Australia Day parade and protest kick off across Melbourne
Thousands of people have packed the streets of Melbourne today, as both the Australia Day Parade and Invasion Day rally kicked off just streets apart.
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Thousands of people lined the streets of Melbourne this morning as both the annual Australia Day parade and the Invasion Day rally kicked off just streets apart.
Members of the CFA – including fireys from bushfire ravaged Mallacoota and Gippsland – led the parade, which started from Swanston St at 11am.
Speaking ahead of the event, CFA firefighter Josh Caron, who has been fighting fires in East Gippsland since before Christmas, told the Herald Sun he was excited to be there.
“This is the first parade we’ve ever done so it’s good to be involved,” he said.
“There’s been a lot of good work done but there’s still a lot to be done.
“It really is great to see the support from everywhere, not just Australia but worldwide -when there’s a natural disaster like this happening. Everyone is getting behind us.”
The Logan family from Hamilton in Victoria travelled to Melbourne for the long weekend for the Australian Open and stopped by to watch the parade.
Simone, who was joined by her husband Damien and their two children Hannah and Chad, said they were impressed by the spectacle.
“We’ve never been to Melbourne for Australia Day before so we thought we’d come down and check the parade out,” she said
“It looks amazing.”
Other visitors had come from far flung destinations to celebrate Australia Day in Melbourne.
Yvonne Stredder came from London to visit her son Paul for the occasion.
“I’ve been here for two weeks and it’s been amazing,” she said.
“We came across the parade accidentally, we were walking over to go to one of the markets and saw it so we thought we better have a look.
Her son Paul agreed.
“I’ve been here for years and it’s great to see everyone come together on a day like today. It doesn’t matter where you’re from,” he said.
Meanwhile crowds gathered a short distance away for the Invasion Day rally.
Thousands of people stood in Spring Street and on the steps of Parliament to protest against the Australia Day celebrations.
The crowd chanted: “Always was, always will be Aboriginal land”.
Starting at Parliament, the protesters paraded down Bourke Street and Swanston Street before finishing the rally with speeches at Flinders Station
Performers played traditional aboriginal instruments as the crowds marched down the CBD streets.
Protesters at the rally held poster emblazoned with phrases like “F*** Aussie Pride”, “White Australia has a black history” and “There could never really be justice for stolen land”.
One protester, who did not wished to be named, told the Herald Sun they hoped the date will be changed.
“It’s heartbreaking that the history of our land still isn’t taught to our children,” they said.
“Hopefully we’ll be here on another day. The tide is turning.”
Currently in Melbourne #InvasionDay2020 #PayTheRent #SurvivalDay pic.twitter.com/pgdojGESWt
— MGH (@MichelleGHunder) January 26, 2020
Huge crowd in Melbourne for the #InvasionDay2020 rally at parliament. Via @AAPNewswire pic.twitter.com/Y9BnpzK7zP
— Caroline Schelle (@carolineschelle) January 26, 2020
Victorian Greens leader Samantha Ratnam said acknowledging the horror of January 26 was the “only pathway” forward.
“It’s day that represents so much grief and mourning for our nation’s first people,” she said.
Meanwhile, Greens federal member for Melbourne Adam Bandt said it was time to change the date, bring in treaty and “pay the rent” to indigenous Australians.
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He called on leaders Premier Daniel Andrews and Prime Minister Scott Morrison to take action.
“This is a day that marks violence and disposition and we won’t be able to go forward as a country until we are honest about our path,” Mr Bandt said.
“So, the first step is telling the truth, then we have to work out how we are going to assign treaty and work out the proper compensation.”