A clear majority of Australians continue to support celebrating Australia Day on January 26, according to new polling that suggests the long-running debate over the national date may be easing.
An annual survey by the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA) has found 76 per cent of Australians back keeping Australia Day on January 26 in 2026, a significant rise from 69 per cent last year and 63 per cent in 2024. At the same time, active opposition to the date has fallen to just one in 10 Australians, down from 14 per cent last year and 17 per cent two years ago.
The IPA, a conservative think tank, said the findings were consistent with recent polling from non-partisan and left-leaning research groups, pointing to a broader shift in national sentiment.
Nationals leader David Littleproud said the results reflected a growing maturity in how Australians view their history.
“We’ve got to a point in our nation that we are proud of what we’ve done,” Mr Littleproud said on Nine’s Today program on Sunday. “We accept that we did make mistakes as a nation over the last 200-plus years, but we’re a country that’s been mature enough to face up to those mistakes.”
He said many Australians were weary of being told the nation’s story was only one of failure. “We should have our chest out and our chin up about what we’ve created here in this country,” he said, while acknowledging there was still work to be done to address ongoing problems.
For many Indigenous Australians, January 26 is associated with deep loss and is observed as a day of mourning, following decades of frontier conflict in which tens of thousands of Indigenous people were killed.
Mr Littleproud said it was possible to recognise those truths while still celebrating modern Australia and its achievements. “There’s a lot to be proud of,” he said, adding that many younger Australians were increasingly aware of how fortunate they were to live in Australia.
As councils, community groups and families again prepare for Australia Day events, the latest figures suggest most Australians – particularly older generations – remain comfortable marking the national day on January 26, while continuing conversations about the country’s full and complex history.
Image: Supplied
