"We should change the date of Australia Day, as it doesn't truly celebrate all Australians"

The opposition has made a valid point, however they have neglected that due to the arrival of the first fleet, it caused the displacement of thousands of Aborigines who were forced from their traditional lands by the white settlers to the outskirts of society. The white settlers separated themselves from the indigenous by taking over their lands and forcing them out which shows the division they created in the nation. Australia day is celebrated annually on the 26th of January to mark the first fleet arriving at Australia and beginning its development to create the Australia we live in today. However I strongly believe that we should change the date of Australia day because it doesn't truly celebrate all Australians as it neglects the reality of what the Aboriginals experienced when the Europeans arrived and took over Australia. To begin with, Australia day marks the settlement and arrival of supposedly the first people to have founded Australia, however this is inaccurate because Australia was already inhabited by its native people who were the Aborigines. The Aboriginal people that arrived approximately 50,000 years ago after travelling through Asia and discovering the land. (Trishans Oz n.d., Aborigines - The First Australians, N.a., accessed 17 May 2016, <http://panique.com.au......;) It was the Aboriginal people who were the true discoverers of our nation and yet there is no commemoration or recognition of them being the first settlers of Australia today. Aboriginals were also not given equal rights as the white settlers and even though it"s illegal to kill Aborigines, they were victims of many massacres. The Aborigines were denied effective legal action and so the massacres they experienced from the Europeans, resulted in no action being taken because the Aborigines could not provide evidence in court/give their word as they could not swear by the Bible (different beliefs) and so they could not be trialed or give evidence, and massacres were often denied because people did not trust the Aboriginals and many supported their own which were the white settlers. (Carrodus, G., Delany, T. and Howitt, B. (2012) Oxford big ideas history 9 Australian curriculum student book + Obk/as MULTI. Australia: OUP Australia and New Zealand) Today, some Aboriginals struggle with equality because of the colour of their skin as white Aboriginals are more accepted in society, whereas Aboriginals with black skin still struggle to be treated the same as white people. (Aboriginal Rights n.d., N.a., accessed 19 May 2016, <http://www.convictcreations.com......;) In many places in Australia such as Darwin, Aborigines live in great poverty and live through an immense amount of struggle and lack of support as many don"t receive or aren"t provided with the education many Australian"s receive today because their society is underprivileged and can"t afford to send many of their children or members to schools or education facilities. Australia day doesn't recognise Aboriginals as the first inhabitants of this land, and divides us as people who are Indigenous and non-Indigenous because it is a day when people celebrate the white settlers discovering Australia, but when the Aborigines are neglected and they still struggle today with poverty so they aren't provided with the resources many Australian"s receive today.