Celebrating nationhood on 26 January has become a gratuitous act of hostility

Submitted by Paul Daley on Fri, 25/01/2019 - 4:00am

Until Australia deals with the unfinished business of Aboriginal sovereignty there will be no appropriate date to celebrate a supposedly unified nation

Another year passes and as Australia emerges from its summertime slumber so, too, does the now predictable “debate” about 26 January, rearing its head like some perennial Jabberwocky to the elites of media and politics.

If you don’t like “Australia Day”, journalists and shock-jocks – echoing conservative politicians – ask the dissenters: what’s the best day on which to celebrate nationhood? What date would you nominate?

Paul Daley is a Guardian Australia columnist.