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NSW Labor to replace Queen’s Birthday with Aboriginal public holiday

Mr Foley announced the policy in Redfern on Monday alongside Wiradjuri Elder and Labor candidate for Newtown, Norma Ingram.

Mr Foley announced the policy in Redfern on Monday alongside Wiradjuri Elder and Labor candidate for Newtown, Norma Ingram. Photo: AAP

The New South Wales opposition has vowed to replace the Queen’s Birthday with a public holiday recognising 60,000 years of Aboriginal cultures.

Luke Foley also announced a Labor government would follow other states in beginning the treaty process.

The public holiday would replace the Queen’s Birthday on the second Monday in June, instead of adding a new holiday to avoid pressure on employers paying penalty rates.

“We’ll consult with the public and it may well be that the appropriate time for formalising the changes [is] when the current Queen’s reign ends,” Mr Foley told reporters on Monday.

“Of course, at that time there’d have to be a change in designation of the public holiday anyway.”

aboriginal public holiday nsw labor

Mr Foley said the Queen’s Birthday holiday could be replaced immediately if Labor is elected in March, or at the end of Queen Elizabeth’s reign. Photo: AAP

He pointed out Queen Elizabeth’s actual birthday is in April, months before the current celebration on the second Monday in June.

“We have 11 public holidays each year. Some of them are very obvious like Christmas and Easter. But you look at the mix, it doesn’t sit right with me that across all of our public holidays there’s no day that recognises and celebrates the oldest continuing civilisation on the planet,” Mr Foley said.

“Frankly I think celebrating the birth date of a foreign monarch in the 21st century is an anachronism. Celebrating the oldest continuing civilisation on the planet I think is a far better thing to do.”

Wiradjuri Elder and Labor candidate for Newtown, Norma Ingram, said Australia had “a bit of growing up to do”.

“When you look in this country, Aboriginal people seem to be a little bit invisible,” she said.

“There are so many Aboriginal people who live right across this country and have done for over 60,000 years.”

Shadow Minister for Aboriginal Affairs David Harris described it as a “small step” to acknowledge the past and forge a “meaningful way forward”.

“It’s important for us to build on the existing relationship with the NSW Aboriginal community to empower them to achieve lasting generational change.”

Widjabul woman and GetUp! campaigner Larissa Baldwin told The New Daily it was a hollow move.

“Changing the name of the Queen’s Birthday long weekend is nothing but symbolism and not the type of change Aboriginal people want or need,” Ms Baldwin said.

“If the NSW Labor Party are serious about reconciliation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people then legislate a [unique] holiday to celebrate our history and culture.”

Mr Foley’s announcement came with the pledge to begin treaty negotiations with Aboriginal peoples in the state “to provide a truthful and honourable basis for our reconciliation”, Mr Foley said.

The Victorian lower house last week passed a bill to begin the treaty process. The bill will go to the upper house in coming weeks.

NSW Labor has previously announced it would fly the Aboriginal flag on the Sydney Harbour Bridge every day.

The flag is currently raised 15 days a year, on Australia Day and during Reconciliation and NAIDOC weeks.

Aboriginal Affairs Minister Sarah Mitchell did not say whether the Liberal government had similar plans.

“The government continues to work closely with our First Peoples to build life outcomes and opportunities through ongoing respect and consultation,” Ms Mitchell said in a statement to The New Daily.

“As Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, my focus will continue to be on effective, practical improvement and any changes will be developed in close consultation with our First Peoples and the wider community.”

-with AAP

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