Table Of ContentDOES THE MEDIA 45 years of news
media reporting of
FAIL ABORIGINAL
key political moments
POLITICAL
Amy Thomas
ASPIRATIONS? Andrew Jakubowicz
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
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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
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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
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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
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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.
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