Invasion Day rallies call for real recognition

Over the past five or so years, Invasion Day rallies across the country have grown to a point where, in some cities, the attendance numbers far outstrip the numbers seen at official Australia Day gatherings. NTEU has for many years supported the right to assert sovereignty and the right to self-determination for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander members and community and thus has proudly supported the Invasion Day rallies. Many of our members were seen in the numbers across the country which in some areas exceeded 50,000 people. Yet year after year, the mainstream media and conservative politicians ensure the public remain misinformed about Invasion Day and what its aims are. Think-pieces detailing alleged pushes to 'Change the Date', even though most rally organisers around the country actively reject that idea in preference for real recognition of sovereignty and land rights, dominate the papers. Politicians additionally bend over backwards to reinforce nationalism and it’s important to note that in 2020, this has reached a new farcical level – the Morrison Government is spending several million dollars to send a replica Endeavour around Australia undertaking a circumnavigation which never happened in honour of the 250th anniversary of James Cook’s landing on the eastern seaboard. Yet it must be noted that far from a call to 'Change the Date', Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have been protesting on 26/1 since 1938 – more than 50 years before Australia Day became a gazetted public holiday. What started with the Day of Mourning action has gone through a number of iterations over the years – including the 1988 Convergence, Survival Day events and of course the protests. Regardless of the label, the message that we have survived and we’re going nowhere resonates strongly. Australia has a long way to go before it reconciles with its own past and recognises the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Even in our learned institutions, racism and erasure are still a normal experience for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workers, as the NTEU’s I’m still not a racist, but… report details. Western supremacy dictates which knowledges, life experiences and teaching styles are deemed valid and which are secondary. was terra nullius 250 years ago still very much permeates not only our institutions but also the national psyche. Last year at NTEU National Council, a motion was passed for the repatriation of artefacts and remains, access to our knowledges so often stored wrongfully under white lock and key, and for the proper respect to be shown to traditional owner groups as these knowledge holders. Recognition of knowledge, recognition of land and recognition of sovereignty is key to the struggle fought not just on Invasion Day but every day of the year. When we see the numbers of supporters growing, we cannot help but think that perhaps the tide is turning and more people are interested in knowing the true history of this land and rectifying the wrongs. 250 years is a long time to be ignoring the obvious. Until this shifts, we can expect Invasion Day protests to continue. ◆

Celeste Liddle, National A&TSI Organiser Image: Celeste Liddle (right) at the Melbourne Invasion Day rally, 26 Jan 2020. Brendan Bonsack

A key part of combatting this ignorance is education and the valuing of these knowledge systems, as Cook’s idea that this land