Aboriginal organizations and residents in Western Australia's Kimberley region are taking diverse approaches to this year's Australia Day, with some calling for a date change, others marking Survival Day, and one council choosing neutrality.
An Aboriginal peak body in the Kimberley has called for a change to the date of Australia Day celebrations. Other organizations in the region have opted to mark Survival Day, while a local council has chosen not to acknowledge the day at all. These actions in Western Australia's Kimberley region reflect a growing sentiment among Australians that January 26 holds different meanings for everyone.
Aboriginal organizations and residents in the Kimberley are taking diverse approaches to this year's Australia Day. With a population that is almost 50 percent Aboriginal, some are calling for a change to Australia Day's date, while others are participating in or attending Survival Day events as an alternative. Cherie Heslington, a Nyikina and Bardi woman and chief executive of Aarnja, expressed her stance against celebrating Australia Day in a social media statement. She emphasized that reconciliation is impossible without changing the date, asserting that a different date would allow all Australians to celebrate. 'I believe the public statement I put out was a representation of the mob right across the region,' Ms Heslington said. 'Beyond the date; this is about equality, this is about justice. Let's look towards how we really reconcile and heal as a nation.' The Australia Day holiday coincides with the anniversary of Arthur Phillip hoisting the British flag at Sydney Cove in 1788. In the wake of the unsuccessful Voice referendum, where over 50 percent of voters in the Kimberley voted 'yes,' Ms Heslington stressed the importance of symbolic actions like changing the date. She pointed out that for First Peoples, the current date represents a traumatic past. The Shire of Halls Creek in the East Kimberley has a long-standing tradition of not holding Australia Day celebrations, reflecting the views of its residents. In Halls Creek, where 80 percent of the shire is Indigenous and the council has an Aboriginal majority, Shire President Malcolm Edwards explained their decision as a way to represent diverse community perspectives. 'We decided to remain neutral to not get involved. If anybody in Halls Creek wants to celebrate Australia Day, go for it,' he said. Despite the federal government's official allowance for councils to hold celebrations on alternative days from 2022, Mr Edwards stated that he couldn't recall the shire ever hosting an event on January 26 in the past two decades. 'We'd say no, we're not doing it. Our position will remain neutral,' he affirmed. For four years, Indigenous-owned Goolarri Media has hosted a Survival Day concert in Broome, providing an alternative way for the community to mark January 26. Chief executive and Butchulla Jagera woman Jodie Bell explained that recognizing January 26 as Survival Day offered an opportunity to 'start a conversation.' She contrasted this approach with the potentially controversial term 'Invasion Day.' 'We survived everything that got brought upon us because of that invasion,' she said. 'It also provides an opportunity to give a positive image of Aboriginal people in the country in an artistic way and show artistic talents … to the rest of the country.
AUSTRALIA DAY SURVIVAL DAY KIMBERLEY ABORIGINAL RIGHTS RECONCILIATION FIRST NATIONS AUSTRALIA
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