YARRA COUNCIL'S AUSTRALIA DAY BANISHMENT WILL ONLY SERVE TO DIVIDE - NOT UNITE

Australia Day is a day which celebrates the birth of the nation. For most indigenous Australians, it also symbolizes the day in which their land was invaded by the First Fleet, for them a day of mourning instead of festivities. 

The atrocities committed against their forebears from the very beginning of European settlement was shocking and utmostly regrettable. But then was then and now is now. Are Australians in the 21st century supposed to or deserve to be blamed and sent on a guilt trip over what the original "white skinned colonists" done to indigenous Australians? 

If they are - they shouldn't be, but truth is many indigenous Australians still bear what could only be classed as a generalizing grudge against those Australians who are patriotic enough to celebrate Australia Day for all its worth. Australia Day, despite symbolizing a dark legacy for indigenous Australians, is a day that is supposed to unite Australians, not divide Australians. 

How many more apologies for past wrongs do indigenous leaders want before they are willing to forgive white Australians for what our colonial fathers done to their ancestors? The decision reached by the Greens dominated Yarra council in Melbourne to effectively outlaw any future Australia Day celebrations within its jurisdiction is over the top, reactionist and incredibly divisive. 

Let this not be a precedent which other councils in Australia follow. Australia Day celebrates not only the arrival of the First Fleet, but what every Australian since colonial times has done to make this country the great one that it still is, compared to some many other countries. The mayor and councillors of Yarra council should think about that over lunch.