Prime Minister Scott Morrison has plans to introduce a new national day for indigenous Australians, but vows to keep Australia day on January 26.
Changing the date of Australia’s national day has been a hot-topic debate for some time, and the country’s 30th Prime Minister plans to keep the yearly celebration.
Understanding that 60,000 years of indigenous history should be honoured, Mr Morrison is proposing a separate day to celebrate the country’s traditional owners.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison (pictured) has plans to introduce a new national day for indigenous Australians, but vows to keep Australia day on January 26
Changing the date of Australia’s national day has been a hot-topic debate for some time, and the country’s 30th Prime Minister plans to keep the yearly celebration
The Daily Telegraph reported that he acknowledges past actions have left ‘deep scars’ in relation to the treatment of indigenous Australians.
‘Such scars should not provide an invitation for self-loathing, but a reminder of what we have learned and how we have become a better nation,’ Mr Morrison said.
Following news that Byron Shire Council, in northern NSW, proposed to change the date of Australia Day, Mr Morrison took to Facebook to weigh in on the topic.
Poll
Should Australia Day’s date be changed from January 26?
He described the change as ‘indulgent self-loathing’ and said it ‘does not make us stronger’.
Mr Morrison has since cancelled Byron Shire Council’s authority to conduct citizenship ceremonies altogether.
He urges that although Australia has a ‘great national story’, the country’s history is ‘not perfect’.
Mr Morrison said he understands that the fight to change Australia Day’s date comes from a deep respect for Australia’s indigenous people.
‘I understand this, but respectfully disagree,’ he said.
With the the hope of making all citizens happy, Mr Morrison is proposing a new national day for indigenous Australians.
‘I also believe we need to honour and acknowledge in our national calendar our indigenous peoples,’ he said.
He said he believes that working together will bring Australians together, rather than cause more conflict.
In his Facebook post expressing his frustration towards Byron Shire Council’s changes, Mr Morrison stated his firm position on the matter.
The Facebook post soon became a hot-bed of discussion as voters weighed in on the dividing issue
Mr Morrison said he understands that the fight to change Australia Day’s date comes from a deep respect for Australia’s indigenous people
‘We should not rewrite our history. Our modern Australian nation began on January 26, 1788,’ Mr Morrison wrote.
‘That is the day to reflect on what we’ve accomplished, what we’ve become and what we still have to achieve.’
The Prime Minister quickly ensured that the council no longer had the authority to conduct citizenship ceremonies, and described their rewriting of the rules as ‘political football’.