Celebrity

Today’s Brooke Boney calls for Australia Day date change

Jan 17, 2019

Today presenter Brooke Boney said she believes Australia Day should be changed from January 26. Source: Twitter/ The Today Show

Newly appointed Today presenter Brooke Boney sparked a fiery debate during her first week in the hot seat as she expressed her passionate views surrounding Australia Day on Thursday morning.

The entertainment reporter didn’t hold back during the Channel Nine program, claiming she won’t be celebrating like many other Aussies on January 26 due to her heritage.

While she explained that she loves her country and would happily run around with an Australian flag any other day of the year, that particular date is not a day of pride or happiness for her family.

“I’m part of that community. I’m a Gamilaroi woman, my family’s from northern New South Wales, been there for about 60,000 years or so,” she told her fellow presenters.

"This is the best country in the world no doubt. But I can't separate the 26th of January from the fact that my brothers are more likely to go to jail than they are to go to school" says @BoneyBrooke, a proud Gamilaroi woman. #9Today pic.twitter.com/fJRzobPeTG

— The Today Show (@TheTodayShow) January 16, 2019

Boney said while she isn’t going to go around telling anyone else what they should or shouldn’t do on Australia Day, she is a firm believer that the date should be changed to respect all Australians.

“I’m the oldest of six kids, (with a) single mum. I get to sit on the Today show to talk to you guys about this. I get to travel the world with the prime minister and ask him questions about issues. This is the best country in the world, no doubt,” she explained. “But I can’t separate January 26 from the fact that my brothers are more likely to go to jail than school, or that my little sisters and my mum are more likely to be beaten or raped than anyone else’s sisters or mums. And that started from that day.

“For me it is a difficult day and I don’t want to celebrate it. Any other day of the year I will tie an Australian flag around my neck and run through the streets.”

Her comments sparked a question from sports presenter Tony Jones who questioned her reasoning behind her views.

“Because that’s the first day; that’s the day that it changed for us,” she explained. “That’s sort of the beginning of what some people would say is ‘the end’. That’s the turning point.”

Host Deb Knight then added her two cents to the debate, asking when Australians should celebrate their country, if not on January 26. It was here Boney suggested Australia’s Federation, January 1, 1901.

“Chuck on another public holiday at the end or just celebrate it on another day, but I think a day that suits more people is probably going to be more uniting,” she explained.

Her comments follow the release of data from a new poll commissioned by the Institute of Public Affairs, in which the majority of Aussies said they believed Australia Day should continue to be celebrated on January 26.

The polling, conducted by Research Now, showed 75 per cent of Aussies wanted to keep Australia Day on January 26, while just 10 per cent of the 1,000 people surveyed thought the date should be changed.

“Only 8 per cent of young people between the ages of 18 to 24 say Australia Day should not be celebrated on January 26,” Bella d’Abrera, Director of the Foundations of Western Civilisation Program at IPA, said. “Which proves that despite the media and political left narrative, young people are not drawn to the divisive argument of opposing our national day.”

“January 26 marks the foundation of modern Australia and it should to be celebrated by all Australians. Rather than being ashamed of it, we should be proud of it.”

Meanwhile, PM Scott Morrison sparked debate earlier this week when he said all councils should hold citizenship ceremonies on January 26.