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| Australia Day 'a date of mourning' and needs change, NT chief minister says | Australia Day 'a date of mourning' and needs change, NT chief minister says |
| (5 months later) | |
| Michael Gunner also proposes annual day of commemoration for frontier wars and reveals his government’s plans to elevate use of Indigenous place names | |
| Joshua Robertson | |
| Sun 27 Aug 2017 05.38 BST | |
| Last modified on Sun 27 Aug 2017 05.49 BST | |
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| The Northern Territory chief minister has called for changes to Australia Day celebrations to highlight “the Aboriginal contribution to our national identity” and acknowledge the lasting trauma of Indigenous dispossession. | The Northern Territory chief minister has called for changes to Australia Day celebrations to highlight “the Aboriginal contribution to our national identity” and acknowledge the lasting trauma of Indigenous dispossession. |
| Michael Gunner said the Territory Labor government would also move to elevate the use of Indigenous place names and official recognition of frontier atrocities committed against Aboriginal Australians. | Michael Gunner said the Territory Labor government would also move to elevate the use of Indigenous place names and official recognition of frontier atrocities committed against Aboriginal Australians. |
| Gunner said while 26 January marked the beginning of the modern nation in 1788 and the “good and bad of the coexistence of the First Australians and new Australians”, it was clear it was “a date of mourning” for many Australians. | Gunner said while 26 January marked the beginning of the modern nation in 1788 and the “good and bad of the coexistence of the First Australians and new Australians”, it was clear it was “a date of mourning” for many Australians. |
| The NT leader, who is also the president of the Australia Day Council, said he had urged the council “to explore new ways forward” to “meaningfully acknowledge the entire story of our nation”. | The NT leader, who is also the president of the Australia Day Council, said he had urged the council “to explore new ways forward” to “meaningfully acknowledge the entire story of our nation”. |
| “This means more than acknowledgement of country and a smoking ceremony,” Gunner said in a speech in the town of Jabiru to mark his Labor government’s one-year anniversary. | “This means more than acknowledgement of country and a smoking ceremony,” Gunner said in a speech in the town of Jabiru to mark his Labor government’s one-year anniversary. |
| “It means a genuine celebration of the Aboriginal contribution to our national identity … and acknowledgement of the frontier trauma passed from generation to generation and still killing people today in the guise of grog, suicide and sickness.” | “It means a genuine celebration of the Aboriginal contribution to our national identity … and acknowledgement of the frontier trauma passed from generation to generation and still killing people today in the guise of grog, suicide and sickness.” |
| Gunner said the NT, where a third of people were Indigenous and half of the land mass was “Aboriginal under Australian law”, “should and will lead how we best celebrate Australia Day together”. | Gunner said the NT, where a third of people were Indigenous and half of the land mass was “Aboriginal under Australian law”, “should and will lead how we best celebrate Australia Day together”. |
| He did not mention the issue of changing the date – a recent flashpoint of conflict between the federal government and some councils in Melbourne – but said he was “open to all conversations” in striving to “hit a balance between commemoration and respectful celebration”. | He did not mention the issue of changing the date – a recent flashpoint of conflict between the federal government and some councils in Melbourne – but said he was “open to all conversations” in striving to “hit a balance between commemoration and respectful celebration”. |
| Gunner also flagged a move to have more Indigenous place names in the NT to “elevate Aboriginal identity, language and history into the everyday”. | Gunner also flagged a move to have more Indigenous place names in the NT to “elevate Aboriginal identity, language and history into the everyday”. |
| “This is about historical accuracy as much as it is about respect. Uluru was Uluru many generations before it was Ayers Rock,” he said. | “This is about historical accuracy as much as it is about respect. Uluru was Uluru many generations before it was Ayers Rock,” he said. |
| Gunner said he wondered how many Australians knew that the NT capital of Darwin was known as Garramilla to its traditional owners, the Larrakia people. | Gunner said he wondered how many Australians knew that the NT capital of Darwin was known as Garramilla to its traditional owners, the Larrakia people. |
| Citing high-profile overseas commemorations of Gallipoli and Pearl Harbour, Gunner said the NT government had begun consulting on “how we can acknowledge the historical injustices in our own backyard better”. | Citing high-profile overseas commemorations of Gallipoli and Pearl Harbour, Gunner said the NT government had begun consulting on “how we can acknowledge the historical injustices in our own backyard better”. |
| “This could mean markers or monuments so people know what happened, where it happened, and when it happened,” he said. | “This could mean markers or monuments so people know what happened, where it happened, and when it happened,” he said. |
| “Aboriginal men, women and children died for their country … for their families … for their way of life … and they will be remembered.” | “Aboriginal men, women and children died for their country … for their families … for their way of life … and they will be remembered.” |
| Gunner said he supported “the idea of an ongoing annual day of observance for the horrors meted out at the frontier” and a national schools curriculum that taught “the displacement, the trauma, disease and the massacres” inflicted on Indigenous people. | Gunner said he supported “the idea of an ongoing annual day of observance for the horrors meted out at the frontier” and a national schools curriculum that taught “the displacement, the trauma, disease and the massacres” inflicted on Indigenous people. |
| He also pledged the government’s commitment to the ongoing survival of the town of Jabiru, which had faced closure from 2012 with the winding down of Rio Tinto subsidiary ERA’s uranium mining operations. | He also pledged the government’s commitment to the ongoing survival of the town of Jabiru, which had faced closure from 2012 with the winding down of Rio Tinto subsidiary ERA’s uranium mining operations. |
| Gunner said he supported the “repurposing” of Jabiru, which lies in in “the heart Kakadu national park”, from “tired mining town to a services and tourism hub”. | Gunner said he supported the “repurposing” of Jabiru, which lies in in “the heart Kakadu national park”, from “tired mining town to a services and tourism hub”. |
| It could be both an education and health services hub for west Arnhem people and “where visitors come from all over the world to learn about this special place through the eyes of its ancient people”, he said. | It could be both an education and health services hub for west Arnhem people and “where visitors come from all over the world to learn about this special place through the eyes of its ancient people”, he said. |
| Gunner’s remarks about Australia Day follow the Turnbull government’s attacks on local councils in Melbourne that scrapped Australia Day citizenship ceremonies in line with a campaign to change the date from what some call “Invasion Day”. | Gunner’s remarks about Australia Day follow the Turnbull government’s attacks on local councils in Melbourne that scrapped Australia Day citizenship ceremonies in line with a campaign to change the date from what some call “Invasion Day”. |
| The Turnbull government responded by stripping Yarra and Darebin councils of their citizenship ceremony powers. | The Turnbull government responded by stripping Yarra and Darebin councils of their citizenship ceremony powers. |
| Gunner said Australia Day “should be about unity, not division, and for the health and harmony of our nation, Australia Day must evolve”. | Gunner said Australia Day “should be about unity, not division, and for the health and harmony of our nation, Australia Day must evolve”. |
| “January 26, 1788, marked the beginning of our modern nation … the beginning, good and bad, of the coexistence of the First Australians and the new Australians,” he said. | “January 26, 1788, marked the beginning of our modern nation … the beginning, good and bad, of the coexistence of the First Australians and the new Australians,” he said. |
| “This is our history and it is important. | “This is our history and it is important. |
| “The arrival of Arthur Phillip at Sydney Cove also marked the landfall of the disease and dispossession – and for many Australians, it is a date of mourning. | “The arrival of Arthur Phillip at Sydney Cove also marked the landfall of the disease and dispossession – and for many Australians, it is a date of mourning. |
| “The Northern Territory is alive to this more than anywhere in Australia. It is clear in my own caucus, which has five Aboriginal Australians. It is clear when I travel around the Territory. | “The Northern Territory is alive to this more than anywhere in Australia. It is clear in my own caucus, which has five Aboriginal Australians. It is clear when I travel around the Territory. |
| “I want to stand with my colleagues and friends and acknowledge everything our forebears have contributed and struggled against to get us where we are, be it over four generations, or a thousand generations.” | “I want to stand with my colleagues and friends and acknowledge everything our forebears have contributed and struggled against to get us where we are, be it over four generations, or a thousand generations.” |
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