Reject Shop Accepts Australia Day Merchandise After Woolworths Boycott

This picture shows the Opera House illuminated in the colours of the Aboriginal flag in Sydney on Australia Day on Jan. 26, 2023. Robert Wallace/AFP via Getty Images

While Australian retail giant Woolworths has refused to stock Australia Day-themed items in both its supermarket and Big W department stores, and Aldi pulled its “Australia Day Special Buys catalogue,” the Reject Shop will have a full range on its shelves leading up to Jan. 26.

“A range of Australian-themed merchandise is stocked nationally at The Reject Shop over the summer period, which is popular with our customers in celebration of major sporting events such as cricket and tennis and, for some customers, Australia Day,” a spokesperson said.

The Reject Shop chain has just under 400 outlets across the country.

The decision by Woolworths and Aldi provoked heated debate, with many praising the move while others called it “woke” and even “un-Australian.”

Rival supermarket Coles is continuing to stock what it calls “a small range of Australian-themed summer entertaining merchandise throughout January.”

Decline in Demand, Says Woolworths

Woolworths said it had reached the decision due to “a gradual decline in demand for Australia Day merchandise ... over recent years. At the same time, there’s been broader discussion about Jan. 26 and what it means to different parts of the community.”

Politicians also weighed into the debate, with opposition leader Peter Dutton urging the public to boycott Woolworths and Big W stores.

“I think until we get some common sense out of a company like Woolworths, I don’t think they should be supported by the public,” he said.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said his main focus was “making sure that supermarkets do the right thing by their customers at the checkout,” referencing the current cost of living crisis. He has previously said he does not plan to change the date of Australia Day.

“It’s a day on which we can give respect to First Nations people and acknowledge that it’s a difficult day for them, but it’s also a day on which we can reflect on what it means to be an Australian and how we can make the greatest country on Earth even better in the future,” the prime minister said.

Increasingly Controversial

Celebrating Australia Day has become an increasingly fraught topic. From 2018 onwards, radio network Triple J shifted its very popular annual “Hottest 100” feature to the fourth weekend of January after conducting an online survey of its listeners.

On New Year’s Eve, it was revealed that more than 80 local councils across Australia will dump their traditional citizenship ceremonies on Jan. 26. That became an option after the Albanese government revoked a rule that effectively forced councils to hold citizenship ceremonies on Australia Day.

The day is termed by some as “Invasion Day” after Indigenous groups pointed out that the arrival of British settlers on Australian shores led to the deaths and oppression of thousands of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Debate on the Date

Australia Day, and the date on which it’s held, was controversial even before Federation.

In the early 19th century, Jan. 26 was a Sydney-centric celebration, sometimes called “Foundation Day.” After Federation, many states argued against the date because they felt it focused only on the New South Wales state.

By the centenary of the British arrival in 1888, all colonies except South Australia observed the day.

However, the primary national holiday at the time was not Jan. 26 but “Empire Day,” which took place on May 24, the late Queen Victoria’s birthday, to celebrate the British Empire.

In 1915, Australia Day began to take on a patriotic overtones it has today as a fundraising effort for the First World War and was held on July 30. It continued to be held in July for the remainder of the war.

By 1935, all the states agreed to use the name Australia Day and celebrate it on Jan. 26.