Australia Day wiped from Qld government calendars
An investigation is under way after Australia Day was removed from government calendars. It comes as the Premier urges Queenslanders to avoid ‘weaponising’ January 26 amid protest plans.
QLD Politics
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An investigation is under way after Australia Day was removed from government calendars, it can be revealed, as the Premier implores Queenslanders to avoid “weaponising” January 26.
A whistleblower told The Courier-Mail Australia Day had been excluded from internal events calendars within several departments within the Queensland government.
Screenshots taken of the department internet’s show several multicultural holidays including Lunar New Year, the BrisAsia Festival, Waitangi Day, the Anniversary of the Charles Perkins’ Freedom Rides, World Day of Social Justice, Ramadan, and the Anniversary of the National Apology.
However both January 26 and 27, the Australia Day public holiday, remain blank.
The discovery has prompted an internal investigation into which department calendars are impacted and why the Australia Day was removed.
Meanwhile, Premier David Crisafulli has urged Queenslanders not to undermine Australia Day amid plans for a number of Invasion Day protests.
“This country is not perfect, the past isn’t perfect (and) we should acknowledge that and we should celebrate our wins and our losses, our highs and our lows, the good and the bad,” he said.
“To people trying to weaponise the day – no, we’re better than that.”
Opposition Leader Steven Miles said he will be spending January 26 cooking sausages outside Bunnings Warehouse which he described as the most “quintessential Australian” way to celebrate.
Mr Miles said he supported people’s right to protest, but had no plans to join any Survival Day or Invasion Day marches over the long weekend.
“I’ve always said that Australians are sophisticated thinkers, we can have public holidays where we both celebrate our nation and we recognise our shared history, and that’s what I always try to do on Australia Day,” he said.
“I understand why that day causes anxiety and angst for our First Nations people and so I think it should also be an opportunity where we acknowledge their history and their experiences.”
Both leaders will attend citizenship ceremonies.
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