Leaders of Indigenous communities of Victoria in Australia, are calling on the state government to mark NAIDOC Week as a public holiday.
NAIDOC Week is an Australia-wide observance beginning from the first Sunday of July until the following Sunday. NAIDOC (National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee) celebrates the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. It originated from boycotts in protest against the status and treatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as far back as the 1920s. Indigenous leaders say that is why a public holiday of remembrance and celebration of Aboriginal histories and cultures would be best placed in this week.
With NAIDOC Week finishing last Sunday, a petition was created by the First Peoples' Assembly in Victoria to have a NAIDOC Day public holiday. The assembly is made up of 31 members, elected from Aboriginal communities and traditional owner groups.
The petition reads: "We have public holidays for horse races, invasions, footy games, wars, and the birthday of foreign monarchs but we don't have a day to share and celebrate the history and culture of First Peoples."
Assembly co-chair Marcus Stewart told NITV News, it's not about 'why' but instead 'why not'.
“We are often going to be asked the question about why it is important to have a public holiday to celebrate First Nations People and NAIDOC in particular," he said.
"I think we need to change that conversation and pivot it – why shouldn’t we have it?"
There was also acknowledgement from Stewart of New Zealand's Waitangi Day public holiday.
"It's time that Victoria had an official day that celebrates First Peoples too," he said.
With 13 public holidays, Victoria has the same number of full days off as any other Australian state or territory, including the days before the AFL championship game and the Melbourne Cup.
Stewart said he was "pretty excited" at the possibility of a day to celebrate First Nations People.
“We haven’t had any guarantee from the government. We have our fingers crossed that all Victorians can celebrate a public holiday that is a true celebration of our community’s resilience and resistance and the majestic nature of our culture," he said.
Whilst there has been no guarantee as of yet, Stewart is confident it will be yet another thing Victoria will lead the way on.
“Friday would be fitting, it’s the day we march here in Victoria. We hope to see this happen nationally. If that’s not the case we can get started, we can get cracking," he said.
“We have an expectation we’ll lead the way that we do on many other things. We’re doing some deadly work down here."