Virtuous Supermarkets Don’t Like Australia Day

January 26th is coming up – Australia Day – a time to celebrate everything Australian. Australia Day’s traditionally a time for sporting events, citizenship ceremonies, barbeques and fireworks. It’s a time to bring Australians together to be thankful for our way of life and hard-won freedoms. What could possibly be wrong with that?

Well… in recent years, some Indigenous Australians and supporters have protested its celebration labelling it Invasion Day, Survival Day, or Day of Mourning. The day is seen as a sadistic celebration of the invasion of their traditional lands. Some call for the date of Australia Day to be changed, while others call for the holiday to be abolished entirely. Although this is only a minority position, some big companies and organisations have jumped on board.

In 2017, publicly-funded national Australian youth radio station Triple J announced that they would no longer play their annual music listener poll The Hottest 100 on 26th January due to “growing dialogue around Indigenous recognition and perspectives on 26 January”.

Last year, 2023, the Victorian government quietly axed its Australia Day parade and fireworks without any sort of formal announcement. Cricket Australia also stopped referring to Australia Day in any promotions for games held on January 26. Kmart announced they would no longer be selling any Australia Day merchandise to ensure it is “inclusive and respectful to all”. The Australian Open also shelved the holiday.

And now in 2024, the supermarkets have now jumped on the bandwagon. Australia’s biggest retailer Woolworths have announced they will no longer stock Australian Day merchandise stating, “While Australian flags are sold within BIG W all year round, we don’t have any additional themed merchandise available to purchase in-store in our supermarkets or Big W ahead of Australia Day. There has been a gradual decline in demand for Australia Day merchandise from our stores over recent years. At the same time there’s been broader discussion about 26 January and what it means to different parts of the community.”

German-owned discount supermarket chain Aldi have also followed suit announcing they will no longer be stocking Australia Day merchandise. In 2014, they famously stocked a shirt that read, “Australia est. 1788”, and was accused of being racist, despite approval from the federal government.

Serious question: Is it only Australia that attacks its traditional customs and values as much as we do? I have never been to another country that is so set on destroying itself.

In response to Woolworths move, Leader of the Opposition Peter Dutton said, “I think people should boycott Woolworths. I would advise very strongly to take your business elsewhere… until we get common sense out of a company like Woolworths, I don't think they should be supported by the public.”

In a media release, One Nation leader Pauline Hanson commented on the controversy stating, “Big business in Australia appears to be completely out of touch with the rest of us. Today I was in a Bunnings store where an employee told me staff had been instructed to wear no items associated with celebrating Australia Day because it might offend someone.”

Coles is apparently the only major supermarket that hasn’t yet joined the woke brigade, although give them time, I’m sure they’ll come round. A spokesperson said, “We are stocking a small range of Australian-themed summer entertaining merchandise throughout January which is popular with our customers for sporting events such as the cricket and tennis, as well as for the Australia Day weekend”.

It’s interesting, these big companies like Woolworths pretend to be virtuous, but yet, they’re happy to underpay their staff, participate in price-gouging during a cost-of-living crisis, and generally treat farmers and suppliers with disdain. They claim to want to help Indigenous Australians, but for five years pushed to build a giant Woolworths-owned Dan Murphy’s liquor store in the nation’s most inebriated city of Darwin, with public health groups arguing the store would increase the rate of alcohol-related harm and put nearby Aboriginal communities at risk. Although, Woolworths have since backed down from this plan placing it on the back burner.

It seems like these big companies just don’t learn. Woolworths famously supported the Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum, which the Australian people ended up voting against, so for no reason at all they, they decided to alienate more than half their customer base.

Look, companies are free to do what they want, but so are customers. If companies choose to pick a side that doesn’t align with your own, you’re free to pick a different company.

As I said in previous videos, and I think this is the best advice for them, Woolworths and the like should stop taking sides in divisive social issues. Bluntly speaking, they should shut up and stick to selling groceries.

MUSIC
Allégro by Emmit Fenn