Plea for unity as Australia Day highlights divisions

Callum Godde and Tess Ikonomou | January 26, 2026

Anthony Albanese has called for national unity as thousands of people took to the nation’s streets for opposing rallies on Australia Day.

Attending a national citizenship ceremony in Canberra, the prime minister welcomed new Australians to their home and said the respect for “common humanity” was what defined the nation.

“This is a nation built on the fact that we share this continent with the oldest continuous culture on earth, but where generations of people have come for a better life for themselves and their families and helped to be part of writing the Australian story,” Mr Albanese said.

While many celebrated the national day, others protested in competing Invasion Day and anti-immigration rallies.

An Invasion Day rally in Perth was marred by a threat with police moving attendees on and a person arrested after an object was reportedly thrown into the crowd.

Sydney’s Invasion Day march drew a strong turnout with a heavy police presence on hand as tens of thousands gathered in the CBD.

The march, which also attracted pro-Palestine activists, had a strong focus on Indigenous deaths in custody.

Invasion Day protesters earlier gathered outside parliament house in Canberra, waving Aboriginal flags and chanting “always was, always will be Aboriginal land”.

They circled on the lawns of parliament, coming face-to-face with dozens of anti-immigration March for Australia protesters.

“Nazi scum can go home,” a representative from the Aboriginal Tent Embassy shouted into a megaphone.

“We’re all Australians, aren’t we?” a man draped in the Australian flag shouted back.

An Indigenous woman waving the Aboriginal flag hugged a protester from the opposing camp, claiming foreigners were “invading” Australia.

As tensions heightened and protesters began approaching each other, a cordon of police kept the two groups separated.

No politicians were present at either of the rallies.

Attending the rally in Canberra, Aboriginal woman Shara Fowler said the racism she faced had only worsened since the failed Indigenous voice to parliament referendum in 2023.

She said Australia Day left her “heartbroken”.

“It’s sad that we still have to have these discussions, to have these marches, we still have to have these fights,” Ms Fowler said.

Every major capital hosted Invasion Day protests on Monday while right-wing March for Australia rallies took place in capital cities and some regional centres.

NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Brett McFadden foreshadowed a strong police presence in Sydney following the Bondi Beach terror attack on December 14 and several other alleged hate crimes.

January 26 is a day of mourning for many Indigenous people, marking the First Fleet’s 1788 arrival in Australia and the start of British colonisation.

But the latest polling suggests support is firming for Australia’s national day to remain on January 26.

Resolve Political Monitor put backing for the current date at 68 per cent, up from 56 per cent in January 2024 and 47 per cent in January 2023.

Away from the politics of the day, local councils held citizenship ceremonies and handed out awards while a mighty breaching whale lit up the Sydney Opera House’s sails in celebration.

Indigenous artist Garry Purchase’s work was the backdrop to early morning celebrations in Sydney, ahead of barbecues and festivities around the nation.

Ahmed Al Ahmed, who famously disarmed one of the Bondi gunmen before being shot and injured, was also set to be honoured with a key to the City of Canterbury Bankstown in Sydney’s southwest.

Opposition Leader Sussan Ley, who migrated to Australia with her family when she was 13, vowed to continue to fight for and protect national symbols. 

“We should be proud of our country, confident in our values and united in celebrating what brings us together rather than what pulls us apart,” she said at an Australia Day ceremony on Sunday night in Corowa, known as the birthplace of federation.