Deputy federal Liberal Party leader Sussan Ley has been accused by a political rival of being "tone deaf" to Australia's Indigenous history after she gave a January 26 speech comparing the arrival of the First Fleet to exploration of Mars by Elon Musk.
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The member for Farrer made the reference in an address first delivered to a mass at St Matthew's Anglican Church and then repeated it at Noreuil Park as part of Albury Council's Australia Day formalities on January 26.
"Those ships did not arrive, as some would have you believe, as invaders," Ms Ley said.
"They did not come to destroy or to pillage.
"In what could be compared to Elon Musk's Space X's efforts to build a new colony on Mars, men in boats arrived on the edge of the known world to embark on that new experiment."
Ms Ley referred to convict labour, gold prospectors in Ballarat, the opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, World War I diggers and cricketer Travis Head but made no specific reference to Indigenous massacres or dispossession.
She labelled those who want to change the date of Australia Day as "activists...so fixated with projecting themselves as survivors, that they leave no room for us to come together as citizens".
"History shows us strong and successful societies are not made up of survivors, they are built and maintained by citizens," Ms Ley said.
Independent candidate for Farrer Michelle Milthorpe, who spent Australia Day at Tallangatta, read Ms Ley's speech on social media and was left thinking "it was a shame the member couldn't be honest about our Australian history".
"We are a great country because of the things we've achieved but that doesn't mean we have to overlook the things that have happened in the past," Mrs Milthorpe said.
"Not mentioning it all is showing a complete disregard for a group of people that are very important to our history.
"It just shows a complete ignorance.
"It was quite tone deaf as to the reason why people do protest against Australia Day.
"I think celebrating Australia Day is important but there was a tone deafness to the reasons that people have an issue with Australia Day."
Asked if she supported a change to the date of the national holiday, Mrs Milthorpe was coy.
"As a young person growing up I loved Australia Day in Cootamundra, but that was always the last day in January, now that it's recognised it causes hurt to people the conversation is certainly worth having, but it's not been fruitful because the emotions are so high," she said.
Mrs Milthorpe said Ms Ley framing Australia Day as a "them and us situation is not beneficial to anybody and not a way to move forward".
"Her speech has created division and I don't think it's representative of values that people want to see in their leader," she said.
Ms Ley dismissed the criticism from Mrs Milthorpe.
"What was clear to me over this weekend is the rising support for Australia Day - it is a day which brings us together and we should be proud of our history," Ms Ley said.
"It's also not surprising to see someone vying for office to try to politicise Australia's founding story, but I don't think the broader community is up for that."
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese criticised the comparison of the continent in 1788 to Mars as odd.
"I thought that was a very strange analogy to draw, and one that was disrespectful of the fact that there were people here.
"Of course First Nations people were here for tens of thousands of years."
Ms Ley also copped flak in responses to her posting her speech on Facebook.
She was accused of whitewashing Australian history and it was suggested the speech was the result of utilising artificial intelligence.
Respondent Andrew Bomm felt it was generated by requesting, "ChatGPT write me the weirdest, most cliche-drenched take on Australia Day possible and include the most rancid analogy for Australian settlement possible".
The Border Mail has been told no artificial intelligence software was consulted.
Sussan Ley's Australia Day address in full
On this day, 237 years ago, a group of British settlers arrived at Sydney Cove and began a new chapter of human history right here in this Great Southern Land at the edge of the world.
That endeavour was not assured success.
But through hard work, a commitment to freedom and a belief that a better future lay ahead, our ancestors set a course that built the freest and most prosperous nation the world has seen.
All those years ago those ships did not arrive, as some would have you believe, as invaders.
They did not come to destroy or to pillage.
In what could be compared to Elon Musk's Space X's efforts to build a new colony on Mars, men in boats arrived on the edge of the known world to embark on that new experiment.
A new experiment and a new society.
And just like astronauts arriving on Mars those first settlers would be confronted with a different and strange world, full of danger, adventure and potential.
From that moment our national story stood at a crossroads.
Like so many other colonial stories it could have ended in disaster and collapse.
The imperial impulse to extract wealth and rule through naked violence could have been the norm.
But that would not be our fate as a nation.
Despite being a colony built by convict labour the society our ancestors would build here across our wide brown land would be one in the mould of the liberal tradition.,
It would be a society without class or aristocracy.
It would be a society built on democratic principles and the fair go.
It would be a society that supported innovation, entrepreneurialism and reward for effort.
It would be a society that protected workers and gave them new rights.
It would be a society where faith was respected, and women would stand in time as equals.
It would be a society that would open its arms for migrants and the displaced.
It would not be perfect, and it would not all go to plan.
But today as we stand here in a peaceful, prosperous and free Australia how can we do anything but celebrate the success of that daring experiment?
How can we not be proud of the society our ancestors have left us?
And today, Australia Day, is an important part of recognising who we are and where we have come from.
It is an important day to recognise just how improbable and how incredible the Australian experiment has been.
And it might not be fashionable in the wine bars of Melbourne or in certain circles in Sydney but marking Australia Day on this day, the 26th of January, is important too.
It is important because marking Australia Day on this day situates our national story.
Today, among the smells of the barbecues, and sounds of the crashing of the waves, or the laughter of children, I can hear and smell the sounds of our national story too.
The creaking of the Endeavour with Cook at its helm as he sails sketching our fatal shore.
The clanking of beer mugs as the hard men of the goldfields come together in the pubs of Ballarat to voice their concerns about the overbearing licensing system.
The booming of the 21 gun salute as they open the Sydney Harbour Bridge, connecting one of the world's greatest cities.
The crack of machine gun fire and the smell of mud as our brave boys charge across cratered fields to free Villers-Bretonneux from the German advance.
The roar of the crowd as Travis Head notches another century.
Or the quiet scratch of a pencil in a voting booth as an average Australian casts their vote and expresses their views respectfully before getting a democracy sausage.
These sights and sounds are part of our national story as much as any big speech or fancy occasion.
These moments are the threads of our national story, and they are all tethered, whether people like it or not, to the 26 of January 1788.
That date anchors our story.
So today is important.
And today is something worth fighting for.
Because despite the black arm brigade, who will be marching in the streets of our cities today, the fact is the story of Australia is one that is objectively good.
We need to reject what those mobs are saying today through their loudspeakers and their iPhones.
The problem with those activists is they are so fixated with projecting themselves as survivors, that they leave no room for us to come together as citizens.
And history shows us strong and successful societies are not made up of survivors, they are built and maintained by citizens.
So we have to stand up against what those people are peddling today.
We should be proud of being Australian and our Australia Day.
The fact is, Australia has navigated the base human impulse to divide into tribes, by religion and by race better than almost any other country in history.
The Australian way is to stand up to bullies, to protect the weak and do the right thing.
We have fought and died to protect the freedoms of others from Simpson and his donkey on the shores of Gallipoli, to Oscar Jenkins in Ukraine.
Australia has set democratic standards and norms that are now the benchmark of democracy across the world, like the secret ballot and women's suffrage.
Australia has built a prosperous economy and a strong social safety net.
We have balanced freedom with the need to maintain harmony, social cohesion and community safety.
We have built a nation the envy of the world that opens its arms to all religions, creeds, races and aspirations.
Australia is truly a country where you can live the life you want to live.
I think that is well worth celebrating.
And in celebrating Australia Day we also draw a line in the sand and stake out our rejection of the un-Australian things we are seeing run rife in our suburbs over recent months, as the darkest elements of our community seek to vilify and ostracise and visit violence on our Jewish community.
Today, we set an example of what our community is all about.
Australia Day is a moment of unity and hope for us all.
So, to all of you, happy Australia Day.
Thank you for the contribution you have made in advancing this amazing country we call home.
But I leave you with this message: Australia's story will only bend toward success if we put our shoulder to the wheel.
And it will only move forward if we continue to have faith in that Australian experiment.
Today we demonstrate that faith.
Thank you.
