Australia Day... What do remote Indigenous Australians think?

A number of people have asked me what Aboriginal people in the Top End think about Australia Day. Miriam-Rose Ungunmerr Baumann, the Senior Australian of the Year, was asked by the ABC's Sarah Hall about her view on whether the date should be changed, and she replied, "Personally, it doesn't really affect me."

I don't think dates and national holidays are particularly important to many people in remote communities. In saying that, Aboriginal people have been protesting on the anniversary of the First Fleet landing for longer than it's been called "Australia Day", so it's not an issue that's likely to go away.

Pray that Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians will seek genuine reconciliation.