Australia news live: Invasion Day rallies under way in central states as Melbourne crowd divided on voice referendum

Melbourne Invasion Day rally crowd undecided on voice referendum

In the crowd people are undecided if they will support a voice.

There’s some confusion on what it actually is, others are mad it’s not treaty first and many people just can’t answer.

One participant in the rally, who can’t be named because they work for the government, says they want treaty but would vote for the voice – if they understood what it would mean for the community.

They say:

Often the government comes out with these wise ideas, they don’t translate into a way [so we] can see the benefit.

They present it in a westernised manner. They can’t say what it’s going to do for the community in the future.

People participate in the Invasion Day rally in Melbourne. Photograph: Diego Fedele/AAP

Another demonstrator says they support treaty before voice but will wait to hear from Indigenous leaders like Senator Lidia Thorpe to decide their vote.

They say:

I absolutely support treaty before the voice because I think blak sovereignty is crucial to blak liberation.

I’ll most likely vote yes but I’ll see what our First Nations people have to say on it.

Updated at 22.01 EST

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Tory Shepherd

Adelaide protesters advocate for the voice

In Adelaide, the crowd gathered in the sun in Tarntanyangga/Victoria Square, then marched through the main street and back to the square, chanting “always was, always will be, Aboriginal land”.

Adults carried placards about genocide and incarceration, while kids waved Aboriginal flags and dogs trotted here and there, led by the Black Death motorcycle club,

The banner leading the rally read “treaty before voice”, but while everyone could agree on “always was, always will be, Aboriginal land, the treaty before voice idea split them.

Many protestors didn’t want to talk about the division, not on the record anyway. Those who did were universally in favour of the voice referendum going ahead.

Here’s what Stephen Meredith said:

I think there is so much momentum for a voice we should go for that. Once they’ve got a voice, it will be easier to get a treaty

Kim Cheater expressed a similar sentiment, detailing the lengthy process that led to the Uluru statement from the heart:

Don’t let the perfect get in the way of the good. One doesn’t stop the other.

With a voice you have a structural process in place that can support agreement, and truth telling.

Another point of agreement was opposition leader Peter Dutton. When his name was mentioned on stage, it was greeted with a chorus of derision.

Tessa Jones had this reaction:

Dutton is the most dangerous person in Australia at the moment.

He has a chance to respond and be open minded and to accept an invitation but he’s not, he’s dancing around it in very dangerous ways.

Jill, who didn’t want to give her surname, said she was “unhappy about all the problems people are inventing”. She also offered this:

Peter Dutton is a troublemaker.

Seaplane crashes in Queensland

A seaplane has crashed on takeoff at Jumpinpin, on the south-east tip of Queensland’s Stradbroke Island.

The two people on the plane were not injured and Queensland ambulance services were not needed, according to Queensland police.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has launched an investigation to determine what went wrong.

Updated at 23.31 EST

PM sends best wishes on India’s Republic Day

The prime minister and the foreign minister have sent their best wishes to the people of India on what is India’s Republic Day.

Here’s part of the statement that Anthony Albanese has shared on social media a short time ago:

Of course, 26 January is Australia’s day, too.

The coincidence of our national days makes this an opportunity to celebrate the warm spirit of affection our people have long held for each other and the depth of our friendship. Australia and India have never been closer.

Updated at 23.19 EST

Thanks for your attention on the blog today. Henry Belot will be with you for the rest of the day!

Invasion Day protesters march through Alice Springs

You heard earlier from our Indigenous affairs reporter, Sarah Collard, who is at the Survival Day rally in Alice Springs.

As the Northern Territory town has become a flashpoint in recent days, with renewed alcohol restrictions and a surge in antisocial behaviour and crime, the Central Arrernte and Mudburra elder Pat Ansell Dodds told the crowd that this is a result of the Northern Territory intervention and people need to get back on Country.

Our photographer Blake Sharp-Wiggins has been in Alice Springs this week with Collard. Here are some of the pictures he’s captured of the rally today:

Updated at 23.10 EST

Australia’s leading sexual and reproductive health provider remains open on 26 January and supports voice to parliament

MSI Australia, formerly Marie Stopes Australia, has kept its services open for the first time on 26 January in recognition that not all view the date as a formal public holiday.

The organisation continued to run its abortion and contraception lists and call centre for women and pregnant people.

It follows the organisation deciding last year to allow staff to choose whether to work on 26 January and pick another day of leave.

The organisation’s managing director, Jamal Hakim, also said MSI Australia supported a voice to parliament:

At MSI Australia, we support the Uluru Statement of the Heart and the need to formalise a Voice for First Nations People within the constitution and within the Federal Parliament.

We applaud the steps the South Australian Government is making to formalise a voice to parliament at the state level and the Victorian Treaty work being undertaken.

Updated at 23.06 EST

Netflix crackdown on password sharing to begin in coming months

Streaming giant Netflix will begin its crackdown on password sharing in the first quarter of this year, after the release of its company earnings report to shareholders last week.

The practice of sharing passwords with people outside the subscriber’s household will become more complex and is likely to involve an additional fee to share a single subscription across multiple locations.

Netflix said in its report to shareholders:

While our terms of use limit use of Netflix to a household, we recognise this is a change for members who share their account more broadly.

As we roll out paid sharing, members in many countries will also have the option to pay extra if they want to share Netflix with people they don’t live with. As is the case today, all members will be able to watch while travelling, whether on a TV or mobile device.

Read the full story here:

Brisbane protesters’ signs focus on changing the date and the voice

Here are some of the images from Guardian Australia’s Ben Smee in Brisbane. Signs call for changing the date of Australia Day and some are also seen to show the anti-voice sentiment that has been heard at rallies around capital cities.

Amid the negative commentary, I’d highly recommend this op-ed from Marcus Stewart, a Nira illim bulluk man of the Taungurung Nation, with more than 15 years’ experience working as a negotiator and strategist in Aboriginal affairs.

Updated at 22.51 EST

It was powerful to hear First Nations people speak about the voice, Sydney Invasion Day marchers say

Young people made up a large portion of the Invasion Day rally in Sydney today, with many continuing on to Victoria Park to enjoy the popular Yabun festival, an annual celebration of First Nations art and culture.

Among the groups sitting under the shade around the park, many said they felt their upcoming vote at the referendum on the voice to parliament has wavered after hearing the views of organisers at the rally.

Nicole Tam said she felt sure she would be voting yes before arriving, but after hearing the speeches she felt she needed to rethink her position.

Today has definitely been an eye-opening experience.

It’s a really tricky one, I can understand the sentiment from both sides, and I’m feeling a bit torn about it, because the voice feels like a start. And change is going to come from within parliament, so I can understand that perspective.

The speakers painted it as a white-washing of their voice, and I was leaning in to voting yes before I came today, but now I’m more unsure. I understand the grassroots activists and why they think it’s a bad idea – it could be another oppressive structure.

The Invasion Day rally in Sydney’s Belmore Park. Photograph: Richard Milnes/Rex/Shutterstock

Beck Dreher said the voice could be seen as another attempt to silence First Nations communities, and not a step forward.

It’s a little bit ironic, because it is meant to be a literal voice but it’s not necessarily the voice of First Nations people, which is who we’re supposed to be listening to. It’s another classic example of an instance where instead of listening to what they need and want, they are being spoken for.

It’s similar to how we force our ideas of healthcare onto First Nations communities, and not listening to what they actually have to say. But by calling it the voice is kind of disguising it a little bit.

It was good and powerful to hear First Nations people speak about it, and it was good to also hear more sides of the discussion, compared to what you see in the media.

Updated at 22.42 EST

Adelaide’s Invasion/Survival Day rally under way

Our reporter Tory Shepherd is at the Invasion/Survival Day rally which is under way in Adelaide. Here are some of the scenes:

Updated at 22.30 EST

Backflip on Sean Turnell’s amnesty concerns Australia

The Australian government is concerned about a backflip from Myanmar’s junta, which is now seeking to annul the amnesty given to an Australian professor, AAP reports.

Prof Sean Turnell arrived in Australia at the end of last year after being locked up in the south-east Asian nation for 650 days after the military took control in a 2021 coup.

But the junta is now revoking his amnesty and wants him to return to face court.

The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade called in Myanmar’s chargé d’affaires to convey Australia’s concern at the backflip.

A department spokesperson says:

The government is deeply concerned that Myanmar authorities have annulled Prof Turnell’s amnesty and issued a subpoena for him to appear in a Myanmar court.

The 58-year-old economist worked as an adviser to the ousted Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi and was sentenced to three years jail for “violating the country’s official state secrets act”.

It’s a charge the Australian government has always rejected. The spokesperson says:

The Australian government never accepted the basis of Prof Turnell’s detention, nor the charges against him.

We are disappointed that he is now being asked to answer for an undefined offence following his release from detention.

Australia doesn’t have an extradition treaty with Myanmar.

Turnell was freed in November under an amnesty covering close to 6,000 prisoners to celebrate Myanmar’s National Victory Day.

He was warmly welcomed by Australia’s parliament in December after he returned home and said he still wished to return to Myanmar to help the people.

Prof Sean Turnell and his wife Ha Vu meet with Anthony Albanese and Penny Wong at Parliament House, Canberra in December. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

Updated at 22.29 EST

Aboriginal flag lowered to half-mast in Deniliquin

Guardian Australia rural reporter Fleur Connick is at the Australia Day proceedings in Deniliquin in the Riverina region of NSW where for the first time the chair of the Aboriginal Land Council Laura Hand-Ross, was allowed to raise the Aboriginal flag and lower it to half-mast to symbolise the day of mourning for Aboriginal people.

Hand-Ross tells the crowd that the Aboriginal people in town today are the descendants of the 30 people who survived a massacre at Tumudgery Creek which killed the majority of over 3,000 people living in the area in the late 1800s.

Updated at 22.14 EST

Sydney Invasion Day rally ends with annual Yabun festival

At the annual Yabun festival in Sydney’s Victoria Park, many of those at the Invasion Day rally line up for food or drinks, or enjoy the music and performances.

Many have taken to sitting under trees for shade from the intense heat.

Some say the speeches at today’s rally have solidified their no vote at the upcoming referendum on the voice to parliament.

Lillyandra Laurie says she is adamant she will be voting against the referendum, adding that she supports the sentiment at the rally.

I already knew for sure I would be voting no. They don’t support us so we don’t support them.

The opposition to the voice was good, because they don’t listen to us. We’re the only ones who can determine what’s best for us, and the voice won’t be achieving that.

All these politicians have good intentions when they get into parliament, but they change their views real quick and they don’t know what they stand for.

In Sydney, protesters marched from Belmore Park to the Yabun festival at Victoria Park. Photograph: Richard Milnes/Rex/Shutterstock

Timothy Boney-Stewart says land rights are a more important issue than a voice to parliament, and while it might be a forward step there are more pressing issues to address.

The voice is going to be too biased, it won’t reflect how we really feel. It would be white-washed.

There is no treaty signed, they are still here illegally. We need our land back, and we need a treaty within ourselves, within our 300 nations, before we can go engaging with anyone else.

Updated at 22.10 EST

Anthony Albanese isn’t the only leader who spent the morning welcoming new Australian citizens. The minister for foreign affairs, Penny Wong, and Queensland premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, have shared images from Mount Barker and Townsville respectively.

Updated at 21.58 EST

Here are some more moments from the Melbourne Invasion Day rally from Guardian Australia’s Lisa Favazzo:

Updated at 21.41 EST

Melbourne Invasion Day rally crowd undecided on voice referendum

In the crowd people are undecided if they will support a voice.

There’s some confusion on what it actually is, others are mad it’s not treaty first and many people just can’t answer.

One participant in the rally, who can’t be named because they work for the government, says they want treaty but would vote for the voice – if they understood what it would mean for the community.

They say:

Often the government comes out with these wise ideas, they don’t translate into a way [so we] can see the benefit.

They present it in a westernised manner. They can’t say what it’s going to do for the community in the future.

People participate in the Invasion Day rally in Melbourne. Photograph: Diego Fedele/AAP

Another demonstrator says they support treaty before voice but will wait to hear from Indigenous leaders like Senator Lidia Thorpe to decide their vote.

They say:

I absolutely support treaty before the voice because I think blak sovereignty is crucial to blak liberation.

I’ll most likely vote yes but I’ll see what our First Nations people have to say on it.

Updated at 22.01 EST