Welcome to all APC listerners to the first program of 2019.

The 26th of January in Australia is a public holiday marking Australia Day. It celebrates the anniversary of the 1788 arrival of the First Fleet of British ships at Port Jackson, New South Wales, and the raising of the Flag of Great Britain at Sydney Cove by Governor Arthur Phillip.

To the Indigenous people of Australia this day marks the start of colonialism, dispossession, exploitation and genocide. The first organised protests against this Day were held in 1938. The movement to abolish Australia Day has gathered momentum over the last few years. On Saturday January 26, protest rallies were held in all major cities around Australia attracting tens of thousands of Aboriginals and their supporters.

Meriki Onus is a leading member of the Warriors of the Aboriginal Resistance (WAR), the group who organised the protest rally in Melbourne. The interview looks at the issues that confront Indigenous people in Australia to this day and the significance of the Invasion Day marches.

Asia Pacific Currents provides updates of labour struggles and campaigns from the Asia Pacific region. It is produced by Australia Asia Worker Links, in the studio of 3CR Radio in Melbourne, Australia