The unrelenting opposition of many Aboriginal people to the date of Australia Day is a tribute to their resolve to keep the circumstances of settlement and their suffering before us all. Changing the date is the next necessary step towards meaningful reconciliation. In their discussion of alternative dates, Prof and Dr Lewis ask ‘Is there any Australia Day date that could bypass the deep offence of colonial invasion?’ They conclude: ‘The 26 January date is as good and as bad as any other’.
There is, I believe, a date that should be acceptable to both Aboriginal and other Australians. It would commemorate the first and biggest step yet made towards real reconciliation. It is 27 May, the date in 1967 of the referendum that extended citizenship rights to Aboriginal people. It received the greatest ‘Yes’ vote, 91 per cent, of any referendum. It is a measure and reminder of what we can be, that we can right wrongs if we act in good faith and with goodwill.
Adrian Gattenhof
Mullumbimby
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
