Former Australian PM Tony Abbott Says "Invasion Day" Was Good for Aborigines
Published 22 January 2018
“It brought Western civilization to this country. It brought Australia into the modern world,” the ex-PM said of the events which made Australia a penal colony.
Former Australian Prime Minister (PM) Tony Abbott says the events of January 26, 1788 – when the First Fleet arrived – was a “good thing” for the Aboriginal people.
“What happened on the 26th of January, 1788, was on balance, for everyone, Aboriginal people included, a good thing,” Abbott told 2GB. “It’s hard to imagine a better Australia in the absence of the Western civilization that began here from that date,” he elaborated.
“The rule of law, equality of the sexes, scientific curiosity, technological progress, responsible government — plus the constant self-criticism and lust for improvement that makes us so self-conscious of our collective failings towards Aboriginal people — all date from then; and may not have been present to anything like the same extent had the settlers fanning out from Sydney Cove been other than British.”
Australia Day, which is celebrated on that day each year, commemorates when the First Fleet's 11 ships departed Portsmouth, England on May 13, 1787. Many Aboriginal people refer to the day as “Invasion Day.” The events of that fateful day initiated the occupation of the British as well as sparked the massacre of a significant number of indigenous people.
“It brought Western civilization to this country. It brought Australia into the modern world,” the ex-PM said of the events which made Australia a penal colony.
A campaign has been set in motion to have Australia Day separated from the anniversary of the First Fleet’s arrival. However, Abbott advocates for the current day to remain as is.
“It’s very rarely a one-way street, so to speak, but if you look at the Australian achievement over the last couple of centuries, it is overwhelmingly a positive story, and increasingly it’s a positive story for indigenous Australians as well,” Abbott said.
The former leader urged all Australians to “grow up and treat Australia Day as a good time to reflect on how far we’ve come as a country and, for those in public life, how far we’ve yet to go.”
“There are 364 other days of the year when we can wear a black armband and strive to overcome our national failures,” he said.
The Australia Institute conducted a survey, last week, which revealed that only 38 percent of people knew what Jan. 26 commemorated.
The poll also showed that a slightly more than middle-of-the-road 58 percent said they didn’t mind when Australia Day was celebrated.
by teleSUR / GB
https://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Former-Australian-PM-Tony-Abbott-Says-Invasion-Day-Was-Good-for-Aborigines-20180122-0002.html
posted by Satish Sharma at
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