Category Archives: Australia Day

Australia Day 2023 honours for elder abuse law trailblazer, Indigenous activist and a fossil hunter

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Most of the 1,047 Australians honoured are not famous but many of them have changed lives, if not the country

Most of the 1,047 names on the 2023 Australia Day honours list are not as recognisable as Archie Roach, Norman Swan or David Wenham.

But many of them have changed lives, if not the country. Take the solicitor Rodney Lewis, appointed to the Order of Australia for his “life-long contribution to human rights and civil liberties both in Australia and more broadly across our region”.

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Not a day to celebrate: Wollongong university staff given option to work on Australia Day holiday

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Vice-chancellor says 26 January is seen as Invasion Day by First Nations colleagues and we should ‘be clear about what we’re celebrating’

The University of Wollongong (UOW) is giving staff the option to work through the 26 January holiday, making it the latest employer to offer the policy in a show of solidarity with First Nations people.

The university announced on Monday that it would offer all fixed-term and permanent employees the flexibility to work rather than taking the day as a public holiday, citing the painful associations it may have for Indigenous communities.

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Melbourne council moves to abandon Australia Day citizenship ceremonies

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Federal government tight-lipped on whether it will allow ceremonies on other dates as Merri-bek council votes on change

The future of citizenship ceremonies at three Melbourne councils hangs in the balance, as the federal government refuses to reveal whether it will revoke a Coalition-era policy that forces the ceremonies to be held on 26 January.

The Greens-led Merri-bek council, in Melbourne’s north, on Wednesday voted to abandon Australia Day citizenship ceremonies and instead honour the date with a mourning event to recognise the dispossession of Indigenous Australians.

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City of Melbourne will lobby to change the date, but will keep 26 January ceremonies if unsuccessful

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Councillors vote to ask government to change the date to ‘celebrate what it means to be Australian’

The City of Melbourne will advocate for the federal government to change the date of Australia Day from 26 January, despite the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, saying there are no plans to shift the national celebration.

At a future Melbourne committee meeting on Tuesday evening, councillors voted to campaign for the Albanese government to change the date – a decision that can only be made at a federal level.

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Smoke and ire: Invasion Day protests across Australia – in pictures

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Thousands of people across Australia came together on Australia Day for smoke ceremonies, dance and marches in the streets to protest at Invasion Day rallies. In Canberra, people gathered to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Tent Embassy

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Australia news live update: nation records at least 74 Covid deaths; Invasion Day rallies begin; lockdown call for NT remote communities

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Lockdown call for NT remote communities as nation records at least 74 deaths from Covid-19; Scott Morrison speaks at Australia Day ceremony in Canberra; Russian ambassador to Australia says country ‘doesn’t intend to invade’ Ukraine; Invasion Day protests begin. Follow all the day’s news

A leading health expert has warned of the potential spread of the virulent Omicron Covid-19 strain during events today as large crowds gather for protest or celebration, AAP reports.

Jane Halton, chair of the coalition for epidemic preparedness and former health department head, says the closer people pack together the more likely it is the virus will spread.

We know it’s highly infectious and the closer everyone gets together, the more the likelihood you’ll be close to someone whose got Covid and therefore the greater the likelihood you’ll contract it.

People should be careful. What we don’t want to see is a big increase in cases.

I don’t think we should be cancelling things. I just think people should be courteous, thoughtful, and a little bit careful.

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26 January: Sydney Invasion Day march called off as PM says Australia has ‘risen above brutal beginnings’ – live

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Four protesters arrested at Sydney demonstration; rallies take place around Australia as debate around the national day rages. Follow all the latest news and updates, live

And with that comes the end of today’s blog. This is what went down today:

An update on the bushfire burning in Booderee national park on the NSW south coast: the NSW Rural Fire Service have said crews are backburning in order to build containment lines and slow the blaze.

Watch and Act: Booderee Fire (Shoalhaven LGA). Crews are implementing backburning operations to build containment lines and slow the spread of the fire, burning to the SW of Jervis Bay Airport. Those in area of Wreck Bay Village and Jervis Bay Village should monitor conditions. pic.twitter.com/nMLxwiKktL

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Invasion Day: thousands attend vigils before 26 January protests and marches

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Dawn vigils reflect on impact of colonialism and celebrate Indigenous life before First Fleet

As the sun rose on 26 January, thousands gathered in the rain and cold to pay tribute to elders, past and present, at the annual Invasion Day vigils.

Physically distanced crowds gathered in Barangaroo Reserve in Sydney from dusk until dawn to reflect on the impact of colonisation, and celebrate what life was like for Indigenous communities before the First Fleet arrived.

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Bettina Arndt awarded Australia Day honour for services ‘to gender equity’

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Writer and sex therapist made Member of the Order of Australia for her advocacy for men

The controversial writer and media commentator Bettina Arndt has been recognised in this year’s Australia Day honours list for services “to gender equity through advocacy for men”.

The journalist, author and sex therapist was made a Member of the Order of Australia on Sunday – the third-highest rank under Australia’s civic honours system.

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Ken Wyatt says Australia Day should stay on 26 January

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Minister says that instead of rallying to move the date, Australians should engage in a new generation of ‘truth telling’

The federal government frontbencher Ken Wyatt says Australia Day should remain on 26 January but commemorations around the country should mark both the “good and the bad” of the nation’s history.

Wyatt, the first Indigenous man to be minister for Indigenous Australians, told Nine newspapers “dark beginnings” must be recognised in communities across the country.

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Yumi Stynes calls Kerri-Anne Kennerley racist in on-air clash over Australia Day

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Studio 10 panellist accuses TV veteran of racism after she refers to rape during discussion about Invasion Day protests

The Studio 10 co-host Kerri-Anne Kennerley has been accused of racism by fellow panellist Yumi Stynes after the veteran presenter talked about sexual violence in Indigenous communities during a discussion about Invasion Day protests.

Kennerley attacked the motives of the protesters who want the date of Australia Day changed by implying they were ignoring the alleged rape of children and women in the “outback”.

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Festivalgoers hospitalised in NSW and Victoria after suspected drug-taking

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Eleven people left ill in Sydney and six near Ballarat after Australia Day long weekend music festivals

A teenage boy has been found with almost 600 capsules and $2,000 cash at a Sydney music festival where several people left critically ill due to drug use.

Six young men aged under 25 left the Hardcore Till I Die festival at Sydney Olympic Park on Saturday in critical or serious conditions. All were either stable or discharged from hospital by Sunday.

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Huge crowds attend Invasion Day marches across Australia’s capital cities

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Scott Morrison talks of his ancestor’s arrival on the continent, and defends celebration of Australia Day

• Hundreds attend first dawn service to be held on Australia Day

Scott Morrison has said 26 January 1788 was “pretty miserable” for his ancestor, in a speech defending the celebration of Australia Day, while tens of thousands of people joined Invasion Day marches around the country calling for the public holiday to be abolished.

Morrison told a citizenship ceremony in Canberra that his fifth great grandfather, William Roberts, arrived with the first fleet in a group that was “wretched, naked, filthy, dirty, lousy, and many of them utterly unable to stand, or even to stir hand or foot”.

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Australia Day honours list: Kylie Minogue and Peter Reith among 2019 recipients

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Women account for 37.5% of those honoured – a record but still short of the 40% target promised by Labor

This year’s Australia Day honours list has the highest proportion of women ever – but female recipients still make up just over a third of the list, only a 4.5-percentage-point increase from last year.

Seven former Liberal or National male politicians have been honoured in the 2019 awards, including former Nationals leader Warren Truss, former deputy Liberal leader Peter Reith and former Liberal national director Tony Nutt.

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Councils ask Morrison to pay for citizenship ceremonies on 26 January

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PM says ceremonies must be held on Australia Day, but some councils say they are too small, or too hot

The federal government has been told to put its money where its mouth is on the question of Australia Day. Councils are arguing they should be financially compensated if they are forced to hold citizenship ceremonies on 26 January.

A day before he launched a rebrand of his Coalition government, Scott Morrison on Sunday said he was “prime minister for standards” as he spruiked a new rule that would force councils to oversee the ceremonies on Australia Day. The government will also ban “board shorts” and “thongs” from those events.

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