(Cth) Create an Australian Long Weekend
- Sheri Dewhurst, Zoe Kromar, Emily Lennard, Jemima Tabacco, Alanah Bowden, Mieke Crighton, Erica Wilkinson & Hannah Forwood
- Jul 4
- 8 min read
Updated: 6 days ago
Author: Sheri Dewhurst, Zoe Kromar, Emily Lennard, Jemima Tabacco, Alanah Bowden, Mieke Crighton, Erica Wilkinson & Hannah Forwood | Publish date: 4/7/2026
Content Warning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples are advised that this brief contains names of people who have passed away.
P: In Australia, the national public holiday ‘Australia Day’ is observed annually on 26 January.
S: The Prime Minister should coordinate with each state and territory to ensure the Australia Day public holiday is amended from 26 January to the second last Monday in January to establish a consistent national Australian long weekend.
E: Clothing the Gaps (CTG): ‘We are calling for the creation of an Australian Long Weekend by moving the Australia Day public holiday to the second-last Monday in January each year, creating a three-day national event.’
Problem Identification:
26 January marks the day the British flag was hoisted at Sydney Cove, and is presented as a national public holiday to ‘celebrate our nation, its achievements and … its people.’ However, Common Ground, a First Nations not-for-profit, has stated that this is ‘a day of mourning’ and a reminder of the beginning of ‘widespread oppression at the hands of the colonising forces.’
Clothing the Gaps (CTG), a female-founded Aboriginal social enterprise, emphasised that ‘this celebration ... fails to embody the values of unity, respect, and reconciliation.’
Context:
Common Ground noted that ‘Australia Day celebrations are not generally embraced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, as well as some non-Indigenous people’ because it is instead ‘recognised as Survival Day or Invasion Day.’ The first Day of Mourning on 26 January was in 1938, when the Australian Aborigines League and the Aborigines Progressive Association called for ‘equality within the community.’
The Australia Long Weekend refers to the proposal ‘to move the date of Australia Day from 26 January to the second last Monday in January’, creating ‘a three-day festival of Australia from Saturday to Monday every year’. A 2026 YouGov poll found that ‘54% of Australian voters prefer an Australian Long Weekend’.
According to Reconciliation Australia, the current national date is ‘supported by fewer Australians every year’.
Arguments:
CTG argued that ‘continuing to celebrate on January 26 disregards the voices and lived experiences of First Nations people.’ Ngarra Murray, former Co-Chair of the First Peoples' Assembly of VIC, highlighted that ‘Public Holidays are statements about what a nation chooses to honor. By clinging to January 26 for its national holiday, Australia is sending a clear message about whose history and pain is negotiable.’ Murray stated that this ‘asks First Peoples to participate in their own erasure. No amount of flag-waving, fireworks and calls for unity can reconcile that contradiction.’ They further noted that ‘it is a day of sorrow and despair. For us, Jan 26 … is the day our country was invaded, our people killed, and our land stolen. Under no circumstances would we ever celebrate that day.’
Others have noted in a 2025 petition to federal parliament, ‘the current date's omission of other migrations and its focus on the First Fleet overlooks the diverse multicultural communities that have helped create modern Australia.’
Australia Day NSW Ambassador Peter Greste argued the date ‘is about tradition and continuity’. However, proud Gunditjmara woman and respected Aboriginal leader, Dr Jill Gallagher AO, highlighted that ‘over the years, states and territories have held the celebration on varying dates, but it wasn’t until 1994 that all … landed on … 26 January.’ Reconciliation WA therefore highlighted that ‘people believe they are welded to January 26, but they often don’t consider how easily and frequently it has been changed in the past.’
Advice/Solution Identification:
CTG and Australia Long Weekend have called for moving the Australia Day public holiday to the second last Monday in January each year. CTG CEO Laura Thompson argued this ‘offers a practical solution creating distance from a Day of Mourning for First Nations people, while allowing for a national celebration that is inclusive and respectful.’ According to Reconciliation Australia, ‘this support [for changing the date] signals the strengthening of historical acceptance, one of the five dimensions of national reconciliation … this development will influence positive change in the remaining four – race relations, institutional integrity, equality and equity, and unity.’
Precedent:
There is international precedent for this. In the Philippines, Independence Day was moved from 4 July to 12 June to honour the original declaration of independence from Spain. Additionally, Germany now holds a German Day of Unity marking the reunification of the 4 divided occupation zones.
Public Support:
Broad Support
The Ethics Centre - Called for the date to be moved, but not specifically to the second last Monday of January.
Reconciliation Australia - Called for the date to be changed, but not specifically to the second last Monday of January.
This list reflects publicly stated positions and should not necessarily be taken as endorsement of this specific brief.
News Coverage:
Indigenous Business News - “Frustration at ‘ugly, divisive’ Australia Day debate”. This piece called for a change of tone in conversations surrounding 26 January, to remove the currently present animosity between groups from opposing sides of the debate, and instead provide a platform for constructive conversations. By: Tess Ikonomou and Keira Jenkins | Mon 18 May 2026 - Read the full article here.
Cheek Media Co. - “Some call it Australia Day. We call it Survival Day”. The author wrote from her own perspective as a proud Gunditjmara woman, who is anguished by the division of Australia, which continuously forces herself and her community to ‘reopen old wounds and justify why [their] pain matters’. By: Dr Jill Gallagher AO | Wed 21 Jan 2026. Read the full article here.
The Guardian - “Resisting ‘deliberately divisive’ 26 January debate, First Nations leaders seek a broader view of history”. This article reflected on the impacts of generational trauma on Indigenous communities. By: Tory Shepherd | Fri 24 Jan 2025 - Read the full article here.
ABC - “It’s not just Australia Day – national holidays are ‘almost always political’”. This article compared the repeated division and contentious debate that 26 January creates amongst various communities in this country, to New Zealand’s ‘biculturalism’ of Waitangi Day, and other colonial days of patriotism. By: Joey Watson | Fri 24 Jan 2020. Read the full article here.
Reconciliation Australia - “Statement on 26 January”. This statement outlined why many First Nations people regard 26 January as an inappropriate date for a national celebration and argued that Australians should reconsider what the national day represents. It also summarised public opinion data showing growing support for learning about Australia’s history and reconsidering the date of Australia Day. By: Reconciliation Australia | 25 Jan 2023. Read the full article here.
Where to go to learn more:
(2026) Majority of Australians want a long weekend – not January 26 | Clothing the Gaps - This webpage directly recommended creating an Australian national long weekend, rather than holding celebrations on 26 January. This was backed by historical evidence and data relating to the solution’s supporters. Read the full page here.
(2024) Letter to the Prime Minister | Australia Long Weekend - This letter, formed through ‘widespread community consultation’, directly called for an Australian celebration to be held ‘each year over the second last long weekend in January’. Read the full letter here.
(2025) Create an Australian Long Weekend: Move the Public Holiday from Jan 26 | Clothing the Gaps - This petition directly called for changing the Australian public holiday from sitting on 26 January, to instead being on the ‘second last Monday in January each year’, and has been signed by over 50,000 people. View the petition here.
(2024) Australian Long Weekend Poll | YouGov - This report provided data evidencing the support for changing the Australian long weekend, rather than 26 January as a public holiday. The results expressed that 54% of Australian voters prefer this weekend event, with majority support in all regions of Australia. Read the full report here.
(2022) Pragmatic Changes to Australia Day citizenship ceremonies | Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) - This statement from the peak body for local government supported adjustments to citizenship ceremonies on 26 January, showing institutional acceptance of more flexible approaches to Australia Day observance. Read the full report here.
Human Perspective:
Aaliyah, a young First Nations woman, found 26 January difficult each year. While many people around her celebrated with parties and community events, she felt disconnected from the celebrations. To her, the date represented the beginning of a period that had devastating impacts on her ancestors and culture. Seeing the country celebrated on a day that carried such sadness for her community often made her feel overlooked and unheard. At times, she felt pressure to join in the celebrations even though the date did not feel positive to her. This experience led Aaliyah to support replacing 26 January with an Australian long weekend on a different date. She felt that a different date would acknowledge that Australians had different experiences and connections to the day, and would allow her to feel comfortable participating in the celebrations. She also thought, who wouldn’t love a guaranteed long weekend?
To protect the anonymity of those involved, this is a fictionalised account drawn from an amalgamation of real-life stories, experiences and testimonials gathered during the research process for this brief. Any resemblance to actual individuals is purely coincidental.
Conflict of interest/acknowledgment statement:
N/A.
Support
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Disclaimers
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Reference list:
Aboriginal Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies. (2023). The 1938 Day of Mourning. https://aiatsis.gov.au/explore/day-of-mourning
Australian War Memorial. (2025, August 13). For Australia’s Heroes – the other ‘Australia Day’, 30 July 1915. https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/blog/the-other-australia-day-30-july-1915
Change.org. (n.d.). Australia Day - Jan 26 - Not a Date to Celebrate. https://www.change.org/p/australia-day-jan-26-not-a-date-to-celebrate
Clothing the Gaps. (n.d.). Majority of Australians want a long weekend not January 26. https://www.clothingthegaps.com.au/blogs/blogs/majority-of-australians-want-a-long-weekend-not-january-26?srsltid=AfmBOopVciI1H-UXm9ZsdhtT6Ef3sI9fgoLlO3xbybQFvI_B_cJfMx5P
Cross, J. (2025, January 24). Solidarity on January 26 a "sign of our country’s growing maturity and understanding" as debate persists. National Indigenous Times. https://nit.com.au/24-01-2025/15901/solidarity-on-january-26-a-sign-of-our-countrys-growing-maturity-and-understanding-as-debate-persists
Treaty for Victoria. (2026, January 27). Jan 26: A Day of Mourning - Ngarra Murray. https://gellungwarl.org/news/jan-26-a-day-of-mourning-ngarra-murray/
Hunter, N., & Zanella, D. (2025, January 22). OPINION: Reconciliation WA calls for Australia Day to shift from January 26 to ‘more inclusive’ date. Reconciliation WA. https://www.recwa.org.au/australia-not-born-in-1788
Jepsen, B. (2024, January 22). How to have a conversation with someone who's against the push to change the date. Mamamia. https://www.mamamia.com.au/australia-day-change-the-date/.
Medianet. (2026, January 23). Poll: Majority of Australians want a long weekend, not January 26. https://newshub.medianet.com.au/2026/01/poll-majority-of-australians-want-a-long-weekend-not-january-26/136820/
Murray, N. (2026, January 26). The question is no longer why the date should change, it is whether Australia has the courage to begin the next chapter in our nation’s story. National Indigenous Times. https://nit.com.au/26-01-2026/22302/the-question-is-no-longer-why-the-date-should-change-it-is-whether-australia-has-the-courage-to-begin-the-next-chapter-in-our-nations-story
Parliament of Australia. (2025). Australia Day - Petition No. EN7260. https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Hansard/Hansard_Display?bid=chamber/hansardr/28830/&sid=0074
SBS News. (2017, January 17). Keep the date for Australia Day: Greste. https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/keep-the-date-for-australia-day-greste/wbyouca82
Selvanathan, H. P., Jetten, J., & Crimston, C. R. (2022). Australia Day or Invasion Day? Perspectives on the Continuing Impact of Colonialism Underlies Public Contestations Around Australia’s National Day. Political Psychology, 44(1), 61-77. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/pops.12818
Wahlquist, C. (2018, January 18). Celebrating Australia Day on 26 January like dancing on graves, says reconciliation body. The Guardian.
Woods, J., Jenkyn, P., Cousins, G., & Elliott, E. (2024, September 2). Re: Australia Long Weekend [Open Letter]. Australia Long Weekend.
Wyld, K. (2019, January 24). Australia Day: Change the date? Change the nation. The Ethics Centre. https://ethics.org.au/australia-day-change-the-date-change-the-nation/
Yougov. (2024). Australian Long Weekend Poll. https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0042/7740/3718/files/YouGovAustralianLongWeekendPollReport220126.pdf?v=1769147254
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