Will our better angels prevail this Australia Day?

"A cry for racial justice some 400 years in the making moves us. The dream of justice for all will be deferred no longer," he said.

The struggle of our First Nations peoples is younger than the United States', yet their culture and traditions are more than 60,000 years old. The Uluru Statement from the Heart spoke of the indignity of Indigenous powerlessness. Indigenous leaders believed that through constitutional reform, their peoples could take a rightful place in their own country, that their ancient sovereignty would shine through as a fuller expression of Australia's nationhood . "When we have power over our destiny our children will flourish. They will walk in two worlds and their culture will be a gift to their country," it says.

Yet more than three years since that statement, Indigenous recognition remains unrealised. The call for the establishment of a First Nations Voice enshrined in the constitution now appears remote.

Perhaps recognising the challenges of pursuing constitutional recognition, in a report presented to government late last year and released this month, leaders of the National Co-Design Group submitted proposals for a simple Voice to Parliament that would advise on nationally significant matters of importance to the social, spiritual and economic wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

In the shadows of that struggle, Australia Day remains more divisive than ever; for some it is the celebration of a nation, for others the death of a culture.

The desire for equality in Australia has not been characterised by the sorts of protests and unrest as in the United States, such as those which followed the killing of George Floyd, the Black Lives Matter movement and the civil rights marches of the '60s. Indigenous Australians and those from diverse cultures have been balanced and measured in their approach to recognition.

Perhaps that is why each Australia Day a large section of society fails to see the problem, and are indignant at any suggestion for change - because it is not in their face, literally and figuratively, like it is in the United States. Yet as poet Amanda Gorman recited at Biden's inauguration, "We've learned that quiet isn't always peace and the norms and notions of what just is, isn't always justice."

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President Biden said United States history has been a constant struggle between the ideal that we're all created equal and the harsh, ugly reality that racism, nativism, fear and demonisation have long torn us apart. Australia had no Thomas Jefferson to declare the fundamental rights of all. We have no bill of rights in which to enshrine them. And it is likely we will not have Indigenous recognition in the constitution any time soon.

It is plain to see here as in the United States that not everyone is equal. Indigenous Australians and those from other cultures do not see themselves reflected in Australian society and its institutions. They are not honoured on Australia Day in the same number, and in the same way as other Australians. Their contributions to nationhood are not recognised as other Australians are recognised.

As Gorman said, we should be committed to composing a country dedicated to all cultures, colours, characters and conditions of man. It is a goal for Australia as it is for the United States. Yet progress is glacial, quiet isn't peace, silence isn't acquiescence.

Australia Day should be a day when we come together to forge plans for how to achieve a nation that values and celebrates its diversity. Acknowledging our history does not diminish us as a nation; it is the foundation for how we move forward. Once committed to those more fundamental goals, the decision as to the date on which we should celebrate our nation should be a less divisive one.

Through struggle, sacrifice and setbacks, our better angels have always prevailed, Biden said. When much of our country remains divided over this Australia Day, will our better angels prevail?