Andrew Bartlett continues to believe, despite the evidence that -Australian democracy and the generation of public dialogue congruent to democratic principles will of itself deliver some sort of epiphany to white Australians - about Aboriginal people. It’s never going to happen.

The nations' intellectual capacity is still in its early childhood - the anxiety levels about what constitutes Australian identity are much too high. Put them together and hey presto, welcome to Oztraya, a land of deep and meaningful nothingness purporting to be cultural oasis. Puleeze!

Such civilised dialogue about changing one day of the year is much too much to expect of the great unwashed.

Leave the bloody day where it is for another 100 years and maybe, just maybe, this nation will have grown up by then.

rainier "Such civilised dialogue about changing one day of the year is much too much to expect of the great unwashed.

Leave the bloody day where it is for another 100 years and maybe, just maybe, this nation will have grown up by then."

Oh yes the "great unwashed" who get to elect governments.... I love 'em, real people , living real lifes.... I can understand how you would feel alienated from them...

another 100 years... well it took just a couple of hundred years of European colonisation and federation to develop Australia in the face of nothing happening during twenty thousand years of aboriginal occupation.

So if it will take, as you say, another 100 years for the "great unwashed" to mature into adults...

I wonder how many more milleniums it will take for aboriginals to develop to the same adulthood?

“THE BOTTOM LINE IS THAT AUSTRALIA DAY MARKS THE DATE OF WHITE SETTLEMENT AND NOTHING BEFORE THE DATE HAS ANY RELEVANCE TO THE SUBJECT … NO NEED FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION

...

Though some may consider this to be an excellent argument in favour of the current Australia Day date, it is in fact what is known as a pre-emptory statement, “pre-emptory” meaning, according to my law dictionary: “Putting an end to all debate or action. Not allowing contradiction or refusal”.

It is quite a persuasive argument. Who, then, would dare raise the question regarding the other colours of the rainbow that make up our multicultural population, all those “New Australians” who arrived “after the date”?

Perhaps we should complete the above “pre-emptory statement” by not only excluding anybody who arrived before “the date”, but also, anybody who arrived after “the date”.

That way, there would be no doubt whatsoever as to who is Australian and who is not. Australia Day would clearly be established as the sole concern of white Australians. We could even call it “White Australia Day”.

So, any other problem...?

There are many more “pre-emptory statements” available, just waiting to blow to smithereens whatever subject may pop up on this forum. That is the intellectual sport we call “Verbal clay pigeon shooting”. Anyone can have a go.

JUST BECAUSE SOME MINORITY GROUPS DO NOT IDENTIFY WITH AUSTRALIA'S BRITISH HERITAGE DOES NOT MEAN THAT WE SHOULD STOP CELEBRATING THE EVENT WHICH BEGAN THE AUSTRALIAN NATION-BUILDING PROCESS

…

Not only should we preserve our British heritage but the heritage of all our ancestors, whoever they may be and whatever their origins and nationalities. I find it quite regrettable to be taking a half-hearted approach to our cultural heritage. We should be going all out for it with confidence and determination, adopting it with open arms, making it part of our lives and adding our best contribution before carrying it forward for future generations to enjoy and embellish in their turn.

Australia is our heritage. It is our nation. It is not British. It is not Aboriginal. It is not Italian. It is not Greek. It is not Chinese … It is Australian. It is time we recognized that and accepted it, all of it, without the slightest hesitation or discrimination.

The day we accept to become a fully independent nation, is the day Australia will come of age. On that day we should not turn our backs on anybody, irrespective of origin, date of arrival or any other consideration. We all have ancestors and all should be honoured equally.

If those who were not born in Australia wish to retain their own nationality, I can understand that and have absolutely no objection. As long as they contribute something positive to the country and respect the laws of the land, that is fine with me. They can stay as long as they like. It is not necessary to become Australian to fall in love with Australia.

I do not mind how many immigants come here, we are all human beings, but I do draw the line at being made to accept their traditions and do what they want you to do, I have a Japanese daughter in law, I have to bow down to the Japanese traditions, not the Australian, it is my identy that is lost, she will not change, Australia day or Anzac day mean nothing to her, we only have to look at security discrimination at airports, a cap must be removed but a Turban is ok to go through, in my opinion all immigrants if coming here to live must observe the set Australia Day, either unchanged or changed, and accept our way of life, or else return from whence you came. I am very much against accepting their traditions and cannot see why I have to, I am an Australian

While European history is one long list of bloody battles
the Aborigines past is far less warlike. There were about
500 different Aboriginal languages and dialects and as
many tribal groups.

They were nomadic hunters and food gatherers who travelled within
their tribal territory, taking enough food from the land to
survive.

They did not exhaust the natural resources as present day Australians
do.

"...I wonder how many more milleniums it will take for Aboriginals
to develop to the same adulthood?"

My goodness...perhaps the answer to that depends on how they will
be treated by us whitefellas - and what rights we allow them to have?
Afterall in the past they weren't even part of our Census (we counted
sheep - but not Aborigines). And it's only recently that they
won the right to vote. What about land rights? Given, then taken
away... poor wages, no equality of treatment or access to same rights
as the whites --- the list goes on, but hey don't feel bad -after all
we've "babied" them for years, and now expect miracles, and it's
"their" fault?

Today's problems revolve around such things as land ownership,
sharing in economic advancement, better educational opportunities,
provisions of a wider range of choices in employment (along with
the acquisition of skills), and political action.

Above all we need to achieve a greater understanding of Aboriginal life and of the problems that face Aborigines today. Such understanding is needed both by Aborigines and by other Australians.
Steps to counter misunderstanding and intolerance must come
through efforts by the schools and the mass media.