Australia has been existing under the guise of unity for decades. One and free, as our anthem says. Boundless plains to share.
But our history stinks of division – the hatred towards migrants, refugees and asylum seekers, the exclusion of women and people who identify as LGBTQIA+, and of course, the systematic oppression of our nation’s First Peoples.
In more recent times, Australians have worked to disrupt the divisive discourse that has plagued our country with rallies, protests and speaking out against old traditions, including so-called Australia Day.
But this offends those who hold power in a system built on patriarchy and white supremacy and refuse to accept any other way of life.
Let’s be specific here: it offends Peter Dutton.
On Thursday, after Woolworths and BIG W announced they would no longer stock “Australia Day merchandise” in stores leading up to January 26, Peter Dutton declared Australians, in retaliation, should boycott Woolworths.
“I don’t want to go into Woolworths and be told how I need to vote, how I feel about Australia Day,” he said in an interview on 2GB radio.
“If they don’t want to celebrate Australia Day, well that’s a decision for them, but I think people should boycott Woolworths.”
He described Woolworths CEO Brad Banducci’s decision as following the “woke agenda of Anthony Albanese”.
Later in the interview, Dutton aligned Banducci with former Qantas CEO Alan Joyce for “doubling down” on the decision.
Let me repeat: Dutton likened the sale of Qantas plane tickets for more than 8,000 already cancelled flights, to Woolworths and BIG W no longer selling hats, temporary tattoos and beach towels with the Australian flag on it.
Dutton’s comments took many Australians right back to his divisive strategy during the Indigenous Voice to Parliament, where more than 60 per cent of the country voted No to constitutional recognition of Australia’s First Peoples.
Particularly because, on the same day, none other than the leading No campaigner Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price jumped on-air to back Dutton’s comments.
“I think we should be boycotting those who are prepared to not be proud of this country,” Nampijinpa Price said on 3AW.
Unity, not division
When I speak with people who aren’t from Australia and know very little about the country, I find it really hard to explain why we have a public holiday on January 26.
What was once a day I naively loved, a day I carelessly spent at the beach playing cricket and kicking the footy around as a child, I now know is a day that causes my fellow Australians so much hurt and so much pain.
January 26 marks the first day the British colony touched down on Indigenous land, the first day of what would be decades of erasure, oppression and, ultimately, division.
I don’t celebrate Australia Day because I hope one day we can be united, not because I want to cause division. I, like many Australians, don’t celebrate Australia Day because we are yearning for change.
But those who benefit from our current power structure are hesitant to change, and they’ll give any excuse to avoid progress just so they can be in the room where it happens.
Nothing new from Dutton
Disguising hatred and division with arguments of freedom of thought and unity – unfortunately, it’s nothing new from Dutton.
We saw it in November, when he accused Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Question Time of being complicit to growing anti-Semitism amid the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
We saw it in the lead up to the Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum in October, when the No campaign recklessly distributed bouts of misinformation not only about the Yes campaign, but also about Australia’s independent voting body, the Australian Electoral Commission.
Each time Dutton says or does something divisive, he’ll say it’s all in the name of a united Australia.
But our country has never been a united one, and it never will be unless we change something.
Australians want this change. In fact, Woolworths cited a lack of consumer interest in Australia Day merchandise as the reason they are no longer stocking items.
“There has been a gradual decline in demand for Australia Day merchandise from our stores over recent years,” Woolworths said in a statement.
“At the same time there’s been broader discussion about 26 January and what it means to different parts of the community.”
If anything, a staunch capitalist like Peter Dutton should be picking up what consumers are putting down. Take the politics out of it, and Woolworths’ decision is simply responding supply and demand.
But there is politics in everything, and as Agriculture Minister Murray Watt said on Thursday, this is a “culture war” declared on the left by Peter Dutton.
When asked to respond on Dutton’s comments, Anthony Albanese told Melbourne radio station Fox that Australia Day should be a time to “reflect on what it means to be Australian”.
It’s time Peter Dutton listens to Albanese’s advice, and gives up the charade that he is working in the name of unity.