Troy Bramston: an Example of Gutter Journalism
Published in The Australian, 17 August 2021 'Indigenous voice amplifies Neville Bonner’s pioneering words' a response from an Australian with aboriginal heritage
Troy Bramston: Fifty years ago on this day, August 17, 1971, Neville Bonner was sworn in as a senator for Queensland. It is a milestone event in the Australian national story. Bonner was the first Indigenous Australian to serve in the federal parliament. During his time as a senator from 1971 to 1983, Bonner was one of the leading advocates for Indigenous Australians. He gave them a voice
Josephine Cashman: the above remark is stupid. Obviously, Bonner became a leading advocate for indigenous people. However, a member of Parliament must give all their constituents a voice which Bonner was committed to giving all the voters of Queensland a voice. He was careful to make certain his words were inclusive.
Of course, he spoke about Aboriginal affairs but it was not his exclusive focus:
'Let me make it quite clear, I seek to go to Canberra to advance the whole of the Australian nation and its people rather than advance the cause of a part. The simple message I want to leave with you tonight is this: we are all inclined to think there is something final about nation building, but I believe the business of nation building is one that never ends. I believe that Australia is constantly changing, acquiring new strengths and new responsibilities and meeting new demands. We must see what takes place is consistent with the ideals of liberty and democracy. To me, there is no point in advancing change for changes sake. We must see that what is built is both strong and wholesome.
The above Excerpt is taken from Liberal Country Party Headquarters in Brisbane. and: his Maiden speech, 8.26 pm 8 September 1971:
'I shall play the role of my State of Queensland, my Aboriginal race, my background, my political beliefs and my knowledge of men and as circumstances dictate. This I shall do through the grace of god to benefit all Australians.
Troy Bramston: His first speech to the Senate was a cry from the heart. “All within me that is Aboriginal yearns to be heard as the voice of the Indigenous peoples of Australia,” he said. “For far too long we have been crying out and far too few have heard us.” He spoke about how the life of most Aboriginal Australians “is not a particularly happy one.”
Josephine Cashman: It is inappropriate to take a view from the 1970s and impose it upon the 21st century, especially the views of a dead person who cannot add to it! Legislation, people and circumstances change and move on.
Of course, Bonner yearned for Aboriginal people to be heard but not as an indigenous voice to Parliament!
It is stretching his maiden speech to claim so, after all, he was the first Aboriginal person to be elected to the Australian Parliament!
Troy Bramston: As Bonner recounted the story of the First Peoples
Josephine Cashman: I do not recall him referring to Aboriginal people as First Peoples on the Australian continent,
Troy Bramston: he spoke truth to power. The speech
Josephine Cashman: The speech he has left too much off it out
Troy Bramston: stands as a potent and eloquent reminder of how far we have come as a nation and how far we still must go. He spoke about how his people had been “shot, poisoned, hanged and broken in spirit until they became refugees in their own land”.
Josephine Cashman: Yes and continued in the same sentence, but it is history and we take care now of the present and look to the future. Following the advice of the white man came a transitional period still existing today.
Troy Bramston: Bonner’s experience in the Senate was also not a particularly happy one. His speeches and broader public advocacy did not always sit well with Coalition colleagues.
Josephine Cashman: While it is true he crossed the floor alongside four or five other Liberal Country Party Senators, his issues were mainly with PM Malcolm Frazer. It is important to keep his experience in perspective. His biography Nevelle Bonner, a Biography by Angela Berger. I might add he would not be the only person to feel alone in Canberra which is covered in the biography accurately outlines the details of the circumstances. Anyone who understands politics knows politics is not straightforward.
There were also battles with Queensland State government however Senator Bonner had the support of a number of his colleagues. If journalists insist on quoting history, then take the time to gather the facts and report them accurately. Do not take snippets from speeches to Parliament, to justify an argument as this journalist has done. Troy is supposed to be a senior journalist! If a student did this in an essay, they would FAIL.
Troy Bramston: In a sad reflection on his time in the Senate, Bonner recalled that he spent many nights in his office or apartment alone. He was never asked out to dinner or to have a drink by any of his colleagues.
Josephine Cashman: Yes, and he is not the only person in Parliament to be alone! Many of his colleagues were aware of it and did what they could to help him. When Bonner and co refused to support his PM Frazer it was challenging and the biography goes into detail. This journalist fails to recall all the relevant facts. Bonner also changed his views about his time in Canberra and many of his objections, before his death. These are detailed in his biography. Report the full complexity of a story, not the parts (snippets) to justify an argument!
Troy Bramston: He had an independent mind and an often contrarian approach to issues. Bonner was accused of selling out Indigenous Australians and labelled an “Uncle Tom”.
Josephine Cashman: By whom?
Troy Bramston: These vile attacks hurt
Josephine Cashman: a silly statement because it is normal to be attacked in Parliament and in politics and Bonner knew it. Of course such comments hurt but Bonner was bigger than that!
It is insulting to call him weak! What about his enterprising nature and business making boomerangs? Why does the journo not report the enterprising side of Bonner. He was a natural Liberal!
Troy Bramston: But his tenderness and compassion, coupled with a steely determination, gained him respect across the political divide.
Josephine Cashman: True but he is not the only politician to have managed this achievement! This journalist does not understand the nature of politics he is treating his readers like fools. What is his point?
Bonner could not cope with being a Member of Parliament? Rubbish! He experienced far worse in his childhood and he married more than once!
Troy Bramston: A Jagera man, born in 1922 on the Tweed River in NSW, Bonner did not have much of an education. He left school at age 15 and worked as a labourer and farmhand in rural Queensland. He became an overseer at the Aboriginal settlement at Palm Island. After moving to Ipswich, he was involved in the One People of Australia League, an organisation that promoted Indigenous rights.
Josephine Cashman: His biography outlines the depth and relevance of his childhood and background. Again it cannot be summarised in this way. Many working class people of his generation (Aboriginal and non Aboriginal) did not have the opportunity to be educated, the journalist makes it sound like he was (because of his Aborigality) was the only one! In fact working class (poor whites) have been pushed around too, in different ways and Bonner knew it because he mixed with them!
Troy Bramston: The turning point in Bonner’s life came when he campaigned for the Yes vote at the 1967 referendum that gave the commonwealth the power to make laws in relation to Aboriginal Australians and to count Aboriginal Australians in the census. He handed out Liberal how-to-vote cards. When Bonner was challenged by Bill Hayden, who told him Labor had done more for Aboriginal Australians, he decided to join the Liberal Party.
Josephine Cashman: Why is this journo arguing this is a the turning point? He was active when he lived in the community with his first wife and where his first child was born. His leadership skills were recognised early and he was encouraged there, then he moved to a church group notice the journalist avoids mentioning his religious/Christian nature! It was his involvement with the religious group which led to moving into politics.
Again, his Biography goes into the details of his rise to leadership roles which began early. The Referendum was not a turning point for Bonner, he was a leader long before. This journalist hones in to include a historical event to 'rub in his point' and not report the facts. Shame on him!
His reasons for joining the Liberal Party were far authentic and simple. Bonner was a natural liberal at heart because he believed in free enterprise, surprise, surprise and Labor could not and did not want to believe it.
By the way, Whitlam often invited Bonner to his table and said he admired him! Although it was a very different Labor Party then, again the Labor reference is unethical and the details can be found in his biography.
Troy Bramston: On June 11, 1971, Bonner was chosen by the Queensland parliament to fill a casual vacancy in the Senate following the resignation of Annabelle Rankin. He had been preselected in third place on the Liberal Party’s Senate ticket ahead of the 1970 Senate election. When Bonner was told that he had been chosen for the casual vacancy, he wept.
Josephine Cashman: And he earned it, it was not given to him on a platter! It would never have occurred without his association with the religious group (forgotten the name it is in his bio).
It was this association where he learned about politics and met the people who helped him. It is obvious anyone who achieves anything in politics, must have support from above! It is not rocket science and this journalist thinks readers are politically naive and definitely uninformed about Bonner!
Low standards of journalism is a problem in Australia.
Troy Bramston: In debates on legislation and while serving on Senate committees, Bonner kept faith with his promise to Indigenous Australians. He spoke about the provision of health and education services, high rates of imprisonment, and land rights. He spoke about many issues that affected the lives of all Australians too, not just “my race” as he termed it. He exercised his conscience by crossing the floor to vote against the Liberal Party on 34 occasions.
Josephine Cashman: Yes, and he was joined by colleagues which the journo fails to mention and they were not all so called, race related issues!
Note he does not list the Bills he objected to and or the fact four or five other Senators joined Bonner. It was the Whitlam era after all!
Barnaby has crossed the floor loads of times, it is NOT uncommon in the Liberal Country Party as it was known then because it is impossible to cross the floor in the Labor Party, another stupid oversight by this nonsense journo!
Troy Bramston: Ahead of the 1983 election, Bonner was dropped to an unwinnable position on the Liberal Party’s Senate ticket. He was disappointed, even angry, and he resigned from the party. Bonner stood as an independent candidate at the election in which the Fraser government was swept from power, and he was not re-elected. He rejoined the Liberal Party in 1996 and was made a life member in 1998.
Josephine Cashman: Yes, and like all matters in politics this too was complicated and there were issues beyond those articulated by the journo, detailed in the bio. Refer to the details outlined in his biography.
Troy Bramston: Bonner’s time in parliament is emblematic of the systemic failure to truly listen to Indigenous Australians and put in place policies and programs that provide the opportunity for a standard of living most non-Indigenous Australians experience. While there have been leaps forward from time to time – such as land rights, the apology to the Stolen Generations and the new national framework for Closing the Gap – there remains a glaring omission.
Josephine Cashman: There were white children removed from their families who cannot claim to be a 'stolen generation' and many will never be counted because families arranged to send these forgotten Australians to other family members, friends and/or charity cases at boarding schools.
Orphanage children were the only white kids counted. Of course it is not wise to make comparisons, however, many of the same issues have impacted the white poor whose education outcomes et al have been below standard forever, these overlooked Australians are never mentioned, funded, and/or cared about and most end up in prisons. Again comparisons are not fair, right or justified but when reporting disadvantages why is it that poor white Australians are continually ignored and have been forever?
Troy Bramston: In the Uluru Statement from the Heart, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples asked Australians to walk with them on a journey towards reconciliation. They asked for a First Nations voice to parliament enshrined in the Constitution and a Makarrata Commission to supervise a process for truth-telling and agreement-making.
Josephine Cashman: Why is it some Aboriginal representatives walked out of this gathering? Have their reasons been publicised? Has the Media reported their views? Why is it many Aboriginal people living in communities and elsewhere have never heard of the Statement? Why is it they have not been consulted?
The concerns of Aboriginal people are simple. They want opportunities for their children, affordable and quality housing, nutritious food and the same outcomes ALL Australians deserve and want. Why does the leadership continually divide the basic needs of all Australians?
Of course, Aboriginal people are special but why is their true worth continually undermined by vested interests?
Troy Bramston: The voice would be an advisory body to the national parliament. It would not undermine parliamentary authority but strengthen it. A constitutional referendum to enshrine the voice, rather than legislate it, would be difficult to carry. But with leadership, understanding and open hearts, it is not beyond us.
Josephine Cashman: And separate Australians, is this what Aboriginal people really want? Has anyone in the Media spoken to the spiritual leadership and ordinary Aboriginal people living in remote and regional communities? My people were not consulted and do not support a divided Australia.
Troy Bramston: In 1981, Bonner spoke about how he had listened “somewhat cynically” to debates about Indigenous Australians in parliament. He said there had been many “noble words and sentiments” expressed only to be “blown away on the winds of indifference”. He asked his fellow senators “to do some soul-searching, to exercise their minds, to put their fine words into some definite, direct action.” It is not too late.
Josephine Cashman: So, Bonner was critical however he did not view himself as a separatist. Again that was the 1980s, what about the views he changed at the end of his life?
Troy Bramston: Five decades after he joined the Senate, we need a First Nations voice to the national parliament. It is not known whether Bonner would support the Uluru Statement from the Heart. But he would want Indigenous Australians to be heard. That is what he dedicated his life to, and that is what the voice will achieve.
Josephine Cashman: Who says? The failed Aboriginal leadership group who will gain more power over vulnerable people and pocket more money for themselves.
Where has the money gone?
Billions! How will such a Voice be organised and managed? You can bet there will be no ordinary Aboriginal working class people involved whose voices are continually silenced by the powerful leadership group who push for this to cement their power, not to make a difference because if that was the motivation we would not need their voice! Where does the money go? It certainly is not spent in communities?
Why is there no accountability? Ordinary people white and black are concerned about, housing affordability and security, employment opportunities, economic opportunities, education, affordable fresh food and quality of life, the list goes on. What about all the fakes and imposters?
There are no monitors. I advise this journalist to go to Aboriginal regional and remote communities and listen to the people on the ground whose voices are never published. Would he report an accurate version or take snippets to support and justify his argument like he has done here? This is not authentic journalism.
We reject the unrepresentative and divisive Uluru Statement
We call on the House to end race-based funding and to reject the unrepresentative and divisive Uluru Statement and any separate Indigenous Voice to Parliament.