Mitchell Squires

I’m tired of the lazy argument that wanting to change the date of “Australia Day” somehow makes you anti-Australian — or means you “hate Australia”. Right now, a significant number of Australians don’t feel they can celebrate on that date. Aboriginal people have made profound contributions to this country — contributions that are largely invisible on January 26 as a result. Changing the date isn’t about taking anything away from anyone, or telling you that you can’t love your country. It’s about creating a day we can all celebrate together — not one that excludes. The other frustrating argument is this insistence that we can’t change the date until an alternative is chosen -that’s just a procedural smokescreen and backwards logic. You don’t demand the destination before agreeing to leave the wrong road. First: agree the current date excludes people-it does. Then: consult and choose a better one. That’s how mature leadership would unite our country. Loving Australia does not mean denying its history. You don’t get to cherry-pick only the comfortable parts and call it progress. Loving Australia means wanting a national day that includes everyone, not demanding silence from those it excludes.