SINCE the move from Taylor Group Media to SA Today, The Bunyip has had its filing system and story production mechanisms turned on their head.
The paper now has on its local system a (aptly named for this editorial) ‘Migration’ folder.
That folder goes back to mid-2020 – almost five years ago – and contains all the stories that have graced the pages of our paper since.
In every single edition following January 26 since 2020, the editorial of the paper has been based around the concept of changing the date of what we currently know as Australia Day.
They have covered a wide range of points as to why celebrating the arrival of invaders on the shores of this land, invaders who would go on to massacre those that had occupied the area for thousands of years, is maybe not the best course of action.
Calls for a date change among the wider population seem to have stagnated, but still the debate rages on.
It would be wise to take a step back and realise what the debate actually is at its core.
On one hand, you have people determined to continue to celebrate their national day as they always have, preaching a love for their country and the freedom it represents to them, emphasis on them.
On the other hand, there are people asking to celebrate their country, emphasis on their, just not on a date that represents the slaughter of their family members.
If you asked members of camp number one what they celebrate on Australia Day, not many are coming back with answers of “the arrival of Arthur Phillip and his mates at Sydney Cove and the genocide that commenced following that” – they will probably tell you that they just want to celebrate the country they have called home for their whole life.
The date, truthfully, does not mean much to the wider public that so desperately want to keep it.
What it does represent is a fear of change and disruption to the norm.
The date is not sacred to the people that want to keep it, in fact it was not even the national date until the early 90s.
So what we have is a pretty simple solution. Do not have a day of national celebration on a day that signifies the destruction of an entire culture.
Unfortunately, in a decade’s time, The Bunyip edition following January 26 will likely have 10 more similar editorials, simply because doing the right thing would cost some votes.
