We’re changing our minds on Australia Day and it’s happening rapidly, Australia Talks reveals

It’s become one of the nation’s most divisive days, and now it appears Australians are rapidly changing their minds over whether the 26th of January is the most appropriate date to celebrate our nation. 

The Australia Talks National Survey 2021 has revealed a majority of people now believe Australia Day should not be celebrated on January 26, given the historical significance of the date for Indigenous nations.

Warning: This article contains images of Indigenous people who have died.

The number of people who agree with that sentiment has jumped by 12 percentage points since the last Australia Talks survey in 2019 — one of the biggest moves in public sentiment between the two surveys.

There has also been a marked shift in the number of people who “strongly agreed” celebrations should move.

In 2019, just 28 per cent of respondents were strongly in favour of seeing a shift to the date, in 2021 that went up to 39 per cent.

Australia ‘growing as a reconciled nation’ Shelley Reys says the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians is changing.(

ABC News: Kirstie Wellauer

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Shelley Reys has been at the forefront of the Reconciliation movement for three decades.

The Djirribul woman was the inaugural co-chair of Reconciliation Australia and helped to establish the Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) program, which is now used across the corporate world.

She said the change in attitude around Australia Day was a sign the country was “growing and maturing as a reconciled nation”.

“That doesn’t mean we have got there — we still have a long way to go — but I do think the maturity shows we are now thinking about the relationship between [Indigenous and non-Indigenous people] and how we repair the relationship,” she said.

“Part of that is understanding the perspective of the other, and in this case it’s about January 26, and possibly changing that date.”

Long history of protest

For decades, January 26 has been observed as a day of mourning for Aboriginal and Torres Islander people.

The date is the anniversary of the arrival of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove in 1788.

In 1938, 100 Aboriginal people from across the country chose that date to meet to condemn “the degrading and humiliating” treatment of Indigenous communities.

Protesters in 1938 proclaimed January 26 a day of mourning.(

Supplied: State Library of NSW

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The annual public holiday on January 26 was established in 1994, and thousands of new Australians use the occasion to attend their citizenship ceremonies.

In recent years, Australia Day protests have swelled and tens of thousands of people — Indigenous and non-Indigenous — march together all across the country.

Several local councils around the country have stopped celebrating Australia Day on January 26 – against the wishes of the Federal Government.

Earlier this year the Prime Minister said it was important to mark the day as one on which “the journey to modern Australia began”.

Citizenship ceremonies are held around the country on Australia Day.(

ABC News: Andrew Kennedy

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Minister for Indigenous Australians Ken Wyatt said he did not agree with changing the date.

“Australia Day is a day to celebrate Indigenous, British and multicultural history and look forward in unity with a determination to build a stronger and more rewarding Australia for all.”

Mr Wyatt questioned the Australia Talks findings.

“I note the survey was commissioned by the ABC for the use of the ABC, and the information provided about survey methodology is limited, which raises questions as to the reliability of its suggested findings.”

The survey was conducted by Vox Pop Labs for the ABC and is one of the largest conducted in the country. It compares the demographics of the 60,000 survey respondents with census data to weight responses by sex, age, education, language, geography and vote to ensure the views of Australians are accurately reflected.

What is Australia Talks?

Two years ago the ABC asked tens of thousands of people to share their thoughts, feelings and experiences. The Australia Talks National Survey is back again — here’s what we found out.

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Since Australia Talks last surveyed Australians on changing attitudes around Indigenous recognition in 2019, tens of thousands of people have marched through capital cities as part of Black Lives Matter protests.

Fifty-nine percent of survey respondents agreed the Black Lives Matter movement, which gained renewed traction last year after the murder of George Floyd in the US, was making an important contribution to conversations about racial injustice in Australia.

For those that protest, there are mixed views over whether to change the date or abolish the national holiday altogether.

Women, young people leading push for change

Women and men had differing thoughts on the question of whether Australia Day should be moved — it was one of the Australia Talks survey questions on which men and women were most divided.

Around two thirds of Australian women are now in favour of a rethink on holding Australia Day on January 26, compared with 51 per cent of men.

Young people overwhelmingly supported a new direction — 65 per cent of Australians aged 18-24 and 71 per cent aged 25-29 were also in favour of a change.

When Ms Reys began her work with Reconciliation Australia, she observed limited support for changing the date of Australia Day.

“It was mainly Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who were marching the streets and protesting, demonstrating and so no-one was part of a formal, larger, wider conversation,” she said.

Now, she said, Australians from all walks of life are more invested in learning more “about our shared history [and] understanding Indigenous perspectives”.

“We’re trying to dig a little bit deeper about making it more meaningful,” she said.

‘Keep a dialogue open’

Australia Day — or Survival Day as they know it — is a date of immense significance for the Dawson family from south-west Sydney.

Russell Dawson (right) cooks a traditional Cypriot dish of rice and egg mix soup with kangaroo. “[My kids] eat their culture,” he says.(

ABC News: Kirstie Wellauer

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Kamilaroi dancer Russell Dawson’s cultural education and performance company Koomurri Entertainment has seen a rise in bookings on Australia Day.

“It’s a remembrance day for us, so we try to remember that by doing our culture, preserving our culture so people can actually see what was here on January 26, 1788,” he said.

As more organisations seek to observe the history of the date, his two teenage daughters, Sienna-Swan and Krystal-Rose, perform at multiple ceremonies each year.

Sienna-Swan, 12, said it was a “fun, kind and respectful” way to spend the day.

“I just like spreading the culture around.”

Krystal-Rose (L) and Sienna-Swan perform at multiple events on January 26 each year.(

ABC News: Kirstie Wellauer

) How do your views compare?

We asked 60,000 Australians about their lives. See where you fit on the issues that matter.

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Mr Dawson is raising his daughters to be proud of their Indigenous and Cypriot heritage.

“We are a multicultural country and a lot of people have come and married into our family and we need to do the right thing and respect all cultures,” he said.

His view is that Australia Day should remain on January 26, but he wants to see a national holiday on January 25 to honour Indigenous communities.

The Dawsons — Krystal-Rose, Sienna-Swan, Russell and Connie — celebrate all aspects of their heritage.(

ABC News: Kirstie Wellauer

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A large proportion of the population – 45 per cent — disagree or feel neutral about the push to move Australia Day and Ms Reys said it was important to make room “for different views”.

“Part of a maturing nation … is the willingness to listen and learn from someone else’s view and to keep a dialogue open,” she said.

The Australia Talks National Survey asked 60,000 Australians about their lives and what keeps them up at night. Use our interactive tool to see the results and how your answers compare.

Then, tune in at 8:00pm on Monday, June 21 to watch hosts Annabel Crabb and Nazeem Hussain take you through the key findings and explore the survey with some of Australia’s best-loved celebrities.