On the flip side, VIC says sixty nine percent said leave Australia Day alone. If you don't like it, get out of my country. Ouch. I'm still allowed to have an opinion. It doesn't bother me. As I said, I'm not going to go to war if it moves from the twenty sixth of January. I think you celebrate the day, not the date. That's my personal opinion, but I am in the minority on that because, as we found out, there is a new poll that says that mainstream Australia want to keep it on the twenty sixth of January. From the Institute of Public Affairs. Daniel Wilde is the deputy executive director. He joins me, morning, Daniel, morning, nice to be with you. You're surprised by these figures, No.

On the flip side, VIC says sixty nine percent said leave Australia Day alone. If you don't like it, get out of my country. Ouch. I'm still allowed to have an opinion. It doesn't bother me. As I said, I'm not going to go to war if it moves from the twenty sixth of January. I think you celebrate the day, not the date. That's my personal opinion, but I am in the minority on that because, as we found out, there is a new poll that says that mainstream Australia want to keep it on the twenty sixth of January. From the Institute of Public Affairs. Daniel Wilde is the deputy executive director. He joins me, morning, Daniel, morning, nice to be with you. You're surprised by these figures, No.

Not Actually it's been a big increase. Sixty three percent supported it twelve months ago and it's gone up to sixty nine percent. I think the reason that's happened is because we've had the Voice of Parliament debate, which was incredibly divisive, but Australians, you know, said we want to be united. We've had the debate about our national flag. We've seen the back down from Woolwurst, who you know last year didn't want to stock Australia Day themed items. And we've seen the back down from Australia, their new co with their pubs saying they're not going to celebrate Australia Day. So I think the majority of mainstream Australians have just had a gupful of the usual suspects and the activists and the political elites telling us we're a bad country and we should just go ahead and celebrate it.

Not Actually it's been a big increase. Sixty three percent supported it twelve months ago and it's gone up to sixty nine percent. I think the reason that's happened is because we've had the Voice of Parliament debate, which was incredibly divisive, but Australians, you know, said we want to be united. We've had the debate about our national flag. We've seen the back down from Woolwurst, who you know last year didn't want to stock Australia Day themed items. And we've seen the back down from Australia, their new co with their pubs saying they're not going to celebrate Australia Day. So I think the majority of mainstream Australians have just had a gupful of the usual suspects and the activists and the political elites telling us we're a bad country and we should just go ahead and celebrate it.

So your findings found that the eighteen to twenty four they were the biggest movers. Yeah, that's right.

So your findings found that the eighteen to twenty four they were the biggest movers. Yeah, that's right.

It was a fascinating insight. It's gone from about forty two percent to fifty two percent over the last twelve months. So a ten point increase is absolutely massive, And you know, I think what's happening here is, you know, this is a cohort of Australians who have been through school, many of them are either at university or have been to university, and they've spent a lot of their lives being presented with a very one sided view and often a very negative view of Australia's history, at our culture and our way of life. And because they have, you know, their digital natives, they have access to so much alternative information. I think what they're realizing is they haven't been told the full truth about our national history and about our way of life, and they're sort of waking up to the fact that, well, Australia is actually a pretty good country. Now, we're not perfect, that we are the best country. There's nowhere else I can think of living or raising a family than here. And I think that more and more Australians realizing that we have to conserve what we have otherwise we are going to lose it.

It was a fascinating insight. It's gone from about forty two percent to fifty two percent over the last twelve months. So a ten point increase is absolutely massive, And you know, I think what's happening here is, you know, this is a cohort of Australians who have been through school, many of them are either at university or have been to university, and they've spent a lot of their lives being presented with a very one sided view and often a very negative view of Australia's history, at our culture and our way of life. And because they have, you know, their digital natives, they have access to so much alternative information. I think what they're realizing is they haven't been told the full truth about our national history and about our way of life, and they're sort of waking up to the fact that, well, Australia is actually a pretty good country. Now, we're not perfect, that we are the best country. There's nowhere else I can think of living or raising a family than here. And I think that more and more Australians realizing that we have to conserve what we have otherwise we are going to lose it.

Yeah, I would agree with you. I think we all realize we're in the best country in the world and we're blessed to be here. Eighty six percent of your respondents said they were proud to be Australian. So when this poll, are you able to dig a little deeper on that? Are you were able to find out the fourteen percent why they were not proud?

Yeah, I would agree with you. I think we all realize we're in the best country in the world and we're blessed to be here. Eighty six percent of your respondents said they were proud to be Australian. So when this poll, are you able to dig a little deeper on that? Are you were able to find out the fourteen percent why they were not proud?

No, Look, unfortunately we weren't able to do that on this occasion. But you'll see that those who who weren't proud to be Australian are in a minority. And I would be interested in in why they think that if I was going to hazard a guess, I think it's because they believe that we're, know, a colonial nation founded on racism and division, which is often the the argument from the activist side of the equation. But you know what's so important about this is we hear about the silent majority of Australians, but they're not being silent anymore. You know, more and more people are now comfortable in speaking up and saying no, Australia is a good country and we want to celebrate it. And this is very important. We're seeing this not just in Australia but across the Western world, whether it's in the UK, or in the US or on continental Europe, which is this massive schism between the mainstream and the elites, where the elites, for a very long period of time have been talking down our nation and our culture, and the mainstream is now starting to fight back and make their voices heard.

No, Look, unfortunately we weren't able to do that on this occasion. But you'll see that those who who weren't proud to be Australian are in a minority. And I would be interested in in why they think that if I was going to hazard a guess, I think it's because they believe that we're, know, a colonial nation founded on racism and division, which is often the the argument from the activist side of the equation. But you know what's so important about this is we hear about the silent majority of Australians, but they're not being silent anymore. You know, more and more people are now comfortable in speaking up and saying no, Australia is a good country and we want to celebrate it. And this is very important. We're seeing this not just in Australia but across the Western world, whether it's in the UK, or in the US or on continental Europe, which is this massive schism between the mainstream and the elites, where the elites, for a very long period of time have been talking down our nation and our culture, and the mainstream is now starting to fight back and make their voices heard.

Interesting, there's sixty eight percent agree that Australia has a history to be proud of. So again that's thirty two percent that are saying, look, there are some warts and you're right, I mean, we are the greatest country in the world, but we do have warts. I mean, there is parts of our history that are shameful in part. So I sort of understand that figure someone that's interesting.

Interesting, there's sixty eight percent agree that Australia has a history to be proud of. So again that's thirty two percent that are saying, look, there are some warts and you're right, I mean, we are the greatest country in the world, but we do have warts. I mean, there is parts of our history that are shameful in part. So I sort of understand that figure someone that's interesting.

Yeah, Look, of course, of course there's negative parts of our national history, and we acknowledge that. I mean, I think we do probably more than any other nation to openly discuss our history and in a pretty balanced way. I don't think you'd find any Australian that says that we're absolutely perfect. But too often we only focus on the negative when we don't discuss the positive. I mean, when you look at the first fleet when it arrived, it wasn't just you know, convicts that arrived on that it was a cargo with rich intellectual and moral values that came here of democracy, freedom, tolerant and the values that have underpinned our widely shared prosperity. And it's why millions and millions of migrants have come to our nation. So you know, we need to make sure that we have a balanced assessment. And as I say, too often, particularly in schools and on university campuses, there's a very one sided perspective which I think does great damage to our nation.

Yeah, Look, of course, of course there's negative parts of our national history, and we acknowledge that. I mean, I think we do probably more than any other nation to openly discuss our history and in a pretty balanced way. I don't think you'd find any Australian that says that we're absolutely perfect. But too often we only focus on the negative when we don't discuss the positive. I mean, when you look at the first fleet when it arrived, it wasn't just you know, convicts that arrived on that it was a cargo with rich intellectual and moral values that came here of democracy, freedom, tolerant and the values that have underpinned our widely shared prosperity. And it's why millions and millions of migrants have come to our nation. So you know, we need to make sure that we have a balanced assessment. And as I say, too often, particularly in schools and on university campuses, there's a very one sided perspective which I think does great damage to our nation.

So I mentioned at the start Daniel and I'd love to get your thoughts on this. For me, it's the day. It doesn't matter. I'm not going to worry about the date. If you put it on the twenty seventh, that wouldn't bother me. Some people say put it on the eighth of May so that it's made. It doesn't bother me because it's a day to celebrate Australian and everyone. You look at the history of it. We didn't use Australia Day the actual term until nineteen thirty five. Wasn't a public holiday for everyone until nineteen ninety four, so it's not like it's two hundred, three hundred years of history, et cetera. That's just me. I'm not going to worry about it my whole life. We celebrated on the twenty six. I'll do that again this year when we have it. But was that the overwhelming sort of sense that you got from people is that, yes, they want to celebrate Australia Day, but they particularly want to celebrate it on the twenty six.

So I mentioned at the start Daniel and I'd love to get your thoughts on this. For me, it's the day. It doesn't matter. I'm not going to worry about the date. If you put it on the twenty seventh, that wouldn't bother me. Some people say put it on the eighth of May so that it's made. It doesn't bother me because it's a day to celebrate Australian and everyone. You look at the history of it. We didn't use Australia Day the actual term until nineteen thirty five. Wasn't a public holiday for everyone until nineteen ninety four, so it's not like it's two hundred, three hundred years of history, et cetera. That's just me. I'm not going to worry about it my whole life. We celebrated on the twenty six. I'll do that again this year when we have it. But was that the overwhelming sort of sense that you got from people is that, yes, they want to celebrate Australia Day, but they particularly want to celebrate it on the twenty six.

Yeah, they do want to keep it on the twenty six. That's the question we asked, which was do you believe Australia Day should be celebrated on the twenty six So this is not just support for the concept of Australia Day, but support for the idea of keeping it on the twenty sixth of January, which is why this is such an important result. I understand the view of some who say, look, we should change the date in order to develop a national contensus around that date. However, that's just not going to happen because there's this permanent activist class and you could give any date and they would come up with the reason as to why it's the wrong date to celebrate Australia Day. And the reason for that is not because they have a problem with the date, but because they have a problem with our country, and this is the fundamental issue that we have. The other point that I'd make is the celebration of Australia Day or the commemoration of settlement, actually goes back to eighteen o eight with Foundation Day in New South Wales. Of course, that was before we were were federated as a nation, and it sort of gone in ebbs and flows over the years, but it does actually go back a very long way, and that's why it's important that we keep it on the twenty sixth of January.

Yeah, they do want to keep it on the twenty six. That's the question we asked, which was do you believe Australia Day should be celebrated on the twenty six So this is not just support for the concept of Australia Day, but support for the idea of keeping it on the twenty sixth of January, which is why this is such an important result. I understand the view of some who say, look, we should change the date in order to develop a national contensus around that date. However, that's just not going to happen because there's this permanent activist class and you could give any date and they would come up with the reason as to why it's the wrong date to celebrate Australia Day. And the reason for that is not because they have a problem with the date, but because they have a problem with our country, and this is the fundamental issue that we have. The other point that I'd make is the celebration of Australia Day or the commemoration of settlement, actually goes back to eighteen o eight with Foundation Day in New South Wales. Of course, that was before we were were federated as a nation, and it sort of gone in ebbs and flows over the years, but it does actually go back a very long way, and that's why it's important that we keep it on the twenty sixth of January.

Will you be able to dig deep? Is there any chance of another survey to find out exactly why in the thousands of people see I think there's also a sentiment Daniel that now the five double a audience, we're an older demographic. I think that number would be through the roof of people that want to have it on the twenty six I'm almost fifty years of age. I'm in a younger demo. But I think there's a lot of people too who just hate the idea of being told what to do when they don't like the idea of councils pushing back and saying we're not going to have our It's almost an anti establishment vote somewhat.

Will you be able to dig deep? Is there any chance of another survey to find out exactly why in the thousands of people see I think there's also a sentiment Daniel that now the five double a audience, we're an older demographic. I think that number would be through the roof of people that want to have it on the twenty six I'm almost fifty years of age. I'm in a younger demo. But I think there's a lot of people too who just hate the idea of being told what to do when they don't like the idea of councils pushing back and saying we're not going to have our It's almost an anti establishment vote somewhat.

Yeah, yeah, you bang on with that. It is anti establishment and that's one of the reasons why support for the twenty sixers has surged. And I think that the Voice to Parliament defeat was a catalyst for this. You know, that was pushed by all of the main sections of our society, whether it was sporting codes, big corporates, religious institutions, the mainstream media. They all supported the Voice to Parliament and mainstream Australians voted no, and as you know, South Australia actually had the second highest NO vote in the country and it was the only state to have every federal electorate vote. Know, yet somehow there's still a state based voice de Parliament. You know. I just can't work that one out. So I think it is an anti establishment push. And as I mentioned before, there is this sort of sense in the mainstream of our society that they're just completely over political correctness and they're sick and tired of walking on eggshells all the time. Of course, we want to be respectful in debate with others, but it's gone too far over recent years where people are shut down for voicing an opinion. And so the mainstream really is now speaking up and saying that we want to celebrate our country and we don't want to be censored by the mainstream establishment.

Yeah, yeah, you bang on with that. It is anti establishment and that's one of the reasons why support for the twenty sixers has surged. And I think that the Voice to Parliament defeat was a catalyst for this. You know, that was pushed by all of the main sections of our society, whether it was sporting codes, big corporates, religious institutions, the mainstream media. They all supported the Voice to Parliament and mainstream Australians voted no, and as you know, South Australia actually had the second highest NO vote in the country and it was the only state to have every federal electorate vote. Know, yet somehow there's still a state based voice de Parliament. You know. I just can't work that one out. So I think it is an anti establishment push. And as I mentioned before, there is this sort of sense in the mainstream of our society that they're just completely over political correctness and they're sick and tired of walking on eggshells all the time. Of course, we want to be respectful in debate with others, but it's gone too far over recent years where people are shut down for voicing an opinion. And so the mainstream really is now speaking up and saying that we want to celebrate our country and we don't want to be censored by the mainstream establishment.

Yeah, well, thank you, Daniel. I mean we had our just just for clarifica, we had our state voice before we even voted in the referendum. Around the country. Well, that's buy and by so you'll be celebrating. You'll be going to Willis and buying all your Australian trinkets, the bits and pieces ready for the big day.

Yeah, well, thank you, Daniel. I mean we had our just just for clarifica, we had our state voice before we even voted in the referendum. Around the country. Well, that's buy and by so you'll be celebrating. You'll be going to Willis and buying all your Australian trinkets, the bits and pieces ready for the big day.

Oh look, I certainly will be. You know, for us, it will probably be down to the beach. If the weather holds up, probably go down to Aldinger Beach. I reckon get the car on there with the kids. So it's always a good day and I'm really looking forward to celebrating it. And look, I think most people don't want to do it in sort of an obnoxious way. They just want to do it in their own quiet way to say, yeah, look, we're a good country. Let's make the most of it. And there's no better time to do it than sort of as you're getting to the back end of summer.

Oh look, I certainly will be. You know, for us, it will probably be down to the beach. If the weather holds up, probably go down to Aldinger Beach. I reckon get the car on there with the kids. So it's always a good day and I'm really looking forward to celebrating it. And look, I think most people don't want to do it in sort of an obnoxious way. They just want to do it in their own quiet way to say, yeah, look, we're a good country. Let's make the most of it. And there's no better time to do it than sort of as you're getting to the back end of summer.

Good on you, Daniel, Thank you appreciate your insight on the survey there today.

Good on you, Daniel, Thank you appreciate your insight on the survey there today.

Pleasure thanks for having me.

Pleasure thanks for having me.

Deputy Executive Director of the Institute of Public Affairs. Daniel Well with his thoughts

Deputy Executive Director of the Institute of Public Affairs. Daniel Well with his thoughts