Play video, “‘You’re not our king’: Indigenous member of Australian parliament tells King Charles“, Duration 0,3400:34Video description: ‘You’re not our king’: Indigenous member of Australian parliament says British king Charles
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Hannah Ritchie (BBC News, Sydney)
Senator Lydia Thorpe‘s cries of “not my king” and the words “this is not your land” made it clear that Australia is still grappling with its colonial past.
However, subsequent debate over the “validity” of this protest revealed something else. Divisions also exist within Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
Australia’s indigenous people are classified as the oldest people on earth, having lived on the continent for at least 65,000 years.
But for more than 200 years, since the arrival of Captain James Cook in 1770 and subsequent British settlement, it has endured the violence of colonial rule. There is a history of having their land, means of livelihood, and even their children taken away.
As a result, to this day they remain at severe disadvantages in terms of health, wealth, education and life expectancy when compared to non-Indigenous Australians.
But experts say Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people make up less than 4% of Australia’s population, so their suffering is unlikely to be an issue in a national vote.
The Voice referendum held last year was an exceptional case.
The result was an overwhelming majority of opponents. A major analysis of data suggests that many voters found the proposal ineffective and divisive.
Image provided by EPA
image captionProposals to recognize Aboriginal people as Australia’s First Nations and create a body to make policy recommendations to the government were defeated in a referendum last year
And while data shows that a majority of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people voted ‘yes’, support was not monolithic.
Thorpe, who protested against King Charles, was at the forefront of the ‘no’ movement, criticizing the proposed measures as tokenistic and ‘an easy way to disguise progress’.
But Larissa Baldwin-Roberts, an activist with Wijaburu Wia-Balu, said the “no” result left most Indigenous people with a “feeling of humiliation and rejection.”
He added that the debate itself, which saw a lot of misinformation and disinformation, sparked a wave of “racist abuse” that Indigenous communities are still trying to recover from.
Baldwin-Roberts said a major effect of last year’s referendum was a growing sense that traditional reconciliation efforts were “at a standstill.” These efforts have long sought to bridge the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people through respectful dialogue and education.
It was against this background that Councilor Thorpe lodged a protest in Parliament.
“We cannot reconcile with a country that doesn’t value us,” Baldwin-Roberts told the BBC. “We cannot reconcile with a country that does not think we deserve justice.”
Baldwin-Roberts says “new strategies” are needed to break out of the status quo. He called Thorpe’s actions “very brave” and reflective of the issues facing many Indigenous people.
“Indigenous communities across the country are speaking out about our stolen children, our stolen history. But Senator Thorpe was able to get into that room. As an Australian senator, it’s important to know that he’s the one in the media.” I knew it would get attention. It’s important to get this issue talked about.”
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image captionAustralia’s National Day, held on the day the British fleet first arrived at Sydney Cove, is the subject of protests each year
Daniel Williams, who is of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent, agrees.
“What is left for indigenous peoples after last year’s referendum? How can they meet the monarch and bring about change?” he asked on national broadcaster ABC’s political debate show.
“We are talking about 200 years of pain that remains unanswered and unresolved.”
However, some people have a different view. Australia has a long history of indigenous leaders petitioning the British Crown for recognition of their struggles, but some say Thorpe’s actions go too far.
Former senator Nova Peris, the country’s first female Indigenous member of parliament, described the move as “disgraceful” and “does not reflect Australia’s Indigenous approach to civility and reconciliation as a whole”. .
Both Houses of Parliament dismissed Thorpe’s behavior as rude and a failed attempt to show off.
Professor Tom Calma, an indigenous Kungarakan and Iwaija who was present, said Thorpe’s protest was a sign of concern for “other people who may not recognize or understand the lasting effects of colonization”. He said there was a risk of alienating 96% of the people.
“I don’t think Sen. Thorpe’s approach will bring people to our side. We need allies in the spirit of reconciliation.”
Image copyrightTom Calma
image captionProfessor Tom Calma (left) and King Charles visiting Australia
Mr Kalma also said he felt Thorpe’s call for King Charles to “grant treaties to Indigenous peoples” was unreasonable because such negotiations were the responsibility of the Australian government, not the Crown. .
Australia is currently the only Commonwealth country that has never entered into any treaty with its first settlers or recognized them in its founding documents.
Australia is expected to hold a general election by the middle of next year. Under these circumstances, Australian political circles are rapidly moving away from the referendum debate, and there is still much uncertainty regarding future policy.
For Baldwin-Roberts, the contrast between the crowd of formally dressed royal supporters and those protesting nearby highlights the “huge divide and social reality that exists between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australia” today. It was reflected.
And in order to bridge that gap, he believes that “a certain amount of liquidation is necessary.”
“We live in different spaces. This country is still very divided. So where do we go from here?”
