Friendly, fun and still affectionately known to most as ‘Fergie’, Sarah, Duchess of York, has long been the party-loving royal celebrities want to spend time with.

The former-wife of Prince Andrew has remained close to her former husband while carving out a career for herself as an author, charity campaigner sometime television presenter and much else besides.

Sarah’s most recent novel is called A Most Intriguing Lady, which is certainly a sentiment shared by these famous folk with whom the Duchess struck up long-lasting and unlikely friendships.

WILL.I.AM

No, not the heir to the throne, her nephew, but the rapper and coach on The Voice. 

As a member of The Black Eyed Peas, Will.I.am spent many years performing with a different Fergie – the American singing version.

Talking of his friendship with the royal, Will says: ‘Royal Fergie is my home girl. 

‘We do tea together all the time. She even came to my ghetto to mentor kids at a school. I love her, she’s the real Fergie.’

Will has even read some of Sarah’s poetry and explored the possibility of using her words in his music.

DAVID AND VICTORIA BECKHAM

Former-husband Prince Andrew famously claimed to have attended a child’s birthday party at Pizza Express in Woking.

Fergie raised the bar when she helped to organise a very special sixth birthday party for Harper Beckham.

Friends with Harper’s parents, David and Victoria, Sarah arranged for Harper to throw a tea party for her friends at Buckingham Palace and meet her daughter Princess Eugenie.

Although it raised eyebrows as time, the friendship has clearly endured as two years ago Sarah was spotted enthusiastically hugging and kissing David and Victoria when they bumped into each other on holiday in Italy.

NAOMI CAMPBELL

At first glance you wouldn’t imagine that a supermodel from Streatham and a posh polo manager’s daughter from Hampshire would have much in common.

Yet Fergie and Naomi Campbell have been the best of pals for nearly two decades, ever since Sarah lent her support to Naomi’s Fashion for Relief charity.

Over the years Naomi has persuaded Sarah to walk the catwalk at some of her fundraisers, including at London Fashion week in 2015.

The pair regularly dine and attend parties together and through the Duchess, Naomi is also friends with Beatrice and Eugenie and attended Eugenie’s wedding.

KATE MOSS

Believed to have been introduced by mutual friend Naomi Campbell, Fergie and Kate Moss are great buddies.

Both women have ridden out their own scandals and have been pictured on holiday together twice. 

The first time in Venice 2013 (when Fergie had her daughters in tow) then again in 2016 when Sarah was pictured on holiday in Greece with the Croydon born model. They have regular girlie nights out in London, often snapped looking the worst for wear in the early hours.

LISA MARIE PRESLEY

Of all Fergie’s famous friendships, her close bond with the daughter of Elvis Presley is, perhaps, the most curious of all.

The extent of Sarah’s deep friendship with Lisa Marie only came to light last year, when the daughter of Elvis and Priscilla Presley died unexpectedly at the age of 54.

Sarah gave a eulogy at Lisa Marie’s funeral, referring to her late friend by her pet name ‘Sissy.’ 

Paying tribute to her on Instagram, Sarah described Lisa Marie as ‘my devoted friend for many years.’

They forged a friendship in the early 2000s, bonding over their work for children’s charities.

When Fergie hit the headlines in 2010 for promising access to the royals in return for cash, it was Lisa Marie who came to her rescue, offering up her holiday home in Hawaii as a secret refuge.

For many years, Lisa lived privately in a small village close to Tunbridge Wells in Kent, where Fergie was a regular visitor.

ROBBIE WILLIAMS AND AYDA FIELD

Those watching Princess Eugenie’s wedding to Jack Brooksbank in 2018 were surprised to see Robbie Williams’ then six-year-old daughter Teddy as bridesmaid.

It turns out that Robbie and his wife, Ayda, have been friends with the York girls and Fergie for many years.

Former Take That star Robbie has called the Duchess ‘an amazing woman’ and revealed that they ‘get on like a house on fire.’

Fergie first met Robbie and Ayda on holiday in the Caribbean in 2011, when Sarah was later seen shopping with Ayda in St Barts.

Since then the Yorks have been to say at the Williams’ home in LA and Robbie and Ayda always try and dine with Sarah and her daughters on trips to London.

ELTON JOHN AND DAVID FURNISH

Everyone is familiar with Elton John’s friendship with the late Princess Diana, but he and his husband David are also close friends with Sarah.

When Elton attended Sarah’s wedding to Prince Andrew he did so with his then wife Renata. Neither marriage lasted but Sarah’s friendship with Elton did.

Sarah was there to support him and David Furnish when they became two of the first gay men in the UK to have a civil partnership ceremony in 2005.

The Duchess is a regular attendee at Elton and David’s annual fundraising event for their AIDS charity.

BILLY CONNOLLY AND PAMELA STEPHENSON

Before quitting the UK, comedian Billy Connolly and his wife Pamela Stephenson – the actress turned psychologist – lived in Berkshire. They became close friends with neighbours Sarah and Prince Andrew and attended their wedding.

In the years afterwards the celebrity pair were regular dinner party guests at The York’s home in Sunningdale, Berkshire.

When Billy and Pamela moved to LA, Sarah was a visitor. He once revealed his amusement at Beatrice and Eugenie not appearing to know that they were princesses.

‘I remember Fergie’s two girls Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice were in our house in Los Angeles where we lived before moving to New York. They were with my girls playing in the dressing-up box. They both came into the room and said, “Look, we’re Princesses.”’

A guest on Pamela’s CH4 TV series The Fame Report, Fergie talked to her old friend about how feeling ‘ugly’ next to her glamorous mother had triggered her unhealthy relationship with food.

BOB GELDOF

The Duchess of York was a surprise guest at the 2015 wedding in France of Bob Geldof to his long-term girlfriend Jeanne Marine.

But it turns out that the pair go back a long way and Sarah has been close to Jeanne for many years with both supporting the same charities including The Warrior Programme, which helps injured veterans, and the Angel Foundation for Cancer Research.

They all share a mutual friend in the Russian billionaire Vladamir Doronin and travelled together to India to celebrate his 50th birthday at a lavish party in 2012.

Both the York girls are friends with Pixie Geldof, who was a guest at Beatrice’s 18th birthday party at Windsor Castle.

DAVE GARDNER

It’s likely that Fergie met football agent Gardner through David Beckham. The two men are besties, after all.

Whatever the story, it seems that Sarah and Dave have become good friends in their own right. 

The Duchess was a guest at Dave’s 40th birthday party at Lou Lou’s club in London and he and his then partner Liv Tyler were also guests at Princess Eugenie’s wedding.

SALLY HUMPHREYS WOOD

When it comes to her celebrity friends, Fergie certainly has a soft spot for rockers…and their glamorous wives.

Sarah and Sally Humphreys Wood, the actress and producer wife of Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood have a fond friendship after bumping into each other at charity fundraisers.

The pair always are often spotted huddled together and exchanging warm hugs at events including a Marie Curie summer party hosted by socialite Heather Kerzner and at the inaugural event of the Novak Djokovic Foundation.

It goes without saying that Beatrice and Eugenie are also friendly with Sally too!

Prince Harry is believed to have spent the night in a luxury London hotel last night after flying to the UK from his home in California to visit his cancer-stricken father.

The Duke of Sussex, 39, flew more than 5,000 miles yesterday from his home in California to London for what ended up being a 45-minute meeting the King.

Harry did not spend the night in any royal residence, as he is effectively homeless on UK soil since his eviction from Frogmore Cottage last year. 

And while he may no longer have a home in the UK, the royal has kept close to various pals – most of whom are London based – which begs the question, why did no one put him up?

Take Mark Dyer, for example, the former equerry who has been described as Harry’s ‘second father’.

Mr Dyer, who is Archie’s godfather, is based in west London just a stone’s throwaway from Clarence House.

One of Harry’s oldest pals, Charlie van Straubenzee, is also based in London. Harry served as his best man and has been friend’s with him since primary school.

Tom Inskip, another old Eton friend who has stayed close to Harry, is also based in London.

Harry, who boarded the 11-hour flight hours after his father revealed he was ill, flew from America to London alone, leaving Meghan, Archie and Lilibet back at their California home.

The Duke of Sussex’s transatlantic dash had raised hopes his return to Britain will be used to heal wounds with King Charles and a chance to reach out to his brother Prince William amid their on-going feud.

Harry has barely spoken with his father since the death of Queen Elizabeth and it is reported there was no contact when he celebrated his 39th birthday.

Here, FEMAIL looks at Harry’s pals who he didn’t stay with on his flying visit..

Mark Dyer: West London

Prince Harry has remained close to Mark Dyer, former equerry to King Charles in the 1990s, since the death of his mother Princess Diana. 

Mark Dyer, 55, is a long-time mentor and is often referred to as the Duke’s ‘second dad’.

The former Welsh Guards officer, known to friends as Marko, served as an equerry to King Charles during the 1990s, and has remained close with Harry and William ever since. 

In fact, he’s been touted as the man who could help build a bridge between the warring brothers. 

‘Mark can always be relied on to talk sense into Harry and will be a stoic under-the-radar support for Harry in what has the propensity to be a stress-inducing time for him. He also has the benefit of knowing what it’s like to live through a cancer diagnosis,’ a source close to Mark told the Times.

Mark is Archie’s godfather and based in west London,  so its surprising he wouldn’t be able to put Harry up for the evening. 

It is said that, after the death of Princess Diana, Mark stepped up and was a strong presence in the lives of both Prince Harry and Prince William.

When Harry admitted to smoking cannabis as a teenager and then Prince Charles insisted he spend a day at a residential centre for drug users in Peckham, South London, meeting recovering cocaine and heroin addicts, it was Dyer who escorted him along with his royal protection officers.

However, after his spell as an employee to the then Prince Charles ended, he remained a mentor to Harry.

He was reportedly fond of the Prince’s former girlfriend Chelsy Davy and sneaked her out to the ranch where Harry was staying in Argentina during his gap year before starting his Army training at Sandhurst.

Royal biographer Penny Junor once described Mark as one of the ‘few people who talks some sense into [Harry]’.

Dyer enjoyed a brief romance with ex-royal nanny Tiggy Legge-Bourke but wed Texan heiress Amanda Kline in 2010.

Prince Harry was an usher at the ceremony at St Edmund’s Church at Crickhowell, in Powys, Wales.

The pair are so close, Harry and Meghan even decided to name Mark as Archie’s Godfather – with Harry holding the same responsibility for Mark’s own son Jasper.

These days, Mark runs a chain of bars and restaurants in west London, and he is also a trustee of Harry’s Sentebale charity.

It is thought Harry and Meghan had secret dates at Mark’s establishments when they first met.

Charlie van Straubenzee: London

Prince William met Thomas and Charlie van Straubenzee when he attended Ludgrove School in Berkshire, where George, Charlotte and Louis are now attending.

Thomas’ younger brother, Charlie is very close with Prince Harry and is another godfather to his son Archie.

The families have been friends for decades, with their uncle, William an Straubenzee, a close friend of their mother Princess Diana. 

Harry made annual summer visits to the Straubenzee family home in Cornwall while he was growing up. But with Thomas now based in London – he could have easily put him up.

The friends have been pictured together in the past attending events such as the Rugby World Cup in 2015, where they watched England play Australia. 

Charlie and Harry were known as perpetual bachelors, and when Charlie’s relationship with Daisy got serious in 2016, a mutual friend told the Daily Mail: ‘This means Harry really does have to find a girlfriend.’ Luckily this was around the time he began his relationship with Meghan. 

Both brothers were ushers at the Sussexes’ wedding in 2018 and Charlie even gave a speech at the reception. 

In his wedding speech, Charlie allegedly made reference to the prince’s ‘ginger locks’ and teased Harry about his days as a dormitory monitor at their school.

‘All I wanted was a cuddle from my mummy,’ he said. ‘Instead Harry nicked my teddy bear and chucked it out onto the roof. Ladies and gentlemen, I ask you, how can you put someone in charge of a dorm when that someone is worse behaved than the whole dorm combined?’

The Duke of Sussex acted as Charlie’s best man at his wedding to Daisy, a society wedding and party videographer who runs a company with her sister Kitty, on August 4 later that year in Frensham, Surrey.

Princess Eugenie and her now-husband Jack Brooksbank also attended the nuptials.

Meanwhile Prince Harry is believed to be godfather to Charlie’s daughter Clover, whom he welcomed in 2020. 

The Princes also knew Charlie and Thomas’s late brother Henry, who died in a car crash aged 18 in 2002.

The funeral was attended by members of the Royal Family, and a memorial fund was set up in his name in 2007, with Princes William and Harry as patrons. The charity helps schools in Uganda.

Every year a Christmas carol concert is held at St Luke’s Church in Chelsea, organised by the Henry van Straubenzee Memorial Fund to boost funds for its projects.

In 2020, Harry honoured his late friend Henry van Straubenzee with a Christmas donation to the charity fund set up in his name.

Tom Inskip: London

Tom, also known as ‘Skippy’, is one of Prince Harry’s oldest friends, having met the Duke of Sussex when they were classmates at Eton College.

‘Skippy’ and sister Victoria — ‘Tor’ to her friends — have known Princes William and Harry since childhood. 

Tom, who works as the president for Afiniti, is based in London too, but didn’t put Harry up for the night.

Tom Inskip’s father is Owen Inskip, a field-master of Prince Charles’s favourite hunt, The Beaufort, who has made a fortune over the years from a number of businesses, including ‘managing’ thousands of council homes for local authorities and upmarket estates. 

The Inskips were regulars at Club H, the ‘nightclub’ Harry set up in the basement of Highgrove. 

Mr Inskip was with Harry on his ill-fated trip to Croatia in August 2011, when they got drunk on vodka, whisky, beer and tequila, and were photographed jumping into a pool fully-clothed at a nightclub on the party island of Hvar.

He was also with him on a skiing trip to Verbier in November 2012 when they amused themselves by childishly hurling snowballs at unsuspecting passers-by from a balcony.

He was with him at a party in 2010 when Harry was seen inhaling ‘hippy crack’ — also known as nitrous oxide or laughing gas — a recreational drug which, although perfectly legal, has been associated with a number of fatalities.

And he was with Harry during his infamous trip to Las Vegas in 2012, when the prince was photographed naked during a game of ‘strip billiards’.

But he’s been leading a more settled life since marrying flame-haired literary agent the Hon Lara Hughes-Young in Jamaica in 2017.

The groom and his bride, the daughter of Lord St Helens, hired out the super exclusive Round Hill Hotel and Villas, a private 110-acre plantation style resort first built as a colony of cottages for the rich, famous and glamorous of the 1950s.

It was one of the first events to which Harry took Meghan, and he was one of the ushers.  

However the two apparently fell out after Tom warning Harry against marrying Meghan.  

According to the 2020 book Finding Freedom, Tom expressed doubts about how quickly the relationship was moving and decided to warn his friend Harry.

He is believed to have advised Harry and Meghan to live together before ‘doing anything more serious.’

A source close to Duke and Duchess of Sussex told the book’s authors that although his advice ‘came from a good place,’ Prince Harry ‘didn’t totally see it that way’.

As a result, Mr Inskip and his wife Lara were reportedly ‘punished’ by being excluded from Prince Harry and Meghan’s wedding party at Frogmore House. 

However they have since made up. 

Arthur Landon: London

Another friend of Harry’s who dates back to his school days, Arthur Landon is a royal himself.

He is the son of Austro-Hungarian Princess Katalina Esterhazy de Galantha and Tim Landon, but mainly works as a filmmaker.  

When his father passed away in 2007, Arthur inherited his fortunes and soon became one of the wealthiest young men in the UK.

A friend to both Prince Harry and Prince William, Arthur was a guest at both their weddings and still lives in London. 

He was also present on a now-infamous trip to Las Vegas in 2012, from which photos of a half-naked Prince Harry emerged.

However, Arthur managed to go unnoticed on the trip and was not pictured in any photos. 

Adam Bidwell: London

Adam Bidwell – who hit the headlines in 2013 after a romance with singer Katherine Jenkins – is also part of the inner circle. 

Long before Harry met Meghan, Bidwell was frequently around for the Prince’s solo adventures, and was even thought to be present on that notorious trip to Las Vegas, along with Harry’s other close pal Tom ‘Skippy’ Inskip.

In May 2018, Bidwell was an usher at the couple’s wedding, and by 2019 was very much still part of the couple’s life; he attended a polo match with the Duchess of Sussex in July 2019, with the Princess of Wales also in attendance. 

In the same year, the financier travelled with Harry on a charity trip to Lesotho, where the Prince opened a dining hall at the Phelisanong Children’s Home. 

His close friend also remains an ambassador for Sentebale, Harry’s charity, which he  founded in honour of his mother Princess Diana.

Lord Vivian: London

A major player in the world of PR, Lord Vivian – full title Lord Charles Crespigny Hussey Vivian, aka 7th Baron Vivian  is thought to have helped the Prince set up several of his charity trips to Africa. 

Lord Vivian and the Prince were introduced by mutual friend Mark Dyer, Harry’s long-term mentor, who’s also pictured on the far right on the band of brothers image.   

Lord Vivian already spends several months a year in Africa due to his role as director of Tavistock PR, and is thought to be close enough to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to have attended Archie’s christening.

Jack Mann: Oxfordshire

Prince Harry befriended Jack Mann at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. 

He is the son of Simon Mann, a SAS officer turned mercenary, who was jailed for five years for allegedly trying to overthrow the government in Equatorial Guinea in 2004.

Harry’s friend served with the British Army for tours of Iraq and Afghanistan. 

After leaving the army he worked in Libya as a country manager for a UK security company called Aegis Defence Services. He went on to create his own private security company in 2015 called Alma Risk.

While he’s not based in London, it’s a short drive to Oxforshire where he lives. 

GUY PELLY: London and Warwickshire

Jokingly known as the ‘court jester’ Guy is the son of Lady Carolyn Herbert, who was a close friend of Princess Diana.

Such is the closeness of the family, Prince William skipped the late Queen’s Christmas lunch in 2015 to support Guy at his father’s memorial service following his sudden death.

In many of the pictures of the Prince of Wales in nightclubs over the years, Guy is by his side.

The party pal now splits his time between London and Warwickshire, so certainly could have put up the Prince.  

The Newcastle graduate, 41, also organised the William’s stag do in 2011 – fittingly as he has previously owned many night clubs including Mahiki in Kensington as well as Public, Whisky Mist and Tonteria, all in west London.

His own wedding, to Holiday Inn heiress Elizabeth Wilson, was attended by both William and Harry, and said to be a ‘wild’ three-day affair in Memphis, Tennessee.

Kate didn’t attend, and the nuptials were also seen as the reason behind Harry’s split with Cressida Bonas, with the pair not seeing eye-to-eye over arrangements including plane fare and Harry’s ‘boys nights’.

In 2014, Guy was banned from driving for a third time after being guilty of drink-driving in his £90,000 sports car.

His other antics include shimmying 40 feet up a marquee during a Prince’s Trust concert, stripped to his boxer shorts.

In 2006, he was questioned by police for trying to break into Westonbirt girls school where, he reportedly said, he was ‘looking for totty’.

He was erroneously blamed by Palace officials for introducing the teenage Harry to drugs, and ostensibly cast out of the royal circle, he didn’t complain and stayed silent.

When it later emerged that he’d had nothing to do with Harry’s adolescent experimenting with cannabis, Pelly was welcomed back into the royal fold almost as a third brother.

Originally, Guy was William’s friend. In age, they are just six months apart and met in 2001 when both were junior members of the Beaufort Hunt.

Then, when William was on his gap year travels, for a time Guy became close to Harry — who at 16 was plunging into the most reckless period of his life.

Stowe-educated Pelly, whose sculptor mother Vanda is a member of the Tate & Lyle sugar dynasty, was at that time a student at the Royal Agricultural College in Cirencester, with a reputation for liking a good time.

JAMES MEADE: Berkshire

Meanwhile James Meade, who Harry claimed was the other ‘real’ best man at Prince William’s wedding, went to Eton with the older royal.

He is the son of Olympic gold medallist equestrian Richard Meade, who dated Princess Anne — before she transferred her attentions to his teammate, Captain Mark Phillips.

He is now based on the Englefield estate, where Pippa Middleton got married, in west Berkshire – less than an hour’s drive from London. 

Harry’s infamous Nazi uniform gaffe happened at a ‘Colonials and Natives’ themed bash which was held in a marquee at the Meade house in honour of James’s birthday.

Guy was by Harry’s side in many of the pictures – and bizarrely – dressed as the Queen.

James is also close with the Princess of Wales, whom he even accompanied to the Badminton Horse Trials after her brief split from William in May 2007.

Known to his friends as ‘Meadey’ or ‘Badger’ he once took part in a charity boxing match at Boodles Boxing Ball in 2008 – watched by William and Kate, under the nickname ‘the Badger’.

At the Prince’s request, James accompanied Kate to the Badminton Horse Trials in 2007 during her split from William, a sign of the great trust he places in his friend. He also gave a speech at their wedding.

He and his wife Lady Laura Marsham, daughter of the 8th Earl of Romney, are both godparents to Princess Charlotte.

The couple have been married since 2013, when William was an usher at their wedding.

Meade reportedly used to take the Prince drinking at the Cuckoo Club in Piccadilly in their youth, where he reportedly always encouraged the royal heir to hit the dance floor.

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• Trump said Tim Scott and Kristi Noem are considerations for his vice president in 2024
• Rumors that he was considering working with the independent RFK Jr. were also dispelled.

By Katelyn Caralle, American political reporter for Dailymail.com

Published: 1:03 PM EST, February 4, 2024 | Updated: 3:48 PM EST, February 4, 2024

It’s a celebration of all that is best about Australia or a day of deep national shame, depending on who you ask.

Australia Day, observed each year on January 26, marks the landing of the First Fleet in 1788 when the first governor of the British colony of New South Wales, Arthur Philip, hoisted the Union Jack at Sydney Cove.

But, for many First Nations people, it is regarded as ‘Invasion Day’ or the ‘Day of Mourning’.

This publication canvassed everyday Australians about their views, ranging from members of Generation Z who called for the date to be changed to a baby boomer who demanded people ‘suck it up and get over it’ – and everything in between.

The growing polarisation around the national holiday is perhaps best summed up by the government-owned National Australia Day Council.

‘For some, Australia Day is a day to celebrate all the opportunities provided by living in a free, multicultural society,’ it wrote in its 2022 annual report.

‘For others, it is a chance to reflect on their own citizenship and what it means to be Australian. And for many, 26 January represents a day of sadness, mourning and reminder of colonisation.’

The annual Australia Day stoush started early this year when Anthony Albanese’s high commissioner to the UK scrapped the annual black-tie fundraiser, citing ‘sensitivities’ over the public holiday.

Then, over 80 councils across the country decided not to hold citizenship ceremonies on January 26 this year because of perceived negative connotations, with one councillor even blaming the heat. 

Anthony Albanse was accused of a ‘cop-out’ in burdening council’s with the politically-sensitive decision after his government scrapped a rule forcing councils to hold Australia Day citizenship ceremonies.

And then this week the fall-out reached corporate Australia when the Woolworths Group, which owns both Woolies and Big W, announced it would not be stocking Australia Day merchandise, blaming a ‘gradual decline in demand’.

The decision sparked uproar, with Opposition Leader Peter Dutton calling for a boycott of the store.

‘I would advise very strongly to take your business elsewhere and go to IGA or Coles or Aldi,’ Mr Dutton said. 

A few hours later, Aldi announced it would not be stocking Australia Day merchandise this year. 

Prominent Indigenous leader and businessman Warren Mundine said the decision was ‘disgraceful’ and accused corprorate Australia of being ‘completely out of touch with the Australian public’. 

‘It’s about time these corporates actually pull their head in … Do your job, you are a retail store for Australia,’ he said.

‘If Woolworths isn’t proud of this country they can pack up and bugger off.’

But what do the Australian public think? 

Over 60 per cent of Australians agree Australia Day should be celebrated on 26 January, according to a poll conducted last year by the right-leaning Institute of Public Affairs. 

With the increasingly controversial day just around the corner, Daily Mail Australia took to Sydney’s beaches and streets to ask proud countrymen and women what they think of their national holiday – and whether they would be celebrating it. 

‘I’d love them to change the date but don’t hold out much hope’

Bonnie, 20, whose father is from the Bundjalung tribe near Lismore in NSW’s Northern Rivers region, said she would ‘love’ the date to be changed out of respect for her fellow Indigenous Australians.

But she thought there was slim chance of that following the Yes campaign’s resounding defeat at the Voice to Parliament referendum. 

‘Realistically, I don’t think the government is going to change it but in a perfect world I think that we should have another day out of respect,’ she said.

Bonnie, who grew up in Petersham in Sydney’s inner-west, said she was disappointed by the Voice defeat and had cut some friends off who voted No. 

‘Half of them don’t have reasoning and it pisses me off because it doesn’t impact them as non-indigenous people,’ she said.

Bonnie, a soon-to-be nursing student who works at Ivy nightclub in Sydney’s CBD, said she would not be celebrating Australia Day and would most likely be working.

‘I wouldn’t be going to an Australia Day event or festival,’ she said.

‘If I’m not working me and my sister would probably go to a protest with my dad.’

‘Suck it up and get over it’ 

Ian Rowlands, 62, who lives in Wahroonga on Sydney’s Upper North Shore, was stridently against the idea of changing the date of Australia Day. 

‘Once upon a time I used to sleep through Australia Day, have a barbecue and then suddenly it’s become this big political thing,’ he said. 

‘I’ve got friends who now, say: “Oh, Ian, you’re such a colonist”. I mean, what the f*** are you talking about? I didn’t colonise s***. I was born here.’

Mr Rowlands lay the blame for the debate on out-of-touch Australians who were preoccupied with ‘fashion-type’ issues rather than the ‘real world’. 

When pressed on how it might feel from the perspective of Indigenous Australians, Mr Rowlands said he was sympathetic. 

‘I can totally understand how you would feel that suddenly once upon a time you had a 60,000 year old culture and everything had changed,’ he said.

But he was unapologetic about celebrating the day itself.

‘So suck it up. Get over it,’ he said. 

Mr Rowlands said he would ‘funnily enough’ be spending Australia Day with a ‘whole bunch of lefty friends’.

‘They’ll just jump on board and do what they’re told,’ he said.

‘That’s how I view it. They’re just obedient f***ing sheep is how I view a lot of goddamn people these days.’

Mr Rowlands, who works in the renewable energy sector, said he was pleased with the referendum result but was hoping it would be more like 70 per cent No and only 30 per cent Yes.

‘I’m too old and too bored with all of it,’ he sighed. 

‘I grew up in the eighties. You’d go to the pub. You’d have a smoke, you’d drink your beer out of a glass. And nobody gave a s*** about much. The music was better.

‘But now, I don’t know, it just seems rule upon rule upon rule. It’s like we’ve been taken over by my mum.’

‘Change the date out of respect’

A trio of friends – one born-and-bred in Australia and two originally from England but now citizens – sharing coffee on a bench above Mona Vale Beach were all in favour of changing the date.

Anna, 55, who lives near Bateman’s Bay in NSW’s south coast, said she didn’t think it was ‘really appropriate anymore’.

‘Even if we lost the public holiday, it wouldn’t really change my life,’ she said.

‘But I think it would change a lot of other people’s lives if we didn’t celebrate Australia Day on that date.

‘It’s not that I’m un-Australian. There’s actually quite a large Indigenous population down where I live and a lot of people do call it Invasion Day.

‘My partner calls it Invasion Day but she’s really woke.’

However, Anna recognised that her position would likely be at odds with other people in her generation.

‘I definitely think older generation probably wouldn’t share our views, but the younger generation would be more likely to,’ she said.

Becky, 58, from Warriewood, agreed, revealing that her 22-year-old daughter refused to celebrate the public holiday. 

‘Our kids don’t celebrate it anymore and that’s not come from us,’ she said.

Her husband added: ‘I think that there should be a National Day but I see no reason why it shouldn’t be moved’.

‘At this point it’s just overtly saying “we don’t care about the feelings of first nations people”. But I’m not from here. I’m English. 

‘I’ve been here 20 years so I feel it hard to talk on behalf of Australians, particularly around the northern beaches where you’ve got to be here a hundred years before you’re considered a local.’

He added: ‘It wouldn’t hurt anyone just to move it and say, “you know what, it’s a day for everyone, not just for us”.’

‘Go woke and go broke’ 

Shelley, 47, a mother-of-three from Mona Vale, was staunchly against the date being changed, claiming we shouldn’t ‘touch what isn’t broken’. 

‘I think it’s really important and I don’t think it should be touched,’ she said. 

‘I think it should be left the way that it is. I know that they’re trying to cancel it, whatever. You go woke, you go broke, that’s my opinion.

Shelley, who is originally from Victoria, said she would be donning a green-and-gold jersey to celebrate the day.

‘I try to celebrate it every year,’ she said.

‘Beach, barbie, ocean. Because I’m proud to be an Aussie, I guess. I love this country. I think we’re very blessed to where we live here.’

‘It should not be celebrated’

Matthew, a 59-year-old photographer living in Mona Vale on Sydney’s Northern Beaches, was stridently opposed to the national holiday. 

‘January 26 should not be celebrated,’ he said. 

‘Australia Day is not inclusive. We’re a land of immigrants. Where’s the reflection of our multicultural richness? Clearly it’s, it’s a trash for First Nations people. It’s a disgrace.’

He added: ‘I’m Anglo Australian and I understand that it should be called Invasion Day. There’s no treaty. There’s no recognition of the people that lived in this land before 1788.’

‘I’d be ditching Australia’s national anthem. I’d 100 per cent be ditching the flag. Imagine England or Great Britain had, I don’t know, Denmark’s flag in the top left corner – it doesn’t make sense.

Matthew half-jokingly suggested moving it to a day when Australia beats England at the Ashes. 

‘The actual day should be shifted, then it will be fair and equitable and will represent more Australians,’ he said. 

New Delhi: As of today (July 1, 2023), Indian students taking courses in Australia from July 1 can work in the country without visa sponsorship for up to eight years under the Mobility Ar

New Delhi: As of today (July 1, 2023), Indian students taking courses in Australia from July 1 can work in the country without visa sponsorship for up to eight years under the Mobility Arrangement for Talented Early-professionals Scheme (MATES). The key feature of this agreement is to release 3,000 places annually for young professionals from India to spend two years in Australia without the need for a visa.

The scheme provides a new mobility pathway for Indian graduates and young professionals with skills in specific areas to live and work in Australia.

Indian professionals from fields such as engineering, information and communication technology, artificial intelligence, financial technology, renewable energy and mining are also eligible for this visa, the new rules say.

The eligible fields for the MATES visa include:

• Engineering
• Mining
• Financial technology
• Artificial intelligence
• Information and communication technology
• Agricultural Technology
• Renewing energy

Suitable for MATES visa are:

• Candidate must be under 31 years old
• Must be a graduate of a recognized and verified university
• Must be a recent passout
• Must be at an early stage in their career.

Visa processing Australia

Australia said in April it plans to overhaul its immigration system to speed up the entry of highly skilled workers.

In an effort to lure skilled migrants, the government said the visa process will be made quick and easy for highly skilled professionals and steps will be taken to retain international students.

Holders of temporary skilled visas, who were even denied the opportunity to apply for permanent residency, will be able to do so by the end of this year. But it will not add to Australia’s annual influx of permanent migrants, she said.

In September last year, Australia increased the intake of permanent migrants to 195,000 this financial year, up from 35,000, to help businesses battle a widespread staff shortage and pledged more staff and money to speed up visa processing.

How to apply for the MATES visa?

Step 1: Check your eligibility.

Step 2: Take the English language proficiency test.

Step 3: Take the skill test.

Step 4: Register your EOI (Expression of Interest).

Step 5: Receive your ITA (invitation to apply).

Step 6: Submit the application

Step 7: Fly to Australia

Australia work hour limit

Also, from July 1, the allowable work hour limit for international students will be increased from 40 hours to 48 hours every two weeks, along with a two-year extension of the work visa.

The revised limit will help international students support themselves during their studies while continuing to make study the primary purpose of their visa.

Work restrictions on student visas were eased during the pandemic and fully lifted in January 2022 to allow holders of K-12 student visas to work beyond their normal limit of 40 hours per fortnight to address labor shortages. to take.

The government also announced that a two-year extension of post-study employment rights is available for international graduates with selected degrees in areas of verified skills shortage.

This extension gives eligible international higher education graduates an additional two years on their temporary graduate visa (subclass 485). The extension is in addition to existing additional one- to two-year employment entitlements for eligible students who study, live and work in regional areas.

For certain bachelor’s degrees, post-study employment rights are increased from two to four years, from three to five years for certain master’s degrees, and from four to six years for all doctoral qualifications.

According to 2022 Ministry of Foreign Affairs data, there are 1,00,009 Indian students studying in various Australian universities.