The Canberra Times "Your Say" Wednesday, 21 June, 2000 January 26 the wrong date for our national day I READ that the debate about Australia Day is to be rekindled (CT, June 13, p.6). I am very happy that it should be. January 26 is not an inclusive date for all Australians. We only have to recall the Australia Day sesquicentennial celebrations in 1938, that saw approximately 100 Aborigines protest at a meeting in Austra- lia House, Elizabeth Street, Sydney, calling that day a Day of Mourning. A manifesto, written by organisers Jack Patten and William Ferguson, Aborigines Claim Citizens' Rights, was circulated and called on the state governments to cease their genocide. More recently, the 1988 bicentennial celebrations were not shared by some 20,000 people who marched in protest and saw that day as invasion day. January 26 diminishes us as a nation. We could choose May 27, which marked the referendum in 1967, or indeed we could consider May 28, Corroboree Day 2000 but why not wait until we have a prime minister who is truly committed to reconciliation and one who actually believes, in his or her heart, that the Federal Government should apologise for the forced removal of Aboriginal children from their families. When that symbolic gesture of sorrow and genuine acknowledgment of the removalist policies, which sought to breed out a race, is finally forthcoming then, on that day, we would have a date that all Australians could recognise as our Australia Day. We may have to wait only another 15 months! RICHARD EGAN Braddon -- ********************************** 'Click' to protect the rainforest: Make the Rainforest Site your homepage! http://www.therainforestsite.com/ ********************************** ------------------------------------------------------ RecOzNet2 has a page @ http://www.green.net.au/recoznet2 and is archived at http://www.mail-archive.com/ To unsubscribe from this list, mail [EMAIL PROTECTED], and in the body of the message, include the words: unsubscribe announce or click here mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20announce This posting is provided to the individual members of this group without permission from the copyright owner for purposes of criticism, comment, scholarship and research under the "fair use" provisions of the Federal copyright laws and it may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner, except for "fair use." RecOzNet2 is archived for members @ http://www.mail-archive.com/recoznet2%40paradigm4.com.au/
