On the 25 January, 2018, the day before Australia's national day of celebration Russell Crowe wrote on his official Twitter site... 'I am going to say Happy Australia Day , on a different date. Take away the contention , let's have a date we can all embrace. We should be sensitive enough to recognise all those who have lived in this land before us , if you live here , you belong to them , and they to you.'
One of the reasons I love writing my blog is that I always find so many interesting things to research and write about. And this topic is definitely one of those. Two days on from when the tweet was first posted the responses keep coming. Well over 600 responses from fans, Australians (both indigenous and non-indigenous) and foreigners who have weighed into the discussion. And what a discussion this has been for Twitter and social media.
There were the loyal Russell Crowe fans from overseas (and Australia) who agreed with Russell again, over something that didn't affect them or their family and they had no trouble criticising Australia and telling Australians what to do. Most of these fans from overseas don't have a clue about Australia's history, have never been to Australia and nor have they ever met an Australian or an indigenous Australian yet they weighed in.
There were those who responded and told Russell 'politely' that he was a Kiwi who has never taken citizenship and voted and that he should mind his own business and keep his opinions to himself. There were many of those who wrote and I agree with that there is no 'we' as long Russell doesn't do his time and take his citizenship and vote. He doesn't have the right to speak for me as an Australian and what we should do about anything in this country even though he lives here beyond the scope of his own family and investments. I was initially peeved at his comments and for taking yet another dig at Australians and Australia the country he says he calls home.
There was also a really interesting educational and informative discussion by many Australians about the history of colonisation in Australia and the possibility of changing Australia Day to another date. Of course I wouldn't take anything I read in a Twitter or a social media timeline as the absolute truth and would check the comments made against reliable sources, but I was heartened by the informative, non abusive and non name calling discussion in order to attempt to resolve this issue.
The traditional media also caught on about Russell's comments who use Twitter and social media as a source of 'news'. At the time of writing this post there were stories on Yahoo and from the Daily Mail in the United Kingdom. These articles describe how there are a number of Australian celebrities joining the 'Change the date' cause. These 'news' stories were supplement with screen shots of tweets and beautiful pictures of flag waving Australians.
I am sure Russell Crowe (as are a number of celebrities) are fully aware of the power of their Twitter and social media accounts to created publicity for any cause. Like a range of social media has the power to make most participants whether they are a celebrity or not feel better about themselves without having to do anything substantial. For Russell there is the extra advantage of using Twitter to take a dig at Australia and Australians with his 'loyal' followers trolling them and dividing Australians themselves.
Russell posted the tweet on his official Twitter account on the 25 January or Australia Day eve to 'take away contention'. What many of his loyal supporters on Twitter didn't realise that his post supporting the call to change the date posted on the 25 January is the official beginning of the Australia Day celebrations especially in the nation's capital Canberra when the Australian of the Year awards are announced.
Australia Day celebrations in past were held on the 25 January or the 26 January depending on what day of the week it was. When I lived in Canberra ordinary Australians like me would wonder up to the old Parliament and watch the presentation of Australian of the Year and participate in various activities including a concert and fireworks.
However, with each change of government the day and celebrations for Australia Day change. This year The Australian of the Year awards and Australia Day celebrations for the Australian elite in Canberra were held on the 25 January at the Big Hall in Parliament House. I am not sure what kind of a presentation it was but I am assuming it was an invited sit down dinner only. Ordinary Australians, residents and visitors were left with a family friendly barbecue, flag raising, citizenship ceremonies and some fireworks and a concert in the park now on the actual day. So I can't imagine it being a big deal to change the date.
Many of Russell's followers do not understand Australian history as many Australians don't but still they actively defended him. Many failed to remember Russell owns half of the Australian rugby league team the South Sydney Rabbitohs . Unlike the National Rugby League site the South Sydney Rabbitohs did not write an official happy Australia Day post to it's members and supporters on Twitter. The South Sydney Rabbitohs supports indigenous Australia players and has a long and complex history with the indigenous Australian community and the local Sydney suburb of Redfern where the organisation is located.
In a recent article on ABC News gave an overview of the Invasion Day protests around Australia and those in Sydney... 'This year Sydney protests marked the 80 th anniversary of the Day of Mourning where thousands of protesters walked through the streets of Redfern wanting a treaty between Indigenous Australians and the Government... Australia is the only country that does not have a treaty with its Indigenous population...A twin Australia Day protest was held at The Block in Redfern, with more than 3,000 people spilling out of the park and joining the walk to the Yabun Festival held at Victoria Park.'
To his credit Russell has always had an interest in indigenous Australian culture and history. Last year he visited remote indigenous communities throughout central Australia and Western Australia with friends. Although a private unannounced visit he did attract the attention of the local media who published some photographs and stories (Iannella, 2017). Russell also posted some photos and videos on his official Twitter. When the political party the Greens who support the 'Change of Date' campaign were asked about their experience in remote indigenous Australian communities many of their elected politicians would not say what their experiences were or when they last went to a remote indigenous Australian community (Higgins, 2018). So credit to Russell.
In a poll taken by the morning television show Sunrise on Facebook 74 % of people who voted did not want the date of Australia Day changed. Prior to writing this blog post I would have been in that camp. After some research and a bit of resistance I believe Australia should begin discussions to change the date.
King (2018) provides a brief but excellent overview of the history of the colonisation of Australia. The writer states something I didn't know 'It's a misnomer anyway calling January 26 Australia day because that is historically inaccurate. The 26th was not arrival of anyway, they arrived in Botany Bay on 18th January...On January 26 Phillip established a penal colony not a nation...'
This Australian now believes we should celebrate Australia Day on January 1 when the nation of Australia was actually created. King (2018) continues 'January 1, 1901 was all about nation building - not British naval officers just founding one penal colony - but Australians creating their own nation.'
And so the debate and push around changing the date of Australia Day continues in particular by some political parties within Australia. However, there are those non indigenous and indigenous Australians that argue this takes away from more important issues that concern indigenous Australians like housing, health and shorter life expectancies, justice, domestic violence, child neglect, education and employment. Governments had discussed closing the gap between indigenous and non indigenous Australians for years and this should be a priority. I agree.
References
ABC News, 2018. 'Invasion Day marked by thousands of protesters calling for equal rights, change of date' published on ABC News on 26 January, 2018 at abc.net.au.
Canberra Times, 2018, 'Greens may be off the mark with Australia Day push' published in The Canberra Times on 15 January, 2018 at canberratimes.com.
Higgins, E. 2018, 'Greens’ focus is not on Aborigines, says Sue Gordon' published in The Australian on 20 January, 2018 at the australian.com.au.
Iannella, A. 2017. 'Russell Crowe visited the APY Lands, and Tjala Arts Centre in the Amata community' published in The Advertiser on 3 May, 2017 on news.com.au.
King, J. 2018. 'Australia Day: Why our destiny requires another date to celebrate' published in The Sydney Morning Herald on the 21 January, 2108 at amp.smh.com.au.
Sunrise Official Twitter Account, 'Should we change the date of Australia Day Facebook Poll' published on 24 January, 2018.
Weekend Australian, 2018. 'Greens get good telling off from indigenous leaders' published in the Weekend Australia, on 23 January, 2018 at theaustralian.com.au.
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