Stan Grant Resigns Over Controversial Comments on King Charles’ Coronation and Indigenous Heritage

The prominent Australian presenter Stan Grant is resigning for the time being. He was inundated with snide comments after explaining how King Charles’s coronation is coming across to Aboriginal people like himself. What was intended to be an awkward outpouring straight from the heart was called whining at the wrong time by critics.

Grant was invited to the ABC debate program The coronation : a discussion about the monarchy in 2023, immediately prior to the ceremony in London. While footage was shown of the final preparations around Westminster Abbey, they spoke in the studio about what “a monarchy struggling with its legacy and future” means in today’s Australia.

The 59-year-old Grant, who is the authoritative talk show Q+A presents, was now one of the guests himself, in addition to, for example, a monarchist, a republican and a professor of constitutional law. Royalist Australians had already expressed dissatisfaction in advance that mainly critical guests had been invited.

Asked if the coronation also symbolized stability, continuity and tradition for him, Grant denied. “The crown weighs on us as indigenous people.”

“Australia has tried to erase Indigenous heritage,” he continued. “That crown symbolizes invasion, theft of land and a war of extermination. The consequences of this are still clearly visible.”

Grant told of his own family’s experiences: how his grandfather had fought in World War II, but when he returned home despite his uniform, he was refused boarding the train and was not allowed into the pub to drink with his comrades-in-arms. Because of the lack of attention for those stories, he spoke of a fantasy Australia with a Disney version of history.

While some called the stinging remarks in retrospect, others decried the timing. His criticism did not go well with the festive atmosphere, one commenter said. “Who thought of showing images of London while we’re giving the royal family out of the bag?”

One conservative commentator opined that ABC Grant to “nag stock number one“It’s a shame that so many see only the downsides of Britain’s expansion and ignore the many benefits they derive from it every day.” On social media, things got even more hateful.

Grant says he only wanted to tell the truth. “Hard truths. But truths without hate – just out of love. Yes love. Love for the Australia we never were.”

“Australia is the only Commonwealth country that has no treaty with the Indigenous people, who are still the poorest and most confined under this crown. We cannot pretend that Australia has transcended this. We owe it to ourselves to do better. “

Grant regrets that his words came out wrong, but he also writes that he is bitter that no one at ABC stood up to the wave of criticism. “No executive has publicly contradicted the lies about me. I don’t hold individuals responsible for that, this is a system error.”

He even concludes that this debate, precisely in a year when Australia is allowed to vote in a referendum on more influence for Aboriginal people, cannot possibly be conducted in the media. “Every discussion should become an attraction.”

“I’m taking a step back because it turns out that our history – our hard truth – is too big, too fragile and too valuable for the media. Media only see trenches, not bridges. Only politics. But not everything is political. Things remain sacred . Our stories are sacred.”