how the global media covered Australia’s Voice to Parliament referendum
The BBC, for instance, reported the historic vote had
exposed uncomfortable fault lines, and raised questions over Australia’s ability to reckon with its past.
The New York Times wrote the referendum had
surfaced uncomfortable, unsettled questions about Australia’s past, present and future.
A number of pieces compared Australia unfavourably with other settler-colonial nations in terms of the legal recognition of First Nations people, including New Zealand and Canada.
Japan-based Nikkei Asia reported:
Australia is the only developed nation with a colonial history that doesn’t recognise the existence of its Indigenous people in the constitution.
An explainer by Reuters similarly pointed out:
First Nations people in other former British colonies continue to face marginalisation, but some countries have done better in ensuring their rights.
And in an interview with Reuters, the UN’s special rapporteur on the right to development, Surya Deva, said the Voice debate had “exposed the hidden discriminatory attitude” in Australia towards Indigenous peoples.
The New York Times, which had extensive coverage of the campaign, reported the country had become “ensnared in a bitter culture war” based on “Trump-style misinformation” and “election conspiracy theories”.
eOne blunt BBC headline explicitly linked misinformation to racism: “Voice referendum: Lies fuel racism ahead of Australia’s Indigenous vote”.
A Reuters explainer similarly reported on concerns that “racist and false narratives” had sparked fears the Voice would be a “third chamber of parliament”.
A measured interview with Indigenous academic and poet Jeanine Leane in China’s Global Times newspaper, for example, carried the headline “Colonialism, white supremacy loom over Australia’s aboriginal referendum”. This is, however, not entirely out of step with some of the other coverage emerging from Australia’s allies and partners.
Indian security expert Ambika Vishwanath argued in a piece for the Lowy Institute:
it seems extraordinary that a country such as Australia, one that largely aligns itself with ‘Western’ norms and values of freedom and democracy and a liberal outlook on life, has yet to recognise the people that originally inhabited the continent for close to 60,000 years.
Peter Dutton announced he will take policy advice from Senator Jacinta Price who "does not" represent the FN people he says and she claims to represent. Like his policy advisers on climate anyone who claims to be a climate scientist but is definitely not part of the 93% consensus on global warming guide LNP policy.
Dutton is confident his and their voices will be fairly heard on well over 50% of the time on the mainstream media. Particularly on the biggest broadcasters Murdoch's News Corp, Peter Costello's Ch9's 2GB and Kerry Stokes's media group on Ch7 and print in WA. After all Dutton was very satisfied with the hearing they gave the No campaign this time round and on previous occasions when he spoke about the migrants unwanted in the country. In politics it has been proved by the LNP that doing nothing is far safer than doing anything it kept the LNP in government for 21 of the past 27 years allowing the ALP short spells to clean things up before their return.
The conservative senator Jacinta Price was elected thanks to suburban voters in Darwin and Alice Springs not remote communities she aims to champion
Lingiari NT
The Indigenous communities Jacinta Price claims to represent all but one voted Yes. Here are the percentages
Trump has all the characteristics of a psychopath. Charismatic yes, but, without any ability to empathize or be embarrassed when lying. Let’s face it he even unashamedly sexualizes his own daughter in public. On 9/11 while witnessing a Twin Tower fall and being interviewed by phone his comment, on what he saw happening from his window was ”I had the second tallest building in New York.”
Boomgate Dutton after attending a Climate Change conference and
hearing the fear rising tides presented for Kiribati turned that
nation’s concern into a joke to which Tony Abbott our PM and he jollied themselves laughing on live TV. Dutton’s only strategy is classic Trumpian and Abbott politics of Nope Nope Nope. Truth, relevance, context and/or offense are
secondary to capturing the media’s attention. The public isn’t there to
be served they’re there to be manipulated a classic psychopath’s trait. But he does it deadpan,flat and without any charisma. "Deport Them" is his latest demand of anyone attending a protest of Israel's wholesale bombing of civilians by the 4th most powerful military force in the world.
It is important to be clear-eyed about what is happening in our politics. Escalation by escalation, embellishment by embellishment, the Liberal leader is inhabiting the zone of the political fabulist. Like Trump, sans charisma, Dutton is the dancing bear of the engagement economy, dishing up provocations intended to capture the attention of readers and viewers.
This opposition leader makes things up regularly, sometimes
several times a day, with growing confidence. He’s fully intent on
shaping his own reality, and why wouldn’t he be? Dutton’s accusations
and inventions are amplified much more often than they are factchecked,
parsed or decoded, because there is so much bollocking and barracking in
the public square, people can’t see the bullshit. That’s the point.
That’s the strategy.
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