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© 2025 AFPIndigenous rights activists protest on Australia Day
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© 2025 AFP
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Moriah
The Aborigines should have protected their borders with vigilance.
An open border than allows other cultures to enter will always lead to a dilution of the local culture and inevitable conflict.
Jay
Let's be real: the majority of these protesters aren't Indigenous - they're blue-haired, privileged university students who couldn't point to Uluru on a map if their TikTok clout depended on it. Instead of taking personal responsibility or doing anything constructive, they cry "oppression" while sipping lattes on land built by the very nation they despise. Australia Day is a celebration of a country that offers them the FREEDOM to protest without a shred of gratitude - something they'd do well to remember.
HAPPY AUSTRALIA DAY TO ALL.
Jay
On a more conciliatory note, changing the date from Jan 26th would erase an important chapter in Aus history that led to the creation of the diverse, prosperous country it is today. Rather than attempting to DIVIDE Australians by focusing solely on past grievances, today should be an opportunity to acknowledge the journey of the nation, including its challenges, and work toward UNITY while simultaneously celebrating its awesomeness. History cannot be rewritten to satisfy WOKE sensibilities, and constantly shifting cultural milestones only serves to undermine national identity.
HOW ABOUT THIS: instead of changing the date, people should use January 26 to celebrate progress, reflect on the past, and commit to building a stronger future together as Australians!
JeffLee
I wonder what Australia would be like today if the British had never gone there.
Toblerone
“Colonization day”, “invasion day”.
No talk about the fact that what later became New Zealand was “colonized/invaded” by the maoris who then wiped out the original indigenous population.
It is what has been happening for thousands of years.
Seems it is only a big deal when it was Europeans who did it.
Toblerone
God help the aboriginals of Australia if the maoris had got there before the British!
Peter14
Happy penal colony day everyone. For the rest, commiserations on invasion day.
I will celebrate my country on Jan 2 from now on. Nothing controversial about that day.
Mocheake
It's common on occasions like this for people to try to diminish the brutality and damage their ancestors did by pointing to some other group's possibly more brutal treatment. I'm sure if any aboriginals read your words they will NOT be comforted.
Mr Kipling
They will of course be reading in a language other than "Aboriginal" as they never quite made it to developing a written language.
kurisupisu
Sure there were lots of mistakes made and of course the indigenous population suffered and died as a result of misdeeds.
We are not able to change the past.
However, Australia now is a country where rights are protected and people can live in peace. If anyone is interested to know how aboriginals live in the present, they are able to go to the middle of Australia,notably Alice Springs where they can witness aborigines living out their lives- it might not be the scene that one imagines though…
Jay
Oh here we go - regurgitating tired buzzwords like "penal colony" and "invasion day," refusing to admit that without that "invasion," you'd be sitting in a very different reality, likely without Wi-Fi to post all that performative guilt.
Well, suit yourself mate. Like it or not, Australia Day is January 26th, and while real Australians are enjoying BBQs, beaches, and celebrating the incredible country that's been built, you're welcome to sit there sulking in the corner, acting like your bitterness is some kind of virtue.
Or, instead of being one of the decreasing number of self-loathing Aussies whingeing about history, how about you celebrate the fact that this "penal colony" turned into one of the most successful nations on Earth?
Toblerone
I'm sure if any aboriginals read your words they will NOT be comforted.
Facts aren’t always comforting.
Eat the left
Alas, vessels that could float and travel the seas were invented and a massive land mass inhabited by 18th century stone age people was discovered. What do you think would have happened? Mass migration is a historical fact. Your political stance won't change that.
If you can’t make it in the world today, don’t use your ancestors as a reason to rebel.
tooheysnew
Well said Jay.
I, for one, will be celebrating Australia Day by enjoying some Coopers beer & watching the cricket
Hawk
If anyone is interested in the actual story, as told by an elder of that "wiped out" population:
https://e-tangata.co.nz/reflections/moriori-still-setting-the-record-straight/
(The Māori still come out of the story very badly, but it's different from the one told in schools in the 1930s to justify the British colonisation of New Zealand.)
Hawk
And if you don't trust the word of a descendant of the people whom the story is about, as I suspect you won't:
https://thespinoff.co.nz/atea/03-08-2018/the-moriori-myth-and-why-its-still-with-us
mrtinjp
I wonder what Australia would be like today if the British had never gone there
Than it would have been French or Dutch or Portuguese... you name it..
GuruMick
Toblerone...I have never heard of "Māori wiping out indigenous New Zealand people .
Do you mean different groups arriving in New Zealand, from different islands etc and probably arriving at different times in history.?
It is established that "Māori " were not a uniform tribe or group but a collection of tribal groups who often fought one another..
You seem to infer "one " group of Maori arrived and wiped out a pre existing non Maori group.
Wrong buddie.
Secondly, have you looked at a map of Australia and compared it to NZ ?
Your idea that Maori could have colonized Australia to the detriment of native Aboriginal people is farcical.
Hawk
Deleted because of the link to amazon I guess. Okay, fair enough.
Moriori: a People Rediscovered by Michael King.
Toblerone
You seem to infer "one " group of Maori arrived and wiped out a pre existing non Maori group.
That is what happened. Woke revisionism doesn’t change fact.
Hawk
Enjoy life in the cave looking at shadows. Plato would be so proud.