Narelda Jacobs accepts King’s honour after opposition to monarchy
Narelda Jacobs defends decision to accept King’s Birthday Honor despite fierce opposition to monarchy
Studio 10 presenter Narelda Jacobs has accepted her King’s Birthday Honor for her contribution to journalism, despite her fierce opposition to the monarchy.
The presenter, 47, made headlines in September when she called on Britain to apologize and make amends for the colonization of First Nations people just days after the Queen’s death.
But on Monday, Jacobs willingly accepted an OAM, one of the highest honors bestowed by the monarchy.
Jacobs defended her apparent backflip in a lengthy Instagram post, explaining that she accepted the award “from her community” rather than the monarchy.
“While I would rather receive such an honor from another head of state, the Commonwealth is the system we operate in,” she wrote.
Studio 10 presenter Narelda Jacobs, 47, (pictured) received her King’s Day on Monday despite her fierce opposition to the monarchy
“Before I chose to be named on the King’s Birthday Honor’s list, I thought about all the First Nations people who courageously took up spaces created by the colony.”
Narelda then revealed that she thought about her late father Cedric’s legacy before deciding to accept her OAM.
Cedric, a Whadjuk Noongar man and member of the Stolen Generation, received an MBE from Queen Elizabeth II in 1981.
Jacobs defended her apparent backflip in a lengthy Instagram post, explaining that she accepted the award “from her community” rather than the monarchy.
“I thought of my father receiving his MBE from the Queen in 1981 as he fought for recognition of his Noongar sovereignty, fully aware of the monarch’s role in dispossessing his people,” she wrote.
“I decided to follow the example of those who see the importance of stepping into the room to change it.”
She then referred to her support for The Voice to Parliament in the upcoming Australian referendum, a proposed body that will work with the government about laws and policies affecting Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander people.
“Before choosing to be named on the King’s Birthday Honor’s list, I thought about all the First Nations people who courageously took the spaces created by the colony,” she wrote.
“I thought of my father receiving his MBE from the Queen in 1981 as he fought for recognition of his Noongar sovereignty, fully aware of the monarch’s role in dispossessing his people,” she wrote.
It comes after Narelda sparked a heated debate on social media after she called on the monarchy to apologize for the colonization of First Nations people following the death of Queen Elizabeth II
“In this referendum year, I am grateful to be part of the change,” she wrote.
It comes after Narelda sparked a heated debate on social media after she called on the monarchy to apologize for the colonization of First Nations people following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
Her request received support from some progressive Australians, but also from the British who feel they owe no apology to First Nations people for the actions of their ancestors more than 200 years ago.
After Queen Elizabeth II’s death, Jacobs shared an Instagram story from left-wing women’s website Mamamia, which read, “I’m an Aboriginal woman. Don’t ask me to mourn the Queen’s death’
Others pointed out that Narelda is of Irish and English descent on her mother’s side, making her “as much British as she is Native.”
Narelda’s late father Cedric was an Indigenous man, while her mother Margaret, who is white, migrated to Australia with her family from Northern Ireland.
Queen Elizabeth visited Australia 16 times during her 70-year reign.
In 2002, she famously watched a cultural show at Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park in Cairns.
Queen Elizabeth visited Australia 16 times during her 70-year reign. In 2002, she famously watched a cultural show at Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park in Cairns (pictured)