From the Desk of Roland Rocchiccioli – January 24, 2019

The Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, said: “We are not going to cop people undermining Australia Day. It’s for all Australians.”

IT is a bold statement of claim which requires a degree of measured reflection. Australians have never been asked their opinion on that dubious claim. I am a child of the 50s. I have no recollection of celebrating Australia Day. I recall Arbour Day, Anzac Day, The Queen’s birthday, Empire Day (vaguely), and Foundation Day (Mrs. Dance cut down a tree) in Perth, but absolutely not Australia Day. For better or worse, it has come into vogue in the last 25 years.

I believe fervently in national symbols. The Crown is the cradle of our democracy. I come to attention for the playing of the National Anthem. I observe two minutes silence for the fallen dead. I have a deep respect for the law of the land, and offer willing deference to those institutions which govern and afford me my treasured freedom, allowing me to live my life fully, and without let or hindrance; however, I find myself grappling with a serious dilemma of conscience when forced to celebrate Australia Day on 26 January.

I disagree with former Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s assessment. He argues, spuriously and disingenuously I would contend, the arrival of the First Fleet, 1788, was a settlement party, and not an invasion. Anyone who has read Australian history at the most basic level knows the truth. The British defeat at the American War of Independence (1775-83) deprived them of a dumping-ground for their criminal class. The gaols, and the holding hulks moored in the Thames, were filled to bursting. With no legal right, and an urgent need for a solution, they set sail for New Holland. Citing terra nullius, they claimed the Eastern Coast (New South Wales) in the name of His Britannic Majesty, King George III. It marked the dropping of a curtain on the history of the Indigenous people, whose rightful claim to this land goes back some 60-70,000 years. In Arnhem Land I saw rock paintings of 30,000-years, predating the ancient Egyptians by about 25,000-years.

I grew-up in the north-eastern goldfields of Western Australia, in the land of the Wongi people. It was illegal to have a full-blood Aborigine inside the house. I do not accept collective guilt, but the Northern Territory, Queensland, and Western Australian, have every reason to be ashamed of their reprehensible treatment of the Indigenous people.

Since 1788, we have dispossessed, disenfranchised, ostracised, and shot and murdered the Indigenous Australians; attempted to poison, deprived, enslaved, flirted with their genocide and stolen their children; neglected, starved, and bowed their backs with the yoke of slavery; subjected them to fervent and dangerous Christian proselytization, excessive legal process, draconian legislation, and unwarranted incarceration; plundered their land and razed their sacred sites; denied their existence, obliterated their history (Captain Cook did not discover Australia); shattered their families and tribal way-of-life, sent them to the brink of despair with flagrant apartheid, and abandoned them without even passable help and care. We have repeatedly, intentionally, and callously, deprived the Indigenous people of the most basic of human rights. In a time of war those actions could be deemed crimes against humanity.

On reflection, are we genuinely surprised – even miffed – that many of our Indigenous population object to celebrating on 26 January – a date which has wrought them 231-years of lasting pain and misery?

It is a misnomer to claim we are a multicultural society. We are multiethnic, and there is a discernible linguistic and applied distinction. The question is: What is the difference between multiethnic and multicultural? Primarily, ethnicity refers to group identity, arising from a common history, kinship, and language. Culture refers to the way and manner in which members of a particular ethnic group relate to their environment, to each other, and the ethos of country they choose to call home.

When immigrants become Australian citizens they swear an oath: ‘From this time forward, under God, I pledge my loyalty to Australia and its People, whose democratic beliefs I share, whose rights and liberties I respect, and whose laws I will uphold and obey’. (‘Under God’ is optional).

Those words characterise Australia’s culture, and with the swearing of the oath their culture is now defined, with all its implications and advantages. As a direct consequence of their naturalisation, their culture is now at one with that of their adopted land; however, what has not changed is their ethnicity. That is defined by the land of their birth. The difference is simple but irrefutably specific. In short, we are not multicultural. That is divisive and counter-productive. We are a multiethnic nation, and not always proudly as demonstrated by the recent St Kilda beach racist confrontation.

For those implacable supporters of 26 January, I wonder how many of you know the words to the second stanza of Advance Australia Fair? You don’t? Shame on you. You ought!

Roland can be contacted at [email protected] and heard every Monday morning – 10.30 – on radio 3BA.