How do I deal with such news? I have benefited of course and had an incredible life of privilege. All I can do now is join the protest against Australia Day and accept that for Indigenous people there is nothing to celebrate.

I welcome a referendum and will vote yes for a voice to parliament and for a lasting change so no more Indigenous children born today live shorter lives, spend time incarcerated or have no future to look forward to. Enough of denying our history, this land was invaded and stolen with no regard for the traditional owners. The time for change is long overdue.

IF we, as Australians, can carry decades-long affection for a national carrier oddly called Qantas, surely we could learn to live and like a national day called Mabo ("A date for our shared destiny": Kevin Rudd).

In my mind there are three overwhelming arguments for change;

One, most polls have clearly identified that a vast majority of European Australians simply have no idea why January 26 is indeed, Australia Day

Two, wouldn't it be a fabulous gesture of national maturity to understand and respect and respond to the feelings of our First Nations communities and;

Three, it would be much nicer to have a holiday weekend mid-year rather than immediately after a (usually) long summer holiday break.

Anyway Mr Rudd, the Mabo decision from the highest European court in our land was culturally significant without having any real day-to-day impact on most Australians, so, I for one, am with you on this.

JANUARY 26 is now called Australia Day and has no connection to the fact that Captain Cook or the First Fleet were involved. On the 26th of January 1949, the Australian nationality came into existence when the "Nationality and Citizenship Act 1948" was enacted. That was the day we were first called Australians and allowed to travel with passports as Australian.

Under the Nationality Act 1920, all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders born after 1921 gained the status of British subjects. In 1949, therefore, they automatically became Australian citizens under the National and Citizenship Act 1948. Before that special date, all people living in Australia, including Aborigines born after 1921 were called "British subjects" and forced to travel on British passports and fight in British wars.

MORE LETTERS TO THE EDITOR:

We all became Australians on the same day. This is why we celebrate Australia Day on the 26th of January. This was the day Australians became free to make our own decisions about which wars we would fight and how our citizens would be treated. It was the day Aborigines were declared Australians.

Until this date, Aborigines were not protected by law. For the first time since Cook's landing this new Act gave Aboriginal Australians by inference and precedent the full protection of Australian Law. Because of this Act, the government became free to help Aborigines, and since that day much has been done to assist Aboriginal Australians, including saying "sorry" for the previous atrocities done by the British before this law came into being.

This was a great day for all Australians. This is why the 26th of January is the day new Australians gain their citizenship. It is a day which celebrates the implementation of the Nationality and Citizenship Act of 1948 - the Act which gave freedom and protection to the first Australians, old and new, the right to live under the protection of Australian law, united as one nation. Isn't that cause for celebration?

SOME people are offended by the way the world is or was and want to change it. So many individuals felt they should change the establishment but they are so focused only on their own objectives and lose sight of the long-term gains or losses.

Much to our great loss, we have endured too many 'offended persons' who choose to destroy the evidence of our predecessors. These include Thomas Bowdler who decided that Shakespeare's works should be rewritten 'to be family friendly'; Israel Folau who joined more than 4 million other Australians to express his opposition to same sex marriage; William Tyndale's translation of the Latin/Greek version of the Bible into English back in 1535, was accused of heresy and executed.

So will the errors of the past disappear if we destroy the relics reminding us of those terrible times? Should we seek revenge against the British who invaded Australia rather than the French, or a bit later the Japanese? If Australia Day is to have any value, we need to respect, not attack other people's beliefs, including Margaret Court, our Indigenous community, Jewish, homosexual, atheist, Muslim, or any other philosophy.

SO, Daniel Andrews (worst premier ever), Mark McGowan (2nd worst premier ever) and Anthony Albanese (worst Labor leader ever) think it terrible that Margaret Court is getting an Australia Day award.

What other tennis player (man or women) in the world has her record of 24 majors? No one. She is arguably our greatest sports person ever! She has a right to her views (as we all do), and if you don't agree, suck it up and get over it. Congratulations. Margaret. Well deserved.

I WAS somewhat dismayed when I heard the howls of protest when Margaret Court was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia.

It would seem she has been savaged because of her opinions on homosexual marriage. Would it not be reasonable to assume she was granted this award because of the good work she has done? I seem to remember this is not the first time she has been savaged because of her views; nor is she alone. My concern is that freedom of speech and freedom of expression are being threatened. If people who have savaged Margaret Court and others with similar views are allowed to continue with their vitriolic outbursts, it won't be long before the rest of us won't be allowed to say anything.

I understand there have been worrying developments in Canada where the use of gender specific pronouns are prohibited. Let's hope that sort of stupidity doesn't happen here.

TRUMP and his supporters, Hillary Clinton conceded the day after the election. Trump still hasn't, and has constantly lied about the result ever since the election took place. And the Democrats never stormed the Capitol with weapons and zip-cuffs, tried to overturn the democratic process through force, or chanted threats to hang the Vice-President and other elected representatives while erecting a gallows with which to do it right outside their offices. I know who looks the worst "sore losers", and the more dangerous.

CITY of Newcastle, please note the meaning of deciduous. The trees you planted in William St are deciduous; they go for pipes, lift up fences and driveways, have bats and ticks, cause falls, branches hang over houses, power lines and more. Everything you said they won't do. It's time to fix this problem. If you had done so early on it wouldn't be as big. Warning: don't let the council put trees out the front of your home.

I CONGRATULATE the federal government following the Labor states and legislating to make wage theft a crime.

GREG Hunt, yes, the last days' play of the SCG and Gabba tests were riveting, (Letters, 23/1). Our son, walking sports encyclopedia/photographic memory since a boy, pointed out Steve Waugh said they're not called "tests" for nothing. Could not be more real. Thanks to the benefit of this "in-house" insight, could not believe Aussies felt 328 was safe the way the Indians threw down the gauntlet in Sydney. Both days the Indians perfectly paced themselves, unflustered. Aussies needed to look at batting, sharper fielding and more a "testing" bowling line-up.

WELCOME back Michael Gormly (Short Takes, 23/1), I missed you. Yes, I still need to remind people about mammalogist Tim Flannery's many dud predictions because some are still trying to defend him. How you can say his very costly appointment as Climate Commissioner by the then Labor government is irrelevant is beyond belief when his advice cost the country millions and continues to do so with several desalination plants now mothballed.

MICHAEL Gormly, (Short Takes, 23/1), for years Tim Flannery was extolled as the climate change Messiah by many. Anyone who dared question his pronouncements was dismissed as a "denier" by his followers. Now those same people are telling us it doesn't matter what Flannery said as he wasn't a scientist. Little wonder that millions of us don't know who the hell to believe when climate change is being discussed

MIKE Scanlon's article "Spike in Silliness" (Weekender, 23/1) brought back fond memories of the absurd and irreverent Goon Show of the 1950s. The article was an uplifting read about a brilliant person who provided lots of laughs to all, including I believe the Royal family.

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