After more than 30 years in the public eye, Australia’s most prominent Indigenous journalist has quit broadcasting after facing racism, setting off a national uproar as the country prepares for a referendum this year on whether to include Indigenous rights in the constitution.
Writer and journalist Stan Grant says he is stepping down from his role on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s current affairs program on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s public broadcaster. He was heavily reviled for his role in the broadcaster’s coverage of King Charles III’s coronation when he spoke about the impact of colonialism on indigenous peoples.
Grant, a 59-year-old Wiradjuri man, was closed Q+Athe show he’s hosted for two years, delivered a powerful speech this week to those who targeted him online.
“If your intention was to hurt me, then you succeeded,” he said. “I’m sorry, I must have given you so many reasons to hate me so much, to target me and my family, to threaten me,” he said.
The public influence comes months before the referendum – known as “Voice” – in which Australians will be asked to vote on whether to amend the constitution to include symbolic recognition of Indigenous peoples and establish a Indigenous communities are consulted on political affairs.
Stan Grant gives stirring speech to those who targeted him online © Australian Broadcasting Corporation/Reuters
Veteran journalist and author Stan Grant delivers an emotional speech to those who attacked him online © Australian Broadcasting Corporation/Reuters
Grant’s departure heightened tensions over the vote, proposed by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s Labor government. Acknowledging Indigenous peoples who have long suffered discrimination and prejudice was one of Albanese’s core election promises.
The vote, expected to be held between October and December, has been opposed in recent months.
Opposition Liberal leader Peter Dutton said he would push for a no vote, arguing the Canberra-based consultancy would not benefit rural communities.
Albanese said critics were spreading “wrong information” about the referendum by suggesting the advisory body’s remit might be too broad.
“When ‘no’ activists make these crazy statements about what voices will focus on, I just say to them – and indeed to all Australians after this debate – ‘For now, put yourself on the side of those calling for this change’,” the Prime Minister said.
Tim Soutphommasane, Oxford University’s chief diversity officer and former Australian race discrimination commissioner, said the outrage surrounding Grant “confirmed the challenges of the ‘yes’ case for Indigenous voices. Racism and Race Politics Risks undermining the push for constitutional reform.”
Indigenous NGO Reconciliation Australia director Karen Mundine said the scandal came within a wider context of racial slurs against Indigenous sports stars such as Australian footballer Adam Goodes. She cited figures from the country’s cyber safety commissioner showing a 10 per cent surge in complaints of online racial abuse since the referendum campaign began.
“These incidents, and the recent racist abuse of numerous Indigenous sports stars, show once again that Australia has a long way to go in building a reconciled and just society,” she said.
The situation sparked a crisis at ABC, as Grant accused the broadcaster of an “institutional failure” for not defending him from racial abuse. ABC staff went on strike this week in support of the veteran reporter. Executives at the broadcaster have apologized to Grant for not stepping in to support him sooner.
ABC news director Justin Stevens told a Senate hearing on racism this week that Grant had become a “public face” for criticizing the broadcaster’s coronation coverage, even though he was only a guest on the 40-minute segment, which is eight hours long. broadcast.
Stevens said Grant— queen is deada book about the role of the royal family in the colonization of Indigenous Australians – has been the target of “bitter abuse” and “toxic, racist” online comments.
The ABC received 1,800 viewer complaints about the clip, “hundreds” of which were racially charged, according to ABC managing director David Anderson. “I’m concerned about our Indigenous staff, especially as we go to Voice to make sure they’re adequately protected,” he told a Senate hearing.
Grant concluded his Q+A speech this week with scathing comments about the print and digital media outlets, which both ABC and Grant blamed for stoking the outrage against him. The media, he said, was often “poison in the blood of our society” and had no “true respect for a world worth living in”.
“I’m not going to walk away because of racism. We’re in that situation a lot. I’m not going to walk away because of hate on social media,” Grant said as he wrapped up his show. “I need to stay away from the media. I feel like I’m part of the problem. I need to ask myself how or if we can do better.”