Sydney Watson slams Kmart for stopping Australia Day range ahead of January 26 public holiday
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The commentator delivers a brutal message to those calling for an end to Australia Day: ‘If you don’t like it and you don’t want to celebrate it? Stay at home’
- Sydney Watson chided the anti-Australia Day movement
- Tweeted in response to Kmart not selling Aus merchandise
- Kmart claims that January 26 means different things
A conservative commentator has chided anyone calling for Australia Day to be abolished after Kmart announced it would not stock flag products before January 26.
Sydney Watson took to Twitter on Saturday to criticize the department store giant after it announced it hadn’t created an Australia Day-specific range ahead of the national holiday.
“I’m sick of this,” Watson wrote to her 452,000 Twitter followers.
“Australia Day is basically the only day that Australians are openly patriotic.
A fraction of the population cannot bear it. So they push and push for the day to go completely dark. Every year they manage to undermine it a little more. It’s despicable.
Conservative commentator Sydney Watson (pictured) has rebuked the movement against Australia Day after department store Kmart decided not to stock goods from Australia ahead of the holiday.
Originally from Australia, Ms. Watson rose to fame as a weekly guest contributor on Sky News in 2018 before moving to the United States.
He now lives in Texas in an attempt to reach a larger population with a “greater emphasis on freedom”, producing news articles, podcasts and YouTube videos.
“I’m sick of a fraction of the population calling the shots for the rest of us,” Ms Watson wrote in her tweet.
I’m tired of people making fun of nationalism, patriotism, and the days we celebrate our nations.
‘If you don’t like it and you don’t want to celebrate it? Stay at home.’
Kmart said Australian shoppers can buy a wide range of Australiana-themed products throughout the year, but will not specifically stock Australia Day products (above).
His tweet has been viewed more than 250,000 times and received more than 500 comments from users who were divided on the debate.
“Not a fraction of the population, but a growing number of Australians (possibly the majority),” wrote one Twitter user, citing a Guardian Essential poll.
“This is not about patriotism but about celebrating the day you stole someone’s land and their right to be equal or free.”
Others supported Ms. Watson, criticizing Kmart.
“The goal has always been to remove pride in one’s culture and nation,” wrote an American Twitter user.
‘Kmart has been self-destructive since the early years. This is a cry for help,” wrote another.
Kmart has joined other major companies in offering employees the option to trade time off on January 26 for another day to celebrate Australia Day (Australia Day revelers in Sydney last year pictured)
Kmart stocks products with Australian flags, flora and fauna throughout the year, but said it wasn’t creating a specific line for Australia Day this year.
“We respect that January 26 means different things to different people and we aim to foster an environment that is inclusive and respectful for both our customers and our teams,” a Kmart spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia.
“It is for this reason that we will also give all of our team members the option to work or not on that day, with the option to substitute another day.”
The decision comes after a wave of companies, including Kmart, Woolworths, Channel 10, Telstra and accounting firms Deloitte, KPMG and EY, said they were giving their staff the option of taking a different date instead of the 26 of January.
The date has become increasingly controversial, with many indigenous people observing it as a day of mourning, labeling it “Invasion Day” instead.