Australia Day 2018: Poll shows big support for keeping date

Seventy percent of Australians are opposed to changing the date of Australia Day and only 11 percent think it should be moved from January 26, according to a new poll.

The survey of 1000 Australians by the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA) think tank also showed only 23 percent believed councils should stop holding citizenship ceremonies on January 26, with 50percent opposing the move, reports The Australian.

Respondents also offered their opinions on Australian history and national pride. Seventy-six percent declared Australia had a history to be proud of and 11 percent disagreed.

An overwhelming number of respondents also said they were proud to be Australian – 87 percent – compared with 3 percent who said they were not.

The poll comes amid intense political debate over shifting the date of Australia Day.

Greens leader Richard Di Natale said the current date, which commemorates the landing of the First Fleet in Botany Bay, represented "pain and suffering" for many Indigenous Australians.

But former prime minister Tony Abbott has said the Australia of today was built around the benefits of British colonisation.

IPA foundations of Western civilisation programme director Bella d’Abrera said the survey showed Australians wanted to celebrate Australia Day on January 26.