Premier calls for unity on day that ’causes pain’

She said embracing the pain felt by First Nations people was part of Australia’s ongoing development, but added: “We still have work to do.”

As the Premier called for unity on the Barangaroo foreshore, up to 3000 people gathering on the other side of the CBD for a largely peaceful Invasion Day rally condemning January 26 celebration.

Protesters at the rally in the Domain shunned Australia Day as illegitimate, highlighting Indigenous deaths in custody and calling for reforms to address Indigenous over-representation in prisons.

The rally was among events listed in an events guide on the ABC website, which caused backlash for using the term “Invasion Day” interchangeably with Australia Day. The article has since been amended.

Earlier this week Ms Berejiklian said she was disappointed to see the ABC use the term “Invasion Day”, while Deputy Premier John Barilaro on Tuesday accused the national broadcaster of causing division.

“This history, the Australian story starts with the first people, the Indigenous people. That’s their story that includes us… we shouldn’t have to rewrite that story,” he told 2GB radio (owned by Nine, the publisher of this masthead).

“Every nation has that dark side of their story, or things that we’re maybe not so proud of in decades and generations to follow, but it doesn’t take away the right to celebrate”.

NSW Aboriginal Affairs Minister Don Harwin echoed the remarks, saying Australia could not walk away from its past, but could work towards a more unified future.

“On this day, in particular, we must acknowledge the range of feelings and emotions of the Aboriginal people. There is still much to be done to deliver equality and opportunity and it’s work we do in partnership with Aboriginal community organisations,” he said.

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However upper house Greens MP David Shoebridge, who spoke at Tuesday’s rally, rejected the government’s message of unity, saying it lacked insight and leadership.

“Each time the Premier, and politicians like her, insist on celebrating Australia Day on the day that marks the start of invasion, dispossession or ongoing violence for First Nations people, that further divides us.”

At the rally, Bundjalung woman Vanessa Turnbull-Roberts told the crowd that change was needed in the courts and child protection system and that Australia Day should be “completely abolished.”

Chants of “always was, always will be Aboriginal land” rang out through the event, where many speakers said protests would not stop until the national public holiday was overturned.

Opposition Aboriginal Affairs spokesman David Harris said he believed the Premier’s remarks were appropriate, but said change would only come through actions rather than words.

“Merely raising the flag isn’t the answer. It’s about truth-telling, what we teach in our schools, talking about treaty and having public discourse of Australia’s history,” he said.

“This is not about a day, it’s about what has happened over 250-odd years and how that has caused generational pain, which we will still see through poor outcomes for Aboriginal people.“

– with Fergus Hunter