‘Invasion Day’: Thousands protest against Australia Day holiday

On Friday, thousands of people celebrated Australia’s national holiday by participating in “Invasion Day” demonstrations in support of the Indigenous population, many of whom are against commemorating the day that a British fleet entered Sydney Harbor in 1788.

Australia Day honors the day that the British established New South Wales as a penal colony, bringing convicts and colonists to Sydney, the state capital at the time.

The holiday is often observed with barbecues and beach outings, and it’s a well-liked day for immigrants to become citizens of Australia.

However, a significant portion of Australia’s 26 million Indigenous population—3.8% of whom are Indigenous—reject the celebration, viewing it as the beginning of the injustices that have been inflicted since European colonization.

Thousands of demonstrators, many of whom were holding Indigenous flags, gathered in Sydney’s city center for a “Invasion Day” demonstration before a march that blocked off surrounding streets.

Similar demonstrations were held in the capitals of other states, including Victoria, where Tarneen Onus Browne, the organizer, declared that “we need to make sure we get rid of this date.”

Among the most disadvantaged groups in the nation are Indigenous Australians, who deal with problems like high incarceration rates, inadequate health and educational outcomes, and poor health.

The governing Labor Party, led by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, has ruled out changing the date of Australia Day from January 26.

The day was “our chance to pause and reflect on everything that we have achieved as a nation,” Albanese said at a citizenship ceremony in Canberra on Friday.

In Melbourne, two colonial-era statues were vandalized earlier this week in front of the divisive national holiday.

(With agency inputs)