CANBERRA, Australia — Top Australian political and business figures are beginning to distance themselves from the country’s controversial national holiday, amid growing pressure to eradicate a day marking the start of British colonization.
Chief Executive Officer Vicki Brady of Telstra Corp., one of the country’s largest mobile providers, said she had chosen to work on Australia Day rather than take time off out of respect for Indigenous Australians. Tennis Australia said in a statement this week that there would be no celebration during the 2023 Australian Open, apart from the playing of the national anthem in the evening.
The state of Victoria, the country’s second most populous, announced it would be canceling its Australia Day parade.
