In this article, Daniel Wild contextualises and disseminates the findings of the IPA’s research on Australia Day.
Geelong is proud of Australia, and mainstream Australia is proud of it.
Geelong Mayor Stretch Kontelj is so right when he says: “We’ve got a lot to be grateful for, and we should celebrate at every opportunity, particularly on Australia Day.”
What a breath of fresh air! The decision by the City of Greater Geelong to formally celebrate Australia Day on January 26 is exactly the kind of cultural leadership that mainstream Australians have been looking for.
It is also common sense and something utterly uncontroversial among mainstream Australians who believe their country is good, something to be proud of, and who want to keep it that way.
The only ones complaining are the usual suspects: those of the chattering class, and those of the elite economic, political and cultural circles that make up our nation’s inner cities.
Kontelj, the son of Slovenian migrants, understands, as so many first and second-generation Australians do, that while Australia is not perfect, it is the best nation on Earth in which to live and raise a family. January 26 is the day that marks the settlement of modern Australia. The First Fleet did not merely just arrive with criminals to establish a penal colony on that day.
It also brought a rich intellectual and moral cargo of ideas and values, including democracy, freedom, the rule of law, tolerance, and the “fair go”.
The great Australian achievement is taking those ancient ideals and transplanting them to the other side of the world, in an often hostile and difficult environment, and not only succeeding, but improving on what the British themselves had developed.
The decision to recognise and celebrate Australia Day on its rightful day of January 26 could not come at a more critical time.
Australians are seeing before their eyes the breakdown of our social cohesion. Religious and ethnic division, formerly so foreign to our nation, is now seen regularly on our city streets and university campuses.
Look no further than the apparently religiously motivated firebombing of a Melbourne synagogue and attacks on Jewish communities in Sydney. The balkanisation of our nation, thanks to identity politics and out of-control mass migration, has left our social fabric threadbare.
Uniting around our national day – Australia Day – and our national flag reminds Australians that there is far more that unites us than divides us.
This is vital if we are to regain our sense of community.
Mainstream Australians clearly support these moves.
Institute of Public Affairs research this year showed 63 per cent of us believe Australia Day should be observed on January 26, with just 17 per cent saying they wanted to change the date.
Additionally, 87 per cent said they were proud to be Australian, while just 4 per cent said they were not.
And almost 70 per cent agree that Australia has a history to be proud of, while just 15 per cent disagree.
This is why it is so disappointing, though not surprising, that Melbourne’s newly minted Lord Mayor, Nicholas Reece, continues to side with the 15 per cent who are ashamed of our nation.
Melbourne City Council still refuses to even refer to January 26 as Australia Day, much less provide resources for worthy celebrations that would bring our capital city together.
Perhaps this is reason enough for Victoria’s capital to be moved from Melbourne to Geelong.
