Management Report: Analysis of Australia Day Debate and Opinions

This report critically analyzes the Australia Day debate, focusing on a statement attributed to Tony Abbott regarding the celebration of the day. The assignment fulfills the brief by providing a statement from Tony Abbott addressing the question of whether to change Australia Day, including preemptive questions and potential responses. The core of the report involves a critical examination of Abbott's viewpoint, exploring the historical context, and diverse perspectives on the issue, particularly the impact on Indigenous Australians. It references several sources to support the analysis, discussing the complexities of the debate, including the perspectives of different groups and the significance of the date for Australia's history and identity. The report covers the different perspectives on Australia Day and provides a comprehensive analysis of the management and leadership implications of the debate, offering insights into the varying viewpoints and potential solutions.

Running head: MANAGEMENT
Management
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1MANAGEMENT
A Tony Abott’s statement to the question “Should we change the Australia day?”
“When it comes to the Australian day, well it is rarely a one-way street. However, if you pay
attention, it can be clearly understood that the Australian Achievement over the last few
centuries is an overwhelming positive story, not only for the non-indigenous Australian but also
for the indigenous Australians as well. Now we can’t deny the fact that it is really hard to
imagine a better Australia in the absence of the western civilization that initiated from the
Australian day (Tim and Burns). Can we ignore the constructive social reforms like the equality
of sexes, the rule of law, technological progress, scientific curiosity and not to forget the constant
self criticism as well as the lust for improvement that has made us so self conscious of our
collective falling towards the aboriginal people (Nicholas). I believe the Australian Day is a
symbol of how we, by we mean, both indigenous and non-indigenous residents of Australia,
have come long as a country, to celebrate how far we have gone (Keith). There are 364 days
remaining where we can wear black armband while striving for overcoming our national failure
(Benjamin). But the day, that is January 26, demands to be celebrated as Australian Day since it
has brought positive changes in the life of our Aboriginal society as well (Tony).
Pre-emptive questions and potential response
Considering the fact that Australian day is celebrated as a national day of victory, for
indigenous people, the day is not of victory but involves losing their near and dear ones.
Celebrating it as a national day may lead to demeaning them as a part of the society. What
is your opinion on this?

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Look, the Australian Day is celebrated s a symbol of progress that Australia has made till now
and not as a day of victory against the indigenous individual. The Australia what people across
the world are viewing today would not have been possible in the absence of the western
civilisation. Today, we are one of the developed countries and what we have achieved is really
appreciable. One cannot deny the fact that it is a pride for all the Australian irrespective of
whether they belong to the indigenous community or non indigenous community.
Don’t you think that the Australian day is associated with mourning memories, when it
comes to the indigenous population?
I believe it is highly crucial to look at Australian day from the perspective of an Australian
instead of categorizing the community into the two parts.
There are several other days like the federation day or the day while Australia policy was
abolished. Why ant these days be celebrated as the Australian day?
While the mentioned dates are really important for Australia, the Australian day is unalterable.
This is because, we have been able to achieve this success for this day that is 26th January.
Hence, Australian day should be celebrated.
What steps are taken in order to ensure inclusion of non indigenous Australian in the
society so that they can also feel the unity?
With the help of the Close the Gap policy, the government has already incorporated a good
number of individuals from the indigenous society. We are also taking several steps to
incorporate the indigenous part of our society in professions like healthcare and education as
well.

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Critical analysis of Tony Abott’s opinion
It can be clearly understood that Tony Abott has become a leading voice against the push of
changing the Australian Day while the support for this is increasing with time. The chief point on
which Abott is focusing includes Australian day should not be considered as a day of victory of
the non indigenous individual over indigenous community but should be elaborated as the day
that marked the beginning of the progression of Australia. According to Abott, the prosperity and
technological advancement of the nation has only been possible after the western migration.
However, according to researchers, the sentiment of Aboriginal and Torres islanders about
Australian day is associated with a good number of negative experience and trauma. The
overwhelming sentiment amongst the first nations individuals is consist of an uneasy mixture of
melancholy, outright grief, profound despair, opposition and antipathy that actually leads to
staunch defiance (Kristian, Mee and Pauline). The bitter memory along with the constant
discrimination faced by the indigenous people result in a kind of dissonance in individuals with
this perspective. Thus it becomes really hard for them to celebrate the good things associated
with the Australian day since the same day represents the loss of near and dear ones, and
traumatized experiences to them.
In spite of the fact that majority of the indigenous population of Australians are against
the celebration of Australian Day, as per the survey, approximately 88 percent of the population
were found to be supporting Australian day. 80 percent of the Australian voters claim to be
proud of celebrating the landing of the First fleet on January 26 (Shaphan and Thor). Others
mentioned that changing the date will be pointless since it brings the community together and
celebrate the positive aspects that the nation has provided to everyone. According to the majority
of the Australians, the day should be treated as a day of success, opportunity and lifestyle that the

4MANAGEMENT
western migration has been able to provide Australia (Farida, Brian and Lisa). This date should
be considered as the date to celebrate modern Australia. Thus it can be clearly understood that
the view point of Abott is supported by a good number of Australian residents. However, several
of them are of the opinion that it is highly crucial to include the Aboriginal population in the
celebration. For this, more initiatives need to be taken. The discrimination that still persist
against the indigenous population needs to be eliminated within a limited amount of time.

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Reference List
Abbott, Tony. "The politics of the Abbott government." Quadrant 60, no. 5 (2016): 20.
Bromfield, Nicholas. "The Genre of Prime Ministerial Anzac Day Addresses, 1973–
2016." Australian Journal of Politics & History 64, no. 1 (2018): 81-97.
Cox, Shaphan, and Thor Kerr. "One Day in Fremantle: TV representation of this alternative to
Australia Day." Coolabah24&25 (2018): 229-244.
Day, Benjamin. "Australian aid after the ‘Golden Consensus’: from aid policy to development
policy?." Australian Journal of International Affairs 70, no. 6 (2016): 641-656.
Fozdar, Farida, Brian Spittles, and Lisa K. Hartley. "Australia Day, flags on cars and Australian
nationalism." Journal of Sociology 51, no. 2 (2015): 317-336.
Highfield, Tim, and A. Burns. "Compulsory voting, Encouraged tweeting? Australian elections
and social media." The Routledge companion to social media and politics (2016): 338-350.
Ruming, Kristian, Kathleen Mee, and Pauline McGuirk. "Planned derailment for new urban
futures?: An actant network analysis of the ‘great [light] rail debate’in Newcastle, Australia."
In Actor Networks of Planning, pp. 44-61. Routledge, 2016
Windschuttle, Keith. "Australia Dystopia." Quadrant 62, no. 1/2 (2018): 6.