On Australia Day

Les Heimann writes: Re. “Rundle: why change on Australia Day needs to come at a national level” (Tuesday)

Why did anyone think that we should enshrine the day white Englishmen slammed the Union Jack into Australian sand? It is especially galling given that this “day of celebration” was determined many years after we all knew we had invaded and dispossessed the land inhabited by others.

Others who we refused to even constitutionally recognise until many generations later. I think we all agree that we should retain a day of celebration that honours our way of life and the land we all share. I also believe that most Australians would be quite happy to move the day to a date more appropriate – perhaps when the states created the Commonwealth of Australia.
Why don’t we admit we got the date wrong and will fix it now?

On misleading jobs data

Marcus L’Estrange writes: Re. “On misleading jobs data” (Tuesday). 

A top comment, particularly regarding the lack of checking of official data by journalists. In a 2016 report, “Making Sense of Statistics”, commissioned by the BBC Trust, the report noted that the BBC relies heavily on Government statistics and often quotes them without due scrutiny.

BBC Management responded by saying that news staff will receive “online training in the use of statistics for journalism” and agreed to hold a review into statistical coverage every six months. Will the ABC and others follow the BBC’s example or will it continue to follow the medias approach to ‘The Flat Earth Society” so many years ago?