Date debate distracts from the real work to be done

Paul Daley reminds us that 26 January has been an Indigenous day of mourning far longer than it has been Australia Day: “in the media/political to-and-fro over another date, the real Australian malaise is all but forgotten. And that is: until Australia deals with the unfinished business of Aboriginal sovereignty and historical truth telling there will be no appropriate date upon which to celebrate a supposedly unified nation. Until Australia reaches a black/white settlement over sovereignty, through commonwealth and state treaties and a formal process of historical reckoning, it’s pointless marking other dates on the calendar.”