concerned about having a day off than celebrating someone landing in Sydney.

trk,
@trk@aussie.zone avatar

That’s me. Couldn’t give a toss about the reason behind it, so do whatever you like. Just make sure we get to keep the day off and I’m down for whatever.

ada,
@ada@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

That’s part of it, but it’s not the end of it. If that were all it was, then Woolworths, Cricket Australia etc, wouldn’t be actively avoiding it

Marsupial,
@Marsupial@quokk.au avatar

Well if less people care for it, those companies would also have less reason to do it, no?

Chief executive Brad Banducci told Today that a declining demand in sales of the merchandise was behind the move.

www.9news.com.au/…/b0e75afc-6b06-47c1-b817-36c1ab…

Ilandar,

In the case of Woolworths, yes, but I’m not sure rising ambivalence is the reason why sporting events are avoiding it. In this situation, outcry following change is generally louder than outcry for change so it would make more sense to just proceed as usual if ambivalence was actually the consideration here. Either way, diminishing support for Australia Day will only strengthen the cause of its detractors.

ada,
@ada@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

They don’t want to get caught in the middle. If it were just declining sales, they’d gradually fade it out.

But they don’t want turn off people who are upset by it, and they’re not invested in selling it, especially given declining sales, so they silently remove it in one go. Then when they get caught up in the middle of it anyway, they claim it’s just declining sales, because literally anything else will make them the centre of a news cycle about a topic they’re trying to stay out of

Nonameuser678,
@Nonameuser678@aussie.zone avatar

Yeah 100%. You can see the change just in gen z’s attitudes towards this. The rallies are also getting bigger each year.

unionagainstdhmo,
@unionagainstdhmo@aussie.zone avatar

There’s no point in having a day to unify the nation if the majority aren’t on board or if it obviously excludes some groups.

There are a few dates around that should be of greater national significance (i.e. major legislation or a historic sitting of parliament). A good one would’ve been the day that Australians overwhelming voted yes in a referendum to recognise the first peoples of Australia, healing the wounds of the past. Unfortunately that didn’t happen and won’t happen probably for another 30 years

eatham,
@eatham@aussie.zone avatar

I would say do it on the day we became a nation, like every other country does. I can’t remember the exact date but it’s early January

unionagainstdhmo,
@unionagainstdhmo@aussie.zone avatar

Technically it’s 01/01/1901

ajsadauskas,
@ajsadauskas@aus.social avatar

@eatham @unionagainstdhmo Perhaps the date of proclamation could work as a national holiday?

"The Proclamation Declaring the Establishment of the Commonwealth was a royal proclamation made by Queen Victoria on 17 September 1900 federating the six separate British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia under the name of the Commonwealth of Australia."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proclamation_Declaring_the_Establishment_of_the_Commonwealth_of_Australia#:~:text=The%20Proclamation%20Declaring%20the%20Establishment,of%20the%20Commonwealth%20of%20Australia.

Another option would be 3 March, when the Australia Act passed, which effectively ended British rule over Australia:

"The Australia Act ended all power of the UK Parliament to legislate with effect in Australia – that is, "as part of the law of" the Commonwealth, a state or a territory (s 1). Conversely, no future law of a state would be void for inconsistency with (being "repugnant to") any UK law applying with "paramount force" in Australia; a state (like the Commonwealth) would have power to repeal or amend such an existing UK law so far as it applied to the state (s 3). State laws would no longer be subject to disallowance and reservation by the monarch (s 8) – a power that, anomalously, remains for Commonwealth legislation (Constitution ss 59 and 60).[n 6]

...

"The Acts came into effect simultaneously, on 3 March 1986."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia_Act_1986

timrichards,
@timrichards@aus.social avatar

@ajsadauskas @eatham @unionagainstdhmo I think 9 May, when federal parliament first met in 1901. It's the right year, and more convenient than 1 Jan.

skribe,
@skribe@aus.social avatar

@timrichards @ajsadauskas @eatham @unionagainstdhmo isn't May problematic because of May/Labour Day in one of the states?

skribe,
@skribe@aus.social avatar

@timrichards @ajsadauskas @eatham @unionagainstdhmo yeah, Queensland and NT.

timrichards,
@timrichards@aus.social avatar

@skribe @ajsadauskas @eatham @unionagainstdhmo Could always be moved.

skribe,
@skribe@aus.social avatar

@timrichards @ajsadauskas @eatham @unionagainstdhmo

Yeah, I can just imagine that meeting:

PM: Thanks for coming at short notice-

Q: Where are the other states?

NT: And territories!

PM: What do you mean?

Q: It’s just Queensland and Northern Territory.

NT: The largest territory!

PM: Yeah. I was getting to that. As you know, we’re changing the date for Australia Day.

Q: We are?

PM: Yeah. 26th January is no longer popular. Some people are even calling it Invasion Day.

Q: Why?

PM: Um, something about Captain Cook. I don’t really know, but we’re changing the date. However, there’s a problem. You know how you both have public holidays in early May? We need you to change them.

Q: Why?

PM: Because we’ve decided to make Australia Day coincide with when Parliament first met.

Q: And?

PM: You probably don’t want two consecutive long weekends.

Q: It works for Chrissie and New Year.

PM: Yeah, but everyone is on holiday then anyway.

NT: When did Parliament first meet?

PM: 9th May.

NT: What year?

PM: 1901.

NT: But it’s 2024.

Q: So where do you want us to move them to?

PM: Early march seems popular.

NT: You want us to have May Day in March?

Q: Ok.

PM: Ok?

Q: We’ll do it. But we’re going to need some sweeteners.

PM: Sweeteners?

Q: We’re moving Labour Day. We’re a Labor government. You’re a Labor government. We’ve got to appeal to working people.

PM: What did you have in mind?

Q: AFL Grand Final.

PM: I’m sure we can arrange some-

Q: Every year.

PM: Queenslanders don’t even like AFL much.

Q: I feel that could get a real taste for it.

PM: The Gabba only holds, what, forty thousand people?

Q: Forty-two thousand, Prime Minister. But, I’m sure with some federal funding we could expand it to at least...a hundred thousand.

PM: A hundred thousand? The one and only time the Gabba hosted the AFL grand final you didn’t even draw thirty thousand.

Q: It was 2020. Those are COVID numbers. Plus in Queensland, we’re nothing if we’re not aspirational.

PM: Alright. The AFL Grand Final-

Q: And all three of the State of Origin matches.

PM: Come on-!

Q: And you know that deal that WA is getting with the GST? We want that too. And Ricky Ponting, he’s now a Queenslander and always has been.

PM: What about Boonie?

Q: Who?

PM: Was there anything else you want to steal? From South Australia maybe?

Q: They no longer have the F1, do they?

PM: Nope.

Q: Then, they’ve got nothing worth stealing.

PM: Northern Territory, what about you?

NT: We want to become a state.

PM: Good to he-

NT: With twelve senators, like the other states.

PM: Queensland, would you settle for hosting the Grand Final every second year?

And of course ACT has Reconciliation Day on the 27th May. Good luck moving that too.

whybird,
@whybird@aus.social avatar

@timrichards @skribe @ajsadauskas @eatham @unionagainstdhmo I kinda like March 3; only moves it by about a week and is significant as noted here: https://theconversation.com/why-we-should-celebrate-australia-day-on-march-3-the-day-we-became-a-fully-independent-country-221015

skribe,
@skribe@aus.social avatar

@whybird @timrichards @ajsadauskas @eatham @unionagainstdhmo it's going to face the same issue as May 9th. It conflicts with state public holidays - Labour Day in both WA and Vic. I can't see either state agreeing to changing. Is there a federally significant date in July? That's mostly free and doesn't conflict with the footy finals.

whybird,
@whybird@aus.social avatar

@skribe @timrichards @ajsadauskas @eatham @unionagainstdhmo There’s this, but surely there might be something better: https://www.onthisday.com/date/1814/july/17

Edit: that would be less divisive that this one though: https://www.onthisday.com/date/1900/july/9

timrichards,
@timrichards@aus.social avatar

@whybird @skribe @ajsadauskas @eatham @unionagainstdhmo As someone said the other day - let's go for the existing Wattle Day on 1 September!

unionagainstdhmo,
@unionagainstdhmo@aussie.zone avatar

It could be argued that that leaves out Indigenous Australians. What about the 21st of May to mark Indigenous Australians being given the right to enrol to vote.

nma.gov.au/…/indigenous-australians-right-to-vote

That is, if we want a day that all Australians and can be proud of. Giving everyone a fair go.

Tristaniopsis,

The knuckle-dragging mob mentality is going to take a long time to steer into something approaching an reasonable view on historical injustice.

Arseholes like Dutton and Hanson do not help one little bit.

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