Henry Pike (Bowman, Liberal National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

At the heart of this bill is a simple principle: that Australia's national day belongs to the Australian people, not Australian governments.

Australia Day is a date of such monumental national significance, and means so much to so many, that it should never be able to be cancelled or changed at the whim of the Government of the day.

This bill seeks to ensure that no politician, no political party and no special interest group can change our national day, without the approval of the majority of Australians voting in a national plebiscite.

Story

Australia Day, of course, is recognised as a public holiday on 26 January in all of our States and Territories.

Although it has never been officially so designated by this parliament, Australia Day is widely regarded by Australians as their 'national day'.

It is a day that marks the arrival of the First Fleet at Port Jackson in 1788.

26 January 1788 was the day when the course of this continent's history changed forever.

Records of celebrations on 26 January date back to 1808, with New South Wales becoming the first jurisdiction to officially gazette the date as a public holiday in 1818.

In fact, Australia Day is the oldest of Australia's national symbols.

The celebration of January 26 was well established as a tradition nearly a century before the existence of the national flag or the landing at Gallipoli.

For many Australians, Australia Day is a time to reflect on the nation's history, and to celebrate its achievements and progress.

It provides an opportunity to come together as a community, to celebrate what it means to be Australian and to recognise all those who contribute to our great nation.

The day is also a time for Australians to embrace the cultural diversity that makes our country unique and to welcome new Australian citizens in ceremonies across the nation.

Indeed, 26 January was the day that this parliament chose to set as the date on which the Nationality and Citizenship Act 1948 came into effect.

So it was Australia Day 1949 when Australian citizenship was born.

Debate

Of course, there's been debate about the appropriateness of 26 January as a national day.

Every January we see the same arguments put forward from those who feel we should only mourn our history.

Nobody can deny that our nation's history is full of tragedy.

26 January would have been a day of great shock and concern to the Eora people.

26 January would have also been another day of great misery and heartache to the nearly 1,400 aboard the First Fleet.

But out of that inauspicious start—and out of the countless human tragedies that followed—we have somehow, against the odds, created the greatest nation on earth.

And that is something to celebrate.

I contend that we are mature enough as a nation to both celebrate and commemorate on our national day.

We do not have to cancel our history to move forward as a nation.

In fact, nothing would be more damaging to our future national identity than attempting to discredit or put shade upon our nation's past.

The story of the First Fleet is one of the greatest stories of human endurance that history has ever seen.

As is the story of Bennelong.

As is the story of Pemulwuy's resistance to colonisation.

A forward-looking modern Australia should be free to learn the lessons from all these early chapters in our national history.

Let's continue to celebrate where we've come from and let's continue to celebrate where we are going.

Specifics

This bill will enshrine Australia's national day in federal law.

To achieve this, this bill utilises the same provisions used to enshrine ANZAC Day as a 'National Day of Commemoration' through the ANZAC Day Act 1983.

This would mean that the date of Australia Day would be formally established as 26 January in federal law.

This legislative protection ensures that Australia Day must remain as a national day and cannot be abolished by the actions of this or any future government.

While we can't guarantee that a future parliament wouldn't repeal this protection, it would be a brave government indeed who tried to pass a law to repeal the celebration of our national day.

The remainder of the bill provides an avenue through which the date of Australia Day could be changed in the future.

This process would be the same prescribed in the Flags Act 1953 for changing the design of Australia's national flag, namely through a national plebiscite.

How a national plebiscite on Australia Day would be formed and conducted would be at the discretion of the parliament, just as we have recently debated the way in which we will be conducting the upcoming referendum.

However, the bill provides that any alternative proposals must include 26 January as an option that can be selected by voters in any future plebiscite.

All those qualified to vote in federal elections would be qualified to vote on any proposal for an alternative date for Australia's national day.

These subsections are a reflection of the same protections for Australia's national flag that are contained within the Flags Act 1953.

These protections were instituted through an amendment to the Flags Act back in 1998 by the Howard government.

I went back and looked at the Hansard to see how the then Labor opposition reacted to these amendments.

In 1998 the Labor Party supported the introduction of these protections—although I note that many of the Labor speakers spoke about their desire to change our flag while supporting these amendments.

Fast forward a quarter of a century—our national flag still flies unchanged above this building and in this chamber.

I contend that the protections in the Flags Act have contributed to this outcome.

Many parliamentarians have come to this place, and achieved high office, while harbouring a desire to change our national flag, but these ambitions have been thwarted by the knowledge that changing the flag would require the endorsement of the people.

While it might be relatively easy to achieve a majority of the cabinet or a majority of your fellow travellers in a caucus room, it is an exponentially greater challenge to achieve a majority of the Australian people.

The Labor Party of the 1990s, of which the now Prime Minister was then a new member, acknowledged that it was entirely appropriate for the Australian people to be the arbiters of what should be our national flag then and into the future.

I challenge them to adapt that same principle to legislate that it must be the Australian people who are the arbiters of our national day.

It shouldn't be a radical principle that Australians should be asked to decide on areas central to our national identity.

In fact, it was through a national plebiscite that Australians made the decision to change our national anthem back in 1977.

If it is good enough for the Australian people to have ownership over their own anthem and their own flag, why shouldn't the same principle be held for ownership of our national day?

Sadly, I can foresee a time when a federal government may bow to pressure groups on this issue.

I can anticipate political leaders putting their own ideological preoccupations above the overwhelming opinion of Australian citizens.

I predict this because I've seen this pattern repeated across so many aspects of public policy.

I now simply come to expect that vocal minorities in the commentariat will win the argument against the silent majority of Australians.

Every year we get the same old debate, but public opinion remains steadfastly in favour of maintaining our national day on 26 January.

This has been demonstrated by too many opinion polls to outline here today.

I hold that this bill can help put this perennial debate to bed and let the national conversation move on to celebrate what Australia has achieved, reflecting on the lessons of the past and determine how we are going to reach our fullest potential.

By setting the bar high to change our national day, we can turn the temperature down on the perennial chorus who think the louder they shout the more likely they will be listened to.

This morning I present this bill as a challenge to the Prime Minister and his government.

If they are serious about their commitment to keeping Australia Day on 26 January—they should support this bill.

If they harbour a desire to change our national day without a mandate from the people at some point in the future, they should leave this bill off future programs.

I challenge the government to put this on the program. Let's have this debate.

It's a debate being had outside of this chamber. Why not inside it as well?

In closing, I say to my colleagues in this parliament—let us recognise Australia Day through this bill and delegate its future to the Australian people.

I'm asking members to trust the Australian people.

Trust them to get the call right, both now and into the future.

Let's entrust Australia Day to the Australian people.

See this speech in context