A man has rushed to take off an Australian flag displayed across his back after he stumbled across an Invasion Day gathering in Byron Bay.
The man was filmed standing in the playground at Apex Park, near Main Beach, on Tuesday, as the nation marked January 26 with both protests and celebrations.
An Instagram story showed the man - who was wearing a black cap, white shirt and board shorts - hastily remove the blue, red and white flag tied around his neck.
The camera then spun to the left, where protesters had gathered around a flag pole which displayed the Aboriginal flag.
Solidarity with First Nations peoples and taking a stand against the racism of Australia Day was high on their agenda.
The protest organisers Justice for David Dungay, Fighting In Solidarity Towards Treaties (FISTT), Indigenous Social Justice Association, Gamilaraay Next Generation, National Union of Students Anti-Racist Department and the Australian Student Environment Network had repeatedly asked to meet police to discuss the COVID-19 safety and other plans. They were ignored.
As the crowd poured into Djabargalli on an extremely hot day, the police changed tack after having earlier declared the protest was “unauthorised”. The police and government media barrage in the lead-up to the protest would have kept many others away.
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Australian hasn t been as divided on our national day holiday as we were on January 26, 2021.
While hundreds of thousands just wanted to head to the beach and make the most of the glorious weather and the public holiday - besides in Melbourne, which was hit by a cold snap - there were thousands who shunned the party to turn out for Invasion Day demonstrations calling for Australia Day to be abolished forever.
A long-running campaign to abolish Australia Day or change the date has a growing number of Aussies feeling uneasy about our national day of celebration.
Indigenous activists, and many other Australians, now regard the day British settlers who first landed in Port Jackson on the First Fleet in 1788 as an event to be mourned, not celebrated.
As with Melbourne: wear a face mask and use hand sanitiser, don’t attend the rally if you feel unwell, and listen to what organisers tell you on the day.
Brisbane
Events in Meanjin/Brisbane kick off with a flag raising in Musgrave Park at 8am. The rally will gather in Queens Gardens, which is across the river, from 10am, and the march will depart at 11am. It is a family-friendly event, there will be food and entertainment at Musgrave Park after the march.
Organisers have declared the day a Covid-safe event and have requested people bring face masks and hand sanitiser. Anyone with cold or flu-like symptoms has been urged to stay home.
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