The Labor Party Is About To Consider Changing The Date Of Australia Day

The NSW branch of the Labor Party will soon debate a motion to support changing the date of Australia Day from January 26. The proposal will go to a vote at the NSW Labor Conference on July 29-30, and has the support of the party’s Left faction, including federal MP Linda Burney, who has voiced her support for a change of date in past.

The wording of the motion, seen by Junkee, is “that NSW Labor commit to changing the date on which Australia Day is celebrated”. The proposal is included in the Indigenous policy chapter of the conference, and was introduced by the party’s Wagga Wagga branch.  

A senior member of Labor Left confirmed that the faction will be supporting the motion. Junkee understands that the Labor Right faction is not currently supporting the motion, and intends to note it instead, which is basically a fancy way of putting it in the too hard basket.

The motion requires a simple majority to pass, but is unlikely to do so without the support of Labor Right. If the motion did pass, it would bind NSW Labor to investigate alternative dates for Australia Day.

While a single state can change the date of the public holiday, the motion would most likely also need to be debated at the national Labor conference in order to achieve consistent, nationwide support. Any motion on changing the date would also need to be passed by state parliaments in order to come into effect, though Labor’s support would significantly increase such motions’ chances of passing.

Although the wording of the motion does not specify the reasoning behind a change of date, the #ChangeTheDate campaign is founded on respect for and solidarity with Australia’s Indigenous people.

Indigenous people have been pointing out for many years that January 26 marks the date that white settlers’ invasion of Indigenous lands began, and that it is inappropriate to hold a national day of celebration on an anniversary of violence, dispossession and genocide.

Indigenous Labor MP Linda Burney has previously spoken out about Australia Day being “a painful day” for many Aboriginal people, and slammed those opposed to changing the date as showing “a complete lack of empathy”. A spokesperson for Burney confirmed to Junkee that she will be supporting the motion at conference.

Junkee understands that Labor Left is currently attempting to secure the Right’s support for the motion before the conference begins in two weeks. It is unclear whether the Right will be persuaded, though in recent weeks other traditionally conservative groups, such as the National General Assembly of Local Government, have passed resolutions in support of a date change.