Noel Pearson, the reforming leader who campaigned for an Indigenous voice for a decade, has broken his three-month long silence on the failed referendum.
In his first public comments since Australians voted against enshrining a national Indigenous advisory body to government in the constitution, one audience member told The Australian that Mr Pearson has lamented that Indigenous affairs are in a worse state than before the October 14 vote.
Another audience member, ex-News Corp and AAP photographer David Kapernick, said on social media that Mr Pearson accused Anthony Albanese of “running away” from indigenous affairs.
“Noel Pearson and Stan Grant at Woodford Folk festival discussing what to do now after referendum. Not impressed with Albanese … says he’s running away and will do nothing,” Mr Kapernick tweeted.
Mr Pearson was in conversation with journalist Stan Grant at Woodford Folk Festival of culture, music and arts north of Brisbane on Saturday.
The Cape York leader made his comments after Anthony Albanese excluded the referendum defeat from his wrap of the events of 2023 then described the referendum defeat as no loss to him.
The Prime Minister’s Christmas Day remark that the voice defeat “wasn’t a loss to me” was met with shock and disgust by some Indigenous proponents of the voice.
At the Exodus Foundation in Sydney’s inner west where he helped serve Christmas Day lunch to the poor, Mr Albanese was asked during a 2GB interview about his year and “some big losses” such as the defeat of the voice at the ballot box last October.
“Oh, no, no, no, no, very important to call that out. I am not Indigenous so it wasn’t a loss to me,” the Labor leader said.
“That stays exactly the same the way it is. I do think that it was disappointing for First Nations people but they’re used to you know, getting the, they’re used to hardship. It’s been the case for 200 years, and they are resilient and we will continue to do what we can to provide for closing the gap.
“But it’s one of the things about this debate, it was never about politicians, it was actually about the most disadvantaged people in our society.”
One figure in the Yes campaign criticised Mr Albanese for claiming no sense of personal loss after championing the referendum, including in his election-night victory speech in May last year.
Another called on Labor to commission a review of the “referendum debacle” and the Albanese government’s role in it.
“Blacks did the work for seven years and Labor killed it,” one said.
More to come
PAIGE TAYLOR INDIGENOUS AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT, WA BUREAU CHIEF
I'm not so sure that it's such a bad idea. Clearly they don't really respect whitefella law, but I would worry for the women and children.I reckon the police should just walk away and let the community sort things out.
After all, they don't want whities telling them how to behave do they ?
Police quarters ransacked, compound raided as specialist cops deployed to troubled NT community
Just weeks after a man was shot with a compound bow, specialist tactical officers have been deployed to the remote community of Wadeye to try to quell violent unrest.www.abc.net.au
There are huge problems brewing in W.A, since cancelling the welfare card, they have had to introduce more and more restrictive alcohol sales rules.I reckon the police should just walk away and let the community sort things out.
After all, they don't want whities telling them how to behave do they ?
Police quarters ransacked, compound raided as specialist cops deployed to troubled NT community
Just weeks after a man was shot with a compound bow, specialist tactical officers have been deployed to the remote community of Wadeye to try to quell violent unrest.www.abc.net.au
Just my dumb viewbut i eckon all those on centrelink payments sgould have the Welfare Card, colour or creed does not come into it. And if having the said card upsets their dignity then so what, too bad. Go and get a paid jobThere are huge problems brewing in W.A, since cancelling the welfare card, they have had to introduce more and more restrictive alcohol sales rules.
It is becoming more oppressive than the welfare card, the welfare card limited how much cash could be taken out so that food and groceries were the major component.
Now it is like my childhood, Dad had the money and Dad spent it as he saw fit, which was usually on booze.
I did a paper round like VC, but my earnings went to mum to feed us.
Responding to damning dossier: Dawson’s against total ban
Emergency Services Minster Stephen Dawson has hit back at a suggested blanket booze ban in the North West a day after The West Australian revealed a damning, secret police dossier.thewest.com.au
There is a logical sense to that, but the issue becomes those on welfare deserve respect as to how they are given and spend their money, the problem is those who have to supply the money aren't given any respect, for having an expectation it is spent in a responsible manner.Just my dumb viewbut i eckon all those on centrelink payments sgould have the Welfare Card, colour or creed does not come into it. And if having the said card upsets their dignity then so what, too bad. Go and get a paid job
There are huge problems brewing in W.A, since cancelling the welfare card, they have had to introduce more and more restrictive alcohol sales rules.
IMO every normal Australian feels that way and I agree 100%, but as the economy tightens and rent and house prices increase, the advantage of worker decreases.I'm torn over this. On the one hand I can understand cancelling the welfare card. I know how I would feel if someone considered I was incapable of dealing with my funds in a responsible manner. It'd get right up my nose.
On the other, the funds being spent that way isn't good either. And I don't think you can adopt one approach for an individual and a different approach to another. Especially if they are in the same rural community.
I am really lost for an answer on this one.
Back in the old days when I lived in the USA, it was food stamps. It seemed to work quite well. IIRCI'm torn over this. On the one hand I can understand cancelling the welfare card. I know how I would feel if someone considered I was incapable of dealing with my funds in a responsible manner. It'd get right up my nose.
On the other, the funds being spent that way isn't good either. And I don't think you can adopt one approach for an individual and a different approach to another. Especially if they are in the same rural community.
I am really lost for an answer on this one.
Back in the old days when I lived in the USA, it was food stamps. It seemed to work quite well. IIRC
Sir R most probably but food was sourced and not booze and drugs, so in theory families did get a reasonable feed.Practical and effective but "culturally insensitive" I would suggest.
I agree it's a good idea, but there will be the inevitable complaints about "second class citizens" etc which has spooked the government into cancelling it.Sir R most probably but food was sourced and not booze and drugs, so in theory families did get a reasonable feed.
That causes its own problems and creates more discontent among those doing the right thing, having to be again penalised to provide for those who have a drinking problem.
The problem with restrictions, it can end up with the Indigenous getting ripped of by certain individuals, exploiting the aboriginals.The restrictions are generally 1 carton a day or equivalent for locals and tourists get more so it's not really a big deal unless you need to stock up.
The restricted drinker list is more problematic for outlets refusing people on the list alcohol... that's when the fight started.
It is about time the Government actually tried to do what's best for those who are dependant on welfare, rather than being told what's best for those on welfare.I agree it's a good idea, but there will be the inevitable complaints about "second class citizens" etc which has spooked the government into cancelling it.
Woolworths needs to rethink its half-baked Australia Day ban
Fairy bread hot cross buns went on sale on Boxing Day in Woolworths, the supermarket chain that is as true-blue, you-beaut Aussie as the rest of them when it wants to be.
This year Woolworths launched a novel adaptation of what it called “an iconic staple at Australian kids’ parties” sold with its own little packet of hundreds and thousands, allowing customers to butter and sprinkle to taste.
In a further gesture of pretend patriotism, Woolworths announced the return of apple cinnamon-flavoured hot cross buns made with 100 per cent Australian-sourced Pink Lady apples. These will sit alongside the Cadbury Caramilk range made with confectionery 100 per cent sourced from Chicago-based Mondelez International, the proud custodian of the Cadbury® brand.
The expansion of Woolworths’ hot cross bun range was announced in a 569-word press release that neglected to include the word “Easter”. It would be comforting if that were an oversight, but we know it probably wasn’t, since Easter, like Australia Day, comes with cultural baggage Woolworths, in its mealy-mouthed way, would rather avoid.
The decision to de-Easterise the spiced, fruity bun was presumably a response to the same kind of “broader conversation” that prompted Woolworths’ decision to denationalise January 26. It will sell cancer-causing, coronary-inducing sticks of tobacco to adults who produce their ID, but won’t sell Australian-themed summer entertaining merchandise to anyone under any circumstances in deference to the sensitivities of the virtue-signalling elite.
Discussion about the meaning of Australia Day is anything but broad. It is depressingly narrow. Participants are drawn from the same restricted circle and the conservations restricted to the same prescribed boundaries as the Aboriginal voice to parliament.
Woolworths got that one wrong too, incidentally. Management ordered staff at Big W to make excruciating announcements affirming “support for the Uluru Statement from the Heart, and its calls for a First Nations voice to parliament enshrined in the Constitution”. Woolworths sensed the change in the wind and dropped the announcements three months before the referendum. “We recognise and respect our team and customers have varying views and perspectives,” a spokesperson said.
Indeed, they do. Six out of 10 Australians voted no to the referendum. Woolworths hasn’t told us if it bothered to ask its customers before turning its back on Australia Day. If it did, it must have confined its sampling to its Marrickville and Carlton stores. You don’t have to venture far into HiLux land to learn that few outside activist circles want change, any more than they wanted the voice. Australia Day serves as the full-stop to January, a final day of indulgence with family and friends that is too precious to waste wringing guilty hands. The verdict on the voice reflected the widespread sentiment that nothing good can come from picking at the scabs of history.
The annual assault on Australia Day has noticeably intensified this year. We have long passed the point where it was possible to have a measured discussion about other possible calendar slots or linking it more overtly to Federation rather than settlement, the Australian commonwealth being a great civic success story well worth celebrating.
It is not just January 26 some object to but Australia Day itself. What purports to be an argument about dates has morphed into something more frightening, an argument about the legitimacy of the nation itself. Like the clowns behind the 1619 project in America, the invasion day movement wants to assassinate our national character. Advocates want to strip our founders of any noble intent and portray them as beyond redemption.
Which is why Peter Dutton should not heed the contemptuous commentators who criticised him for buying into the argument last week. When our shared sense of national pride is being deliberately eroded, we need leaders who are prepared to shout “ stop”.
Dutton captured the popular sentiment as he did on the voice by suggesting Woolworths customers boycott the store until the decision is reversed. That is easier said than done, given the company holds 37 per market share, but many of us are prepared to keep on trying in the faint hope that market forces might come to the support of common sense.
The Prime Minister knows better than to dive headlong into the invasion day rhetoric. Last year, he described January 26 as “a day to show respect to First Nations people”, which is an awkward choice of words. Does that mean it is a day to disrespect non-Aboriginal Australians or that the obligation to respect Indigenous Australians does not apply on other days of the year?
It was a rejection of special privilege and the politics of identity, and a declaration of equal respect for all as fellow citizens.
The case against Australia Day, like other social justice causes, rests on faulty but emotionally tempting logic: we should avoid overt pride in Australia, we are told, out of cultural sensitivity to our multiethnic and Indigenous population. Yet it is precisely because we lack a shared common racial identity that pride in nationhood is so important.
That hasn’t been something we’ve had to work too hard to sell up to now since most migrants are attracted by the freedom, prosperity and opportunity a successful liberal democracy has on offer.
When permission to migrate to Australia is difficult to obtain, migrants arrive with a sense of having won life’s great lottery. They arrive pre-primed to become proud Australians and to defend its values.
One wonders if any of those responsible for Woolworths’ soft-headed decision have ever been to an Australia Day citizenship ceremony and watched newly minted citizens from every corner on Earth raise their right hand in a pledge of allegiance. They would have to search hard to find anyone adopting citizenship through gritted teeth, burdened with even the slightest degree of national shame towards their adopted country.
I write this out of personal experience, as someone who looks back to January 26, 1992 as the day when I made one of the most consequential decisions of my life.
Good columnists should avoid using the singular first-person pronoun where possible. On this occasion, however, I seek the readers’ indulgence to express my offence at the trashing of an anniversary I hold so dear.
No amount of fairy bread buns can redeem Woolworths for its un-Australian decision or its thinly disguised disparagement of a country almost every migrant regards with undiluted affection.
I have sat on our local Australia Day organising commiteee for a number of years.The end of Australia day celebrations?
With all the VOICE proponents from Governments, Councils to large businesses continuing to ignore the referendum results, it appears that change will be introduced by stealth.
Woolworths and Aldi refusing to sell foreign made Australia memorabilia doesn't concern me, we all have a choice of where we shop and what we buy. I for one try and avoid any shop that sells Hot Cross buns during any time of the year except for the Easter week.
I am more concerned that managers (CEO) of extremely powerful companies are implementing their personal beliefs through company policy for a business that they do not own, without consultation of owners or customers.
Having Australia Day changed to Federation Day, if the majority of Australian's want it, would not bother me. In the state I grew up in we did not celebrate Australia Day until the late 80's. There was no public holiday for it until the early 1990's. Though I do remember the celebrations when we won the America's Cup, and many students with Australia flags at my high school.
Woolworths has lost my business, not because of their Australia Day decision but because of how their management have taken it upon themselves to spend other people's money on political believes.
@mullokintyre Absoluely pathetic when you compare the other stuff to Australia day I feel.I have sat on our local Australia Day organising commiteee for a number of years.
We have usually have a free breakfast, sometimes a citizenship ceremony, guest speaker is usually an ex resident of the town who has made the big time (relatively speaking), and big announcement of our local citizen of the year, junior citizen, sportsperson of the year etc.
In the past, all the local towns within the shire get a grant from the local council to conduct these days, but for reasons that the council are unable or unwilling to admit to, will no longer fund the Australia Day celebrations.
Created a lot of angst, among the locals that may see a few councillors looking for a new gravy train next election.
We have a whole week of Rainbow stuff for the LGBTQ+ community, Naidoc week, reconciliation week, and a disability day.
but we can't have Australia day.
Mick
i attended the local Australia day function this morning, where around 300 people turned up for the award ceremony.I have sat on our local Australia Day organising commiteee for a number of years.
We have usually have a free breakfast, sometimes a citizenship ceremony, guest speaker is usually an ex resident of the town who has made the big time (relatively speaking), and big announcement of our local citizen of the year, junior citizen, sportsperson of the year etc.
In the past, all the local towns within the shire get a grant from the local council to conduct these days, but for reasons that the council are unable or unwilling to admit to, will no longer fund the Australia Day celebrations.
Created a lot of angst, among the locals that may see a few councillors looking for a new gravy train next election.
We have a whole week of Rainbow stuff for the LGBTQ+ community, Naidoc week, reconciliation week, and a disability day.
but we can't have Australia day.
Mick
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