Every year, January 26, Reconciliation Week, NAIDOC Week, Mabo Day, Sorry Day, and every other day relating to First Nations people’s achievements, or issues, bring divergent views across Australia. These are all important times where social media is flooded with pride from First Nations people, as well as allies, and sadly, ignorance, arrogance, racism and hate speech rise.
In early 2025, Reconciliation SA Chief Executive Officer Jason Downs spoke to ABC Radio about the issue, and continued the debate over whether some of Australia’s public holidays should be reconsidered.
Callers offered suggestions that days like Adelaide Cup Day or the King’s Birthday could be replaced with a holiday dedicated to recognising First Nations people and cultures.
This idea is not without precedent. Around the world, countries have established national days that promote truth-telling, acknowledge the experiences of Indigenous communities, and encourage genuine reconciliation. South Africa’s Day of Reconciliation on 16 December was created after apartheid to foster unity and healing. Canada’s National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on 30 September recognises the atrocities of the Residential School system and honours the children and communities who suffered. In New Zealand, Waitangi Day on 6 February marks the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi and continues to drive national conversations about partnership, rights, and sovereignty.
Meanwhile, in Australia, many public holidays are rooted in colonial traditions. Adelaide Cup Day began as a horse race in 1864 and became a statewide public holiday in 1973. Western Australia Day celebrates the arrival of colonists to the Swan River Colony. Since 1927, we have commemorated, nationally, ANZAC Day on April 25. The King’s Birthday is celebrated on many different dates nationally, and remains a symbolic link to a distant monarchy we swear allegiance to in our constitution; for those who don't like symbolism, maybe this is the one to replace?
Since 1994, a national public holiday has been Australia Day every year on 26 January. For many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, this date represents the beginning of dispossession, violence, and systemic injustice. This was the day the first fleet of colonisers landed on the shores of Sydney Cove, bringing with them smallpox, which had an immediate impact on the Gadigal people. Any national conversation about introducing a Reconciliation Day cannot ignore the weight and intergenerational trauma of 26 January. Creating a new public holiday that honours the world’s oldest living cultures cannot be truly meaningful without acknowledging the significance and harm of existing dates.
Across the year, there are many significant days in Australia that acknowledge First Nations achievements, historic legal milestones, and cultural events such as National Sorry Day, NAIDOC Week, and anniversaries of legal decisions like the Mabo ruling. These dates hold deep meaning for many Australians, yet none of them are recognised as national public holidays. While they generate reflection and community events, they lack the official status and widespread pause that a public holiday can bring.
Calls for a Reconciliation Day in South Australia, or nationally, reflect a broader desire to celebrate more than 65,000 years of continuous Aboriginal culture and to recognise First Nations people as the traditional owners of the land. Such a day would centre Aboriginal voices, leadership, and history, on a public holiday, something that could move the nation towards genuine, rather than purely symbolic, reconciliation.
While many organisations are leading with values, allowing staff to choose to substitute January 26th for another date, the discussion is not simply about replacing one day off with another; it is about asking what values deserve to be honoured on a national level. As conversations continue, the question remains: Is Australia ready to have a conversation around changing public holidays centred around recognising truth, justice, and a shared identity?