200 years is enough time to forgive. Wake up, everyone! We know the British came and stole Aboriginal landing, that was a huge crime but now our war ended, we live in our country named Australia and we are Australians, Australia Day is one of our tradition, Aboriginal’s failure won’t change despite we change the day. I am Lake, a Aborigine living and contributing for Australia and I will sorry to Melbourne citizens, especially who want to change the day that i honestly disagree. Australians of all backgrounds have been living alongside their indigenous Australian neighbors for decades in relative peace and goodwill. The changing start from that dark day, 26th of January when British came and stole the whole thing from Aboriginal. They were stolen the land where they were born, where they living and growing. In the war years, at the true meaning of the war: killing, destroying, wretching and feud. The war nearly never end, but actually in the real life it ended, after two hundred thirty years since the first time British came, now the white people and Aborigines can live together. I and River who is 100% white Australia have been being close friend for 20 years without any racism from our first seen because we understand fighting anyway just receive injuries and extend the war . The ABC claims that Australia has already formally apologized to Aborigines and hang over a third of the country to forms of native title. Step by step , we connected by
Australia Day which the Aborigines call ‘Invasion Day’, ‘Day of Mourning’ and ‘Survival Day’, marks the anniversary of the 1788 arrival of the First Fleet of British ships at Sydney Cove.
With Australia Day associated to celebrating genocide and the destruction of the Aboriginal culture, the government must consider altering the date of Australia Day out of respect for the Aboriginal People and to further assimilation between Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Australians, which in contrast to genocide, is something truly worth celebrating.
Mr Rudd opened his speech in parliament with the words “We honour the Indigenous peoples of this land, the oldest continuing cultures in human history” (2012). It is true that Mr Rudd took the first step in reconciliation however he has not progressed as far as hoped. There has been little compensation made to the stolen generation. Was the apology a sincere one? Perhaps? His intentions were clear and precise. Rudd had said he would apologize and he did. He did not say he would compensate the Indigenous Australians in any form which would have gone a long way to begin the healing process. Especially due to the inconceivable horrors that were enacted against the Stolen Generations.
After this time, many atrocities occurred, such as the fact that Aboriginals were often killed for sport, and massacres such as Myall Creek were occurring, where 28 Aboriginal men, women and children were murdered near Myall Creek Station in 1838. There was also the problem of the Stolen Generation, when Aboriginal children were forcibly taken from their homes to be raised as though they were white. It was only recently in 2008, that Kevin Rudd, the Prime Minister of Australia at the time, apologised for the actions that the government had undertaken. In another apologetic move, Prime Minister Paul Keating delivered a powerful speech regarding the fact that Aboriginal Communities were still segregated despite the fact that laws had been changed a number of years ago. This shows that the idea of atonement by Australia is quite a new topic. Does this prove the challenges that Aboriginal’s faced nearly 200 years ago are still present in today’s society? It was enough to force the Aboriginal men, women and children to begin act in support of their rights.
I would like to begin this speech by recognising the owners of this land, the true ancestors of the country we call ‘ours’. To the Indigenous peoples of Australia, I acknowledge you, I thank you and most of all I apologise to you for the deep suffering and remorse you are put through. I am ashamed of this country’s treatment towards you. Past and Present.
Since European invasion in 1788, Indigenous Australians have fought to retain their rights and freedoms and to have governments recognise them. From 1788 and onwards the British created settlements on land that Aboriginal people previously used and controlled. Throughout the 19th century the government applied policies of ‘protection’ that have segregated Aborigines from Australian society by denying them equality and opportunity. They have achieved some significant changes in the brawl for acknowledgment (Anderson, 2014). Certain key developments that are significant in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders struggles for rights and freedoms are ; 1967 referendum, Mabo decision, bringing them home(stolen generations) and the apology. These four main key developments have been momentous developments for the Australian Indigenous population that are now allowed they’re human rights and freedoms.
I am appalled that anyone would want to completely erase someone’s culture. The treatment of Aborigines should be equal to the treatment of the rest of Australian people. As a United States citizen, it is my belief that states, or countries, should be unified and treated as one by a single governing party. The treatment of these people brings back to mind the terror and confusion during the Holocaust. Although not as intense or extreme, it is certainly a similar situation where human beings are denied their personal rights of independence, mere existence, and happiness: “Aboriginal people should have the opportunity of living without any limit on the exercise of their Australian citizenship, and on the equal terms with all other Australians” (Howson, “Land Rights”, quoting minister, Paul Hasluck, on the movement by the Methodist church). Humans desire a sense of belonging and religion is a key factor in the pursuit of happiness. Regardless of what religion or beliefs, people must always have a sense of community which is founded in the nation as a whole.
Reconciliation is the process of building respectful relationships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and the wider Australian community. It is about understanding and respecting their culture and heritage and signifies ‘coming together’ to become one nation without racism and with equality for all. There are still vast differences in health, education, employment, and standards of living of the Indigenous peoples as compared to their non-Indigenous counterparts. Even today Indigenous peoples have a significantly lower life expectancy, up to 11.5 years for men and 9.7 years for women . The infant mortality rate for the Indigenous peoples is double the rate for non-Aboriginal Australians. Understanding these inequalities is the first step to reconciling the differences. Policies such as the stolen generation and assimilation policy destroyed Indigenous identity and culture and justified the dispossession of Indigenous people and the removal of Indigenous children from their parents. We can’t change the past but we can make a better future by understanding and learning from the mistakes of the past, reconciliation is about that. Many practical and symbolic strategies have been implemented over the last 50 years to achieve reconciliation such as ATSIC, Northern Territory Intervention and the Mabo decision. However, the most significant ones are the 1967 Referendum, Closing the Gap framework in 2008 and the ‘Sorry speech’. The aim is to improve the five dimensions of reconciliation: race relations, equality and equity, institutional integrity, unity, and historical acceptance.
Good Afternoon adjudicator, affirmative team and audience. I am the first speaker of the negative team and today we are here to state without doubt that Australia does NOT need a new flag. I will be speaking to you about how the national flag represents Australia and it’s history. My second speaker will be speaking to you about the political reasons. and my third speaker will reaffirm our arguments and leave you without a doubt that Australia does NOT need a new flag. Before I start my arguments, I would like to point out some of the flaws in the affirmative team.
Australia day, the national holiday where the Europeans took the land from the aboriginals and hundreds of deaths took place, what a great thing to celebrate! For years now, aboriginals have protested to change Australia days' date, the 26th of January, because of the true significance behind it. It is commonly suggested that the 1st of January should be Australia day as it is the federation of Australia. The date is not a thing to be celebrated as it is the day where families were killed, homes were stolen and it does not celebrate Australia as a whole, because of this, Australia day must be changed. To Aboriginals, Australia day is known as, 'Day of Mourning' or 'Survival day', as it marks the dispossession, theft, slaughter, disease and death of their people.
Take a short walk across the Pyrmont Bridge and you’ll be in Sydney’s CBD. If you choose not to take the walk, you can take a water taxi, ferry, or the convenient bus service to and fro between Sydney and Pyrmont. This suburb is that close to the capital city. During the 1800s, the suburb was primarily industrial, but today it’s a bustling suburb that is touted to be the most densely populated in Australia.
It is extremely crucial that we all acknowledge the Stolen Generation and the tragic events that took place against the Aboriginal People. The celebration represents our apology for all the crimes that many people caused. Sadly only up until 1997 did we appreciate the original owners of this country. However many people didn’t and still don’t enjoy sharing the country with its original owners. So we should respect the culture and beliefs of the Indigenous People and we hope that we can move forward together as a unified
Brisbane Beautiful one day, excellent the next! That’s one way of describing Queensland and as the capital, it is the capital city of this state one most of wonderful cities. Brisbane is Australia’s second largest state by area. In additional to being the third most population city in Australia, Brisbane is the largest of Australia’s six capital cities by geographic.
Tourism Top End provides a wide range of accommodation options in Darwin Australia. Staying in a luxurious resort or a budget hotel in Darwin is just a click away. This beautiful city has a lot to offer. From the beaches to the national parks, there’s much to explore. If there’s one place in Northern Australia that you must visit, it is Darwin. This location is great for a weekend or a week long holiday. Just book your holiday at Tourism Top End and you can enjoy in and outside your hotel. The 4-star Central Hotel in Darwin is a crowd favourite and as the name suggests is centrally located.
The presents may be put away, the last light on the menorah lit, the familiar sound of the Salvation Army ringers no longer greeting us at stores, the Dōngzhì Festival and Winter Solstice a fond memory (with anticipation for the slow return of longer days), but that does not mean that the holiday season has ended! One of the most magical aspects of the holiday are the twinkling lights and holiday displays that adorn homes, stores, and area attractions and bring out the kid in all of us! And the holiday spirit lasts through the first of the year. It’s going to be cold these next few days, but that’s no reason to stop that holiday spirit, why not bundle up the family and head to these local holiday light displays. From simple to extravagant, these holiday displays are sure to delight, so get out and check these holiday light displays in some of the towns we service!