Why Australia Day Must Stay.
Arguments against new day for indigenous Australians
Opinion piece by Senator Pauline Hanson
Originally published in the Courier Mail– 26/09/201
SCOTT MORRISON was off the mark yesterday when he offered appeasement to those who wish to move Australia Day from January 26 by suggesting the creation of a national public holiday dedicated to the celebration of indigenous Australians.
This would be a mistake because it is simply a continuation of politics that have been dividing Australians for decades.
The Prime Minister must not fall into the trap of splitting Australia into separate groups with different rights, by creating what would be seen as a separate national day for indigenous Australians.
As I said in my 1996 maiden speech, if politicians continue to promote separatism in Australia, they should not continue to hold their seats in this Parliament. They are not truly representing all Australians, and I call on the people to throw them out.
To survive in peace and harmony, united and strong, we must have one people, one nation, one flag. I could add to that one national day.
On January 26, 1788, the future of this great continent changed and no one is trying to deny that. However, to declare that the date represents something regrettable or something that could perhaps be rectified is wrong. Not only is it wrong, but it is a dangerous idea, and if we continue to allow it to grow in popularity, it will slowly but surely tear our great nation apart.
I think opposition to the current Australia Day date is born from an ignorance of history and a powerful strain of white guilt that has been fostered among Australians by a cynical and self-loathing left.
January 26 has been celebrated in Australia for over 200 years, and it doesn’t signify the colonisation of Australia by the British.
What the date represents is the moment when the brave men and women of the First Fleet arrived in Australia, not by their own free will, but by the will of others. They landed on the shores of a land unknown to them, seeking not to conquer, but to survive.
And no one is denying that there was conflict and tragedy when new Australians, fighting to survive, clashed with Australians who had been surviving here for thousands of years.
But I strongly believe the way we repair the wounds of the past will not be through creating more division, but through celebrating January 26, 1788, the day that our ancestors were thrust together by forces outside of their control and yet still managed to come together to build one of the greatest nations on Earth.
