In short we fully concur, good on them ….
We'll be open for business on 26 January as in previous years, in accordance with our wish that the date of Australia Day be changed to one that is not hurtful. We don't mind what anyone else chooses to do; it is, to that extent at least, a free country.
— marquelawyers (@marquelawyers) January 19, 2022
Speaking to SmartCompany, managing partner Michael Bradley says the business owners made the decision to stop acknowledging January 26 as a public holiday about five years ago.
They put the suggestion to the whole staff at the firm to gauge their opinions, and found there was a pretty much unanimous view that employees would like to see the date of Australia Day changed.
“We would like to see Australia Day celebrated on a day that isn’t hurtful to a part of the population, which it clearly is,” Bradley says.
In years past we have seen other small businesses go a step further, acknowledging the day as one of mourning and remembrance for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and donating proceeds from the day to Aboriginal-led charities, for example.
Others, including both Indigenous-led and non-Indigenous led businesses, use their social media platforms to advocate for changing the date of Australia Day, or for canning the public holiday entirely.
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Why this law firm is opting out of the Australia Day public holiday
