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Professor Mick Dodson has been named the Australian of the Year for 2009. Australian of the Year calls for conversation on changing date Thursday, 11 December 2008 NATIONAL, January 26, 2009: Indigenous people aren't the only ones talking about moving Australia Day to another day, the 2009 Australian of the Year says. Professor Mick Dodson, a tireless campaigner for Indigenous rights, was presented with the award on Sunday by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd almost a year after the prime minister apologised to the Stolen Generations. "I'm not suggesting we move the date. I'm saying that we should have a conversation about that," he told the Fairfax Radio Network on Monday. He said it was not just Aboriginal people who saw January 26 as a day in which "their country was invaded by people from another country". "There are others that are concerned about it," he said. Prof Dodson said not to talk about moving the date would be "another act of exclusion" towards Indigenous people. "We haven't (had) a role in deciding it was going to be the 26th of January," he said. "Who made that decision? It didn't include us. Let's have a talk about it and let's settle it once and for all." Prof Dodson called Mr Rudd's apology to the Aboriginal people on February 13 last year "hugely significant to our history". "That's an example of how Australians can pull together and (show) enormous goodwill to each other and be inclusive. "That's the sort of thing we have to achieve around Australia Day. We're getting closer and closer to that," he said. Prof Dodson said he first felt "terrified" about accepting his Australian of the Year 2009 nomination, but had received the support of his family. "They are part of the reason I am here as well," he said. "It's not just Mick Dodson alone. "There are hundreds and hundreds of people who have surrounded my life over the years who help me do what I do," he said. The last Indigenous person to receive the Australian of the Year title was Olympic gold medallist Cathy Freeman in 1998. - AAP Printer Friendly Version  Email Story to a Friend Submit Letter to Editor * A NOTE TO OUR ONLINE READERS: The multi-award winning National Indigenous Times is an independent newspaper and receives no government funding whatsoever. Our print edition is published every fortnight, but because of the public interest nature of our reporting, we ensure all of our stories are available online at no cost. Thus, we rely entirely on advertising and subscriptions to survive, and hope you'll consider subscribing to NIT's print edition to help us continue our work, or even just browse our Online Shop.

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