DEAR News Of The Area,

IT is hard to celebrate a date which causes pain to a significant section of Australian society.

Is this the reason why the celebrations are muted compared with those of a few years ago when flags were flying from cars, faces were painted with the Australian flag and silly hats coloured the city red white and blue?

Australia is no longer a British outpost populated with rapists, murderers and thieves.

We are a rainbow people, of all colours, creeds and customs, coming as the song says ‘from all the lands on earth’ and underpinned with the longest surviving society in the world.

It is simply wrong that contemporary members of that society are asked to celebrate the date when their world was snatched from them.

Let’s think about a date when we can all celebrate together so we can bring out the flags and fly them proudly.

I expect that in my lifetime we might even have a flag which represents us all.

That’s the day when I’ll wear a silly hat!

Regards,
Margaret ENGLAND,
Toormina.