Profits, not social justice, appear to be why the big grocers are dropping support for Australia Day. But creating a distraction when they’re being criticised for high prices is also possible.
This week, Politics with Michelle Grattan features independent MP Kate Chaney. They discuss climate change, integrity, the economy, challenges of the job and more
January 26 brings debate about whether the day of invasion should be celebrated. People seem to ignore it was just the beginning of the oppression of Indigenous peoples.
Scott Morrison emphasised national unity in his Australia Day address last year, but this is not the message that everyone wants to hear.
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New research shows how prime ministers typically frame national identity on Australia day: it’s largely male, heterosexual, white and lacking class distinctions.
It may be that the fortnight or so surrounding Australia Day is evolving into an annual season in which some of the deepest paradoxes of Australian identity play out in public.
AAP/Glenn Campbell
As it becomes ever more entangled in battles over the meaning of our history, Australia Day will find it difficult to foster common belonging and social cohesion.
Indigenous peoples’ claims to substantive political voice transcend the symbolic.
AAP/Joel Carrett
Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences, Auckland University of Technology, and Professor of Political Science, Charles Sturt University