That’s it for today, thanks for reading
Here are the main stories on Sunday 26 January:
Thousands have marched in capital cities across Australia for Invasion/Survival Day.
South Australia police have charged a man for displaying a Nazi symbol.
Deputy opposition leader, Sussan Ley, compares First Fleet to Elon Musk’s SpaceX seeking to reach Mars.
Anthony Albanese has said he is worried about political polarisation taking hold in Australia, calling on citizens to “show our common interest” in comments on 26 January.
Peter Dutton has said Australians ‘shouldn’t be afraid’ of celebrating Australia Day.
Australians from all walks of life have been recognised in the Australia Day Honours List, which features 457 recipients – 243 men and 213 women – aged from 14 to 98
The office of the NSW minister for transport and member for Summer Hill, Jo Haylen, was vandalised yesterday.
Students will walk out of class next month in a Victoria-wide pro-Palestine strike for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and an end to attacks on the West Bank.
The drug ice has been found in the blood of about one in 10 drivers hurt or killed in road crashes, a decade-long study has found.
Updated
Man charged with displaying a Nazi symbol in South Australia
Police said he was one of at least a dozen people from across the country – who were not involved in organised events or protests – who were arrested and charged with various street offences.
SA police said these charges included failure to cease loitering, possession of a disguise, and hinder and resist arrest.
Police said in a statement:
Police were pleased with the overwhelming majority of community members who attended the Adelaide CBD today to participate in the events held.
Police would like to thank those people who safely and peacefully attended city events.
Updated
Nine reporter stood down in ‘McLaren man’ scandal thanks supporters
Presenter Alex Cullen has written on social media that he looks forward to whatever comes next after he was stood down from Nine.
He wrote:
“This has been a very difficult time and I just want to say thank you to all the wonderful people who reached out. It means the world to me and my young family. I will miss my colleagues at Today and wish them the best. Thank you again and I look forward to whatever comes next.
Cullen was stood down after he allegedly took a $50,000 payment from billionaire Adrian Portelli for referring to him as “McLaren man”
Portelli had offered to give $50,000 to the first television presenter to refer to him as the “McLaren man” on air.
More on this story here:
Updated
Hello, I’ll now be with you until later this afternoon and bringing you news updates as they come.
We also have this beautiful video filmed at dawn by Aston Brown showing the Aboriginal artwork that illuminated the Sydney Opera House as part of an Australia Day dawn reflection, marking 237 years since colonisation began:
Updated
If you haven’t read Sarah Collard’s story about the Aboriginal families who have an unbroken connection lasting more than 7,500 years to the Sydney suburb of La Perouse make some time to do so today – preferably on a bigger screen to appreciate the beautiful pictures by Bec Lorrimer.
Updated
Troy Cassar-Daley sweeps Golden Guitars
AAP have more details from the Golden Guitar awards at the Tamworth Country music festival, where an emotional Troy Cassar-Daley has paid tribute to his family in his acceptance speech.
Cassar-Daley returned to the house where his beloved mother died to make music in her honour. His poignant album Between The Fires, recorded in his mother Irene’s lounge room in rural NSW, earned the country star five Golden Guitar awards in Tamworth on Saturday night.
The Gumbaynggirr/Bundjalung singer-songwriter swept the major categories, winning Album of the Year, Male Artist of the Year and Song of the Year for the track Some Days.
Cassar-Daley said his musical collaborators were supportive of recording in the family home at Halfway Creek, in the Clarence Valley. He told the crowd:
(They said) the best thing about this record is that it’s only going to sound like your mum’s house.
He also paid tribute to his wife, Laurel Edwards, for standing by him as he grieved.
I didn’t mean to push everyone away. It’s just that sometimes to heal you have to take the journey on your own.”
The win takes Cassar-Daley’s collection of Golden Guitars to 45.
Updated
NSW state MP’s office vandalised
The office of the NSW minister for transport and member for Summer Hill, Jo Haylen, was vandalised yesterday. In pictures provided by the minister’s office graffiti can be seen to say “honour your oath, separate church & state” and “antisemite.”
Haylen said in a statement:
Yesterday my electorate office was subjected to a disgraceful and cowardly attack of vandalism.
This is the fourth time my office has been subjected to this kind of criminal attack.
These kind of criminal acts are designed to intimidate and divide our successful multicultural communities. I will not be intimidated by them and nor will the rest of our inner west community.
My office has informed NSW Police and I have total confidence that they will find the people who did this and subject them to the full force of the law.
Updated
Peter Dutton says Australians ‘shouldn’t be afraid’ of celebrating Australia Day
In a video posted to social media, wishing his followers a “very Happy Australia Day”, the opposition leader said:
Australia Day is a celebration of the greatest country in the world, and we shouldn’t be afraid of celebrating it.
The defining achievement has been the weaving together of the Indigenous, British and migrant threads of our story.
Being an Australian is a celebration of our shared values, our respect for democracy, our love of family and our commitment to giving back.
Today, we welcome our newest citizens into this story. I want to congratulate each of you on this special milestone. To be an Australian is to have won the lottery of life.
We have every reason to be patriotic and proud today. Let’s celebrate the achievement of Australia, under one flag. From my family to yours, have a very happy Australia Day.
To be an Australian is to have won the lottery of life, and we have every reason to be patriotic and proud. Have a very Happy Australia Day, everyone 🇦🇺 pic.twitter.com/bBf8PbO6hR
— Peter Dutton (@PeterDutton_MP) January 26, 2025
Updated
Australian Open attracts record crowds
The Australian Open has surged past last year’s cumulative attendance record with one day of play to go, and will ultimately draw nearly 1.1m patrons through the gates by Sunday night’s end of the 15-day tournament.
They have been drawn by the on-court action and off-court attractions, including new hospitality offerings and more family-friendly activities around Melbourne Park. Tournament director Craig Tiley hailed the result, and said “making sure that fans are comfortable is our major priority”.
But some believe the character of the event has changed. Former player John Alexander said on ABC on Saturday “there is a yobbo element of the crowd that are coming, whether it’s sometimes to cheer for their nationality or cause a problem”.
Read more here:
Updated
PM calls for Australians to unite around ‘common interest’
Anthony Albanese said he is worried about political polarisation taking hold in Australia, calling on citizens to “show our common interest” in comments on 26 January.
The prime minister gave a brief doorstop at the national citizenship ceremony in Canberra, where he presented certificates to some of Australia’s newest citizens. Asked whether he could ever see Australia Day becoming a day of national unity, amid protests and rallies, he suggested both concepts could coexist. He said:
I think what we’ve seen here this morning is the theme – reflect, respect and celebrate – carried out in practice. This was a respectful ceremony. We shared this continent with the oldest continuous culture on earth. And earlier this morning, myself and the governor general met with Ngunnawal elders.
It was a very important, respectful ceremony. And here, we acknowledge the fullness and richness of our history. But what unites us as Australians is our common commitment, whether we are a part of the oldest continuous living culture on Earth, or whether we’re people who are becoming citizens today, we all share that vision as Australians of a fair country, a country in which people can fulfil their opportunity, make a better life than themselves and their families.
As he has in other recent media appearances, Albanese was critical that opposition leader Peter Dutton had decided not to attend the national ceremony, and claimed his opponent was always “looking for the wedge, or where’s the division that he can bring”. Albanese said:
I don’t want to see the polarisation that’s occurred in some democracies. I want Australians to be united, to show our common interest. Because what we have in common is so much greater than anything that any differences that people might have.
I want those differences to be respectful. I think quite often Peter Dutton projects. And there’s no greater example than that, for him to talk about culture wars. What I’ve done in the lead-up to this Australia Day, and every Australia Day as prime minister, is just engaged in celebrating our great country. And that’s what I’ll continue to do.
Updated
Brisbane’s invasion day march has got underway.
Many thousands of people have set off for Musgrave Park in South Brisbane where the rally will continue.
The thermometer has yet to hit 30 and the sky is overcast but the multiple water stations set up by organisers have proven popular
The main chants are “What’s today? Invasion day” and “always ways always will be Aboriginal land”.
Updated
Campaigners and Olympians recognised in honours list
Australians from all walks of life have been recognised in the Australia Day Honours List, which features 457 recipients - 243 men and 213 women - aged from 14 to 98, AAP reports.
There were six recipients of the Companion of the Order of Australia (AC), the nation’s highest civilian honour: Constitutional lawyer Megan Davis for her service to law and Indigenous people, infectious diseases expert Allen Cheuk-Seng Cheng, High Court Justice James Edelman, arts patron Lyn Williams, human rights advocate Gillian Triggs and the late Indigenous land rights activist Galarrwuy Yunupingu.
Water safety pioneer Laurie Lawrence was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO), which also recognised his work as Australia’s swimming coach at three Olympics. Other Olympic champions from Australia’s recent campaign in Paris have also been honoured, with pole vaulter Nina Kennedy, BMX rider Saya Sakakibara, swimmer Cameron McEvoy and skateboarder Arisa Trew each awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM).
Late Liberal Party stalwart and former defence minister Kevin Andrews was appointed as a Member of the Order of Australia (AM), with other political figures such as former Northern Territory chief minister Denis Burke (AM) and former attorney-general Duncan Kerr (AO) also on the list.
Domestic violence campaigners Suzanne and Lloyd Clarke said they were beyond humbled to receive an OAM. The couple’s daughter Hannah, 31, and her three children were murdered in 2020 after their car was set alight by her estranged husband, which led to a national debate about domestic violence.
Other OAM recipients included Ross Matthews Brown, the executive director of the Brown Family Wine Group. Read more about those recognised by Daisy Dumas here:
Sydney’s Invasion/Survival Day march has arrived at Victoria Park, with the crowd yelling “too many coppers, not enough justice”.
Sussan Ley compares First Fleet to Elon Musk’s Space X seeking to reach Mars
Deputy opposition leader made the comments in an Australia Day address to a church service in her electorate.
Ley, the Member for Farrer, gave a speech to a mass service in her town of Albury today. Praising this country as “peaceful, prosperous and free”, she said Australians should be proud of 26 January:
Because despite the black arm brigade, who will be marching in the streets of our cities today, the fact is the story of Australia is one that is objectively good. We need to reject what those mobs are saying today through their loudspeakers and their iPhones.
The problem with those activists is they are so fixated with projecting themselves as survivors, that they leave no room for us to come together as citizens. And history shows us strong and successful societies are not made up of survivors, they are built and maintained by citizens.
In the opening paragraphs of the address, a transcript of which was distributed by her office, Ley spoke of the arrival of British settlers into Sydney Cove in 1788 – and drew parallels to Musk, the world’s richest person, Tesla CEO and now confidante of US president Donald Trump. Ley said:
All those years ago those ships did not arrive, as some would have you believe, as invaders. They did not come to destroy or to pillage.
In what could be compared to Elon Musk’s Space X’s efforts to build a new colony on Mars, men in boats arrived on the edge of the known world to embark on that new experiment. A new experiment and a new society.
And just like astronauts arriving on Mars those first settlers would be confronted with a different and strange world, full of danger, adventure and potential. From that moment our national story stood at a crossroads.
Ley’s invocation of Musk comes a day after opposition leader Peter Dutton’s frontbench reshuffle named Jacinta Nampijinpa Price to a newly created role of shadow minister for government efficiency – echoing Musk’s own idea for a department of government efficiency.
Updated
We’ve been speaking to protesters at Melbourne’s Invasion Day rally about why they have chosen to march today.
Jason Brouwer, 36, says he first attended an Invasion Day rally in Melbourne almost 10 years ago:
There’s been massive change which is very heartening to see, particularly in the current political climate and what’s happened in the past couple of years with the failed referendum.
For a country to recognise and understand it’s history, to properly to be able to reconcile with that, it must tell the truth. We currently don’t do that as a collective.
Albanese saw Leeser appointment as key to voice to parliament support
Albanese has also revealed Labor thought there was a “path forward” on the issue of the Voice to Parliament due to Dutton’s appointments in the shadow cabinet:
Peter Dutton, at the beginning of the term, knowing that we would hold a referendum on constitutional recognition, appointed one of the architects of the voice, Julian Leeser, not just as the shadow minister for Indigenous affairs, but as the shadow attorney general as well. That was a sign that there was a path -
Clennell:
He threw a dummy at you, did he?
Albanese:
That was a sign that there was a path forward on this issue. Now, Peter Dutton chose a different path. That’s a matter for him. We respect the outcome, but we don’t resile from the fact that we said that we would hold a referendum. We said there was no certainty of the outcome, and we respect that.
Updated
PM sticks to climate action after US ditches Paris accord
Asked about the US pulling out of the Paris accord under US President Donald Trump, Albanese said it still makes “economic sense” for Australia to take action on the climate crisis:
Per capita emissions from us are substantially higher than most, if not just about all of the world, are substantial. … China is investing massively in renewables, massively, as is India as well, in delivering some of the world’s largest projects, are taking place there.
And the reason why they’re doing that isn’t just about the environment. It’s because it makes good economic sense and for Australia to act on the opportunity that we have is not only about reducing our emissions, it’s about economic opportunity.
Updated
Following on from Albanese’s interview on Sky News, he was asked about timing around the budget and the election.
Andrew Clennell said the finance minister had said “the next Budget update is March 25”:
She’s not saying the Budget is March 25. Are you planning for a potential April election as opposed to May?
Albanese:
No, the Budget’s scheduled for March 25.
Albanese confident about his agenda for a second term
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, was asked by Andrew Clennell on Sky News, this morning, about doubts expressed by some people that he can win the next election. Albanese said:
I’ve been underestimated my whole life. There are a lot of stories before the 2022 election that were along those lines, as well. What I’m confident of is that I lead a government that’s focused, that’s orderly, that has seen Australia through some very difficult economic times, that we are heading in the right direction, and that we have an agenda to build on [all of] that in our second term.
Asked if he feels he made any mistakes in his time in office, he said:
In hindsight, there are things that could always, of course, if you had that benefit, go back and make things better. But my government has been focused.
… We underestimated the extent to which the Russian invasion of Ukraine would continue. There was no one in 2022 saying that a land war in Europe would continue in 2025 and that it would have such an impact on global inflation because of the impact it had on global energy prices … We didn’t expect that [would be] the case, but we acted.
Updated
Melbourne Invasion Day rally heads for Flinders Street
Invasion Day protesters are now walking down Bourke Street chanting “Always was, always will be Aboriginal land” on their way to Flinders Street.
There are expected to be more speeches on the steps of Flinders Street Station.
Updated
‘Every day is Invasion Day’, activist tells Brisbane rally
Speakers at the Brisbane invasion day rally have spoken against the federal and state LNP.
Thousands of people have filtered in to the event, nearly filling Queen’s Gardens.
Local Indigenous elders and leaders have been addressing the crowd for about an hour. Many of them have spoken about the Liberal National Party, that dominates state and federal politics in Queensland.
Indigenous elder Uncle Bill Lemson told the crowd:
Peter Dutton won’t even stand in front of our flag.
The crowd responded “shame”.
Speaker Kargun Moojidi Fogerty, a poet and educator, wore a lanyard with all days of the week labelled “invasion day”:
Every day is Invasion Day. Every day. They’re invading your privacy … they’re invading your body.
We’ve got a far-right government in Queensland and we’ll have one at the federal level soon.
Updated
Canberra Invasion Day marchers head for Parliament House
After numerous short speeches and a traditional smoking ceremony, the Canberra invasion day rally is now marching toward Parliament House from the Aboriginal tent embassy.
Hundreds of people are marching up the short walk from the old Parliament House to the new building. At the head of the protest there are large Aboriginal flags, and hand-painted signs announcing that “sovereignty never ceded”. There are also three large Palestinian flags held up on long poles.
Rally goers are repeating chants including “No pride in genocide” and “Always was, always will be Aboriginal land”.
Updated
Victorian students plan February ‘walkout’ in support of Palestine
Students will walk out of class next month in a Victoria-wide pro-Palestine strike for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and an end to attacks on the West Bank.
Bella Beiraghi, co-convener for Students for Palestine Australia, one of the groups behind pro-Palestine encampments at universities last year, urged students to continue mobilising for Palestine despite the introduction of a three-phase agreement designed to broker a permanent end to the war.
Israel has used the ceasefire in Gaza to dramatically escalate attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank … Meanwhile in Gaza, Palestinians continue to suffer disease, famine and homelessness.
Students for Palestine Australia co-convener Jasmine Duff rejected calls from the state and federal governments to end pro-Palestine demonstrations.
“We will not forget that Israel was aided in its war by governments across the world, including Australia. We demand ongoing accountability, including investigations.”
The walkout will take place on Thursday, 27 February at the State Library of Victoria in Melbourne.
Updated
Sydney Invasion Day marchers make their way through the city’s streets
The Sydney Invasion/Survival day rally has left Belmore Park and begun its march through Sydney’s streets.
Dylan Hoskins, a Dunghutti, Gumbayngirr and Bundjalung person, has chosen dress up in a union jack dress, and covered in red paint.
It presents the ongoing genocide that … might not be visible but it’s still happening from the systems built against us.
Updated
NSW commissioner laments lack of treaty with Indigenous Australians
Dr Todd Fernando, a NSW Treaty Commissioner with the NSW Government, has addressed the crowd in Sydney.
It is a shame that we are the last Commonwealth country to not have a treaty with its First Nations peoples.
Our commitment with New South Wales treaty commission is to honour the communities that came before us, to ensure that their voices are at the heart of the treaty table, to ensure that our negotiations between our communities are centred on honouring them and the respect that deserves.
Updated
‘The war on black fellas never stopped’ – Invasion Day resonates in Sydney
Neenan Simpson, a Wiradjuri man, is preparing a smoking ceremony that will soon begin at Sydney’s Invasion/Survival Day. He tells Guardian Australia:
We’re still here. We’re still surviving.
The war on black fellas continues, the war on black fellas never stopped. The war on our children never stopped.
Ice the most prevalent illegal drug detected in people in car crashes, study finds
The drug ice has been found in the blood of about one in 10 drivers hurt or killed in road crashes, a decade-long study has found.
The Victorian study, which is the largest of its kind in Australia, analysed data from nearly 20,000 injured and more than 1,500 deceased drivers between 2010 and 2019, focusing on the presence of alcohol, methylamphetamine (ice), MDMA, and cannabis in their blood.
It found that 16.8% of car drivers and motorcyclists involved in crashes tested positive for at least one drug, with 14% of all crashes involving a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.05% or higher.
The findings showed methylamphetamine, or ‘ice’, is the most prevalent illicit substance detected in road crashes, present in 12.3% of fatalities and 9.1% of injured drivers.
Cannabis detections rose among injured drivers, while alcohol-related fatalities have declined but remain significant in crashes overall.
The Victorian statistics are reflective of similar studies conducted in other states.
- AAP
Updated
Australian capital marks Invasion Day, Palestinian struggle
Hundreds of people have assembled to listen to speeches at Canberra’s Aboriginal tent embassy, opposite old the parliament house.
A large crowd of Indigenous and non-Indigenous people are listening to addresses from speakers. It’s a somber mood with many of the speakers touching on themes such as Indigenous incarceration rates, child removals and land rights.
Several speakers, as well as some signs, have referred to the struggle of the Palestinian people in the Gaza war.
There are also flags from the United Workers Union and local university student unions.
Updated
This year will be ‘year of treaty’, Indigenous activist tells Melbourne rally
Indi Clarke, a member of Victoria’s First Peoples’ Assembly, tells the Melbourne Invasion Day event that 2025 will be “the year of treaty.”
The assembly is negotiating a state-wide treaty with the Victorian government.
Clark says the treaty will find “practical ways” to help Indigenous communities use their knowledge to improve the health, education and justice systems.
Updated
Palestinians in ‘full solidarity’ with Indigenous Australians, activist says
Noura Mansour, a Palestinian activist, is speaking at the Melbourne Invasion Day rally.
Mansour, the national director of Democracy in Colour, says Palestinians are “no strangers” to dispossession and incarceration.
It is my lived experience which has brought me here today, to stand in full solidarity with the First Nations people of this land.
Days like today, January, 26 offer us the opportunity of moral clarity.
Updated
Brisbane’s invasion day begins amid hot conditions
Brisbane’s invasion day rally is under way.
Organiser Sam Watson said the decision by Queensland’s new LNP government to repeal the path to treaty legislation would be on the mind of many people.
He said many people would be also concerned about the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, who is also a Queenslander.
MC for the event, Uncle Bill Lemson, said the community was taken by surprise by the speed with which the government eliminated the state’s truth telling inquiry.
That showed you their priority.
The event is being held on a day with an extreme UV warning for the Queensland capital, with temperatures expected to hit 30C.
After the speeches, people will march across the Brisbane River to Musgrave Park.
Updated
Family of Indigenous teen who died suspiciously in 1983 wants new investigation
Monica Kelly, the sister of Lewis “Buddy” Kelly – an Aboriginal teenager who died suspiciously in 1983 – tells the crowd gathered at Sydney’s Invasion/Survival Day:
Forty one years is a long time for no justice.
On New Year’s Eve in 1983, Kelly’s body was found in suspicious circumstances on a railway line south of Kempsey. The police had concluded he had taken his own life. However, the family remains highly critical of the police investigation. The family says no autopsy was undertaken and individual statements were not taken from key witnesses.
Kelly has called on the coroner to reopen the investigation of Buddy’s death. She told the crown at the rally:
The end of last year, we lobbied at the coroner’s office, and to date, I’ve only got an email from them with no updates.
Updated
Elderly woman charged with alleged murder of an 88-year-old woman in Perth
A 75-year-old woman has been charged with the alleged murder of an 88-year-old woman she shared a room with in a Perth retirement village.
Emergency services received reports that a deceased woman had been found in a retirement village in the suburb of Port Kennedy.
WA Police say:
The victim and accused in this matter were known to one another and have shared a room in the retirement village for four days.
The 75-year-old woman was taken into police custody and is due to appear before the local magistrates court today.
Updated
Deaths in custody, Palestinians remembered at Sydney Invasion Day rally
Draped across a stage at Sydney’s Invasion/Survival Day rally is a sign calling for justice for Eddie Murray who died in custody in 1981 in the New South Wales town of Wee Waa. The sign reads:
44 years still no justice.
We want an investigation.
A man stands in the centre of the crowd, which is largely seated, holding a sign with a fist calling for an end to deaths in custody. On the bottom of the fist is a picture of the Indigenous flag and another picture of a watermelon, a symbol being used to communicate solidarity with the Palestinians.
Updated
‘This is the first site of invasion’: Hundreds gather in Sydney to mark Survival Day
Hundreds of people have gathered in Sydney’s Belmore Park to mark Invasion/Survival Day, to celebrate Indigenous resistance, and to protest the ongoing harms of colonisation.
A minute’s silence was held before the first speaker addressed the significance of this day on Gadigal land:
This is the site of first contact. This is the first site of invasion.
Not only do we celebrate Survival Day but it is also a day of mourning.
Updated
‘Understanding our history will advance unity’, Reconciliation Australia says
Reconciliation Australia CEO, Karen Mundine says the debate around celebrating our national day on the 26 January is a “positive reflection of Australians coming to terms with the terrible history of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ dispossession.”
The support of First Nations events by non-Indigenous Australians is a welcome sign of our country’s growing maturity and understanding as more and more Australians join the movement for reconciliation and justice.
Mundine pointed to a 2024 Ipsos poll and their own 2022 Australian Reconciliation Barometer both indicate that the efforts of First Nations people and the reconciliation movement to better inform Australians of the nation history have resulted in a growing awareness of the impact colonisation has had, and continues to have, on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
National unity and improved social cohesion are dependent on a broader telling of history and a common understanding of our shared history is essential in the creation of a national day for all Australians.
National unity cannot be built on selective versions of history that exclude, brush over or silence the voices and experiences of First Nations peoples.
Nor can unity be achieved by refusing to discuss alternative dates for Australia’s national day in the face of legitimate and long-standing objections from First Nations and other Australians.
This year’s National Reconciliation Week theme: Bridging Now to Next, Mundine said “reminds us that progress in reconciliation is not always linear and includes both great strides (2000 bridge walks) and disappointing setbacks (2023 Referendum).”
Mundine has urged Australians to have respectful conversations about finding a way through the current debate and creating a reconciled and more just country.
Gary Foley: ‘We need to educate people about the true nature of Australian history’
Veteran Indigneous activist Gary Foley has kicked off speeches at Melbourne’s Invasion Day rally.
Foley, a co-founder of the Aboriginal tent embassy in Canberra in 1972, tells the crowd to educate themselves about the history of Indigenous resistance:
We need to gently educate those who are not here today about the true nature of Australia history and why it is every year we gather here on this occasion.
He says the failed Voice referendum was born from ignorance of Australia’s history.
Updated
Invasion Day rally kicks off in Melbourne
Crowds are gathering on the steps of Victoria’s parliament house for the Melbourne Invasion Day rally.
After speeches are given, protesters are expected to march to the front of Flinders Street station.
The Aboriginal flag and signs calling for the abolishment of Australia Day are being held up by people in the crowd.
Melbourne’s weekly pro-Palestine protest is not expected to happen today, with organisers saying they will join the Invasion Day event instead.
Updated
Albanese: ‘We celebrate everything that brings Australia together’
A national citizenship and flag raising ceremony is under way in Canberra, with the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, conferring citizenship on 24 people from Brazil, France, Germany, India, Nigeria, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and the United States. Ahead of the swearing in, Albanese said:
Today, in our big cities and country towns, at beaches and back yard barbecues, and in over 280 ceremonies like this one, we celebrate everything that brings Australia together and everything that sets our nation apart from the world.
… We are all part of a nation built by hope and hard work, aspiration and determination. A democracy where every citizen counts themselves equal. A society where your character counts for more than your name, where your hard work matters more than where you come from. Where we measure ourselves by the care we extend to the most vulnerable and the fair go we offer to all. A nation that has been enriched by people of every faith, background and tradition.
From the unique privilege we have of sharing this ancient continent with the world’s oldest continuous culture to the multicultural society we have built, where everyone has the right to be proud of who they are, to worship how they choose and to live in peace and safety – side by side.
That is the legacy of previous generations, it is the nation you are joining and it is the responsibility all of us owe to future generations.
Updated
When we lift others up, everyone benefits, Australian Local Hero says
AAP have a bit more detail on Vanessa Brettell and Hannah Costello, who were both named Australian Local Heros for their social enterprise cafes in Canberra helping migrant women gain jobs.
The two cafes are a gateway to employment for women from migrant and refugee backgrounds who otherwise face hurdles in the job market. Employment at the cafes has focused on women who are the sole-income earners in their household, new arrivals to Australia, those at risk of homelessness or people with limited English. It helps them with training and job pathways.
Through the cafes, Brettell and Costello have employed 50 women over the past four years. Accepting the award, Brettell said her grandmother felt isolated when she came to Australia and she wanted to minimise that experience for other migrants.
We help women from war affected areas who have experienced unspeakable trauma and loss and who arrive in Australia full of hope for a fresh start only to face new challenges.
When we lift others up, everybody benefits. As a consumer, every dollar you spend is an investment in the world you want. Choose social enterprise. You have the power to create change.
Updated
Citizenship ceremony in Victoria vandalised
The set-up for an Australia Day citizenship ceremony in Victoria was extensively vandalised in the early hours of Saturday morning.
Liberal MP, Nick McGowan, said four large marquees and the stage for the Ringwood lake park event, which was to welcome 80 new Australians and their families, were sprayed with red paint and daubed with the words “this land is stolen”, “the colony will fall” and “always was always will be”.
He told Guardian Australia:
What was a place of ceremony and celebration is now a crime scene.
I’m going through the five stages of grief. I’m frustrated. It’s all very well for any Victorian to have a point of difference but there’s a way to communicate that point of difference.
It is not respectful – and it’s certainly entirely un-Australian.
He said the only blessing of the vandalism was that it had taken place the day before the event, giving organisers a chance to clean up. He estimated the cost of the damage to be about $50,000.
Someone has to stand up and draw a line. The average Aussie has had a gutful of these kinds of incidents.”
Police were called to the scene and were investigating, he said
Updated
School funding deal proof that ‘pressure works’, Greens say
Following on from that last post, Greens spokesperson for education, Senator Penny Allman-Payne, said today’s announcement was a “welcome step forward” on public school funding that demonstrated that “pressure works” but questioned the timeline on reaching 100% of Gonski’s Schooling Resource Standard (SRS).
We’ll look at the details in the coming days but it appears that despite these steps forward we are still a decade away from 100% minimum funding for all public schools in the country.
The Greens have a fully-costed plan to deliver 100% funding to all public schools in the country by July 2025, and we’ll also ease cost-of -iving pressures on families by eliminating school fees and providing families with $800 back-to-school payments.
Read more about the announcement here:
Updated
Coalition accuses Labor of abandoning NSW and Queensland schools
The Coalition has accused Labor of leaving Queensland and New South Wales “out in the cold” following the prime minister’s announcement today that the federal government will fund a 5% increase to public schools in Victoria and South Australia, paving the way for them to be fully funded by 2034.
The four states and territories that had already signed up to Labor’s proposal for a 2.5% increase will be able to push for the additional funds under a “no disadvantage clause” included in their respective bilateral agreements.
NSW and Queensland are yet to sign a deal with the commonwealth, advising Guardian Australia that negotiations are continuing.
The shadow minister for education, Senator Sarah Henderson, said Labor’s announcement raised “more questions than answers”. The Australian Education Union has urged the Coalition to back the 5% increase if elected.
Henderson says:
It certainly appears education minister Jason Clare, who failed to conclude an agreement with four states by the 31 December 2024 deadline, has been sidelined by his prime minister.
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Keith Urban honoured at Country Music Awards of Australia
Keith Urban fronts a throng of photographers and jokes, “it’s like running for office”, AAP reports.
It’s been a presidential-esque welcome back to the Tamworth Country music festival for Urban, albeit a brief one.
The global superstar returned to Australia’s country music capital, the place where his career began, to be inducted into the Roll of Renown at the Golden Guitar awards on Saturday night. The roll honours artists who have made a significant contribution to country music and includes stars like Slim Dusty, Anne Kirkpatrick and Kasey Chambers.
Urban remembered lining up at the Roll of Renown as a boy when Dusty was inducted. At age 11, he asked Australia’s father of country music to sign the sheet music for hit song Lights On The Hill.
It was such a great moment for me … And to think that maybe over a decade later I’d get to sing that song with him, (it’s) part of the Tamworth surreal experiences that happened to me all my life.
Urban also thanked his wife, Nicole Kidman, who could not make the trip to Tamworth because of filming commitments in Nashville and Germany, and their daughters Sunday and Faith.
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Greens pitch new tax on commercial landlords
The Greens have proposed to tax commercial landlords who are keeping their premises empty as a way to breathe new life into struggling Melbourne shopping strips.
The pitch comes before next month’s Prahran byelection in Melbourne’s inner south, prompted by the exit of Greens MP Sam Hibbins. The electorate is home to the once-bustling Chapel Street, which is now struggling to fill vacant shopfronts.
Labor has opted against fronting a candidate in the race, while ex Labor MP Tony Lupton is running as an independent.
Greens candidate for Prahran, Angelica Di Camillo, told reporters on Saturday you only had to walk down Chapel Street to see “how dead” a lot of the shops are.
The policy would introduce a 2% commercial vacancy tax on premises that have been kept empty for more than six consecutive months of the year. It’s hoped this would encourage landlords to lower rents.
Di Camillo:
We’ve been working to push this and having discussions around it (with the state government. Empty shops means less local jobs, it hurts the local economy and our vibrant neighbourhood.
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Good morning!
Tens of thousands of protesters are expected to mark Invasion Day, or Survival Day, with marches, rallies and gatherings for ceremonies and festivals across the country. You can read here a guide to the marches happening in each state and territory, and we’ll be bringing you updates from our reporters at some of those marches.
Meanwhile, heatwave warnings have been issued for much of Queensland, northern NSW, parts of South Australia, central Western Australia and southern parts of the Northern Territory. In Western Australia, bushfires have burnt homes and residents in many areas have been warned it is too late to evacuate.
About 20,600 people will take an oath of citizenship at flag-raising ceremonies for Australia Day. Today is also the first day in the role as Australian of the Year for former AFL player and coach Neale Daniher, who was given the honour for his work advocating for a cure for motor neurone disease. He began that work after he was diagnosed with the disease more than a decade ago.
The Australian Open Mens’ Final is on tonight, after Madison Keys upset number one seed and defending champion Aryna Sabalenka in last night’s Women’s final.
Let’s get into it!
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