Today had a report on this as well this morning, listing several large companies in addition to Woolies (no mention of 10) plus several universities.
This should be the norm for all public holidays, why should non-Christianâs be forced to take all the Christian holidays, but then work on their own faithsâ holidays.
If Australia Day wasnât on the 26th then it could be the only one that it genuinely locked in and the whole country celebrates together. But we persist with the division and controversy of keeping it on the 26th.
A good date that I had proposed for Australia Day if the date were to change is the 9th of October. That date in 1942 was the day that Australia ratified the Statute of Westminster giving the country legal autonomy without in the majority of cases, interference from Britain which essentially made Australia go from a self governing colony to a Dominion and Independent Nation.
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Ten shouldnât have copped the criticism they did, but I suspect weâre going to see criticism of the principle of flexible public holidays as it starts to appear in negotiations for more awards/agreements, but not about the âwokeness of itâ, rather than some of the practicality matters that will get identified (weâve had someone point out that its great to offer the flexibility but its pointless when they are unable to secure daycare for their children).
By all reports, a lot of the businesses who arenât offering it now are also looking at how they can in the future too - some may have to wait for changes to awards etc to be able to roll it out.
My company has already introduced that flexibility. You can request to swap Christmas or Easter public holidays for alternative Cultural Days such as Dawali and Lunar New Year.
However, we also have a shutdown period between Christmas and New Yearâs Day when all employees are encouraged to use their annual leave. So most staff would prefer to have an extended break and include those public holidays.
I do know a couple of staff who have swapped their leave for Lunar New Year and Orthodox Good Friday in recent years, so the staff are happy and our employer is fine with that.
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Iâm in two minds about this whole change the date thing. I understand that itâs a hard topic and the day is offensive to some people but it doesnât change the fact that it happened. Iâm not really on board with changing history just because we donât like it. It still happened. Australia as we know it was founded on January 26 regardless of the way it happened. You canât just erase the past.
I mean maybe thereâs a way to change the celebrating aspect of Australia Day on Jan 26 itself but I donât think it should be erased and transferred to another day.
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I donât think most people have an issue with a workplace giving employees a choice of an alternative day if they so wish. Where people such as myself had an issue was with the wording of the memo which seemed to imply there was an expectation to work that day, and that choosing to take it as a public holiday would be frowned upon.
I like the idea of making January 26 something like âHarmony Dayâ or âReconciliation Dayâ with a theme of reflecting on the past, and making another date Australia Day in lieu. Itâs an extra public holiday overall which is another benefit (given that Australia doesnât have a lot of public holidays compared to many other countries).
I donât have an issue with changing the date (or the voice to parliament), but my only reservation around the issue is that it probably wonât be enough to satisfy a lot of the activists and theyâll just move on to another issue to agitate about. Someone like Lidia Thorpe (who in my books is just as much of a xenophobe as Pauline Hanson) probably wonât ever be satisfied.
As far as indigenous affairs more broadly are concerned, what I support is a full treaty and final settlement with the indigenous community that finalises the matter once and for all and makes amends as much as is reasonably possible (with reparations paid as funding to support the indigenous community close the gap over the next 50 years), on the proviso that future generations can live in a truly equitable society and that by 2100 all Australians are treated equally regardless of their background (with perhaps the exception of advisory-style Voices to Parliament for the indigenous community as well as other historically marginalised backgrounds such as multicultural, disability etc).
It was the colony of New South Wales which was founded on January 26. Australia was actually founded on 1 January 1901 when the colonies were joined together to create the Commonwealth of Australia.
Other states and territories around Australia celebrate their own Foundation Day (Western Australia), Proclamation Day (South Australia), Canberra Day (ACT) with a public holiday. We can have a NSW Foundation Day on 26 January, if people want that.
Australian states and territories only adopted the use of the term âAustralia Dayâ in 1935 to mark the date of the First Fleet landing at Sydney Cove and it wasnât until 1994 that 26 January was consistently marked by a public holiday by all states and territories.
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Several universities across Victoria will also allow staff to work on Australia Day.
Melbourneâs Australia Day Parade has been cancelled for a third consecutive year.
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Why?
why? COVID has finished
Deputy Premier Jacinta Allan has previously said that itâs a reflection of how the community now choose to mark the day differently, so itâs not to do with the pandemic.
Personally, whilst I understand itâs a difficult day for Indigenous people, I do think itâs important thereâs an opportunity for those who want to show their pride in this country to parade if they wish.
Well, no, COVID isnât finished but thatâs not the reason for the cancellation of this event.
Itâs not just the Melbourneâs parade⌠but it seems more and more events get canceled every year. Australia Day just isnât what it use to be. Times are changing.
The Australia Day Parade has garnered more attention since being cancelled the last few years than it ever did whilst it was a thing. From what I understand it was a relatively recent addition to the dayâs events. Most Melburnians never knew it existed, the first I ever knew of it was when a colleague told me she was in one of the marching bands and I went along for a gander. That was probably 2014 give it take, it wasnât the biggest event Iâd ever been to with people seemingly dipping in for a look as it passed them by and moving on although around the Town Hall was fairly busy with the citizenship ceremony taking place.
There is an all day event at Fed Square, Government House open day and a salute at The Shrine taking place. The parade will only be missed by the cultural warriors wanting to impart their jingoism on us.
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Lots of people at my work making last minute decisions to work on Australia Day.
Is this what itâs going to be? Politicians donât have the balls to make the decision, so most of the population will take matters into their own hands. And we just donât have a day to celebrate our country?
Itâs still not the majority who are doing this. I think politicians are just waiting until it happens naturally and there is a majority of the population who are asking for a change.
There was a report on 10 News First Melbourne today that some Melbourne pubs and restaurants would not celebrate Australia Day tomorrow. I am not sure if this is part of a trend or just a gimmick.
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