Thousands of Australians marched through capital cities on January 26, demanding the date of Australia Day be changed and calling for substantive Indigenous rights reforms.
Rallies took place in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, and Canberra, according to the ABC. Protesters marked January 26 as Invasion Day, the anniversary of the First Fleet's arrival in 1788 — a date that represents the beginning of dispossession and violence for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
The marches come as the debate over Australia Day's future intensifies. Multiple local councils have moved their citizenship ceremonies away from January 26, while others have renamed the holiday or held alternative events. The federal government maintains the date won't change, but public opinion continues shifting.
Organizers called for treaty negotiations, constitutional recognition, and addressing ongoing Indigenous disadvantage in health, education, incarceration rates, and life expectancy. Australia remains one of the only Commonwealth nations without a treaty with its Indigenous peoples.
The rallies occurred as Australia grapples with the aftermath of the failed Voice to Parliament referendum in late 2023. That defeat — which rejected a proposal to enshrine an Indigenous advisory body in the constitution — left many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders questioning whether constitutional recognition is achievable through referendum.
"January 26 is not a day of celebration for our people," one Indigenous organizer told the Sydney rally. "It marks the beginning of over two centuries of dispossession, massacres, and policies designed to erase our cultures."
Mate, this isn't new. These rallies have occurred annually for decades. What's changed is the scale and the mainstream conversation. Ten years ago, most Australians didn't know the term "Invasion Day." Now it's part of the national vocabulary — even among those who disagree with the framing.
The political response remains divided along predictable lines. Progressive voices support changing the date or fundamentally reconsidering what January 26 represents. Conservative politicians argue for unity around a fixed national day and accuse protesters of dividing the country.
But the numbers tell a different story. Survey data consistently shows younger Australians — particularly those under 35 — are more likely to support changing the date. Indigenous Australians overwhelmingly want it changed. The demographic trajectory points toward inevitable change, even if political leadership lags public sentiment.
Some cities and institutions have already moved. Fremantle in Western Australia became the first council to stop January 26 celebrations in 2017. Multiple universities and corporations now avoid major events on the date. The Australian National University no longer holds January 26 events.
The question isn't whether the date will eventually change — it's when, and what political process gets us there.
Indigenous leaders have proposed alternatives: January 1 (Federation Day), May 8 (Parliament opening), or various dates connected to the 1967 referendum that recognized Aboriginal people in the census. Others suggest picking an entirely new date through national consultation.
What's missing from much of the debate is substance beyond symbolism. Changing the date matters to Indigenous communities. But it doesn't close the 8-year gap in life expectancy between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. It doesn't reduce incarceration rates or improve educational outcomes. It doesn't deliver treaty or constitutional recognition.
The rallies made that clear. Organizers want the date changed and substantive policy reform. Changing January 26 without addressing systemic disadvantage would be empty symbolism.
Australia spent two centuries pretending this conflict didn't exist. We're now in an era where thousands march annually to remind the country that it does. The question is whether political leadership will catch up to where much of the public — and particularly young Australians — already is.
There's a whole continent down here wrestling with how to acknowledge its history honestly while moving forward together. That's not an easy conversation. But it's a necessary one.
