Small steps to reconciliation on Oz Day

IT was a small step, but a significant one.

At around 8am (AEDT) on Saturday, before the obligatory family barbecues and citizenship ceremonies were under way across the country, the Aboriginal and Australian flags were slowly raised on the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

It was the first time both flags have flown side by side atop the bridge on Australia Day.

But while the iconic bridge may have become a symbol of unity for the day, many Aboriginal people see little reason to celebrate January 26, which also marks 225 years since the First Fleet arrived.

About 50 people marked the day near Canberra's tent embassy by announcing the country's first Aboriginal political party, formed in the Northern Territory two years ago, would contest this year's federal election.

There were calls for people to stand up for their rights and end the NT intervention program, but no repeat of the angry protests that marred last year's Australia Day celebrations in the nation's capital.

In Sydney, NSW Governor Marie Bashir said Captain Arthur Phillip knew he was an intruder who would change the lives of Aboriginal people forever.

"We are walking together, I believe, as one people," she said of steps being taken toward reconciliation.

The message of "one people" rang true on Saturday for the more than 17,000 people from 145 countries who took the citizenship pledge to become freshly-minted Aussies.

At a ceremony in Canberra, National Australia Day Council chair Adam Gilchrist told a crowd new citizens will enjoy all the opportunities Australia can provide.

"There's no doubt we are richer, we are stronger and a more egalitarian country because they and many others choose to come here," he said.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard, who was born in the UK, said she was a proud member of the millions who had taken the pledge since 1949.

"As migrants - all four million of us - we did not just adopt a new country," she said.

"This is your new country, and you'll never want another. Welcome to citizenship. Welcome to Australia. Welcome home."

World-renowned British actor Miriam Margolyes, known for her roles in the television comedy Blackadder and as Professor Sprout in the Harry Potter films, was among those to take the pledge in Canberra.

"I'm just very happy to be here, and I will be with friends and the rest of my life will be joyous," she said.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott told an Australia Day breakfast and citizenship ceremony in Adelaide that new citizens are changing the country for the better.

Change should be welcomed "when it's in accordance with the customs and traditions of our people", he said.

Thousands of people turned out in Sydney's CBD to watch The Wiggles unveil their new line-up, as indigenous artist Jessica Mauboy performed on a floating stage in Sydney Harbour.

In Tamworth, country music fans lined the town's main drag for an annual cavalcade celebrating both Australia Day and the finale of the iconic 10-day country music festival.

There was less fanfare in Queensland, where Premier Campbell Newman warned Australia Day revellers to batten down the hatches as heavy downpours threatened parts of the state with flooding.

Gladstone was declared a disaster area, while mini-tornadoes damaged scores of buildings and injured up to 20 people in Bargara, Burnett Heads and other townships in the Bundaberg district.

Deputy Prime Minister Wayne Swan said the second anniversary of the Queensland floods this year reminded him of those who pulled together to help friends and strangers faced with losing everything.

"The Australian spirit is never stronger than when we face these kinds of events together," he said.

Victorians were reminded to remember the volunteers spending their Australia Day fighting blazes in some parts of the state and dealing with the aftermath of others.

Thousands of Tasmanians gathered for a concert at the same pub in Dunally, in the state's east, where ferocious bushfires tore through the region earlier this month.

Local Mayor Kerry Vincent said despite the horror the bushfires brought with them, the community was coming together in the spirit of solidarity.

In Western Australia, more than 2500 new citizens from 92 countries took the pledge at more than 80 citizenship ceremonies around the state, including the second-largest in the country, at Wanneroo in Perth's north.

In the United States, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton wished all Aussies a safe and happy Australia Day and reiterated that the US remains a committed partner and friend.

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