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Does the Media Fail Aboriginal Political Aspirations?

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Does the Media Fail Aboriginal Political Aspirations? DOES THE MEDIA 45 years of news media reporting of FAIL ABORIGINAL key political moments POLITICAL Amy Thomas Andrew Jakubowicz ASPIRATIONS? Heidi Norman AIATSIS Research Publications DOES THE MEDIA FAIL ABORIGINAL POLITICAL ASPIRATIONS? 45 years of news media reporting of key political moments Amy Thomas Andrew Jakubowicz Heidi Norman DOES THE MEDIA FAIL ABORIGINAL POLITICAL ASPIRATIONS? First published in 2019 by Aboriginal Studies Press Copyright @ New South Wales Government All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by an information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing form the publisher. The Australian Copyright Act 1968 (the Act) allows a maximum of one chapter or 10 per cent of this book, which ever is the greater, to be photocopied by any educational institution for its education purposes provided that the educational institution (or body that administers it) has given a remuneration notice to Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) under the Act. The opinions expressed in this book are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the view of AIATSIS or ASP. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are respectfully advised that this publication contains names and images of deceased persons and culturally sensitive information. ISBN: 9780855750848 (pb) ISBN: 9780855750855 (ePub) ISBN: 9780855750862 (kindle) ISBN: 9780855750930 (ebook PDF) Printed in Australia by Ligare Design and Typsetting by 33 Creative Cover image: Tessa Ferguson and Edwin Jangalaros presenting the Larrakia petition outside Government House, Darwin. The petition was 3.3 metres long, featuring one thousand signatures and thumbprints collected by Gwalwa Daraniki. We are committed to the ethical use of images of Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islanders. We undertook a diligent search to identify and contact the copyright holder of this photograph, and the families of those photographed. We welcome any copyright holders or families of those photographed who consider their rights to have been infringed to contact us at [email protected]. Back cover image: [L-R] June Oscar AO, Bunuba woman and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner; Pat Anderson AO, Alyawarre woman and Chairperson of the Lowitja Institute; Sally Scales, Pitjantjatjara woman and Deputy Chairman of the APY Lands Executive Board and Chairman of the Ananguku Wiru Palyatjaku. Pat Anderson holds the Uluru Statement from the Heart in a coolamon, given to her by the Anangu community. This research was commissioned by Aboriginal Affairs NSW. The views, opinions and conclusions expressed herein are entirely those of the authors and may not reflect those of Aboriginal Affairs NSW or the NSW Government. ABORIGINAL STUDIES PRESS Contents Tables 2 Acknowledgements 3 Foreword 5 Preamble 7 Executive Summary 8 PART 1: Introduction (Amy Thomas, Andrew Jakubowicz and Heidi Norman) 9 Why this project? 11 Framing terms 13 Methodology 14 Media bias and media ecology 19 Situating the literature on Aboriginal representation 22 Indigenous standpoint theory 27 Agreement-making and Aboriginal policy in context 28 About the research team 30 PART 2: Case studies 33 Introducing the case studies (Amy Thomas, Andrew Jakubowicz and Heidi Norman) 33 The princess and the protestors: The 1972 Larrakia Petition and discourses of failure in Aboriginal protest (Amy Thomas) 37 White possession and belonging: a treaty to secure Australians of European descent in an ancient land (Heidi Norman) 57 The ‘quite historic’ compact that wasn’t: media silence and the 1983 Two Hundred Years Later report (Amy Thomas) 74 ‘Like writing in the sand’: Media discourse, the Barunga Statement and the Treaty ‘88 campaign (Lorena Allam) 88 Carved in stone: The 1992 Redfern Statement (Andrew Jakubowicz) 99 Where is the ‘native’ in the final days of the Native Title Bill 1993 (Cth)? (Alison Whittaker) 117 For all of us—for none of you? Practical reconciliation (Anne-Maree Payne) 138 ‘Dawn of a new era’? Media narratives of Aboriginal futures following the Apology to the Stolen Generations (Amy Thomas) 156 Tough love and talkfests: Discourses of Aboriginal policy in media reporting on Closing the Gap (Amy Thomas) 177 Erasing race and racism on the long road to recognition (Amy McQuire) 196 From recognition to reform: the Uluru Statement from the Heart (Heidi Norman) 216 PART 3 – Findings (Amy Thomas, Andrew Jakubowicz, Heidi Norman) 232 Dominant narratives and new beginnings 232 Implications 238 References 242 1 Does the media fail Aboriginal political aspirations? Tables Table 1: Larrakia Petition selected media 40-42 Table 2: Aboriginal Treaty committee selected media 64-65 Table 3: Two Hundred Years Later report selected media 78 Table 4: Barunga Statement selected media 88-90 Table 5: Redfern Statement selected media 106-108 Table 6: Native Title selected media 121-122 Table 7: Practical Reconciliation selected media 141-142 Table 8: Rudd’s Apology selected media 159-161 Table 9: Rudd’s Apology selected media in the Koori Mail 161-162 Table 10: Closing the Gap selected media 181-183 Table 11: Constitutional Recognition selected media 200-201 Table 12: Uluru Statement selected media 223-225 Table 13: Deeper narratives, political eras and federal policy eras 240-241 2 Acknowledgements First and foremost we extend our thanks and tip our hats to the formidable, creative and path- breaking Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander activists, advocates, writers and community members whose continuing efforts to secure justice serve as inspiration for the type of society we would like to build. We hope we have accurately portrayed your aspirations, concerns, and desires. We are also indebted to our legendary writing and research team as a whole. We are proud of what we have achieved together through this work. We also extend our thanks to our colleagues at UTS in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, UTS:CAIK, and Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research, for their guidance and assistance on multiple aspects of this project, as well as their feedback when we have presented this research. In particular we praise the work of Therese Apolonio and Maeve Parker, of the Indigenous Land and Justice Research Hub, without whom this research would not have been possible. It was their multiple read-throughs and corrections which gave us a manageable manuscript. All remaining errors are of course our responsibility. Aboriginal Affairs NSW commissioned this research and in doing so furnished us with a rare chance to engage in a research project we believe is timely, relevant, and hopefully, has consequences for changing media practices. We thank Aboriginal Affairs NSW for trusting us with this research project and for the kind guidance offered by Trish Malins. We thank our loved ones and kin for their support and patience. Amy in particular would like to thank Emily Jasper and Nate McCarthy for their love and friendship. Amy, Heidi and Andrew September 2019 3 Does the media fail Aboriginal political aspirations? Note on terminology Aboriginal Affairs NSW commissioned this report as a part of their OCHRE strategy to improve the dynamics of agreement-making between Aboriginal people and governments. The agency has a preferred way of describing Indigenous stakeholders, which we have adopted throughout our text. The agency uses ‘Aboriginal’ to refer to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples within Australia, as we do throughout this text. We acknowledge that this usage may not be suitable for everyone, including Torres Strait Islanders, South Sea Islanders, or others. Where necessary for accuracy and clarity, we have identified the relevant person’s identity, country or belonging by using terms they have used to describe themselves. We have made a sincere effort to avoid naming individuals where cultural protocols prohibit this. We also use Indigenous in quotations, and when discussing concepts that use the term, such as Indigenous standpoint theory. We also use it when generally to referring to Indigenous peoples throughout the world, or the concept of Indigeneity. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are warned that this text does contain the names and images of people who have passed away. 4 Foreword OCHRE, the NSW Government’s community-focused plan for Aboriginal affairs, represents an ongoing commitment in NSW to transform the relationship between Aboriginal peoples and the government. Agreement-making under the Local Decision Making initiative is OCHRE’s flagship reform to drive this relationship change. To achieve the transformation that Aboriginal peoples and the NSW Government seek, we need a greater understanding of what needs changing and how the changes can be achieved. Through our evaluation of the practice of agreement-making, over the last three years we have come to develop a deeper understanding of the issues and an approach that ‘weaves’ together Aboriginal and Western knowledge systems to achieve outcomes that possess both cultural integrity and public confidence. All of this doesn’t happen in a vacuum. As the fourth pillar of our democracy, media plays a central role in providing the public with information, creating public awareness and shaping public opinion. Media provide the conditions that support or hinder open, respectful and well- informed discussions about agreement-making with Aboriginal communities. The individuals
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