It’s nothing new for the national holiday to be plagued by debates over its meaning and significance. Indeed, that’s become part and parcel of the day itself.
It would not be Australia Day without the ritual accompaniment of hair-pulling and hand-wringing from pundits and politicians about the date itself and about how it should be marked – along with a stream of earnest musings on what constitutes the “national essence”.
Indeed, the ambiguity of the occasion appears to be the one constant in its commemoration. But the debate over whether the date should be changed and whether it is offensive to Indigenous or other members of the Australian community, is again occurring in a vacuum, and is largely oblivious to the many attempts since the early 1970s to invest January 26 with more gravitas and meaning.
