Australia Day 'People are starting to understand': huge Invasion Day protest stuns Melbourne Activist Gary Foley tells a crowd of up to 60,000 that ‘if we keep mobilising these numbers, governments cannot ignore us’ Play Video 1:59 Rallies held across Australia to mark Invasion Day – videoMelbourne’s Invasion Day rally begins on the steps of Parliament House on Spring Street, 500 metres from where the city council has blocked off the route of the official Australia Day parade. Before 2015, the Invasion Day rally was seen as just a group of hardcore activists; they didn’t register in the minds of the flag-waving crowd that turned out to watch the official proceedings. On Friday, when the Invasion Day march reached the barricades that had been pushed aside after the parade moved on, it significantly outnumbered the Australia Day event. The Guardian view on Australia Day: we need to debate our history, not deny it | Editorial Read moreGiven their surprise at the turnout, the police presence seems excessive. Birch says the message is “abolish Australia Day” because Australia has not yet come together in a way worthy of celebration.

Source: The Guardian January 26, 2018 07:10 UTC