Matt Canavan: Australia Day patriotism returns as we wake-up from woke

People have finally had enough of the self-loathing from our inner-city elites and the usual whingers campaigning to “change the date”, writes Matt Canavan.

I noticed an upsurge in patriotic feeling this Australia Day. The Australian flags were back in Woolies, the usual whingers campaigning to “change the date” were muted and online there was a surge in content showing pride in our nation’s history.

My sentiment is backed up by the data. A new poll showed that just 14 per cent of Australians now support changing the date of Australia Day, down from 17 per cent the year before.

Which makes you wonder why such a small minority has been able to hijack our debate for so long. At a time when there has been an unprecedented drop in our standard of living, people have finally had enough of the self-loathing from our inner-city elites that do not have to worry about how they will cover their next mortgage payment.

Much of this narrative has continued thanks to the campaigns run by our left wing media, including the publicly funded ABC.

They were at it again with contrived outrage over an Australia Day speech by the Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party. Sussan Ley had the temerity to suggest that the First Fleet was an endeavour equivalent to Elon Musk’s planned manned mission to Mars.

Australia Day celebrations should continue to be on January 26, the majority believe. Picture: Brett Hartwig

This, of course, set off the usual black armband brigade who could not fathom that a single explorer, convict or pioneer could be a good person.

As a child I remember standing enrapt at Old Sydney Town as an actor playing a convict was whipped with a mock cat-o-nine-tails. These days our children are taught these convicts, often transported for the smallest of crimes, had “white privilege”.

I was also taught of the suffering of Aborigines and the many injustices done to them. But now, our woke history is whitewashed of the tremendous hardships endured by our convicts, settlers, pioneers and squatters.

Ironically, we only enjoy the luxury of having the time to tut-tut at the sins of our ancestors because of the sacrifice of those same ancestors.

Burke and Wills sacrificed their lives to educate the world about the vast expanse of inland Australia.

The Drover’s Wife desperately protected her children from a deadly snake while her husband was away developing the land.

People participate in an Invasion Day rally on January 26 in Melbourne. (Photo by Phil Yeo/Getty Images)

And, prospectors trekked halfway around the world to dig holes and unleash a gold rush. Some got rich but many toiled away for no personal gain, even if their efforts helped grow Australia to become a vibrant nation.

There is no doubt that some of our ancestors committed crimes. Some were bigots and some poorly treated the Aboriginal Australians that lived here.

Of course, many modern Australians commit crimes, and are bigots and racists. The shocking attacks on the Jewish community shows that we are not, as a society, without stain. No generation ever will be.

We can also take pride in lots of what our ancestors achieved. Ultimately, an action should be judged by its fruits. And, the fruits of our Aboriginal, British and migrant action have delivered the most prosperous, harmonious country on earth. We should be proud of that and we should celebrate that.

We should remember all parts of our history. Many settlers were forced here against their will. Many befriended Aboriginal Australians. Many learnt their culture and language. Over 1000 towns and localities were named after Aboriginal words by our ancestors, including our nation’s capital Canberra.

This makes the current campaign to rename Australian towns ridiculous. The Melbourne Cricket Ground’s account says that they are based in somewhere called, “Naarm”. There is no need for us to rename Australia after Aboriginal words. Our ancestors already did that.

We should reject the conceit that we are somehow morally superior to our grandparents. That kind of hubris will lead us to over-estimate our own capabilities and lead us to make things worse.

We do not need to rename Australia. We should not be sorry about Australia.

We should take pride in our nation. That should be the basis on which we seek to improve our country and make it better in the future.

Matt Canavan is an LNP Senator for Queensland