Australia reacts to Jacinta Price’s stunning claim Aboriginal Australians are better off because of British colonisation

Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney has dismissed inflammatory claims that British colonization had no lasting negative impact on Aboriginal people.

Coalition Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price made the controversial comments during a provocative National Press Club speech outlining her opposition to an Indigenous vote.

Ms Burney said she was shocked by the comments and described them as ‘simply wrong’.

“They are offensive and a real betrayal of the many families who have experienced things like the Stolen Generations,” the minister said.

Historian Henry Reynolds said Senator Price’s statements were far from the truth.

He described colonization as one of the largest land grabs in human history and the beginning of a catastrophe.

“It clearly contradicts an entire generation of history that has told us a completely different story,” he said.

Jason Agostino, medical adviser to the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organization, reflected on the consequences of colonization during a parliamentary inquiry on Friday.

“The cause of the high prevalence of type 2 diabetes lies in the consequences of colonization, coupled with socio-economic disadvantage,” he said.

‘Too many people still do not have access to safe drinking water from the tap, to affordable healthy food or to a house with adequate cooling.’

Speaking to the National Press Club in Canberra this week, Senator Price replied “I’ll be honest, no” when asked whether Indigenous people were worse off because of British settlement.

‘A positive impact? Absolute. I mean, now that we have running water, we have food that is easily available,” said Senator Price.

“Many of us have the same opportunities as all other Australians in this country.

“We certainly have probably one of the best systems in the world in terms of democratic structure compared to other countries – that’s why migrants are flocking to Australia.

“If we continue to tell Aboriginal people that they are victims, we are essentially removing their agency,” she said.

Former champion AFL player Michael Long completed his walk to Canberra from Melbourne in support of the Yes vote on Thursday, saying Indigenous people are at a disadvantage in Australia.

‘The real focus is on closing the gap. All those things, like life expectancy and housing. I mean, we talked about that decades ago and it still applies today,” he said.

‘I don’t want to talk about closing the gap in another 20 or 30 years. Let’s do something about it! IIt is unbelievable that we have not yet got this in order in 2023.’

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has backed Senator Price despite her inability to endorse a coalition policy of local and regional Indigenous voices.

Mr Dutton previously said he would support regional Aboriginal Voice-style bodies rather than a national model.

Mr Dutton said people should listen to Ms Price and not the “capital views” of others, and said her comments came from experiences in Alice Springs.

“She was brave, willing to stand up for what she believes in, and believes passionately in creating a better society for Indigenous Australians,” he told Nine’s Today Show.

During the interview, Dutton returned to his previous calls for a second referendum on constitutional recognition of indigenous people if the upcoming vote fails.

Cabinet minister Murray Watt said Dutton was “so addicted to saying ‘no’ that he was now saying ‘no’ to his own idea.”

Senator Bridget McKenzie said a referendum on constitutional recognition has been coalition policy for more than a decade.

“I truly believe it is time to recognize our First Australians as a statement of fact in our founding document,” she said.

The Uluru Statement from the Heart called for a vote for parliament rather than symbolic recognition in the constitution.