Queensland singing MP says we shouldn’t trash talk Australia

Queensland MP Fiona Simpson, who is well known for singing the national anthem at Australia Day ceremonies, says she can’t support those who ‘trash talk my nation’ as debate rages over councils and Woolies moving against celebrating the day.

Valuing who we are as a nation, means embracing all our history and not erasing it.

Acknowledging the good, the bad and the worthy and telling those stories.

And being grateful for the countless thousands whose sacrifices in the ordinary and extraordinary struggles of the everyday, created one of the most successful and wealthy democratic nations in the world with first-world standards and opportunities, and peace.

It was no accident. It didn’t just happen, and we are inheritors of their legacy.

I’m proud to be an Australian and I won’t trash talk my nation.

For all her imperfections, she is magnificent and worthy of defending.

Sunshine Coast MP Fiona Simpson sings the national anthem at Remembrance Day commemorations at Cotton Tree on the Sunshine Coast. Photo Lachie Millard

We are custodians, not only of the land, but of the flame of freedom and opportunity through which the labour and sacrifice of our forebears laid a good foundation.

There are challenges to overcome but when we look around the world, thank God, for living in this nation for so many reasons.

I choose to celebrate the best of who we are as a nation, not just on one day a year.

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Let’s together pledge with heart and soul to leave it a better place for future generations.

Isn’t that what our forefathers and foremothers would expect of us if their voices could be heard across the mists of time from a world so foreign to the one we have inherited?

Woolworths stores have withdrawn the sale of Australia Day merchandise. Pictured is a Choice store with merchandise. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Tertius Pickard

Australia is a melting pot from many nations as well as ancient peoples.

It is a modern miracle that people of such diverse backgrounds can come together in one nation, appreciative of our respective heritage but building a combined future.

Fiona Simpson says Australians have a lot to celebrate, including the sacrifice of those who fought for our freedoms. Photo: Lou O'Brien / Sunshine Coast Daily

The words of the song, “I Am Australian” by Bruce Woodley and Dobe Newton capture so well how I feel about this nation and why we must never lose sight of the need to bring people together rather than to fracture our national unity.

For me there is poignance in the line “I am a daughter of a digger who sought the mother lode. The girl became a woman on the long and dusty road”.

It could represent my great grandmothers who walked overland through the Australian bush as their families came to Australia seeking a better life, and how they buried many babies, and spouses, in lonely bush graves due to disease.

“We are one

But we are many

And from all the lands on earth we come

We share a dream

And sing with one voice

I am, you are, we are Australian.”

To all who made this nation great I say, “Thank You”.

Fiona Simpson is a long serving LNP MP based on the Sunshine Coast. She was elected in 1992 as the Member for Maroochydore and has served in shadow portfolios such as Health, Transport, Main Roads, Tourism, Women, Communities, Housing, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships, Multicultural Affairs, Small Business, Training and Skills Development.