Unity over division

While recognising that some Australians, Australia Day is a day of pain, it can still be celebrated in a reflective frame of mind. Australia Day brings people together to celebrate in different ways, with  community events, recognition of local achievements, and by sharing food, music, and laughter. I cherish the chance to slow down, reconnect with loved ones, and celebrating the unique outdoors, humour, and diverse cultures that define Australia.

Editorial. Australia Day protests show much work to do on civics | The Australian

Have a lamington

Happy Australia Day to my reader. To mark the day, I present the Australian national anthem, Advance Australia Fair, arranged by the late composer, Tommy Tycho (1928-2013)

Not ashamed

Australia Day, Australia's national holiday, is a day of thoughtful reflection, which includes acknowledging the darker parts of the nation's history, but also celebrating the privilege of living in a largely peaceful and prosperous country.

https://www.news.com.au/national/why-im-looking-forward-to-celebrating-australia-day/news-story/a44510229b57ef68c085aa5cdb3ded23

Like a tonne of bricks

The other day, during a television debate on Channel 10's Studio 10 programme, on changing the date of Australia Day, Kerri Anne Kennerley was accused of being racist for mentioning entrenched disadvantage and appalling social problems in many indigenous communities in Australia. Joe Hildebrand, who also regularly appears on Studio 10, cuts through the social media hysteria to show that Kennerley is actually correct. 

Not long after, Hildebrand himself was also attacked for defending Kennerley against the accusations of racism levelled against her. I'm glad to see that he is sticking up for himself. So he should. He studied history at one of the best university history departments in Australia, so his grasp of history should not be questioned. 

At a personal level, it breaks my heart to hear about these problems. On many key indicators, indigenous Australians are disadvantaged compared to non-indigenous Australia. Governments, the education system, the health system, and industry are working to close the gap. 

I write these words with a heavy heart. By all means, let's keep discussing these problems, do what we can to alleviate them, and correct past injustices. It will make Australia a better and more just society. Changing the date of Australia Day will merely be a symbolic gesture, and won't actually tangibly improve the situation. 

https://www.couriermail.com.au/news/joe-hildebrands-take-on-the-australia-day-date-debate/news-story/1bd2fce2810645eadb263e2c1f37314c

Looking like a dill

From the Adelaide Advertiser: 

Sarah Hanson-Young has made an embarrassing blunder claiming Australia Day is celebrated in memory of Captain Cook’s landing at Botany Bay rather than commemorating arrival of the First Fleet.

To make matters worse, the error was contained in a statement to the press lashing Communications Minister Mitch Fifield and his department for not knowing the name of the indigenous nation where the Government was erecting a memorial to Captain James Cook.

“Despite an important national debate about changing the date of Australia Day away from Captain Cook’s landing at Botany Bay, the Government has decided to spend taxpayer money it is stripping from the ABC on yet another monument to Captain Cook on the land of the Dharawal people,” Senator Hanson-Young was quoted as saying in the press release.

“This Government is out of touch with the Australian people — taking money from our most trusted news service which will no doubt lead to further job cuts, and ignoring why our First Australians find the celebration of the arrival of Captain Cook so painful in one fell swoop.”

The Advertiser understands the error was made by a staff member. A press release correcting the mistake was issued about an hour later.

She later said that the error was made by a member of her staff. If this is true, I wonder who was responsible. Is it someone who has gone straight from a cloistered, rarefied private school environment, onto a cloistered, rarefied university, and then to a position as a political staffer?

http://www.news.com.au/national/south-australia/greens-senator-sarah-hansonyoung-makes-bad-australia-day-mistake-in-press-release/news-story/1b3ab9e0bd945dcdf1d20f9ece79f98a





By from the National Maritime Museum, United Kingdom, Public Domain, Link

Colour blindness

Channel 9 News used the New Zealand flag instead of the Australian flag in graphics in a story about Australia Day. It's an honest mistake. It could happen to anybody. It is so easy to confuse them. Both flags are royal blue, and have the Union Jack in the top left hand corner. On the right hand side, the New Zealand flag has four red stars with white borders. The Australian flag has the Southern cross on the right hand side, and underneath the Union Jack is the seven-pointed Commonwealth star, which represents each of Australia's states and territories.

This is gold

Rowan Dean is one of my favourite columnists at the moment.

https://amp.afr.com/opinion/columnists/shock-as-members-of-cultlike-family-escape-from-the-house-20180118-h0ksa2?btis=&__twitter_impression=true

Act your age, not your shoe size

Triple J is moving its Hottest 100 countdown from Australia Day to January 27. The radio station said it moved the countdown in recognition of “increasing debate” surrounding and the day’s meaning for indigenous people. In response, Senator Cory Bernardi, leader of the Australian Conservatives Party, decided to compile his own alternative list of 100 Australian songs on Spotify. The created controversy, when many of the artists on the list demanded they be removed from it.

To paraphrase, "You and your party are against everything I stand for. I refuse to let you use my music for your political purposes," they said.

Bernardi also invited suggestions from Twitter users. Leftist keyboard warriors couldn't resist the opportunity to smear and mock him by suggesting songs like Mummy Doesn't Know You're a Nazi, by Frenzal Rhomb, and Christian songs with titles such as Jesus Use Me, He Touched Me, and Hallelujah, The Lord's Coming Again. Well, tee hee, and chortle. What shining wits these people are. 

Two can play at that game. Here's some of my song suggestions for the other side, some of whom stubbornly cling to socialist ideology, despite ample historical evidence that it doesn't work. 

Dahp Prampi Mesa Moha Chokchey (National anthem of Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge)

The East is Red by Li Youyan

The Internationale (Traditional)

Haste Siempre, Comandante by Carlos Puebla

Onwards Toward the Final Victory by Kim Moon Hyuk and Yoon De Geun

Solidarity Forever (Traditional)
The Stalin Album by the Red Army Choir

State Anthem of the Soviet Union (1944 version) by Alexander Alexandrov 

Here ends today's history lesson. 

Top stuff, mate

To honour our national day, Australia Day, I attended a flag raising and citizenship ceremony held in a park in my local area. In typical Australian fashion, the organisers found a way to be serious and laid back at the same time.

The master of ceremonies felt it necessary to point out to the audience that the brass band who were there to play the national anthem and other patriotic songs had just one rehearsal session. Reading directly from the event program, he listed nominees for various community service awards, but managed to miss a page, and hastily had to correct his mistake.

Ever the pedant, I also also noticed typos in the program, such as the incorrect use of an apostrophe, and upper case characters where a lower case character was needed. He also fumbled his way through as he mispronounced the names of individuals and families who were receiving their Australian citizenship. There also seemed to be a lack of communication between speakers beforehand, because two of them gave a welcome to country to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land, when one would have sufficed.

Nobody in the audience seemed to mind. Some of them were distracted by their smart phones, which they didn't bother to mute or turn off, or carried on talking amongst themselves as speeches were made.

In ninety minutes I was reminded of what I like about living in Australia. We are proud, yet unpretentious. I count myself blessed to live in a country that for the most part is peaceful, safe, and prosperous. I pray that it stays that way.