Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have gathered across the country for the annual event marker January 26.
Events such as Day of the invasion, Survival Day, WulgulOra and Yabun will provide space for mourning and protest, as well as the celebration of indigenous cultures.
Calls to change the date of the national holiday have become a prominent feature of many of the annual events, a rallying cry for many who want to acknowledge and counter the ongoing reality of colonization for First Nations people.
“January 26 is a very important day for Aboriginal people, to mourn the loss of our ancestors and continue the fight today [to] stand against the colonial system that perpetuates the ongoing genocide and racism in society,” said Paul Silva.
“It’s one of the things that non-Indigenous people need to come out and participate in, to get an understanding from the Australian government about what First Nations people are experiencing in 2026.”
The Dunghutti man is a member of the Blak Caucus, one of the organizers of the Invasion Day march in Sydney.
Silva said the Blak Caucus position extends beyond changing the date to advocating abolishing the Australia Day celebration.
“We have changed the date in relation to Australia Day many times but that has not solved the problem,” he told NITV.
“There should be no celebration of the date on which the mass murder and genocide of another human being occurs.”
Contrary to accusations, the debate surrounding the national holiday is “divisive”, Silva said it could be an opportunity for unity.
“That would be a step in the right direction, recognizing the inhumane treatment of First Nations people… many non-Indigenous people and people of British descent say their ancestors were also treated inhumanely.
“So it’s more about coming together as a collective, recognizing that the system treated both individuals inhumanely and making sure that history doesn’t continue.”
The Warriors of the Aboriginal Resistance, who organize Naarm Melbourne’s annual Invasion Day Rally, have called for the public holiday Australia Day to be replaced.
“We are calling for a National Day of Mourning today and for it to be recognized as First Nations people so that we can come together and mourn the loss of the massacres and genocide,” said organizer Tarneen Onus Browne.
“Everyone deserves dignity and respect, and First Nations people are not getting that in this country right now.
“We are being murdered by police and prison guards, our country is being torn apart by billionaires, and our children are being taken from us at an alarming rate.”
Protesters are also urging the federal government to create a national truth-telling process. following the success of Victoria’s Yoorrook Justice Commission.
“We are also here to call for a national process of truth telling… and we want to protect the treaty process in this state and also call for a national treaty,” Onus Browne said.
Change date ‘not necessary’
However, the subject of changing the date is not without controversy (aside from summary dismissal by certain sections of the media).
Noted constitutional law professor Megan Davis, one of the architects of the Uluru Statement from the Heart, says the date debate could be “a distraction” from the broader issue of First Nations rights and recognition.
“It can be frustrating to see debates about Australia Day being treated as a serious and substantive reform issue, when in fact it is low-hanging fruit,” she said.
‘I do not recognize the day and changing the date is neither necessary nor responsive to the underlying grievances of Aboriginal people.
“Change the date and the protest will follow the new date… because the fundamentals do not change and the underlying structural conditions do not change.”
Professor Davis has argued the push for constitutional recognition and a national advisory body for indigenous peoples did not disappear despite being rejected by the Voice to Parliament in the 2023 referendum.
“The story of dispossession is central to Australian history, yet routinely excluded from our education systems and political discourse,” she said in a statement with Uluru Statement co-chair Pat Anderson AO.
“In 2026…racial hatred focused on First Nations peoples, although it was notably absent from the debate over proposed hatred
speech criminal law is not new. It’s constant.
“The Uluṟu Declaration from the Heart was a gesture of goodwill, an olive branch, a sign of peace to the Australian people.”
Hanson condemned silence for victims of domestic violence
Protesters march through the CBD during Sydney’s Invasion Day rally. Source: MONKEY / DEAN LEWINS/APIMAGE
The Sydney rally also included a minute’s silence, with attendees raising their fists, for the three victims of an apparent domestic violence attack in Lake Cargelligo last week.
Sophie Quinn, who was pregnant, died when her ex-partner, subject to an AVO and bail conditions, allegedly shot her and two others before fleeing.
NSW Police are currently conducting a large-scale manhunt in the area.
Protesters also condemned Pauline Hanson, whose One Nation party has seen a huge rise in support in recent polls.
In Brisbane, Goenpul Goorie man Dale Ruska compared the federal government’s response to the Bondi massacre to the lack of action on the violence suffered by First Nations peoples.
“Australia is a historic crime scene. It is a historic crime scene, and it is worth the same kind of effort that the people who suffered at Bondi made.”
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