Australians engaged in both celebrations and demonstrations nationwide on Sunday as Australia Day highlighted ongoing political debates over Indigenous rights, just months ahead of a federal election.
Australia Day commemorates the establishment of a British colony at Sydney Cove on January 26, 1788, marking the start of British claims over the continent without treaties with its Indigenous peoples. However, many Indigenous rights advocates refer to the day as “Invasion Day,” with protests taking place across major cities to challenge the appropriateness of celebrating such a contentious historical event.
The public holiday, observed on the closest weekday when January 26 falls on a weekend, is increasingly being referred to as the “January long weekend” by businesses to acknowledge the pain the day represents for many Indigenous Australians, who make up 4% of the population and remain the most disadvantaged ethnic group in the country.
Traditionally, Australia Day has included public citizenship ceremonies for immigrants. However, in recent years, some local councils have chosen alternative dates to hold these events, citing the controversy surrounding the holiday.
Since taking office in 2022, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s Labor government has sought to balance differing perspectives on Australia Day. In 2023, the government introduced a policy allowing public servants to work on January 26 and choose a different day off, overturning a directive from the previous conservative administration mandating time off specifically on the holiday.
Opposition leader Peter Dutton, however, has pledged to enforce uniformity, promising that all councils will be required to hold citizenship ceremonies on January 26 if his party wins the elections, which are due by May 17. Dutton criticized Albanese’s leadership, suggesting his government is overly influenced by the Greens party, which opposes celebrations on this date.
“If the prime minister doesn’t have the strength of leadership to stand up to mayors and others who don’t want to celebrate Australia Day, then our country’s in more trouble than we first realized,” Dutton said.
Dutton also declined to attend the national Australia Day events in Canberra, choosing instead to participate in a citizenship ceremony in Brisbane. Albanese criticized this decision, emphasizing that national events should be bipartisan.
“The national Australia Day event should be attended by both sides of Parliament. They should be bipartisan,” Albanese remarked.
Frank Bongiorno, a historian at Australian National University, noted that both leaders appear to be leveraging Australia Day for political gain. “They’ll insist it’s a day of unity, but their actions often contribute to division. That’s how culture wars operate,” he said.
