January 26, Racism, and Our Responsibility to Stand Up — A Call for Courageous Allyship

An opinion piece by Chad Lofthouse, Director – National Aboriginal Practice & Partnerships

Across the country, people from diverse backgrounds are reporting more frequent racial abuse, more discrimination, and more overt attacks in public spaces and online forums. This growing hostility reveals one thing: racism is not an issue limited to any one community. It’s a widespread societal issue – woven through our systems, our conversations, our politics, our workplaces and our social media feeds.

And while all communities feel its impact, First Nations people continue to bear the heaviest weight of this rising tide — because racism hits hardest where history, trauma, and structural inequality already exist.

This data is not abstract to me – my own family lives it. As the referendum approached, my daughters – at the ages of just 9 and 14 – were yelled at, abused by strangers, and made to feel unsafe simply for walking proudly in their culture. The social fractures exposed during the referendum didn’t create racism, but they created an environment that gave “permission” to voice prejudice that was already simmering beneath the surface.

January 26 is a day many First Nations people brace for. Every year, when the “Australia Day debate” resurfaces, it stirs the same hostility. The cultural wars intensify. Misunderstandings deepen. Beautiful practices like Welcome to Country become targets for negativity — despite being offerings of connection, respect, and pride.

For many First Nations peoples, January 26 is a reminder of the ongoing trauma of colonisation, the violence and dispossession it brought, and the ripple effects that still shape the lives of our children, our families, and our communities today. Each year, this date reignites debates, inflames cultural division, and gives oxygen to racist attitudes that many of us, myself included, experience not as headlines — but as harm.

Despite this rising tide – I remain hopeful. ARB data also highlights that sixty‑six percent of young people and over half of multicultural Australians want to actively contribute to reconciliation. Many young people see racism clearly and refuse to pretend it doesn’t exist. They are better educated, more aware, and more open to truth‑telling than previous generations.

This isn’t theoretical. It’s practical and urgent. Anti‑racism asks you to act. To speak. To intervene with compassion, respect, and courage. It’s not about fighting with people – it’s about educating, modelling dignity, and taking action in your everyday choices.

I call on all Australians to be courageous allies and embrace anti-racism. We cannot do this alone. We need you. January 26 will continue to be painful for many of us until our nation is ready to choose unity over division. Truth over convenience. Courage over comfort.

Your voice, your choices, your willingness to learn and unlearn. Together, let’s embrace the 65,000+ years of culture, knowledge, and care that First Nations people have gifted this land.

We owe this to our children.

All of them.