The former prime minister defended his view that the controversial date —

which marked the beginning of British settlement and kicked off a massacre
of indigenous people — was the best date to mark Australia’s national day in
a radio interview on Monday morning.
“What happened on the 26th of January, 1788, was on balance, for everyone,
Aboriginal people included, a good thing,” Mr Abbott told 2GB host Ray
Hadley.
“It brought Western civilisation to this country. It brought Australia into the
modern world.”
While a campaign is under way to have Australia Day shifted from the
anniversary of the First Fleet’s arrival, which many Aboriginal people have
come to refer to as “Invasion Day”, Mr Abbott has become a vocal supporter
of keeping things as they are.
“It’s very rarely a one-way street, so to speak, but if you look at the
Australian achievement over the last couple of centuries, it is
overwhelmingly a positive story, and increasingly it’s a positive story for
indigenous Australians as well,” he said.
The former prime minister defended his view that the controversial date —
which marked the beginning of British settlement and kicked off a massacre
of indigenous people — was the best date to mark Australia’s national day in
a radio interview on Monday morning.
“What happened on the 26th of January, 1788, was on balance, for everyone,
Aboriginal people included, a good thing,” Mr Abbott told 2GB host Ray
Hadley.
“It brought Western civilisation to this country. It brought Australia into the
modern world.”
While a campaign is under way to have Australia Day shifted from the
anniversary of the First Fleet’s arrival, which many Aboriginal people have
come to refer to as “Invasion Day”, Mr Abbott has become a vocal supporter
of keeping things as they are.
“It’s very rarely a one-way street, so to speak, but if you look at the
Australian achievement over the last couple of centuries, it is
overwhelmingly a positive story, and increasingly it’s a positive story for
indigenous Australians as well,” he said.