Melbourne University warns staff over offensive Australia Day celebrations

STAFF at Melbourne University have been warned about celebrating the “deeply offensive” arrival of “European culture” while marking Australia Day.

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STAFF at Melbourne University have been warned about celebrating the “deeply offensive” arrival of “European culture” while marking Australia Day.

Some staff are outraged by an intranet message urging them to “be respectful and inclusive” on our national day, which had a “complex meaning” for indigenous people.

“For some our national day is associated with thoughts of mourning, struggle and survival,” it said.

“Remember when planning events or engaging with social media: images and words celebrating the arrival of European culture and people can be deeply offensive to many.”

Australia Day message sent by Melbourne University administration to staff. Picture: Supplied

A staff member, who asked to remain anonymous, said the message was offensive and extremely inappropriate.

“It is essentially an employer telling its staff how to celebrate our national day, a day for all Australians, in the attempt to placate a vocal minority,” the staff member said.

“Senior staff within the university are using their positions and organisational clout to push their political agenda, and in so doing trashing its reputation for rigorous academic discourse.”

The message was posted after a request by the university’s indigenous development institute Murrup Barak.

The institute’s goal is to “make an enduring contribution to indigenous Australia through the transformative impact of education and employment for indigenous Australians’, according to the university’s website.

Some indigenous groups refer to the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788 as “invasion day” and want the national day’s date changed to take into account Aboriginal sensitivities.

Last week, prominent Aboriginal activist Lois Peeler said issues such as changing the date and indigenous recognition in the Constitution should be discussed.

“But to me, Australia Day provides the opportunity for us to all come together as Australians and celebrate that aspect,” she told an official Australia Day lunch in Melbourne.

“It’s fabulous that we are able to come together as a community and to say that we are Australian and be proud of that fact.”

Ms Peeler was a member of 1960s Aboriginal singing group The Sapphires and is now principal of girls’ boarding school Worawa Aboriginal College in Healesville.

A Melbourne University spokesman said the Australia Day message was posted in the announcements section of the online Staff Hub, not sent directly to staff via email.

“The University believes indigenous staff at the institution should be able to express a view on the matter,” he said.

@JMasanauskas