I really don't like Australia Day. But not for the reasons you might think. I work in corrections and so I meet quite a few Aboriginals who have the Aboriginal flag proudly tattoo'd on their arm or some other conspicuous place.
Because I don't want a black eye, I never ask them if the flag they are so proud of would be proud of them. But that's not even the issue to me. The issue for me is the flag isn't the Australian flag. To me, Aboriginal's who identify with the Aboriginal flag don't really identify themselves as Australian except where it is convenient for them.
The next item I have is with "Invasion Day". The High Court of Australia had to decide if Australia was invaded or settled. The court was skeptical that Australia was settled and leaned towards Australia was invaded. It was the Aboriginal legal council that had to convince the high court that Australia was settled and not invaded.
The payoff for Aboriginals in the finding that Australia was settled (even though involuntarily) was native title, welfare and land rights. Yep, the Aborigines traded their self-respect for native title, welfare and land rights.
So the next time someone talks about "invasion day" let them know that the Aboriginal's wanted recognition of settlement rather than invasion and not the government nor the courts.
