Latest news with #VoiceReferendum
ABC News
6 days ago
- Politics
- ABC News
Albanese spoke of economic empowerment at Garma, but what he didn't address dominated the mood
Two years after the bruising rejection of the Voice referendum, the prime minister trekked north this weekend to a place pivotal in the long journey toward Indigenous rights and recognition. At Gulkula, the lush site of the Garma Festival, where the Yolŋu people have led with fire and heart for a better relationship between black and white Australia, he addressed crowds for the second time since his long-term dream of a unifying national moment was shattered. For Aboriginal people, the space between the referendum to now has been quiet and disheartening as one chapter closed on the fight for political advocacy and rights. First Nations people — who in the main voted for the Voice — were exposed to the ugly underbelly of Australian society, despite the diversity of views on the proposal for an Indigenous advisory body. After the defeat of the Voice, the fast-moving political caravan — which rarely pauses for long on Aboriginal lands — quickly reversed and drove instead towards momentous challenges in global instability and a consequential federal election. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were barely mentioned in the election campaign as the Labor Party made a brutal political calculation to zero in on the cost-of-living, which ultimately delivered a decisive mandate. Few political leaders have had the gumption to acknowledge the enormous toll the referendum took on Indigenous communities. Some Aboriginal leaders feared the loss of the Voice meant the prime minister had lost his voice on First Nations reform, especially on the question of what to do with the question of truth-telling and treaties. The prime minister has appeared more subdued on Indigenous affairs since 2023, but there is hope in Arnhem Land that a second term may renew his ambition. Three years ago, Anthony Albanese came to Garma in Arnhem Land to make a "solemn promise" to implement the Uluru Statement from the Heart — Voice, Treaty, Truth. He held to that commitment and boldly called a referendum in his first term, but the government then retreated on a truth-telling commission and a federal path to treaty making. Returning to Garma this weekend, the prime minister praised the work of Victoria's Yoorrook Justice Commission, saying the truth-telling commission found that Aboriginal people were cut off from the wealth of their land and waters "by design". "As a nation, we are still coming to terms with the full truth and toll of this exclusion," he said. That historic segregation is the reason why too many First Nations communities are underemployed and why poverty plagues communities even with ownership and access to their own land. The government wants Indigenous-owned land to be central to Australia's transition to renewable energy, led by Indigenous decisions, not solely corporate profit. It will spend $145 million to drive investment opportunities for traditional owners to make better deals for their country, and crucially, the plan has been guided by First Nations economic expertise. Mr Albanese's address at Garma this weekend contained strong commitments on economic development and land rights, but it was what was left unsaid that became a talking point. Hundreds of influential Aboriginal leaders came to Arnhem Land for a tougher, bolder vision for their children from a prime minister with a powerful majority. He did not outline a clear plan on what the government intends to do with disastrous policy failures in the Closing the Gap agreement, where the most heartbreaking targets to reduce suicide, incarceration, and child removals are getting worse. The Garma Festival, surrounded by the beauty of the stringybark country on the escarpments of north-east Arnhem Land, belies a deep grief. Grief over broken promises and empty words. "In our law, words of promises are sacred," said Gumatj leader Djawa Yunupingu. "Given between senior people, words are everlasting. They are carved into our hearts. And our minds." Before he began his speech at Garma, Mr Albanese shook hands with Warlpiri elder Ned Jampijinpa Hargraves, whose grandson Kumanjayi White died in June, held down by police in a supermarket at 24 years of age. The deaths and treatment of Aboriginal people in custody is a looming catastrophe that Indigenous Affairs Minister Malarndirri McCarthy says she is "deeply troubled" by. Young Yolŋu people are too often far from home, incarcerated in Darwin and Palmerston in conditions human rights groups label as inhumane. In the Northern Territory, spit hoods are coming back, the prison population is soaring, watch houses are full, and little girls are kept in solitary confinement with the lights on for 24 hours at a time. The federal government is facing mounting pressure to make some bold calls to influence the direction in the NT — the Commonwealth largely funds the territory — but the prime minister has seemed reluctant to appear interventionist. Aboriginal communities have no other lifeline. There is no Voice. No formal national mechanism by which they can have a permanent and direct line to the government about their exclusion from policy decisions. The Country Liberal Party, which swept to power last year, has no Indigenous representatives and has presided over a deteriorating relationship with major Aboriginal organisations. The Productivity Commission says if state and territory governments continue to pass legislation that contravenes and directly undermines closing the gap, the Commonwealth could look at pulling some funding levers. It would be the boldest action yet on Closing the Gap. If the prime minister's first term was dominated by the referendum, his second term is likely to present a challenge to him to raise a powerful voice on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in jail and kids in child-protection systems. At Garma three years ago, the prime minister promised to govern with "humility". "Humility because — so many times — the gap between the words and deeds of governments has been as wide as this great continent," he said. The growing gap excluding Indigenous children from society needs urgent leadership, and the prime minister knows the solution lies between the words and the deeds.
ABC News
24-06-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
Survey finds 'significant' rise in racism towards Indigenous people in past decade
Australia's only national survey tracking progress on reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians has recorded a near 40 per cent rise in racism during the past decade. The biennial Australian Reconciliation Barometer, conducted by Reconciliation Australia, has shown a "significant" jump in racism experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, from 39 per cent in 2014, to 54 per cent in 2024. Experiences of racism included verbal abuse, social media abuse, being refused entry or service, being prevented from renting a property, and physical violence, with younger First Nations people reporting higher levels of racism than other age groups. Racial discrimination was experienced at the hands of police, taxis and rideshare services, government services, hospitality and utility providers, and employers. Reconciliation Australia chief executive Karen Mundine said many factors were driving the "disheartening" increase in reports. "I think probably people are more likely to report those experiences, and people have a greater understanding of what it is," she said. "[That's] not just in an interpersonal way, but understanding the structural systems that also reinforce racist behaviours and outcomes that are discriminatory." Ms Mundine said the increase in racism "resonates with what we've heard anecdotally" about the impact of the 2023 Voice referendum campaign on First Nations people. The survey showed the referendum also affected the way young people view Australia, with 61 per cent of 18-24-year-olds saying they believe it is a racist country, compared to 41 per cent of the general community. Of those young people, two-thirds said their view was influenced by "the way people engaged with the Voice referendum campaign". "[They feel] it is another experience of racism and structural racism, and of the broader mainstream Australia not wanting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to have a voice and to be involved and to participate." The director of the UTS Centre of Indigenous People and Work, Nareen Young, said the increase had been fuelled by "bad behaviour" on social media and a politically charged climate. "The rise of right-wing populism, we know that it's been rejected by and large in Australia, but there's still pockets and they're active. I think that there's a lot of responsibility there," she said. The data showed young people and multicultural communities were more likely to be in favour of participating in the reconciliation process. Sixty-six per cent of young people and 56 per cent of multicultural Australians reported they want to do something to help reconciliation, compared to 42 per cent of the general population. Karen Mundine put that down to progress on teaching Australian history in schools. "I think the difference is there's a growing number of young people who are better educated and better aware," she said. "We've had curriculum that teaches Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history, and particularly around those ideas of reconciliation relationships." Truth-telling has strong support across the community, with 67 per cent of Anglo-Australians, 81 per cent of multicultural Australians and 89 per cent of young Australians saying they believe it was important. Karen Mundine said this should indicate to governments that community sentiment would back the implementation of truth-telling policies. "There is strong support there for the idea of truth-telling, but also for participating in truth-telling," Ms Mundine said. "Knowing where we've come from, knowing our histories, knowing the things that have gotten us to where we are today influences how we can actually make change today, but also create that change for a better future." She said Reconciliation Australia would continue to lobby the federal government on meaningful Indigenous policy design when the 48th parliament returns next month. She also urged it to adopt the National Anti-Racism Framework, which was launched by the Australian Human Rights Commission last year. It made 63 recommendations for change, including an anti-racism taskforce, a national body to oversee the prevention of Aboriginal deaths in custody and an external review into racism in the criminal justice system. "There is a role for governments to play there, a role for businesses to play, as we think about how we create a more just and cohesive society," Ms Mundine said. Nareen Young said there may also need to be further scrutiny of the legislation designed to address racism at work. "I think we need to really start thinking about anti-racism in the workplace. That's failed to be implemented over the 50 years of the Race Discrimination Act," she said. "The anti-racism framework contains elements that I really support … it's a brilliant framework. "But I think we do need to examine workplaces and the effectiveness of the current legislative framework separately." The survey included 532 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and 1,990 non-Indigenous people, with both samples weighted to be representative of the population.
ABC News
16-06-2025
- Entertainment
- ABC News
Coming Up: Stan Grant On Country with Indira Naidoo - ABC Religion & Ethics
Stan Grant opens up to Indira Naidoo on his deepening faith, Indigenous spirituality, his response to the Voice referendum, and the pivotal relationship with his father, a Wiradjuri elder. Filmed on Wiradjuri country in NSW. Coming up 6:30pm Sunday 22nd June on ABC TV and anytime on ABC iview. Posted 8m ago 8 minutes ago Mon 16 Jun 2025 at 5:18am
Daily Mail
02-06-2025
- General
- Daily Mail
Stan Grant launches an explosive attack on the ABC
Stan Grant has revealed his deep 'sadness' over how the ABC failed in its 'duty of care' to him when he and his family were the target of relentless racist abuse and death threats. The veteran broadcaster and journalist also shared his thoughts on the failure of the Voice referendum, the future of treaties in Australia and the recent boing of the Welcome to Country ceremony at the Melbourne ANZAC Day dawn service in a wide-ranging and nuanced interview with TVNZ's Jack Tame. Grant, 61, quit his role as host of the ABC's Q+A in May 2023 after being subjected to 'relentless racial filth'. In a parting shot, he accused the ABC of 'institutional failure' over how he was treated when he was being bombarded with abuse during the Voice referendum. 'I became a target, my family became a target and the level of abuse just grew louder and louder and louder,' he said. 'Being misrepresented, hateful comments made to me, my wife, my children, my parents. And death threats against us. And a person arrested and charged. 'And throughout it all, I have to say with some sadness, a failure on the part of my employer to handle that and to be able to show proper duty of care to someone in my position who was exposed in ways that I couldn't control.' Grant said his decision to quit was to protect his family and his own sanity. But he insisted he held no one at the ABC personally responsible. 'I didn't feel protected and supported as I should have done with my employer. I don't necessarily blame them,' he added. 'I think they were swimming in waters that were far too deep for them.' After leaving the ABC, Grant said he retreated into Yindyamarra, an Aboriginal philosophy encompassing respect and sitting in silence as a way of trying to understand others and the world around you. The period of deep contemplation allowed him to change how he viewed the failure of the Voice referendum. 'There was something existential about this vote for us as Aboriginal people,' he said. 'It wasn't just a constitutional amendment, it felt like a vote on us. Inevitably, it does. 'We live in a country where we are three percent of the population. We are the most disadvantaged people, we are the most impoverished, we are the most imprisoned. 'We come out of very hard history. And that's almost unknowable to many Australians because Australia is a postcard, and it's beautiful, and it's rich and it's successful, and it's multicultural and it's peaceful. And they're phenomenal achievements.' He said he now saw the Voice as a a 'political failure, rather than a moral failure'. Grant also praised New Zealand for its approach to reconciliation with the Maori people. 'It's interesting being in New Zealand and the ease people move in out of the shared space. 'You know that you are in a place that is founded on something that is very vertical, very deep and very shared - contested, yes and not evenly distributed - and I think the treaty goes a long way to that,' he said. He was referencing the Treaty of Waitangi, the foundational document in New Zealand's history which established a relationship between the Maori and the British Crown. 'Australia doesn't have that. We don't have treaties. We don't have a constitutional recognition,' Grant said. 'There is still the overhang of Terra Nullius (meaning 'nobody's land' in Latin) that it was claimed because we simply weren't there in a legal sense. They are existential wounds that we have no dealt with.' Grant said that he was faced with a choice between having to 'imagine the Australia that I want or live in the Australia that I have'. 'To imagine a treaty, the likes of which you have here (in New Zealand), in the Australian context is just not possible. We are not made that way.' 'I navigate this now as more of a question of The Voice being a political failure rather than a moral failure.' Grant was also asked about the ugly scenes during the ANZAC Day dawn service in Melbourne where the air of reverence was broken during Bunurong elder Mark Brown's Welcome to Country, when loud heckles and boos threatened to drown him out. 'The wonderful thing about that is that the people who applauded the welcome and showed respect, far outweighed the small number of neo-Nazis, which is what they are, who had booed that Welcome,' Grant said. He said his immediate, gut reaction was to think 'Australia hates us' but his considered response allowed him to realise those who opposed the booing far outweighed the minority who were doing it. But he criticised Peter Dutton for trying to score political points by seizing on the national discussion to say he thought Welcome to Country ceremonies were sometimes 'overdone'. He accused the former Opposition Leader of a 'moral failure'. To take that and land that in the midst of a culture war where once again Aboriginal people were a political football and it backfired.' He added: 'The conservative side of politics sought to inflict a moral injury out of what was a very hateful act from a very small number of people.' Grant went further, claiming that opposition and criticism of Welcome to Country ceremonies was actually a 'failure of Conservatism'. 'What deeper conservative tradition could there be than a Welcome to Country that is thousands of years old? That is joined with an ANZAC service that is a solemn acknowledgment of sacrifice for the greater good,' he said. 'And to put those two beautiful traditions together creates a sacred space that we can all share in and any decent conservatism would seek to preserve that as a common good.' Grant also turned his sights on the media in general, which he claims is responsible for 'generating conflict and polarising debate'. 'I really had to confront what I was doing and what I saw, I thought, in the complicity of media in the conflicts of our age,' he said of his decision to quit the public broadcaster. 'I started to see that the media in many ways was the poison in the bloodstream of our society.' Since he quit the ABC two years ago, Grant has written a book about the failure of the Voice called Murriyang: Song of Time and has served as the Vice Chancellor's Chair of Australian-Indigenous Belonging at Charles Sturt University.
ABC News
01-06-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Economy and culture wars cost the Liberals with voters
There has been a lot of talk the so-called "lessons" for the Liberal Party after its decimation at the last election. From culture wars to the economy, the lessons from this election are widespread and some blatantly obvious. One particular area of soul searching has been about the way the Voice referendum and the messages — or non-messages — it sent have been used and misused. The other about the impact of welcome-to-country debate. There's a growing consensus that an obsession with these issues is damaging the Liberal Party brand, particularly in the cities. What there hasn't been enough reflection on is how the Liberal Party failed in areas where it has always had a traditional advantage — the economy. New post-election research demonstrates the Coalition is losing its advantage even here. If the trend continues, that is diabolical for the Liberals. When Treasurer Jim Chalmers was first appointed treasurer three years ago, he made it his mission to reverse the reputation of Labor being weak on the economy. What is extraordinary about the federal election is despite the cost-of-living crisis, voters, who overwhelmingly vote on the state of the economy, marked Labor just ahead of the Coalition. After every election there are surveys done to understand why voters went the way they did. A report from Talbot Mills Research, one of the polling firms used by Labor, found Labor had beaten the opposition on the economy. When voters were asked, unprompted, what their most important voting factors where, 18 per cent chose inflation and cost of living as their most important issue. Talbot Mills Research director David Talbot said the research showed the Liberals had lost ground in this area. "In our research, Labor ended up with a one-point edge over the Liberals as the better party for managing the economy," he said. "Around the world, centre-right parties typically lead by 10 to 15 points on this question. If Labor can continue to match or beat the Coalition on economic management, it could position them to become the natural party of government in Australia," he said. Before the election, it was clear the prime minister was spooked by talking about Aboriginal affairs because of the Voice defeat and the way Peter Dutton had weaponised it. Just a few weeks before he called the election, Anthony Albanese distanced himself from the Uluru statement's other requests — treaty and truth-telling — disappointing Aboriginal leaders and showing Labor's timidity after the Voice. But after its landslide election victory, there is a quiet shift going on inside Labor, another realignment on how it should handle these issues. It is being led by Indigenous people either in or aligned with Labor who believe the election has signalled a seismic shift in the politics around Aboriginal affairs. The federal government has now signalled it is open to considering a national truth-telling process — a dramatic shift that speaks volumes about its growing confidence. Speaking to me on Thursday, Indigenous Australians Minister Malarndirri McCarthy said that while the Voice was lost, there was an opportunity to learn from the different states conducting truth-telling, including Victoria and South Australia, and said the government was committed to the principles of the Uluru Statement from the Heart. Pressed on if she wanted to commit and advance the principles — especially truth-telling — in Labor's second term, she said: "We've never shied away from the principles." "We have a First Nations caucus to meet. We've got to be sworn into parliament at the end of July. There's still a road to go. But can I say to your viewers, I am very much open to listening to what people have to say," she said. McCarthy said the election result sent a strong message about these issues. "There was also welcome to countries and we saw how the opposition wanted to use cultural wars through the election to determine the outcome of the referendum. "And our country, thankfully, voted no against hate. Voted no against culture wars and supported us in moving forward. "I take that not only as the minister for Indigenous Australians but also as a woman in the Labor caucus. I take that as an opportunity for us now as a Labor government to really have a good look at what we can do in this term." It is the first sign — subtly and gently delivered — that the minister for Indigenous Australians sees the significant political capital Labor now has as an opportunity to meet the needs of Indigenous Australians. Professor Marcia Langton, who campaigned for a Yes vote, has long talked about truth-telling, declaring after the referendum that Yolngu leader Galarrwuy Yunupingu had taught her many years ago that you know when you're being told the truth, because "the truth burns". She says the country now has a unique opportunity to embark on a process of learning about the past. In the time since the Voice defeat, she has been working on several projects that at their heart tell the truth about the history of our country. One is a truth-telling book about the history of Melbourne University. The other — an art exhibition called 65,000 Years: A Short History of Australian Art, featuring more than 400 works — opened on Friday. The exhibition places confronting chapters of Australia's post-colonial history on display, works from early European arrival to the University of Melbourne's historic eugenics practices. "Many works are works of truth-telling. They're not simply decorative," Langton says. Across the country, truth telling has been quietly progressing while politicians have been shouting. Langton now believes the time has come for the country to turn the corner. "Albanese's government has an unprecedented mandate to improve the lives of all Australians. His government also has an unprecedented opportunity to achieve equity for the most disadvantaged Australians," she said. "While I congratulate him for his courage in putting the referendum question to Australian voters, I also ask him to see clearly through the fog of racism that LNP leaders instigated, to be brave and compassionate. "Indigenous leaders do not want power; we want to advise on sound policies that correct the history of failure in closing the gap. "I want to see great courage from our prime minister and his cabinet to stare down those who think it is OK to allow the horrific disadvantages faced by far too many Indigenous Australians: sky-rocketing incarceration and child removal rates, unemployment, food insecurity and stubbornly high chronic disease. "Elevating our aspirations for economic development and accelerated education and employment supports to shift people towards equity sooner, not 30 years from now — that's what I would like Albanese to lead." Langton believes that in the federal election, voters "turned against the culture wars directed against them and their wellbeing". The messages of Labor's whopping election victory are many. But the opportunities are now self-evident. By the end of last week, it became clear that One Nation got the same number of senators up as the Nationals. One Nation also took 6.4 per cent of the primary vote. The Nationals, if you include the CLP, got 4.03 per cent of the primary. If you add in a third of the LNP vote, they still only reach 6.39 per cent of the primary — less than One Nation. NSW Liberal senator Dave Sharma has been making the case that the Liberals need to embark on a policy process that better understands the needs of the cities. The fact the Nationals are so small yet demand so much explains the frustration in Liberal ranks. "The Liberals have been evicted from the cities. We now only hold eight of 88 metropolitan seats. Winning back these suburban votes, in part by ensuring we reflect their values and priorities, must be our most important focus if we are to remain a competitive party of government," Sharma tells me. "The Nationals have their constituency, and we have ours, and we both need to respect that." Other Liberals tell me the links are clear. A failure to own the economic narrative and an over-focus on issues that are either low order for Australians — or seen in Australian capital cities as largely settled. Flags don't win elections. Patricia Karvelas is presenter of ABC TV's Q+A, host of ABC News Afternoon Briefing at 4pm weekdays on ABC News Channel, co-host of the weekly Party Room podcast with Fran Kelly and host of politics and news podcast Politics Now.
