Newly minted PM Scott Morrison has strongly defended Australia Day in the face of more leftist councils withdrawing their support.
“Australia Day is our national day,” the Prime Minister said. “That is the day that Australia’s history changed. And it should be a day to recognise all Australians from our first to our most recent.
“I don’t think engaging in this sort of indulgent self-loathing actually makes our country stronger.”
However, in words designed to appease the indulgent self-loathers, he said; “I’m very open to the idea of having a national day where we can particularly focus on the achievements and success of our indigenous people in a very positive way.”
Yes, that’s just what the country needs: another forum to celebrate identity politics.
The opening of an envelope now involves a ‘welcome to country’ which columnist Piers Akerman revealed was “made up in Perth by entertainers Ernie Dingo and Richard Walley in 1976, after pressure from visiting Pacific Islander dancers who refused to perform at a festival unless they were welcomed with a ceremony, as was traditional in their own region.”
We also have NAIDOC week which is held across Australia each July to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Add that to Sorry Day, Reconciliation Day and Mabo Day and the various other virtue signalling days, there’s scarcely enough time to host a footy final…unless it can fall within the indigenous round!
But now, the PM says we need another ‘day’ which will somehow make the disasters in so many Aboriginal communities better.
After tens of billions of dollars have been pumped into not-improving the education, health and welfare of Aboriginal people in this country, we need to abandon the symbolic nonsense and make a few tough calls.
No amount of cultural indulgence will redress the shocking health outcomes among so many regional and remote communities. Symbolism won’t provide the jobs that are vital to self-esteem and community growth. It won’t redress the substance, domestic violence and sexual abuse endemic in so many Aboriginal communities. It won’t lift a single disadvantaged person out of despair but it might make a few city activists feel a little better about themselves while doing nothing for Aboriginal people.
Incredibly, some of the people in parliament who make the most noise about their Aboriginality are ignorant of even recent history. During an interview with one documentary host a few years ago, I made reference to the ‘dreamtime’. She corrected me to say it is ‘the dreaming’ in Aboriginal culture.
It was then left to me to explain that when I was a lad (we are about the same age), the Aboriginal spiritual age was indeed referred to as ‘the dreamtime’. It only morphed into ‘the dreaming’ in recent decades. Amazing how someone so deeply invested in promoting 40,000 years of Aboriginal history can’t even get it right in their own lifetime.
Perhaps the real dream should be when all Australians are considered equal regardless of the colour of their skin or their ethnicity. We could even have a day for it. I propose we call it Australia Day.
An ancestry test proves a goldmine in Washington State and Welsh farmers battle badgers and dodgy data handling. It really is a dog’s life in China, the World Bank and tech giants team up to redistribute wealth and hallelujah to new taxes in Kenya. There’s first time homecoming ‘royalty’ in Indiana, US conservative James Woods proves his point against Twitter and Venice criminalises sitting.
Cory Bernardi is the author of seven books and has been a member of the Australian rowing team, a publican, an investment portfolio manager and spent nearly 14 years as an Australian Senator.
