While a majority wants to continue to celebrate, more companies are giving staff the option of working on January 26 and more people are ignoring the public holiday over brandishing an Australian flag.
that roughly two-thirds of Australian adults believe we should continue to have Australia Day on January 26. Twenty years ago, that number was closer to 80 per cent.
For many, Australia Day represents a positive, proud day for all Australians to celebrate the Great Southern Land and the beginning of modern Australia. Roy Morgan poll manager Julian McCrann says 2022’s survey of almost 1400 adults found the older a respondent was, the more likely they were to be in favour of January 26 being known as Australia Day.
University of Queensland psychology lecturer Dr Hema Preya Selvanathan published research last year after surveying about 400 people on January 26 in 2020, half attending an Invasion Day rally and half celebrating the public holiday at Brisbane’s South Bank park. She says the latter group felt Indigenous Australian culture was already strongly preserved, suggesting the need for improving education about past atrocities and their ongoing impact.
“Someone even asked me, ‘Can I take my dog to the park?’ and I explained the intention is more important,” she says. “I won’t demonise someone for having a barbecue, it just depends on whether you’re participating with that ideology of celebrating the nation and waving the flag.”Jason South Nielsen points to radio station Triple J moving the date of its Hottest 100 countdown in 2018 as having a major influence on young people.Citizenship ceremonies, typically held on January 26, have added an extra layer of complexity.
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