Toxicity swirls around January 26, but we can change the nation with a Voice to parliament

Megan Davis writes in The Conversation (25.1.21) about the debate over the contentious date of Australia Day, and how it obscures an achievable path for meaningful national change through the proposed Indigenous Voice to Parliament.

'We are on the eve of the nation’s annual ritual of celebrating the arrivals, while not formally recognising the ancient peoples who were dispossessed.

'Each year the tensions spill over, rendering Australia Day/Invasion Day/Survival Day a protest as much as a celebration. But there is a quiet process underway, aimed at achieving substantive recognition of the First Nations that has so far eluded Australia.

'… This is now an opportunity for Australians and First Nations peoples to make their views clearly heard. It is only an interim report, and it requires the feedback of many.

'All Australians want to find a way through the annual debates about Captain Cook, the First Fleet and national identity, to a more inclusive and nuanced narrative of who we are.'

• Toxicity swirls around January 26, but we can change the nation with a Voice to parliament »
• An Indigenous 'Voice' must be enshrined in our Constitution. Here's why »
• Indigenous Voice to Parliament would create much-needed dialogue with government: Tom Calma »
• There is no room for error with a First Nations Voice »
• Government poised to release Indigenous Voice options »
• A rightful place, from colonisation to reconciliation »
• Amid the false history over 26 January, it pays to consider what Australia was really built on »
• Is the Voice already being muted? »
• The Sami's voice »
• Indigenous recognition is more than a Voice to Government - it's a matter of political equality »
• Government's process for First Nations Voice shows why a referendum is essential »
• Most Australians support First Nations Voice to parliament: survey »
• How about we start again on race and the Constitution? »
• Hopes and fears: which way forward for an Indigenous voice to Australia's parliament? »
• Listening with ‘our ears and our eyes’: Ken Wyatt’s big promises on Indigenous affairs »