This was published 3 years ago
Thank you for tuning in to our coverage of January 26 around the country, including protests, thoughts on the Voice to Parliament and views on changing the date.
Here’s what’s happened today:
And to Western Australia, where hundreds of Invasion Day protests have flooded the heart of Perth’s CBD to demand a change of date.
The rally began with an impassioned speech by Yamatji-Noongar woman and Stolen Generations survivor Rhonda Collard-Spratt before a packed crowd at Forrest Chase, which set the tone for the rest of the proceedings.
She hailed the strength of the Aboriginal people and promised their culture would continue to live on.
“They tried to make us disappear, but guess what? We’re still here standing strong,” she said.
A neo-Nazi group that disrupted an Indigenous mourning ceremony at a Melbourne council today should be charged by police, according to Victoria’s state opposition.
None of the black-clad individuals involved were arrested at the scene at Coburg Town Hall this morning, with police afterwards stating they would “review body-worn camera footage to determine whether any offences occurred”.
Footage seen by this masthead shows the group holding their banners and performing Nazi salutes on Sydney Road in Coburg with a police car monitoring after the incident at the town hall.
Last year the Andrews Labor government outlawed Nazi hate symbols, with anyone who intentionally displays symbols in public facing a year in prison or a $22,000 fine.
A family friend of Cassius Turvey, the 15-year-old boy allegedly murdered on his way home from school, has been named Perth Citizen of the Year.
Megan Krakouer, who is the National Suicide Prevention and Trauma Recovery Project director, was honoured after coordinating 38 vigils across the country in the teen’s honour.
She called for harsher penalties and prison terms for vigilantes after the tragedy.
“It’s unacceptable what’s happened with young Cassius,” she said at the time.
In case you missed it, the ABC’s Norman Swan has been made a member of the general division of the Order of Australia.
He was awarded the honour for his “significant service to the broadcast media as a science and health commentator”.
The Scottish-born student tells Stephen Brook how a near-death experience on a school trip helped shape him as first a doctor and then a journalist.
These pictures are courtesy of photographers Justin McManus, Joe Armao, Paul Rovere, Jason South and Scott McNaughton.
Indigenous recipients of Australia Day honours have mixed feelings about accepting the recognition on January 26, with some humbled but wishing a less difficult day was chosen to celebrate the country they love.
Emeritus professor Richard Howitt, who will become a member of the Order of Australia for services to education and Indigenous affairs, said it was challenging for him to accept the honour on a day many Indigenous Australians view as representative of dispossession.
“It is galling for someone like me,” the Macquarie University professor said, adding he remained humbled by the recognition. “Some culture warriors insist it is such a sacred day, but it is only relatively recently that it has been gazetted as Australia Day.
“It does not represent the foundation of the nation of Australia. At the very best it represents the creation of the colony of NSW.”
There are 25 honourees who identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander this year.
Ayesha Sunnooman, a GP from the Melbourne suburb of Deer Park, was having a lovely day at the beach on Thursday with husband Mohammad and their young children Zaynab and Zakiya.
Sitting at Altona Beach on a sunny, fine day, Sunnooman said she didn’t think Australia Day should be scrapped.
“I think it’s good to be patriotic and remember your country. It reminds us we are all one country. We are diverse people, but we are all Australians.”
However, the family wasn’t doing anything special to celebrate – Sunnooman was enjoying a day off from her busy job. The family often come to Altona Beach to catch up with Mohammad’s sister, Adeelah Futloo, her husband Helal, and their sons Aydin and Ayman.
These pictures are courtesy of Herald photographers Dean Sewell, Flavio Brancaleone, Louise Kennerley, Brook Mitchell, Nick Moir and Cole Bennetts.
Senior writer Bianca Hall spoke to Greens senator Lidia Thorpe earlier today for her view on January 26.