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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Henry Belot and Natasha May and Jordyn Beazley and Martin Farrer (earlier)

Myanmar backflip on Sean Turnell’s amnesty leaves government ‘deeply concerned’ – as it happened

Invasion Day Russia Police Taryn Brumfitt Anthony Albanese Body Image Natasha May Tom Calma
Professor Sean Turnell and Dr Ha Vu applauded by MPs
Professor Sean Turnell and Dr Ha Vu applauded by MPs at Parliament House in Canberra last year. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

What we learned today, Thursday 26 January

That’s where we will leave the blog for today, which has been dominated by debate about 26 January and the Indigenous voice to parliament. Here’s what made headlines:

Thanks for your company today, everyone. We will be back with you tomorrow morning. Have a great night.

Updated

Australia Day debate is ‘evolving’, assistant treasurer says

The assistant treasurer, Andrew Leigh, wasn’t working today, along with many of his colleagues at Parliament House. He told the ABC that the nation is “split” when it comes to the future of Australia Day.

My staff and I aren’t working and I don’t imagine there’s many people working in Parliament House today. But clearly, there’s a variety of views in the community. Certainly polling seems to suggest the Australian public is split.

I can understand the views of people like Tom Calma, our terrific new senior Australian of the Year, when he says that he believes it’s not the most appropriate day.

People are welcome to have that debate, people are welcome to protest today or to celebrate today. They’re welcome to work, they’re welcome not to work. We certainly understand the way in which that debate is evolving.

Updated

NSW Labor not opposed to changing date of Australia Day

The New South Wales Labor leader, Chris Minns, has said his party would not stand in the way of changing the date of Australia Day if a national conversation could be carried out without creating division.

Here’s what he said earlier today:

It is obviously a day for many First Nations people, which is quite confronting and distressing for them.

If there’s a national conversation about changing the date, my hope is that that happens with the building of a consensus.

Updated

Gunshots fired amid unrest in remote NT town

A man and a teenager have suffered suspected gunshot wounds after reports of unrest in a remote Northern Territory Indigenous community, AAP reports.

Police were called to Peppimenarti, about 320km south of Darwin, late Wednesday following multiple reports of armed people, disturbances and dangerous driving.

Officers found a 15-year-old boy bleeding from a shoulder wound and a 21-year-old man with an arm injury, an NT police spokesperson said on Thursday.

Both injuries are suspected to be gunshot wounds and tactical response group officers have been sent to the community to help local police.

The teen was flown to Darwin for medical treatment and the man was transported to a local health clinic before being released into the care of his family.

Updated

More thunderstorms on the way

It may be looking fine in Brisbane this afternoon (as displayed in that earlier tweet from Stephen Bates) but things could turn nasty tomorrow, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.

Why a voice to parliament won’t impact sovereignty as Lidia Thorpe fears

Earlier today, Greens senator Lidia Thorpe again vowed not to support the Indigenous voice to parliament unless she is “satisfied that First Nations sovereignty is not ceded”.

The Albanese government and constitutional experts reject the suggestion that entrenching the voice in the constitution would have any impact on sovereignty.

My colleague Paul Karp has spoken to experts who have explained why the two questions are entirely separate.

He’s also pointed to this segment of the Uluru statement from the heart, which contains an assertion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders’ sovereignty:

This sovereignty is a spiritual notion: the ancestral tie between the land, or ‘mother nature’, and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples who were born therefrom, remain attached thereto, and must one day return thither to be united with our ancestors. This link is the basis of the ownership of the soil, or better, of sovereignty. It has never been ceded or extinguished, and coexists with the sovereignty of the Crown.

Here’s the full story:

Updated

Invasion Day rallies reveal diverging views on voice to parliament

The Aboriginal activist Gary Foley told a rally in central Melbourne people had to be careful not to be sucked into a measure that would ultimately be “lipstick on a pig” and said there wasn’t a “snowball’s chance in hell” a referendum would pass.

The Australian parliament today is not interested in listening to the voice of Aboriginal people ... why should we expect that yet another advisory body (would)?

The Indigenous academic Tom Calma, the newly appointed Senior Australian of the Year and a campaigner for the referendum on the voice, said the issues facing Indigenous people and the need to step towards reconciliation could co-exist.

Here’s what he told ABC radio:

It’s important that we as Aboriginal people have an opportunity to be able to contribute to policies that impact on us and programs and legislation and that’s the first step.

– AAP

Updated

Invasion Day protests around Australia – in pictures

We’ve compiled some beautiful photographs from around the country in this gallery. It’s really worth a look.

‘It’s hard to watch’: First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria uncomfortable with anti-voice campaigning

Yesterday we brought you a piece by Marcus Stewart, the co-chair of the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria. He said would not be attending today’s Invasion Rally, citing frustration at those campaigning against the voice.

Here’s a snippet of that piece:

I can’t watch in silence while a handful of wreckers in our movement hijack the annual Invasion Day rally to stage a de-facto launch of the no campaign against an Aboriginal voice to parliament.

Earlier today, Stewart told AAP that those campaigning against the voice were “out of step with the views held by the vast majority of our mob”.

It’s hard to watch a handful of outliers hijack the rally and attempt to destroy the most significant opportunity we’ve had to create meaningful structural change at a federal level by fuelling the no campaign against a voice to parliament.

You can read his full piece here:

Updated

Crowds gather at Invasion Day rally in Brisbane

The Greens MP Stephen Bates is at the rally and shared this picture a few moments ago.

Changing the date would be a marvellous thing, David Wenham says

The Australian actor David Wenham, who received an Australia Day honour yesterday, has told ABC News that the national day should be moved to another date:

I don’t think anyone in the country is unaware of the situation – that Australia Day, on this particular day, does actually cause a lot of heart to people within the community, particularly those First Nations people, and understandably so.

If there was an opportunity for this to be acknowledged or celebrated on another day, that brought everybody together, I think would be a marvellous thing.

Updated

Peter Dutton continues to call for more detail on the voice

Earlier today, the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, talked about the importance of the Indigenous voice to parliament, something he believes will unite the country:

If not now, when will this change occur and if not the people of Australia this year, who will make this change, which will improve our country, improve our national unity. And this is an opportunity for Australia, it’s one that I sincerely hope that Australia doesn’t miss.

The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, has also been speaking about this issue today. He’s again repeated his call for more information to be given about how the voice would work in practice:

The prime minister doesn’t understand or hasn’t decided on the detail yet, so how can Australians make a decision when they are not properly informed? As you move around the community, it is obvious that people don’t understand what is the prime minister’s talking about. They understand the change in the constitution is a big deal and instinctively are like me and millions of Australians, we want a better outcome for Indigenous Australians.

The government has repeatedly said the voice will broadly follow the model outlined in the 2021 co-design report from Marcia Langton and Tom Calma, twice presented to the former government’s cabinet by the former Indigenous Australians minister Ken Wyatt. It sets out proposals for the voice in great detail.

The Albanese government has not yet endorsed many details of the co-design report, with the prime minister stressing it would be “subservient” to the parliament and therefore subject to legislative change.

Updated

Adelaide protesters advocate for the voice

In Adelaide, Invasion Day protesters 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 protesters 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.

People watch the sacred smoking ceremony WugulOra (meaning One Mob) in Elder Park, Adelaide, South Australia
People watch the sacred smoking ceremony WugulOra (meaning One Mob) in Elder Park, Adelaide. Photograph: Amer Ghazzal/Rex/Shutterstock

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 the 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.

Updated

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

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

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:

Invasion Day protesters march through the streets of Alice Springs, Australia
Invasion Day protesters march through the streets of Alice Springs, Australia
Invasion Day protesters march through the streets of Alice Springs, Australia

Updated

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

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

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.

An Invasion Day rally in Sydney’s Belmore Park
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

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

Myanmar 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
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

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

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
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

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

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

Updated

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
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

Lidia Thorpe urges Labor to implement existing recommendations before voice

Our own Cait Kelly has interviewed Lidia Thorpe at the Melbourne Invasion Day rally.

Asking if she doesn’t trust Labor’s assurances that the voice to parliament won’t cede sovereignty, Thorpe says:

They need to prove it. I spoke to Mark Dreyfus, I said ‘Dreyfus, you prove that this doesn’t cede our sovereignty’.

We’re still waiting. We’re still waiting. So Labor can say whatever they like. Anyone can say what they like, but it still remains I have not got a guarantee that our sovereignty will not be ceded if we go into the colonial constitution.

Kelly:

Is that the only thing that would take you to vote yes? I know you’ve mentioned royal commissions in the past.

Thorpe:

Whatever doesn’t cede our sovereignty, I’ll entertain the idea. We’ve also got on the table with the government that they implement recommendations for the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, implement the Bringing them Home report, the recommendations from that, the Closing the Gap report. Where are they failing? Incarceration, removal, simply implement the recommendations that our people have been doing for the last 30 years.

Until Labor actually comes to the table and walk the talk, implement the recommendations you can do it in the first sitting – otherwise what? Bring in an advisory body that has parliamentary supremacy over it at all time to give you advice on what? Implementing recommendations?

Have a listen:

Updated

New citizen ‘can’t wait’ to contribute to environmental protection

Anthony Albanese with new Australian citizen Nashieli Garcia Alaniz during the National Australia Day Flag Raising and Citizenship Ceremony in Canberra
Anthony Albanese with Nashieli Garcia Alaniz during the Australia Day citizenship ceremony in Canberra. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

One of Australia’s newest citizens hopes to use her expertise as an ecologist to protect the nation’s native animals, AAP reports.

Born in Mexico, Nashieli Garcia Alaniz was one of more than 19,000 people from 140 countries to make their citizenship pledge on Australia Day.

Garcia Alaniz made hers at the ceremony in Canberra overseen by the prime minister and governor general.

She admitted she was slightly overwhelmed by all the dignitaries at the event, but receiving her citizenship certificate from Anthony Albanese was very special.

I feel honoured that a country like Australia opens its doors to welcome someone like me and people from all over the world.

I’m super happy that I can participate in the country on a different level now and I can’t wait to contribute to help protect this environment.

Specialising in mammals, Garcia Alaniz has already put her expertise to use in Australia by helping with the conservation of the brush-tailed rock-wallaby, an endangered species.

Updated

Vote yes to voice, elder urges at Alice Springs Survival Day gathering

The Central Arrernte and Mudburra elder Pat Ansell Dodds is speaking about the upcoming vote in the referendum for an Indigenous voice to parliament and is urging people to vote yes.

You need to vote yes.

We need to have our own voice to tell our story to Australia, we need that, we are the people that can tell you the proper story of Australia.

Give us a chance to live our own lives and share our culture and language with our children … it’s so important to us and our children and young people.

Get out of our way and let us do our thing, we can resolve our problems with support from others.

When we ask for your support we don’t need you to come in here and tell us how to resolve our problems, big and small.

Updated

Crowds gather to commemorate Survival Day in Alice Springs

The Arrernte woman Sabella Kngwarraye Turner has welcomed a crowd of about 120 people in Mparntwe.

Speaking in Arrernte language, she remembers the pain and suffering brought by colonisation and dispossession, and says the day is not about “division, it’s about us coming together” and healing.

The Central Arrernte and Mudburra elder Pat Ansell Dodds also speaks at the rally, thanking everyone for coming to honour the day with her and traditional owners.

Dodds says:

Our history started with this, we are the last place that white men came to … it was devastating for us.

Elders speak on Invasion Day at Stuart Park in Alice Springs
Elders speak on Invasion Day at Stuart Park in Alice Springs. Photograph: Blake Sharp-Wiggins/The Guardian

As Alice Springs has become a flashpoint in recent days, with renewed alcohol restrictions and a surge in antisocial behaviour and crime,Dodds says this is a result of the Northern Territory intervention and people need to get back on Country.

The kids that’s walking out on the streets, they need to go home on a country where they come from – they don’t come from here.

You gotta be on your country. Learn your culture, make these kids strong.

Turner urges the community to come together and tackle the social problems together as well as address issues such as lack of employment, housing, education and disadvantage.

Can’t go around implementing rules, and not talking to the community … alcohol, crime, domestic violence, we need to address this together, children have rights … Alice Springs has a huge culture and be strong like their ancestors and we need to be strong for our little ones.

We live in this community and we need to be heard and come together and respect each other.

Updated

Sydney Invasion Day rally shapes opinions on voice referendum

As the Sydney Invasion Day march makes its way to Broadway, for the annual Yabun festival, attendees say they feel the rally has impacted how they see the referendum on the voice to parliament.

A number say they feel they need to do more research before they are certain of how they will vote, but many say the speeches today have them inclined to vote no.

Connor Jackson says today’s rally and the speeches have helped shape his opinion, saying it has allowed him to see the “bigger picture”.

I understand how there could be mixed opinions on the referendum, but I feel me, here today at this protest for First Nations people, it’s my responsibility to listen to what they have to say, and they’re saying something like this is a knee-jerk reaction that will put more control in the hands of the government.

And I am one to listen to that. I’m here for them, and that’s my responsibility. After hearing the speakers today, I will probably do what they say, but will also likely do a little more research myself.

Demonstrators march in the Invasion Day rally in Sydney
Demonstrators march in the Invasion Day rally in Sydney. Photograph: Bianca de Marchi/AAP

Malika Green says the speeches have “absolutely” affected how she will vote at the referendum, but stopped short of saying her vote was a certain no at this stage.

I have decisions to make around the vote – in some ways the voice is a step in the right direction and in some ways it isn’t. I have a lot to think about though.

Everyone was on point speaking about their own rights. My ancestry in Australia is colonial, so I take a really deep and personal stake in being silent, listening and doing what needs to be done today, which includes marching and fighting for change.

Updated

Jetstar passengers stranded in Japan by snowstorms

Passengers on a Jetstar flight from Osaka to Cairns are among thousands of travellers to have been stranded by heavy snowstorms across Japan.

The Jetstar flight was scheduled to depart Osaka at about 9pm local time on Wednesday, however it was initially delayed as flight crew were unable to reach Kansai international airport due to a snowstorm that also cancelled hundreds of flights across Japan.

An airline spokesperson said:

The flight was initially delayed as a result of heavy snow fall which closed the only bridge connecting Kansai international airport to mainland Osaka, preventing our crew getting to the airport.

The bridge has since reopened, but the Jetstar flight was again delayed.

A problem with the aircraft’s PA system unfortunately caused a further delay and we will always put safety before schedule.

The flight was due to depart Osaka at 10am local time on Thursday.

Passengers stranded at the airport terminal vented their frustration at the initial delay via social media, however Jetstar said it had since arranged hotel rooms for the roughly 250 affected travellers. Those who booked their own accommodation would be reimbursed, the airline said.

We’re very sorry for the delays to this flight. We appreciate it’s been a frustrating experience while we worked to get customers on their way as quickly as possible.

People walk in the snow to Kyoto station in Tokyo
The Japan Meteorological Agency has urged caution against heavy snow, blizzards and high waves. People walk in the snow to Kyoto station in Tokyo. Photograph: Jiji Press/EPA

Updated

Sydney Invasion Day rally shapes people’s views on the voice

Protesters at the Sydney Invasion Day rally say they feel the opposition to the voice to parliament at the rally is shaping their opinions.

A majority of the attendees said they felt the strong opposition in speeches given before the march had affected how they thought they were going to vote at the referendum.

Caitlin Denley said she was proud of how much the Invasion Day rallies had grown, and added that she believed the voice to parliament was a measure that ignored Australia’s history.

I think it’s ridiculous. How can you look at Australia and our Indigenous history and just ignore that, it doesn’t make sense. We learn about the massacres and the awful history of Australia, so how can we support that with that in mind.

So I will be voting no.

Protesters march through the CBD during the Invasion Day rally in Sydney
Protesters march through the CBD during the Invasion Day rally in Sydney. Photograph: Bianca de Marchi/AAP

Thomas Magory said he was not really uncertain, but attending the rally today had cemented his no vote. He said land rights was the only true way forward.

They don’t want to be a pawn in a system that has been oppressing them for years and years. They feel they are being turned into a political weapon, they don’t feel heard. And I share their position, especially after hearing them today.

It was a unified and strong position. The women who spoke today were so strong, it was so powerful.

Updated

‘You have the power to make it happen,’ Brisbane Invasion Day rally hears of recognising First Nations people in the constitution

Wayne Wharton speaks at the Invasion Day rally in Brisbane
Wayne Wharton speaks at the Invasion Day rally in Brisbane. Photograph: Jono Searle/AAP

Wayne Wharton, an activist and the leader of the Brisbane Aboriginal Sovereign Embassy, gave a uniquely passionate speech at the city’s Invasion Day rally, calling for a treaty and constitutional recognition.

One thing we’ve got to look at – and this is a message to our non-First Nations people ... there are good black fellas and there are fucking arseholes. You’ve got to make a decision.

There’s always choices people have to make. Where we go from here, what the next six months will be [about] is about constitutional change. We wanted constitutional change since they came up with the constitution in 1901 – our freedom, our sovereignty enshrined in the constitution of this country.

You have the power to make it happen.

It doesn’t matter what your colours are, but there are two types. You’re either an accomplice or an ally. Australia is a crime scene.

There was a war. I want Peter Dutton to hear this. I want John Howard to hear this. I want the National party to hear it. There was a war.

Stop the war (chanting). This is our mission, this is what we have to do. Constitutional change is what we want. We want our birthright, we want our freedom, enshrined in the constitution. If it’s by the way of a treaty or 300 treaties, that’s what’s got to happen.

People dance during the Invasion Day rally in Brisbane
People dance during the Invasion Day rally in Brisbane. Photograph: Jono Searle/AAP

Updated

Anthony Albanese says voice is major change he wants, not changing the date

Anthony Albanese at the Australia Day flag-raising ceremony in Canberra
Anthony Albanese at the Australia Day flag-raising ceremony in Canberra. Photograph: Martin Ollman/Getty Images

Taking questions, Anthony Albanese is asked about the anti-voice sentiment being expressed today:

I’m not going to engage in that sort of partisan politics, whether it’s Lidia Thorpe or others. The voice is a very clear proposition that will be put to the Australian people later this year. The first part of that is in recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as Australia’s First Peoples. That is where recognition comes in, and it is something missing from our nation’s constitution, and I say this, if not now when?

If not now, when will this change occur and if not the people of Australia this year, who will make this change, which will improve our country, improve our national unity. And this is an opportunity for Australia, it’s one that I sincerely hope that Australia doesn’t miss.

Asked about whether he supports changing the date of Australia Day, the prime minister says:

I have one major change that I want. And I would say to people as well, who are contemplating what their response will be to what has been put forward, that can you imagine next year the counterfactual – either we will have a constitution on Australia Day that recognises Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as our First Peoples in this country, that will be an act of reconciliation, or, if the referendum is not successful, I think people know that will not be a moment that shows respect for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people; that I think doesn’t show the maturity of us as a nation, non-Indigenous Australia of who we are, acknowledging the fullness and richness of our history but also the way we are perceived by the world as well.

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On Australia Day it’s important to recognise the ‘changing nature of Australia’, PM says

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has spoken following the citizenship ceremony in Canberra, saying today is a “great day” welcoming 19,000 new Australians as citizens but also important to recognise the “changing nature of Australia”.

Today is the day that is important to celebrate who we are but also to recognise the changing nature of Australia. The fact that we begin and trace our history back over 60,000 years should be a source of great pride and I thank Auntie Violet for her welcome to country this morning.

Since 1788, we have become a country of migrants as well, people who have come from all around the world to make Australia their home. And pledging today to share in Australia’s system and the democratic values that we share.

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Melbourne Invasion Day rally draws 8,000 to 10,000 people

Police at the Melbourne Invasion Day rally estimate between 8,000 and 10,000 people are in attendance.

Guardian Australia’s Antoun Issa has posted these images of the crowd.

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La Trobe University allows staff to work through 26 January public holiday

La Trobe University will follow the University of Wollongong in allowing staff to work through the 26 January public holiday in a show of solidarity with First Nations people.

A spokesperson for La Trobe university said it supported the initiative and was “pursuing this flexibility for our staff as part of a new Enterprise Agreement”.

An email sent from the university’s vice-chancellor to staff said they “hope to contribute positively to change by supporting choice and flexibility around working on 26 January”.

It followed lobbying from the National Tertiary Education Union for universities to follow suit with major businesses including Telstra and Woodside to allow staff to take an alternative day off.

Its president, Dr Alison Barnes, told Guardian Australia workers should have the right to choose whether to work on the public holiday:

Invasion Day is a deeply distressing day for so many First Nations people, including members of our union.

Allowing a choice of whether to work or not acknowledges that many in our community don’t want to mark the anniversary of genocide, dispossession and suffering with a public holiday.

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South Australia’s voice plan welcomed by Aboriginal children’s commissioner

In Adelaide, the Ngarrindjeri elder Uncle Moogy Sumner performed a welcome to country at the Mourning in the Morning event on the banks of the River Torrens.

South Australia’s commissioner for Aboriginal children and young people, April Lawrie, from the Mirning and Kokatha communities of far west SA, spoke.

She talked about the appalling rates of incarceration of Aboriginal children, and called for the legal age to be raised from 10 to 14.

The Mourning in the Morning smoking ceremony in Adelaide was attended by hundreds of people
The Mourning in the Morning smoking ceremony in Adelaide was attended by hundreds of people. Photograph: Australia Day Council of South Australia

Lawrie welcomed the move in SA to introduce a voice to parliament – the Labor government will introduce the legislation next month.

I wholeheartedly support the voice,” she said, but called for the rights to self-determination to be enshrined:

To become a true nation, we need to recognise and embrace the international human rights of Aboriginal people to self-determination and the human rights of Aboriginal children to remain connected with their families, community and culture and to know their country.

This is what it means to come to terms with ourselves as a nation. And the key to self-determination lies in the recognition of authority of First Nations native title holders.

To make this approach holistic and authentic, we can start by recognising the authority of native title holders as the agents of self-determination for the Aboriginal nations in the proposed voice to parliament.

Australia is the land of opportunity and prides itself on giving everyone a fair go. So today … speak for Aboriginal children and the Aboriginal nations behind them and ask you all to give them, their families and their communities a fair go by giving them an authentic voice.

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‘We deserve better than an advisory body,’ Lidia Thorpe says

Greens senator Lidia Thorpe speaks at the Melbourne Invasion Day rally
Greens senator Lidia Thorpe speaks at the Melbourne Invasion Day rally. Photograph: Lisa Favazzo/The Guardian

More on Lidia Thorpe’s speech at the Melbourne Invasion Day rally.

They are still killing us. They are still stealing our babies. They are killing our men. And they are still raping our women.

Addressing the voice to parliament, she says:

Do we want to become advisers now? We deserve better than that. We deserve better.

We see what white people have done to this country in the short time they have been here. They have destroyed our water, they have destroyed our land, they have destroyed our families.

They have destroyed our sacred sites. They have taken our children and said sorry – sorry I won’t do it again.

She says Aboriginal Australians deserve better, real power and action.

They want to put the colonial constitution over the top of the oldest constitution in the planet.

Our constitution comes from the soil and the blood of our people. We need peace. We deserve better than an advisory body.

We want real power, and we won’t settle for anything less.

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Brisbane Invasion Day rally urges people to stand against voice proposal

Ruby Wharton, a Gomeroi and Kooma woman, has urged about 10,000 attendees at the Brisbane Invasion Day rally to stand against the proposal for a voice to parliament.

That first sentence in the Uluru statement from the heart says that First Nations sovereignty is equal to that of the invading crown. Well, fucking how?

You mob have got to understand ... they’ll play into your idea of sovereignty and the idea of being a strong black person, they play into it. They talk about constitutional recognition while the head of state is in Alice Springs talking about oppressing Aboriginal people. Make that make sense.

Have courage to stand alone ... even when you’ve got your own mob telling you to sit down, you stand the fuck up.

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Lidia Thorpe calls for treaty at Melbourne rally

The Greens spokesperson for Indigenous affairs, Lidia Thorpe, is now speaking at Melbourne Invasion Day rally.

Thorpe says that from the federal parliament – “poisoned chalice that it is” – to the streets people walk down, there is a need to rid Australia of racism and establish treaty.

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‘I think there’s people here who support the voice and people who don’t,’ Brisbane rally attendee says

Invasion Day rally attendees in Meanjin/Brisbane share thoughts on an Indigenous voice to parliament and marking 26 January as a day of mourning.

Sharon Logan:

Since the 26th January, 1938, this has been the voice of Aboriginal people and since 26th January, 1788, that voice has been ignored. We’ve been bringing this sign we’ve been saying “Abolish Australia” for years, we’ve been saying Treaty Now for how ever many years, we’ve never said ‘government controlled Indigenous representative body’ ever.

Michelle:

I think there’s people here who support the voice and people who don’t and I think that’s okay. I’m leaning towards supporting the voice but I think most important is to show solidarity. The whole point of being here is to feel uncomfortable about our history and where we’re heading.

Aaliyah Strong:

I think that it’s important to be here because it’s a day of mourning, it should be sorry business. The same situation has gone on too long, we want change and we want to be recognised for what has happened.

Kristen:

It’s meant to be a day of mourning, today is nothing to celebrate, people died. There has to be some form of reconciliation because there hasn’t been, clearly.

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Search for missing woman Wendy Sleeman evolving into ‘suspected homicide’, police say

Queensland police have held a press conference in Burleigh Heads, nearby where Gold Coast woman Wendy Sleeman went missing. A crime scene was declared at an Elanora home earlier in the week after a large amount of blood was found at the property, triggering an alert for the missing 61-year-old woman.

Her 30-year-old son, Slade Murdok, was today charged with a string of domestic violence-related offences, including kidnapping, assault and burglary.

Police said at the press conference:

He is currently in the Brisbane watch-house and will front court this morning on a variety of charges relations to domestic violence, kidnapping, burglary and attempted arson We are still trying to find Wendy and the vehicle, so we are really keen for the public to come forward and help us.

Police are hopeful Sleeman is still alive, but say the matter is “transitioning from a missing persons investigation to a suspected homicide”.

I can say that the vehicle was last seen at 7.30 on the 24th, that’s Tuesday, on the intersection of Paradise Road and Kingston Road in Kingston Central. If you go towards Ikea and go towards Logan Central, the next. The intersection is where he was last seen. Surely someone has seen that vehicle from that period or they’ve got dashcam. Please come forward. It is extremely important.

Whilst we are hopeful that Wendy is still alive, I must say that we are transitioning from a missing persons investigation to a suspected homicide, and every minute counts at this particular time. If she is still alive, she needs help now. So if you know something, come forward. I can’t stress enough that it’s about her, it’s not about anything else, it is about finding her.

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‘Is there anyone here who thinks we need a voice? No one?’ Brisbane rally hears

Thousands at the Brisbane/Meanjin Invasion Day rally fell largely silent when the crowd was asked whether they supported a voice to parliament.

One of the rally organisers asked as the rally began:

Is there anyone here who thinks we need a voice? No one?

We want our land back. We want an end to deaths in custody. We want an end to intergenerational trauma.

We have a voice, those bastards in parliament haven’t been listening. What we want is justice, what we want is self-determination and sovereignty.

If they think some government-appointed advisory council is going to say it better than that, they have no idea.

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Aboriginal activist Uncle Robbie Thorpe is up now. He says this could be the year of reckoning:

Are you ready for freedom, Australia? Can you handle it? Are you ready for the truth?

Once you establish what the truth is, everything else can grow, he tells the crowd:

This is a great opportunity to step into a sovereign republic where we the people write the constitution – for the people by the people.

He says the federal constitution was created just up the road – pointing to the exhibition building – and Aboriginal people were cut out of it.

Lots of money has gone into the name of Aboriginal welfare and health, but there is nothing to show for it, Thorpe says. He says there are enough people at the rally to start a revolution:

They want [an] enshrined voice. That’s disgusting and insulting and offensive. We have to step up here.

He says he doesn’t want to validate the “racist” constitution.

We’ve got a voice, I’ve got one now in the labour community where it’s more important to have our voices on the ground. We are 600 sovereign black nations here.

Indigenous people want land back so they can have self determination, Thorpe says, and they want treaty.

We’ll be here till we get justice.

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Shark sighting at Burleigh Heads sends beachgoers fleeing

Those spending the day at the beach at Burleigh Heads have fled from the water after a shark sighting. The Courier Mail reports:

Shortly after 8.45am, lifeguards at the popular beach urged swimmers to return to their cabanas after a four-foot shark was spotted swimming approximately 150m out to sea and “200m from the flags”.

Burleigh SLSC patrol captain Paul Revitt said a decomposing loggerhead turtle 400m up the beach may have attracted the shark, whose species is as yet unidentified.

Revitt said:

The wave runner and rubber ducky chased him back out and we dealt with the dead turtle on the sand so hopefully that keeps the shark away.

The paper says swimmers returned to the water around 20 minutes after the evacuation.

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Police call for information on yachtsman presumed missing off Tasmanian coast

There are growing concerns for the welfare of Peter Baggentos who went missing after setting sail solo on his yacht from Tasmania to New Zealand.

The 80-year-old, who is from Switzerland, was last seen in Hobart on 1 December. The AIS transponder on Baggentos’ 13-metre yacht stopped transmitting on 5 December about 140km off Tasmania’s east coast.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority has conducted large scale search operations in the Tasman Sea, but the yacht nor Baggentos was located. Tasmania Police has taken over the investigation.

Anyone with information relating to Baggenstos’ disappearance is urged to contact Crimestoppers on 1800 333 000 or online at crimestopperstas.com.au.

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‘The biggest lie, of course, is Australia Day’: Marcia Langton

Langton believes more Australians would be willing to change the date if there was a greater awareness of the reality of the history of the treatment of Indigenous Australians.

I don’t think most Australians know much about the frontier histories. It certainly is not taught in schools. In fact, in most schools, it’s banned.

So this is very unfortunate, because Australians have this good view that Australia was settled peacefully. Nothing could be further from the truth. There is also a view that Australian Indigenous people did not “fight for Australia,” and so there is a resistance from the War Memorial to acknowledge the contribution of the thousands of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander servicemen and women in every war and campaign since the Boer war.

Things are changing, slowly, but we need to change our school curriculum. We need to educate Australians about the factual history of Australia and we need to stop the lying.

This is why, of course, the Uluru statement from the heart proposes a voice, the Makarrata, which refers to treaties, and truth-telling – and the biggest lie, of course, is Australia Day. It is not the day that Australia was created. It was, as I said, 1 January 1901.

I think we can find an inclusive date and I think we can start to tell the truth about Australia’s history and show some respect for all the survivors of the frontier wars.

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Australians need to ‘think deeply’ about consequences of having Australia Day on the day of invasion, Marcia Langton says

Marcia Langton, the co-chair of the Indigenous voice to parliament design group and associate professor of the University of Melbourne, is speaking to ABC News.

Langton begins by congratulating First Nations people on their survival through a “terrible history”.

Congratulations to all of those Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who are celebrating their survival at cultural events around the country, and also thanks to all of those Australians who have shown respect for, yes, the fact of our survival through the terrible history that remains a burden for so many Indigenous people.

On the changing tone of 26 January, she says:

I believe that Australians need to adopt the philosophy of respect and think deeply about the consequences of having Australia Day on the day of invasion, and consider the harm that it causes to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

I believe most Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have done their part to build the nation … and I don’t think I’ve ever met an Indigenous person who isn’t in some way wounded by the burden of colonialism, and we find so many ways to resist the celebration of this invasion by having cultural events, by celebrating our survival.

Of course, 26 January is not the date that our nation was created. Our nation was created on 1 January 1901 when the Westminster Act for the Australian constitution came into effect. January 26 was historically New South Wales Day and it celebrated the arrival of the First Fleet. I don’t think this is a good foundation for a truly inclusive, unifying national day.

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Treaty discussions could lead to formation of voice, Uncle Bill Nicholson tells Melbourne crowd

Uncle Bill Nicholson has taken the stage to start Melbourne’s rally. He’s addressing todays theme of treaty before voice.

“Positions must be stated before peace talks occur. Treaty can have many out forms,” he says, and suggests a voice might come out of treaty discussions. He likens the pressure to vote yes on the voice to asking “mission managers, ‘can we please have some of their rations’”.

“It’s about having a mandate,” he says.

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Speakers at Sydney Invasion Day rally call on protesters to vote against voice in referendum

The referendum on the voice to parliament has featured heavily at the Invasion Day rally in Sydney.

Speakers have called on attenders to vote “no” for the voice, telling protesters that they, community organisers, were the voice and that it wasn’t an effective enough measure.

One speaker specifically pointed to the proposed body’s inability to veto government decisions, saying it was another way their communities would be ignored.

Why should we go to a voice to parliament if it has no veto powers? Just another way the government won’t listen to mob. So I say, fuck your voice, it’s our voice that matters, it’s sovereignty that matters.

The final speaker, Gwenda Stanley, said it was “always about land rights” and that the voice would not address enough.

We are asking you not to vote against us. Sovereignty was never ceded. The colonialism of this country is still going, this government’s problems are the same as past governments.

We want to talk about land rights, giving us our land back, not government discussions. The constitution is a con.

MC Lizzie Jarrett reinforced the message, saying to tell the Albanese government to “fuck off”.

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‘It’s the next chapter of our story,’ says SA premier on the state’s plans to be the first to enshrine a voice to parliament

South Australian premier Peter Malinauskas has taken to Twitter to reiterate his plans for South Australia to be the first state to enshrine a First Nation’s Voice to parliament.

The legislation will be introduced next month after it gained the support of the South Australian Greens, who also moved a motion at a party meeting last week supporting a voice to federal parliament.

For me, the best thing about our Nation is the fact we are one country with many cultures. But no culture has a longer history or deeper connection with the land than the Aboriginal tradition. Today we reflect on the story of our country.

The story of possibilities, of opportunity and of hope. But our story is not complete. There is still much more to do. Too often, decisions have been made for Aboriginal people, and not by Aboriginal people.

A fully-elected Aboriginal body that will not only be a Voice to our parliament, but a Voice within our Parliament can change that. That’s what South Australia is doing.

It’ll be the nation’s first. And it’s the next chapter of our story.

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Melburnians at Invasion Day rally share their views

Here are more of the views coming from Melbourne rally attenders, where Cait Kelly has spoken to Uncle Peter Letting who was part of the Stolen Generation as well as Anushka, who reflects on her own family’s experience of colonisation in India.

Black and brown people are still living with generational trauma from white supremacy and it’s still affecting us every single day.

Why is the government being quiet about it? It’s appalling and shameful.

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Indigenous speakers at Canberra rally say voice proposal amounts to ‘crumbs on the table’

Several Indigenous speakers at Canberra’s 26 January rally have voiced strong opposition to the proposed voice to parliament referendum, one referring to it as “crumbs”.

Hundreds of people gathered in Canberra’s city centre for speeches, before marching through the capital’s main thoroughfare to the Aboriginal tent embassy at Old Parliament House. Several signs at the rally, titled “Sovereignty Day”, criticised the proposed indigenous advisory body – one reading “fuck your voice”.

Nioka Coe Craigie, the daughter of founders of the tent embassy, claimed constitutional recognition would “silence our voices in this country”.

She was critical of government, claiming they hadn’t gone to the tent embassy “and sat at the campfire to discuss terms”.

Another young woman spoke critically of the government’s description of the voice as an advisory body to the commonwealth, claiming such a structure would be “crumbs” and “inconsistent with our culture”.

She said:

Why would we accept it? Those are crumbs on the table being offered to us now.

The woman described the voice proposal as “uncompelling, so vague”.

Criticisms of the voice, raised by about half the speakers at the rally, received strong applause from about half the crowd, but less enthusiastic support than other calls for justice reform and Indigenous land rights.

Updated

Our reporter Cait Kelly is at the Invasion Day rally in Melbourne speaking to people in attendance about what the day means to them as well as their stance on the Indigenous voice to parliament.

Celeste Liddle says she’s “treaty first” before voice and always has been, being brought up around the time of the Land Rights movements.

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‘Australia Day is dead’: large crowds at Sydney Invasion Day rally

A large, raucous crowd has grown at Sydney’s Invasion Day rally, as speakers remind attendees of the purpose of the rally.

MC Lizzie Jarrett called Australia Day dead, as she addressed gathered police in front of a supportive crowd, saying they didn’t need their protection:

We protect each other. This is Sovereignty Day; Australia Day is dead. We have been fighting this for 238 years.

Just like Queen Lizzie, Australia Day is dead with her.

Will you support us? If you do, when that referendum comes around, kick it to the ground like Australia.

Another speaker, Paul Silva, who told the crowd about the rate of Indigenous deaths in custody, called for Australia Day to be abolished.

Silva is the nephew of the late David Dungay Jr, who died in Sydney’s Long Bay jail in 2015 after being held down by guards.

We will not celebrate rape, theft and murder on January 26. How can this day be celebrated when it’s about plain, cold genocide? So for everyone out there celebrating today, my question would be: would you celebrate a day when your ancestors or family members were raped and killed?

We see this system constantly killing us, we demand independent investigations into these deaths. We demand justice and accountability.

A minute’s silence was held right after, with protesters holding their fists up in solidarity.

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Signs opposing voice to parliament at Canberra Sovereignty Day rally

‘Every migrant generation has broadened our horizons, deepened our identity and enriched our nation’, PM says

Circling back to the PM’s words at the citizenship ceremony in Canberra, he reflected on the very first ceremony conducted in 1949 by Ben Chifley where seven migrants took the pledge that day to become the first “naturalised” Australians, as it was then called.

Albanese shared the story of the first person to be called at the ceremony, a 34-year-old man who came from Czechoslovakia to work as a eucalyptus oil distiller.

The plan was to earn and save for a couple of years before returning home to his wife and family, but the devastation of the second world war and the uncertainty of the encroaching iron curtain meant that he stayed in Australia to try to have his wife join him. Through those long, hard years, he exchanged just a few letters with his family and the first time his wife would see her husband’s face again was one she was on the boat from Melbourne to Sydney, newly arrived in Australia, looking at the newspaper. There it was – a photograph of her husband at that first citizenship ceremony. The two were reunited. They built their life together, raised a family.

Albanese then reflected on the role migration has played in Australia more broadly:

5.7 million people have taken up citizenship since, all with their own story, their own dreams, their own moments of joy and love, sadness and adversity.

Each and every migrant generation has broadened our horizons, deepened our identity and enriched our nation with their hard work, their sense of community and their driving aspiration for their children to enjoy a better life.

This is the promise of Australia. Their story is ours, and today a new chapter begins. For all of you receiving your Australian citizenship, and for all of us, for all Australians to welcome you with open arms and an open heart, I say this – congratulations, happy Australia Day, welcome home.

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Eight NSW Rural Fire Service members receive Australia Day honours

‘We push back against constitutional recognition’, speaker says at Sydney Invasion Day rally

Framed by posters saying “vote no to referendum” and “we deserve more than a voice”, organisers have begun the Invasion Day rally in Sydney with a welcome to country.

Surrounded by a strong showing of police, protesters have flowed into Belmore Park in Sydney’s CBD all morning.

Speakers have lined up to remind attendees of the history of Australia and the purpose of todays rally, including reinforcing the importance of recognising Australia’s colonial history.

One of the speakers has addressed the push for constitutional recognition and the referendum for a voice to parliament, saying that “across the east coast, we push back against constitutional recognition”:

This is the voice, they don’t want to hear it, we speak to power everyday and they don’t like it. We will never compromise.

MC Lizzi Jarrett said that neither the Labor government nor the Liberal opposition was “their friend”, adding that the push for a voice to parliament was a “whitewashed” measure:

We already had a referendum in ’67 and it done nothing for our rights, we are the voice. When the vote comes, vote no for a voice. Don’t come here and tick a box.

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We have the livestream of the Invasion Day rally in Belmore Park in Sydney playing at the top of the blog for those who want to follow along the speeches and performances.

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Invasion Day rally kicks off in Sydney

The first of Australia’s Invasion Day rallies for today has kicked off in Sydney, with thousands expected to march through the streets.

More to come soon from our reporter Mostafa Rachwani who is there.

19,000 people become Australian citizens making country ‘more fair, more prosperous, more equal’, PM says

Albanese goes on to welcome the newest Australians, who are minutes away from becoming citizens:

Today, all over our nation, over 19,000 people from every part of the world, drawn from every faith and every background, will be pledging their loyalty to their new home, to Australia, to our democratic beliefs, to our laws, our values and our people.

Joining our Australian family, joining us as proud citizens of the greatest country on earth, and joining us as partners in the ongoing task of making it greater still – more fair, more prosperous, more equal.

I am honoured to have this chance to personally welcome all of you here to take the pledge of citizenship, hailing from Nigeria, Mexico, Thailand, Brazil, the United Kingdom and Iran, Egypt, Malaysia and the United States of America.

Albanese says many of the skills the new citizens bring are essential workers such as community and mental health support workers. He also gives a particular shoutout to the “not one but two astronomers”:

Looking through the list of occupations here today, it is a roll call of the skills that Australia once and we need. Disability, community and mental health support workers, scientists, pharmacists, a mechanical estimator, administrators, cleaners, accountants and customer service professionals, and not one but two astronomers. Welcome! If anyone can help our nation reach for the stars it is you!

Speaking of stars, it is also so special to see the children with you here today as well, our young Australian so full of energy and potential. I want you to know that you are now becoming citizens of a country that, no matter where you live or who you worship, no matter who you love or what your last name is, you can write your own future.

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Hello! Natasha May back with you.

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has stepped up to speak in Canberra for the national citizenship and flag raising ceremony.

He begins saying:

I am proud to lead a government that is committed to the Uluru Statement from the Heart, in full, including a constitutional recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander s as Australia’s first Peoples.

Changing the way Australia Day is observed significant in lead up to the voice referendum, councillor says

More on AAP’s report that there’s a growing national movement to change the way Australia Day is observed. Dubbo councillor Pam Wells, a Tubba-Gah woman of the Wiradjuri nation, said Wellington’s move to January 25 was significant in the lead-up to a referendum on enshrining an Indigenous voice to parliament in the constitution.

Now is the opportunity to start planting those seeds across our communities, having the conversation and understanding what a yes or no vote is

We respect people’s choice as long as they understand and are educated and have the opportunity to make an informed choice

I’ve got big dreams and big hopes for a much stronger cultural lens in the regions around connecting with Aboriginal people and making sure the voice is loud and heard and respected

Day of respect dawns in regions

Across Australia’s regions there is a growing national movement to change the way Australia Day is observed, AAP reports.

In 2018 the Mount Alexander region, south of Bendigo, Victoria, gave its January 26 events a dual name: Australia Day – Survival Day.

Dja Dja Wurrung elders including Uncle Rick Nelson led the change, and the day becomes more poignant each year, Mayor Rosie Annear said:

It was time to do something, token gestures weren’t going to be enough.

In Castlemaine, a concert in featuring First Nations performers will be among Thursday’s events.

The City of Sydney voted to hold citizenship ceremonies on 27 January, while Hobart city council will hold events either side of 26 January from next year.

Griffith city council in southwest New South Wales is supporting the Local Aboriginal Land Council’s event, which will share stories of survival and knowledge through musical performances.

Traditional owners in Victoria’s Surf Coast region have collaborated with council for reflection and storytelling during a dawn ceremony at Torquay.

In Ballarat, the council describes the Koorie Engagement Action Group’s Survival Day dawn ceremony as one of the city’s “most momentous days”.

Dubbo regional council in central west NSW moved its events in the town of Wellington to Wednesday evening to respect its Indigenous community and attract more crowds in the cooler part of the day.

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Two NSW SES volunteers receive Australia Day honours

Two NSW State Emergency Service volunteers have been awarded an emergency service medal in the Australia Day honours list.

Local commander for Clarence Valley cluster, Chief Inspector Susan Chapple, and unit commander of the Blacktown unit Barry Wademan received the award for going above and beyond for their communities during a year of relentless rain and floods.

NSW SES commissioner Carlene York congratulated the recipients:

This prestigious award is an opportunity to recognise the dedication and tenacity our emergency services personnel uphold through volunteering and helping keep their communities safe.

Susan has provided support and mentorship to members of the NSW SES and is a strong role model for women in leadership.

They have both assisted in life-critical incidences, supporting communities through severe storms and floods, to building preparedness and capability in their Units – they truly embody our service’s mission of saving lives and protecting communities.

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WugulOra Morning Ceremony at Barangaroo

Moving scenes from Sydney this morning as people gathered on the banks of the harbour on Gadigal land for the WugulOra Morning Ceremony at Barangaroo Reserve.

The ceremony celebrated the Gadigal people of the Eora nation through dance, music, and storytelling.

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Thanks for your attention this morning, Jordyn Beazley is going to be with you for the next little while.

Local hero wants Australia to be more disaster ready

Amar Singh, the 2023 Local Hero of the year, is speaking to ABC News Breakfast.

He’s the founder of Turbans 4 Australia, a group that every week packages and distributes up to 450 food and grocery packages to people experiencing food insecurity in western Sydney.

Asked what he wants to do going forward with this recognition, he says his focus will be providing assistance in the increasing natural disasters in Australia:

I’m still going to do what I did before, is help people do the charity work that we do all over Australia and expand in other states as well.

Because that’s my dream, to have a set-up, when disasters hit, we are ready to go, we’re not scratching our heads thinking what to do, that it’s not our problem.

We need to help our friends in the regional areas because they need more help than the city folk.

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Royal drama boosts support for republic, poll shows

Staying with opinion polls, the Nine papers’ Resolve Political Monitor shows Australians are more likely to support a republic following Prince Harry’s very public falling out with his family.

Support for an Australian republic has increased from 36 to 39% among eligible voters since the death of Queen Elizabeth, while the number of voters against the change fell from 37 to 31%.

It marks a shift from the support for the monarchy which rose in the weeks after the Queen’s death in September.

Chief political correspondent, David Crowe, writes:

Asked about Prince Harry’s disclosures about the royal family in recent weeks, 21% of respondents said the stories had an impact on their view, but they were divided on whether it increased or decreased their support for the republic.

Of the 21%, 14% said they were more likely to support a republic, but 7% said they were less likely to do so.

Perhaps the most surprising news out of the poll is the 7% of respondents who said they were “completely unaware” of the royal revelations that emerged out of Prince Harry’s television interviews, Netflix series and new memoir, Spare.

Updated

Australia Day attitude polling

Polling from rightwing think-tank the Institute of Public Affairs suggests three-and-a-half times more Australians support Australia Day remaining on January 26 than those opposed.

But support decreases among younger age groups, with 18-to 24-year-olds only slightly in favour (42% to 30%).

Meanwhile, an annual Roy Morgan poll asking about the name Australia Day compared with Invasion Day remained relatively stable on a 64-36 split.

Roy Morgan’s chief executive, Michele Levine, said the issue had taken on added importance this year with the federal government’s commitment to a referendum on the voice to parliament.

– AAP

Updated

‘Hard to imagine anyone more deserving’: Pocock congratulates Calma and other Australian of the Year award recipients

The independent senator for the Australian Capital Territory, David Pocock, has taken to social media with messages of congratulations for the Australian of the Year winners.

Pocock also thanked outgoing Australian of the Year, Dylan Alcott, for his contribution in the platform over the past year.

Updated

‘A handful of wreckers in our movement’

Nira illim bulluk man of the Taungurung Nation, Marcus Stewart, has penned this very powerful piece about why this year will be the first he won’t be attending the Invasion Day rally.

I can’t watch in silence while a handful of wreckers in our movement hijack the annual Invasion Day rally to stage a de-facto launch of the no campaign against an Aboriginal voice to parliament.

I can’t risk aiding the efforts to sabotage the best chance we’ve had to secure meaningful change to improve the lives of our people.

Read the full piece here:

Updated

Australia is worth celebrating, governor general says

Despite its challenges, Australia is a country worth celebrating, the governor-general, David Hurley, says.

Our individual identities and stories weave together into a modern, diverse nation of people. That is worth celebrating.

Yes, there are many challenges and yes, we don’t agree on everything.

We do however work hard, look out for each other and are not afraid to take on the big challenges.

– AAP

Updated

‘We have to change the attitudes … it won’t matter what day’, McCarthy says

Malarndirri McCarthy, the assistant minister for Indigenous affairs and Yanyuwa Garrawa woman, says Australia Day has always been a time of reflection for her – both on the brutality her people experienced and celebration of the nation.

McCarthy has told the Today Show:

We know the 26 January always brings debate, I mean, look at the last 10 years with people talking about changing the date. I’ve been on the record saying, well, I think we have to change the attitudes across our country, it won’t matter what day.

We ought to be proud of our country at some point in a united way. And whether it’s the 26th of January or another day, that’s something that our country has to mature and grow towards.

So the 26th of January at the moment, I think is about reflection, like I have always said, you know, get up at sunrise. And for me personally as a Yanyuwa woman, I do reflect on the brutality of the early days of history in my own families and what still currently happens with the high incarceration rates.

But I’m enormously proud of the achievements as well as fellow Australians like just watching the Australia Awards last night and seeing those inspiring heroes. Like you know, I want that for our country. I don’t want our country divided.

Updated

‘Disappointed’: Tom Calma rejects Lidia Thorpe sovereignty before voice stance

The Senior Australian of the Year, co-chair of the Indigenous voice co-design group, Tom Calma, has accused the federal Greens of “dilly-dallying” on their position on the voice.

Asked about Greens senator Lidia Thorpe’s position that she’ll only vote for the voice if she’s satisfied First Nations’ sovereignty isn’t ceded, Calma said:

[I’m] disappointed. For a couple of reasons: if we look at the United Nations declaration of Indigenous peoples ... nothing in the declaration undermines the authority of the state, the country’s government. In Australia we did not cede ownership of Australia. Regrettably, it was determined by the British on the day, that terra nullius existed in Australia, which was overturned in 1992 through the Mabo high court decision ... whilst we haven’t ceded ... we haven’t progressed that matter.

For Calma, the questions are separate. He said:

It’s important that we as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have an opportunity to be able to contribute to policies that impact us, and programs and legislation – and that’s the first step. And we’ll go down and address the other matters, truth-telling is already progressing, treaty, although some states already looking at treaties within their own jurisdictions. So, I feel a bit offended when we’re starting to determine that the support or determination of whether to support a voice is predetermined by whether you address some of the other issues in Indigenous affairs. As I said in my speech last night, they can co-exist, these approaches. If you support the principle of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people having input into policy and legislation, that’s what you should support - it shouldn’t be predicated on whether other things are happening.

Updated

‘I acknowledge our painful past & commit to supporting the Voice to Parliament’, Sitou says

The Labor member for Reid, Sally Sitou, has taken to Twitter to share how the meaning of Australia Day has changed throughout her life.

My parents would share stories about how they fled Laos and found refuge in Australia. They told me about the warm welcome and support they received when they got here and how grateful they are to be Australian citizens.

As I got older still, I started to recognise that for First Nations people this day is a challenging day. It was the day that marked the start of a period when they were dispossessed of their land, traditions, culture and family. Now, Australia Day is an opportunity for me to give thanks to this country which has given me and my family so much.

It’s also a day where I acknowledge our painful past & commit to supporting the Voice to Parliament. Because it’s time. It’s time to celebrate the culture of Australia’s First Nations people, acknowledge their rightful place as the traditional and first custodians of this land.

We ought to enshrine their voice in our Constitution and it’s time for us to finally listen to First Nations people and let them have a say over the policies and decisions that affect them.

Whatever this day means for you, it’s important to remember we are all Australians, from those who can trace their ancestry back thousands of years to those who become citizens today. We all have a contribution to make to this wonderful country we call home.

The Day of Mourning

This is the 85th anniversary of First Nations peoples and others gathering to mark the Day of Mourning which first took place in 1938.

Festivities in Sydney already began at dawn, with a projection on the Opera House by Kamilaroi woman and artist Rhonda Sampson acknowledging the role of women around the waters of Sydney Cove before Captain Arthur Phillip’s 1788 arrival.

The Andrews government in Victoria has cancelled the annual street parade through Melbourne, choosing to focus on local gatherings, AAP reports.

You can read more about the message of the Day of Mourning from Wesley Enoch:

Updated

Medical students call for systemic reform this Invasion Day

The Australian Medical Students Association (Amsa) is calling for an end to the celebration of January 26, saying it is “a day that memorialises the colonisation and dispossession of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander land, peoples and communities”.

Amsa says increasing epidemiological literature provides evidence for racism as a significant determinant directly affecting both physical health and mental health outcomes, and so the continued celebration of Invasion Day only functions to further perpetuate the psychological distress experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Isobella Kruger, a Kombumerri and Ngugi woman and co-chair of Amsa Indigenous says:

Viewing colonisation as an isolated event of the past is simultaneously an oversimplification of our history and a means of avoiding responsibility and accountability by refusing to acknowledge the ongoing systemic racism and intergenerational harms perpetrated against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Tish Sivagnanan, the president of AMSA, says:

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people continue to face significant disparities in health access and outcomes today. These outcomes, especially in the context of mental health and well-being, continue to be exacerbated by systemic, social and interpersonal racism and discrimination that permeates Australian society.

Amsa is calling on the federal government to:

  • publicly acknowledge the harms of celebrating Invasion Day and take action to change this public holiday.

  • actively seek and follow guidance from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island communities and organisations regarding all policy decisions affecting them.

  • switch the Closing the Gap initiative from a deficit-based outcome system to a strengths-based one to actively support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and their autonomy and strengths.

Updated

Indigenous voice to parliament ‘historic opportunity’ to put Australian values to work, PM says

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has shared a video message wishing “each and every one of you a very happy Australia Day”.

Albanese used the message to encourage Australians to embrace the Indigenous voice to parliament, saying it is an opportunity to put national values to work.

Today, at ceremonies around our nation, people young and old, born under every flag and drawn from every faith and tradition will pledge their loyalty to our nation, our people, and the democratic beliefs that we share in choosing Australia as their home.

These newest citizens are embracing the values and qualities we hold dear: our belief in opportunity for all the respect we have for hard work, the optimism that drives our aspiration and the Australian instinct for fairness, decency, care and respect for each other.

Australians across our great nation uphold these qualities every day, and later this year, every Australian will have the historic opportunity to put these values to work by answering the gracious, patient call of the Uluru statement from the heart and voting to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in our nation’s birth certificate, the constitution, celebrating the unique privilege we have to share this island continent with the world’s oldest continuous culture, that should be a source of pride for us all.

Updated

Guide to Invasion Day rallies

Indigenous communities and allies will come together to mark Invasion Day, or Survival Day, with marches, smoking ceremonies and gatherings planned across the country on today.

Many Australians are already taking to social media this morning to express solidarity with First Nations people whose land was never ceded.

Human Rights Watch researcher Sophie McNeil encouraged Australians on social media to “Get up. Stand up. Show up” attending rallies.

My colleague Mostafa Rachwani has put together a list of events and gatherings in major cities around Australia:

Updated

Australian of the year says children’s body image is a ‘paediatric health emergency’

Morning! Natasha May on deck with you.

Taryn Brumfitt, body image activist and director, has been named Australian of the Year, at a ceremony in Canberra last night.

Brumfitt is the founder of the global Body Image Movement, which has brought together leaders, advocates and experts to spark conversation about body image.

She’s told ABC Radio this morning that the movement’s focus is currently “firmly” on kids.

I’m describing this as a paediatric health emergency for our kids.

In particular, we know that 77% of Australian young adults report body image distress. This has doubled since 2009.

We also know that adolescents who are experiencing body dissatisfaction that 24 times more likely to be depressed and experience anxiety.

So I’m just really grateful that we can take this conversation from hashtag loving body to this is actually really important to get right.

Albanese appeals to national interest in voice debate

Anthony Albanese has told critics of the voice to parliament campaign that his “door is always open” as he attempts to build support for a referendum win by appealing to the national interest of opponents.

“The leaders of other major parties, and indeed minor parties, including the Greens political party – this is a moment for them as well. Will they seize the opportunity to unite the nation and to take us forward as one?”

Indigenous leaders have said his suggestion of a total alcohol ban for Alice Springs would not fix the town’s social problems and that more fundamental problems such as the legacy of colonisation needed to addressed.

Updated

Welcome

Good morning and welcome to our rolling news coverage of what is expected to be a lively Australia Day public holiday marked with a series of Invasion Day protests. I’m Martin Farrer and I’ll bring you the big overnight stories before my colleague Natasha May takes over.

Taryn Brumfitt, a body image activist from South Australia, who directed a documentary about women’s body loathing and her path to accepting her own skin, has been named the 2023 Australian of the Year. “It is not our life’s purpose to be at war with our body,” she told the awards ceremony in Canberra last night. The 2023 Senior Australian of the Year was named as the Kungarakan elder and human rights campaigner Prof Tom Calma. Calma, 69, is currently the co-chair of Reconciliation Australia and chancellor of the University of Canberra.

Invasion Day and Survival Day protests are already under way, with dawn ceremonies in many locations to mark the arrival of white settlers. There will be events all day, including the annual protest in Belmore Park in Sydney and Brisbane’s annual Invasion Day rally at Queens Gardens.

Several spectators at the Australian Open are being questioned by Victoria police after they unveiled flags in support of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and then threatened security guards following the quarter-final match between Andrey Rublev of Russia and Novak Djokovic. The nine-times champion won his game easily to progress to the semi-finals, but during the game a spectator revealed a T-shirt with a large Z on the front – the symbol of the Russian military. Afterwards, some fans unfurled Russian flags and images of the Russian president, Vladimir Putin.

Updated

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