Understanding our history as we advance toward unity: 26 January reflections 

As Australians increasingly re-evaluate their position on 26 January, Reconciliation Australia has called for the nation to consider how we can create a better country and a better date for celebrating it – one that all Australians, including First Nations people, can celebrate. 

For Reconciliation Australia CEO Karen Mundine the debate around celebrating our national day on the 26 January is “a positive reflection of Australians coming to terms with the terrible history of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ dispossession.”

 “The support of First Nations events by non-Indigenous Australians is a welcome sign of our country’s growing maturity and understanding as more and more Australians join the movement for reconciliation and justice,” Ms Mundine said. 

“Truth-telling is critical to Australia being able to celebrate together; a common understanding of our shared history is essential. Unity, justice, and national pride is dependent on truth.” 

“National unity and improved social cohesion are dependent on a broader telling of history and a common understanding of our shared history is essential in the creation of a national day for all Australians,” she continued.

“National unity cannot be built on selective versions of history that exclude, brush over or silence the voices and experiences of First Nations peoples, nor can unity be achieved by refusing to discuss alternative dates for Australia’s national day in the face of legitimate and long-standing objections from First Nations and other Australians.”

26 January and ECEC services

With the revised Early Years Learning Framework and Framework for School Aged Care calling on all early childhood education and care (ECEC) professionals to ensure that the history and culture of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples is respectfully and truthfully reflected through community involvement and culturally sensitive practices, the perspectives of Reconciliation Australia and other aligned organisations are important to consider for ECEC services who choose to acknowledge 26 January. 

“Embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledges and perspectives encourages openness to diverse perspectives, enhances all children’s experiences and assists in the authentic advancement of Reconciliation. It is a commitment to children learning about what has come before and working together for what is to come,” the approved learning frameworks note.  

In 2025 the National Reconciliation Week theme Bridging Now to Next is particularly applicable to ECEC services, reflecting an ongoing connection between past, present, and future and calling for all Australians to step forward together.  

At the Excellent rated Goodstart Early Learning Red Hill Assistant Director Charmaine Greenwood* has been reflecting on 26 January, sharing perspectives and learning which may be useful for other services considering how they will, or will not, acknowledge 26 January. 

The team began with a simple question; “how is Belonging genuinely embraced and celebrated with January 26th and the start of the school year just days away?”

“Whether you celebrate this particular day in your personal life or not, it is inappropriate and disrespectful to do so in an ECEC context especially if you have a reconciliation action plan (RAP), are developing a RAP, or engage in reconciliation practice or conversation,” Ms Greenwood said. 

“Is this offensive? Is it divisive? It is an opportunity to critically reflect on the Why beneath this view, be it a negative or positive response.”

“At our centre, we’re known to be proud advocates for amplifying children’s voices, the curation of our learning environments, inclusion, and diversity, and that includes our families’ diverse values and views of the world and its inhabitants. How do we celebrate our community while upholding our advocacy work?”

“In our Children’s Handbook there is a page dedicated to Celebrations. While families might celebrate different dates of significance throughout the year, addressing the blue, red, and starry elephant in the room, no we don’t celebrate Australia Day at our centre. We feel we don’t need to.”

“We celebrate each child and each educator in our service, and by extension all of our family contexts. We acknowledge what makes us different, unique, and we learn from these differences. This foundation of respect is what defines our ECEC Identity and supports our Sense of Belonging.”

*Ms Greenwood’s perspectives are a personal reflection and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of Goodstart Early Learning.