I love Australia, but I don’t love Australia Day on 26th Jan. I don’t love that it is about a flag with a Union Jack on it.

Hundreds gathered in Brunswick Heads this morning to celebrate Country.

As 26 January approaches our communities are once more gripped by polarised views of the date.

By a close margin, Ballina Shire Council has voted to return its official awards date to Australia Day in 2024, after deciding to try something different at its previous meeting.

Last month's Ballina Council meeting saw a decision to move the Australia Day Awards and Citizenship Ceremony, to be held at Lennox Head Cultural Centre, from the controversial date of 26 January 2024, to the evening of 25 January. This amendment to an earlier motion was moved by Cr Simon Chate with the support of Cr Stephen McCarthy.

The two Aboriginal flags that fly high over the Brunswick River Bridge on Invasion Day have become a potent symbol of survival and solidarity for many in the Shire. 

Why does 26 January create so much anger, sadness and frustration? Because it’s a day that is not inclusive. It’s a day that celebrates inequality in this country. It’s a day that says 97 per cent of our population can celebrate the injustices done to thousands and thousands of innocent Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the name of advancement and expansion of the British Empire.

Another Australia Day. Another divisive polemic about the date, the day, and its meaning. Those who seek to change the date argue that 26 January signifies the beginning of Britain’s invasion of Australia and the violent expropriation of Aboriginal lands.