AS a young Australian in the Mallee, every year the same debate comes up – should the date of Australia Day be changed?
As far as I know, a lot of Australians spend the day working. Small celebrations occur all around the country.
They celebrate this wonderful place and all the great things that have occurred.
We’ve grown as a country by paying respects to the original custodians of the land. However, many people believe that isn’t enough.
Australia Day is a day of suffering for the Indigenous people as it marks the point in time that their land was invaded.
It is a day marked with loss, sadness and grief. A day that so many people think shouldn’t be celebrated.
This can be a sensitive topic for many. But what is the harm in choosing another day?
We can still hold the same celebrations; the only difference is the date on which it is held.
I’m a proud Australian and I love this country.
Growing up in the Mallee has given me a tight-knit community that I am glad to be a part of.
And Australia Day helps me remember and celebrate it, but I can still remember and celebrate it on a different day.
I understand that I have grown up in a different environment than the other generations, however it has aided me in being able to see things through a different lens.
Since starting high school, the subject of changing the date for Australia Day has been forced on us every year.
I have written countless essays on the subject as a yearly thing. Why this is, I’m not sure.
The school is just one more reason as to why I believe the day should be changed.
We have looked at it in every light, the pros and cons, everything. Every time I come back to the same answer. Just change the date!
Why are we hanging on to our past injustices?
We all acknowledged how wrong and savage parts of our history are, so why can’t we move past it?
In the future, I hope to turn on the television on Australia Day and see the celebrations, not the protests.
I want to read the newspaper without being reminded of the wrong doings of my ancestors.
This debate is stuck in a continuous cycle of us knowing that we need to do something and then lacking the guts to do anything about it.
It’s like a tradition. It’s a tradition to have arguments and debates about the same thing every year.
It’s a tradition to have protests about a problem that can be easily solved every year.
Maybe we just aren’t ready for change but I really wish and hope that we will be in the near future.
– Charlotte Carmichael is studying Year 11 at Swan Hill College in 2023.
