Some will celebrate, some will commemorate and some will commiserate.

But however you feel about this day, there’s no denying the job is still ahead for our very young nation.

As Australians we have much to be proud of, and also much that needs to be challenged and questioned.

While for some, Australia Day is best spent with a beer in one hand and a chop in the other – there are those among us who will spend it contemplating a better future for all Australians.

That we still have not recognised Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the Australian Constitution taints this day for many.

Others would prefer to celebrate Australia Day in a country where there is marriage equality.

The unfortunate reality is that we still don’t have a definitive way forward on either front, and we are lagging behind the rest of the world.

But when it comes to our Nation’s future and the possibilities before us, it’s about so much more.

It’s about a coming of age. It’s about us coming together as a society and working for the good of each and every one of us.

It’s about celebrating what we have and what we can achieve.

It’s about an agenda to grow this nation of ours from a toddler on the world scene, to a full-blown grown up.

Real change is only going to happen if we make it so – if we, the people, are the ones to demand change on so many levels.

So that brings us back to Australia Day.

We can put the spotlight on the past, and look back at our pioneering spirit, our resourcefulness, our willingness to welcome cultures from all over the world to help build our nation.

But we can’t ignore the treatment of the first Australians and the struggles they still experience.

Neither can we ignore the treatment handed out by some to successive waves of new settlers, from post war immigrants and Vietnamese boat people, to today’s refugees from the war torn Middle East. 

The Australian ethos is based on a spirit of acceptance and of a fair go for all. 

And it is only by embracing this spirit can we find our way forward.