ABC was criticized for social media posts calling on people to come to 'invasion day' rallies on January 26
The ABC has come under fire for urging people to attend 'Invasion and Survival Day' rallies on January 26 instead of celebrating Australia Day.
A photo of a large 'Invasion Day' gathering, where people protest and mourn the arrival of the First Fleet in Australia as the beginning of Australia's Indigenous dispossession, was posted to the ABC Indigenous Instagram channel.
“Invasion and Survival Day Events,” the caption for the image reads.
'A week away. Time to get up! Did we miss an event near you? Drop them below.'
The ABC has come under fire after calling on people to attend 'Invasion Day' gatherings on January 26 instead of celebrating Australia Day.
The message outlines 29 Invasion and Survival Day events, including marches and rallies, mourning and smoking ceremonies, concerts and festivals.
The last slide features the tagline “Always was, always will be (Native boy).”
It has at least one entry for every state and territory, but the largest events take place in NSW and Victoria.
While some of the commenters listed more events, others objected to reclassifying the national holiday.
“Shall we all come together and celebrate life in this happy land?” one person posted
“All these marches and protests are keeping our country from growing.”
The comment was refuted by another Instagram user.
“Acknowledging our horrible past, correcting mistakes and having compassion for ALL people will move our country forward.”
While some people mentioned the Invasion and Survival Day events in the comments section, others took issue with the ABC not celebrating the National Day
Another person posted that January 26 'a day to celebrate everyone who lives in Australia'.
'hmmm… do you tell the same thing to Holocaust survivors?' was one of the answers.
Others were happy with the post.
“Great to see Australia finally starting to embrace the truth of its history and the plight of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia today,” one person said.
“We grow up, gradually and finally.”
Liberal Senator Hollie Hughes did not hesitate to criticize the publicly funded broadcaster, saying the post was a “complete misuse and abuse of taxpayers' money.”
“This should be the national broadcaster, but they can't help but do everything they can to diminish the pride we should all feel in our great country,” Senator Hughes told Sky News.
“If the ABC wants to act like student activists at every opportunity, maybe it's time for Australian taxpayers to stop footing the bill.”
A Liberal senator has accused the ABC of behaving like “student activists” at every opportunity
On Friday, Warren Mundine, who led the successful No campaign for the Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum, called those who refuse to celebrate the Australia Date “whiners” and “losers”.
“We're building this damn good country, but all we get are these leaders – especially in the Green Councils – all they do is turn the country upside down,” he said.
“(They say) 'we're a bunch of racists' or 'we're a nation of uneducated idiots', so I'm just over it.”
Mr Mundine, from the Bundjalung people of northern coastal NSW, said those undermining the national holiday were “a bunch of whiners who don't like Australians”.
“Let's just chase all those whiners away, stop wasting all this money and start celebrating this country and fixing things,” he waved.
“I just want to get back to the real issues because we're spending too much time on this.”
The ABC has been contacted for comment.