The controversy over Australia Day

January 26 is Australia's national day. It marks the arrival of the First Fleet of British ships at Port Jackson in Sydney in 1788. The Australian government describes Australia Day as a day to "celebrate all the things we love about Australia." But for many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, January 26 marks the beginning of the loss of their culture, people and land.

The movement to change the date of Australia Day is continually growing in Australia. This year, tens of thousands of people attended rallies across the country in support of Indigenous Australians and to call on the government to change the date. January 26 is often referred to as Invasion Day or Survival Day by Indigenous people and those who support moving Australia Day to a different day.

January 26 is also the day that thousands of people across the country become Australian citizens. The biggest ceremony was held in the city of Parramatta in Sydney, with 1,450 people. New citizen James Golestani, 52, told Australian broadcaster SBS that he came from Iran and is of Persian ethnicity. "I feel really, really on top of the world. All of my dreams came true today," Golestani said.

A number of councils had their power to hold citizenship ceremonies revoked in 2019, after they voted to change the January 26 date for their citizenship ceremonies out of respect for Indigenous Australians. This led Prime Minister Scott Morrison to devise an Australia Day plan that would oblige all councils across Australia to hold citizenship ceremonies on January 26 from the year 2020.

A number of alternative dates have been put forward as replacements for January 26. One is May 27, the date in 1967 that Australia held a referendum to include Indigenous Australians in the census. March 12 is another, on this date in 1913, Australia's capital city Canberra was officially named. A popular one is also May 8, due to it sounding similar to one of Australia's most used words — "mate."