Should We Be Able To Swap Public Holidays That Don’t Fit Our Values? Clothing The Gaps Says Yes

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese

announced last week Australians would be given a one-off public holiday to mourn Queen Elizabeth II, but many First Nations people are choosing not to observe. First Nations-owned fashion label Clothing The Gaps announced on social media last week its website and Melbourne store would remain open on September 22 in protest of the monarchy and out of respect for First Nations people who have died and suffered under the Crown.“It really felt like the right the do and the respectful thing to do was to stay open out of respect for our ancestors and not acknowledge or participate in the day,” Clothing The Gaps CEO and co-founder and Gunditjmara woman Laura Thompson told PEDESTRIAN.TV. “The traditional custodians, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, certainly weren’t mourning the death of the Queen, nor were we celebrating. For us, it was a moment to reflect on the colonisation of this country and the impacts on First Nations people.“unifying moment” and that traditions were “important”“The Prime Minister’s really off the mark in the way that he’s addressing the Australian public. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people don’t feel included or like our voices are being heard,” she said. Sandy O’Sullivan

For those saying we should be magnanimous about the passing of the queen, a reminder that the queen inserted herself into the lives of Indigenous people here multiple times. She wasn’t a bystander to the effects of colonisation and colonialism, she was an architect of it.

— IndigenousX (@IndigenousX) September 8, 2022

Roxy Moore

If we had a public day of mourning for every Aboriginal death in custody there’d be one every single day. That is the legacy of the Queen & her colonies that our people have to live with today, because governments choose to do nothing about it.

— Roxy Moore (@Roxy_Moore_) September 11, 2022

David Shoebridge

First Nations people declared 26 January as a Day of Mourning in 1938. They’re still asking Governments to listen. Surely now it’s time.

— David Shoebridge (@DavidShoebridge) September 11, 2022

empower workers to have the same conversation“Many [First Nations] people are actually negotiating substituting their public holiday so they can continue to work,” Thompson said.“And employers need to be able to lead with their values and acknowledge that people, for their own values or cultural beliefs, might not want to celebrate or participate in certain days that the government announces as significant on our behalf.”Some businessesPublic servants also have this rightSally McManusbargaining power under the Fair Work Act“If the government’s not going to come in and make the changes in respect for First Nations people, how can the rest of Australia support First Nations people? One thing they can do is not recognise these public holidays,” she said.“I think that’s the sort of leadership I’d like to see in this country.” 

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