Sydney Watson slams Kmart for stopping Australia Day range ahead of January 26 public holiday

A conservative commentator has berated anyone calling for Australia Day to be abolished after Kmart announced it would not be stocking flag merchandise ahead of January 26.

Sydney Watson took to Twitter on Saturday to blast the department store giant after it announced it had not created a specific Australia Day range before the national holiday.

‘I am sick to death of this,’ Ms Watson wrote to her 452,000 Twitter followers.

‘Australia Day is basically the one day where Aussies are actually openly patriotic. 

‘A fraction of the population can’t stand it. So they push and shove to have the day blacked out entirely. Every year they successfully chip away at it a little more. It’s despicable.’

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Conservative commentator Sydney Watson (pictured) has berated the anti-Australia Day movement after department store, Kmart, decided to not stock Australia merch before holiday

Originally from Australia, Ms Watson made her fame as a weekly guest contributor on Sky News in 2018 before relocating to the United States.

She now lives in Texas in an attempt to reach a larger population with a ‘stronger emphasis on freedom’, producing news articles, podcasts and YouTube videos.

‘I am sick to death 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 s**tting on nationalism, patriotism and the days we celebrate our nations.

‘If you don’t like it and don’t want to celebrate it? Stay home.’

Kmart said Aussie shoppers can buy a wide range of Australiana themed goods year-round but it will not specifically stock Australia Day merchandise (above)

Her tweet has been seen more than 250,000 times and received more than 500 comments from users who were split on the debate.

‘Not a fraction of the population but a growing number of Australians (a majority possibly),’ one Twitter user wrote, citing a Guardian Essential poll.

‘It’s not about patriotism but but celebrating on the day you stole someone’s land and their right to be equal or free’.

Others supported Ms Watson, blasting Kmart. 

‘The goal has always been to take away pride in one’s culture and nation,’ an American Twitter user wrote.

‘Kmart has been self-destructive since the early aughts. This is a cry for help,’ another wrote.

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Kmart has joined a number of other major companies offering employees the choice to swap time off on January 26 for another day to celebrate Australia Day (pictured, Australia Day revellers in Sydney last year)

Kmart stocks products with Australian flags, flora and fauna year round but said it was not 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 of both our customers and teams,’ a spokesperson for Kmart told Daily Mail Australia.

‘It is for this reason that we will also be giving all of our team members the choice of whether or not they work that day, with the option to substitute for 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 a choice to take a different date off instead of January 26.

The date has become increasingly controversial, with many Indigenous people observing it as a day of mourning and instead labelling it ‘Invasion Day’.