New shadow Indigenous spokesperson Jacinta Price, Warren Mundine and One Nation’s Pauline Hanson at a Queensland Police conference. Just as we expected, the mainstream media has equated the ‘no’ campaign with black conservatives like Senator Jacinta Price and former ALP National President Warren Mundine. Mundine in particular fronted an ad for his “Recognise a Better Way” campaign this week, which he described in
Brava, Amy M. for writing such a comprehensive rebuttal to the nonsense emanating from Warren Mundine (in a unit alongside another in which a much younger Warren already showed his aloofness I worked in the early 1980s) and from the divisive and look-at-me-alongside-my-racist-mates Jacinta Price. Her Yuendumu Warlpiri roots and family connections are, as I understand it, far from impressed. Two misguided souls - they'll certainly be discarded by their LNP mates once their usefulness is over - but what a sad legacy for them both - to be forever perceived as pawns in the bigger game of maintaining control over First Australians by the vested interests crowd.
Mundine behaved apallingly on the Drum Tuesday night, shouting and sneering, I couldn't help but think He's picked up some really vile habits in the LNP party room/parliament.
Thank you very much Amy. I (feeling-wise) still don't understand the LNP oppositions. Logically, (edit 20/09/23 added words in brackets - if some feel listening to first nations people in designing policies and programs that impact them - a voice could or would lead to and want) to avoid class actions.
And to avoid accountability for denying human rights and for retaining power and paternalism, sure.
I appreciate the background. Truly aweful betrayals.
I agree with everything you have written here, Amy. However, I think Albanese, Burney and other Labor figures need to speak up and call out Dutton, Price and Hanson’s racism. They are clearly engaging in unsubtle dog whistles to racists with language about “special treatment” etc. Instead of calling a spade a spade, Voice proponents are trying to make themselves a small target, emphasising the “recognition” (i.e. hollow symbolism) of the Voice proposal and downplaying the prospect of the Voice being an authority that could actually have an impact on policy. While they pursue this path, they risk further eroding support for the proposal. The referendum may yet pass by a narrow margin, but unless Labor come out swinging and lambast the conservative No campaign as a bunch of racists the Voice will be off to a very shaky start.
Say what you like of Ms Price or Mr Mundine, I’m unaware of either of them ‘denying’ others of a voice or tying to ‘deny others the right to question it’. This piece gives no evidence of this. Strongly expressing an opinion does not mean silencing those with contrary opinions.
If Amy Mcquire disapproves of silencing those with contrary opinions she needs to self-reflect. She explicitly states the black conservative movement “should not be given any airtime”, in the case of Ms Price because she already has a voice in parliament. It’d be a strange polity where members of parliament were not permitted air-time! Rightly or wrongly hundreds of thousands of people voted for Ms Price (were I a Territorian I wouldn’t have) and this appropriately gives her statements an importance and newsworthiness (‘air time’) they otherwise wouldn’t have.
While Black Australia may ‘have a long memory’ in this case the memory seems unreliable. Readers under 30 may not know the notorious (unfounded) talk of ‘pedophile rings’ did not ‘lead’ to the NT Intervention. It was triggered by the earlier“Little Children are Sacred’ report which found the rates of child maltreatment (and sexual abuse in particular) in NT Indigenous communities were at crisis levels and required an urgent national response. The writers were apolitical experts. I’m not aware of anyone proving, or even arguing they got it wrong.
Whether the NT Intervention was the right response is another question. But I’m concerned the unhappy truth of higher rates of Indigenous child maltreatment (confirmed in subsequent findings) is getting obscured, denied and discouraged from being even aired by people who doubtless want to advance Indigenous welfare. It suggests a lack of moral or intellectual courage. It also makes them hinderers rather than helpers in solving a serious social problem.
Just to be clear, of course this doesn’t mean the most Indigenous men are child molesters, any more than the fact men have a vastly higher rate of being sexual offenders means that most men are rapists. It shouldn’t be necessary to point this out to sophisticated minds but sadly it appears to be.
Really enjoyed this Amy. I'm in favour of the Voice but agree its disgusting how little coverage the objections from radical and grass-roots opponents there has been. This alongside a failure so far by government to get out and educate/consult remote communities on the Voice more. Not to mention how the media, and the Greens seemingly, have treated Senator Thorpe. Fascinating to learn of Mundine's history that I had no clue about.
Brava, Amy M. for writing such a comprehensive rebuttal to the nonsense emanating from Warren Mundine (in a unit alongside another in which a much younger Warren already showed his aloofness I worked in the early 1980s) and from the divisive and look-at-me-alongside-my-racist-mates Jacinta Price. Her Yuendumu Warlpiri roots and family connections are, as I understand it, far from impressed. Two misguided souls - they'll certainly be discarded by their LNP mates once their usefulness is over - but what a sad legacy for them both - to be forever perceived as pawns in the bigger game of maintaining control over First Australians by the vested interests crowd.
Mundine behaved apallingly on the Drum Tuesday night, shouting and sneering, I couldn't help but think He's picked up some really vile habits in the LNP party room/parliament.
Thank you very much Amy. I (feeling-wise) still don't understand the LNP oppositions. Logically, (edit 20/09/23 added words in brackets - if some feel listening to first nations people in designing policies and programs that impact them - a voice could or would lead to and want) to avoid class actions.
And to avoid accountability for denying human rights and for retaining power and paternalism, sure.
I appreciate the background. Truly aweful betrayals.
I’m seeking the nuance and the history that can’t be found in much of our media.
So thanks Amy.
I agree with everything you have written here, Amy. However, I think Albanese, Burney and other Labor figures need to speak up and call out Dutton, Price and Hanson’s racism. They are clearly engaging in unsubtle dog whistles to racists with language about “special treatment” etc. Instead of calling a spade a spade, Voice proponents are trying to make themselves a small target, emphasising the “recognition” (i.e. hollow symbolism) of the Voice proposal and downplaying the prospect of the Voice being an authority that could actually have an impact on policy. While they pursue this path, they risk further eroding support for the proposal. The referendum may yet pass by a narrow margin, but unless Labor come out swinging and lambast the conservative No campaign as a bunch of racists the Voice will be off to a very shaky start.
Say what you like of Ms Price or Mr Mundine, I’m unaware of either of them ‘denying’ others of a voice or tying to ‘deny others the right to question it’. This piece gives no evidence of this. Strongly expressing an opinion does not mean silencing those with contrary opinions.
If Amy Mcquire disapproves of silencing those with contrary opinions she needs to self-reflect. She explicitly states the black conservative movement “should not be given any airtime”, in the case of Ms Price because she already has a voice in parliament. It’d be a strange polity where members of parliament were not permitted air-time! Rightly or wrongly hundreds of thousands of people voted for Ms Price (were I a Territorian I wouldn’t have) and this appropriately gives her statements an importance and newsworthiness (‘air time’) they otherwise wouldn’t have.
While Black Australia may ‘have a long memory’ in this case the memory seems unreliable. Readers under 30 may not know the notorious (unfounded) talk of ‘pedophile rings’ did not ‘lead’ to the NT Intervention. It was triggered by the earlier“Little Children are Sacred’ report which found the rates of child maltreatment (and sexual abuse in particular) in NT Indigenous communities were at crisis levels and required an urgent national response. The writers were apolitical experts. I’m not aware of anyone proving, or even arguing they got it wrong.
Whether the NT Intervention was the right response is another question. But I’m concerned the unhappy truth of higher rates of Indigenous child maltreatment (confirmed in subsequent findings) is getting obscured, denied and discouraged from being even aired by people who doubtless want to advance Indigenous welfare. It suggests a lack of moral or intellectual courage. It also makes them hinderers rather than helpers in solving a serious social problem.
Just to be clear, of course this doesn’t mean the most Indigenous men are child molesters, any more than the fact men have a vastly higher rate of being sexual offenders means that most men are rapists. It shouldn’t be necessary to point this out to sophisticated minds but sadly it appears to be.
Well said
Really enjoyed this Amy. I'm in favour of the Voice but agree its disgusting how little coverage the objections from radical and grass-roots opponents there has been. This alongside a failure so far by government to get out and educate/consult remote communities on the Voice more. Not to mention how the media, and the Greens seemingly, have treated Senator Thorpe. Fascinating to learn of Mundine's history that I had no clue about.