"Reconciliation SA Calls for National Reflection and a Change of Date for Australia Day"

Kaurna Country, South Australia - January 21^st, 2025

With Australia Day approaching on January 26, Reconciliation SA is calling on South Australians to reflect on the nation’s ancient history, and to be curious and open to change.

Reconciliation SA CEO Jason Downs says. “There is a pathway forward where we can celebrate our country and all who call Australia home and be proud of the world’s oldest continuous living culture, January 26th is not that day.”

Mr Downs says, “We acknowledge that many Australians view January 26 as a day to celebrate with pride, and that some believe opposing this date is ‘woke’ and divisive. That couldn’t be further from the truth,” Mr Downs says.

“We simply urge all South Australians to consider January 26 from the viewpoint of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples who see the date as marking the invasion of their lands and the start of colonisation.”

January 26 was first declared a national holiday in 1994 by the Australian Government, and confusion has surrounded the date ever since. Significant dates in the British colonisation of Australia include:

• 19 April 1770: Captain James Cook first sights the coastline of Australia
• 26 January 1788: The British land and establish a colony (later to become New South Wales) in Sydney Cove. To many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, this marks the invasion of their lands and the start of colonisation, dispossession, decimation and trauma.

“For many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and other Australians, January 26 is known as Invasion Day or Survival Day – it has become a day to mourn a dark history,” Mr Downs says.

“Reconciliation SA urges the establishment of a national day on which all Australians can stand together, proud of our country’s unique history and ongoing achievements.”

“To continue to celebrate our national day on a date of such a significant impact ignores the loss, grief and trauma synonymous with January 26.”

“We can’t continue to deny the past. It is time for a respectful conversation to show our younger generations and the rest of the world that we are an inclusive, thoughtful and mature nation.”

Jeremy Johncock, a proud Wirangu and Mirning man and Co-Chair Reconciliation SA, says “There is this misconception that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples don’t want to celebrate our beautiful Country. Of course we do, just not on the day that marks the beginning of dispossession, forcible removal of children, loss of culture, languages and lands. Acknowledging our shared history is one part but acceptance of this history, seems to be the challenging piece. Both are essential for healing, unity, and progress.”

Reconciliation SA strive for a reconciled and just South Australia. We believe at the heart of reconciliation is respectful relationships and understanding between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and the broader community. Mr Downs states “Our purpose is to educate, to create understanding, unify and create authentic relationships, this is Reconciliation, and it is our only way forward”

For further information: January 26 - A Deeper Understanding

 For media inquiries, please contact:

Natalie Renna. 0434 800 032 or natalie@mercyme.com.au

Director, Mercy Me