Fremantle council has created a shitstorm by pushing back its Australia Day celebrations by two days and in doing so, propelled Australia down a path towards a moment of history nobody saw coming.
The council's ballsy, courageous and controversial decision not to hold any celebrations on Australia Day is about addressing the festering wounds of the past when it comes to the abhorrent treatment of Aboriginal people.
It is also about realising there are still some serious challenges about the current state of race relations in Australia.
But instead the debate shifted dramatically to an issue of our national identity.
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We had the chance to maybe, just maybe, discuss the racial divisiveness that lingers above our heads, but instead we hurled insults at each other because that's just easier.
Fremantle council had ignited the uncomfortable conversation back in August, when it voted to can its traditional day fireworks on January 26 as it deemed them "culturally insensitive".
Instead of jolting us into thinking about the festering, weeping sore that is the issue of racial disharmony with Indigenous people in this country, social media vented its ugly spleen at the city for denying people the chance to roll out the eskies for 30 minutes of cheap fireworks.
Then, last Friday, when Fremantle council "dropped the mic" and walked off stage, hollering 'we are out when it comes to Australia Day', we all missed the point.
Talk back radio wrapped a massive napkin around its plump neck and feasted on the issue throughout the day, condemning Fremantle council for being "unAustralian".
Even I said on radio I was ambivalent about the decision, until the penny finally dropped.
The left and right rained vicious blows upon each other, demanding the high moral ground, but, in doing so, muddying the debate even further.
The vulgarity of the comments on social media left me with no doubt about the level of hatred and venom towards Aboriginal people.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and our own Premier Colin Barnett chimed into the debate.
"Australia Day is now a day for all Australians — whatever their background, wherever they were born — and I think any group that tries to detract from that does a disservice to our country and to our people, all of our people," Mr Barnett claimed.
How did we all get Fremantle's intentions of trying to fuel debate about the fragile nature of racial relations in our country so wrong?
Fremantle mayor Brad Pettitt had previously said January 26 was a "sad day" for many Aboriginal Australians, but he went on to say, "it's far more complex than that".
He even spelled it out for us in a seemingly innocuous line in a release last week.
"This family-friendly event will contribute to the nationwide conversation on celebrating our country and its people," he said.
He was attempting to spark a "nationwide conversation" and we have all shouted down his neck and told him to f**k off.
Coming from the port city it is easy to lump me with the "watermelon council" as Fremantle has been labelled.
I'm from Freo, therefore, I'm some latte-sipping, Jeff Buckley listening, Noam Chomsky reading left-wing looney.
I don't have the answers for the flood of social problems confronting Aboriginal people.
And I'm not going to pretend I haven't found it disturbing when I see a group of drunk Aboriginal people stagger through Kings Square.
One thing I do know, Fremantle's decision has shown me we are not yet ready to address the ugly issue of the cause and consequences of racism in Australia.
But it has started a conversation that everyone including our leaders has been trying to avoid.
In time, other parts of Australia will follow Fremantle's lead.
And in time, history will look back at Fremantle council and see it the start of something more than fireworks and Australia Day celebrations. It will be seen as the time we started to grow up us a nation.
Fremantle has been to the "mountain top" and it's about bloody time we all joined them.
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