This Australia Day was the second year in a row that there has not been a speech delivered by a local Aboriginal person.
The last speech was delivered by Laura Hand-Ross in 2023, who acknowledged her cousin Sue Atkinson who protested how Australia Day was celebrated almost a decade earlier.
This protest led to an invitation for Aboriginal people to be part of the event and for the Aboriginal Flag to be raised.
Laura’s 2022 speech was published in the Pastoral Times and is worth a second read.
Laura’s speech examined the theme ‘Reflect, Respect and Celebrate’ and acknowledged that different people have diverse views about the day.
Unfortunately this was not fully acknowledged in any of the speeches delivered this year.
I was particularly disturbed to hear the keynote speaker refer to a ‘vocal minority’ who don’t support Australia Day.
The theme ‘Reflect, Respect and Celebrate’ means we should accept and respect the views of First Nation Australians and other Australians who do not celebrate the day and expect that January 26 will always be a contested day as so many social inequities remain to be addressed.
I pay a special tribute to Sue Atkinson, who brought the lack of Aboriginal involvement in the event to notice.
Sue sadly passed away on January 17 this year.
For those of us that remember Sue’s protest, we might also remember that it was Sue who raised the Australian Flag at the following year’s ceremony.
Let’s hope that we can find ways to have a mature conversation that allows for sombre reflections on the impact of colonisation on First Australians, while also celebrating the contributions made by members of our community.
I would like to acknowledge that the town flags were at half mast on the day of Sue’s funeral, however I wish her contribution could have been recognised on the 26th.
Yours etc.
David Crew
Deniliquin
34°C