Major Australian TV network’s weather map sparks major debate

A major TV network’s practice of displaying a weather map with native names for cities has sparked a heated debate.

SBS’s flagship World News Bulletin first shows the Australian weather map with the English names for each capital city, before moving to native titles.

Sydney becomes Warrang, Brisbane is known as Meanjin, Melbourne is Naarm, Adelaide is Tarndanya and Perth is Boorloo.

Perplexed 2GB listener Peter called into Ben Fordham’s show on Wednesday morning to complain that the Indigenous names would mean nothing to the vast majority of viewers.

Indigenous leader Warren Mundine told Daily Mail Australia on Wednesday that he likes the idea of ​​Indigenous place names, but not everything has been renamed.

‘It’s similar to the idea of ​​Welcome to Country. People think it’s fun, but now you have to do it before meetings, before conferences, before you give a speech, on a plane,” Mr Mundine said.

“People are using it for their own political agenda, instead of standing up and saying ‘welcome to my country, we are happy to have you here’, they are saying you came here to loot and rape, so hit the road, so it’s so scaring people off.’

He admitted that indigenous names could be confusing, even for him, when used on airport information boards.

“I was at the airport the other day and I was trying to figure out what flight I was on and the names were popping up everywhere and I had no idea what they were,” Mr Mundine said.

“If I have a problem, the general public would have a problem and be irritated by this kind of thing.”

Mr Mundine believed Australians were tired of being told they were racist and that everything about Australia had brought misery to its indigenous people.

‘If you look around you, most Aboriginal people are doing well. They go to universities and become doctors and lawyers and do very well,” he said.

‘We have done nothing wrong. We are the generation that abolished race laws and gained full voting rights and civil rights. We are the people who raise millions every year that go towards Aboriginal education, so why are we being abused?’

‘It is only in the remote areas that they are struggling, but that is because of the economic problems and the crime that we have to deal with.

“There is too much crime in Aboriginal communities, so let’s change the name Brisbane. How does it help?’

He also said that areas covered by Australia’s larger cities often have a number of tribes living nearby, so choosing one name over another could be controversial.

“It’s a total mess and instead of making the country better, it just makes people angry,” he said.

Those who responded to the 2GB radio segment on the station’s Instagram page were deeply polarized over the use of Indigenous names.

“Token foolishness,” someone called it.

‘What are they trying to prove by shoving that down our throats? Virtue signaling at its best,” another commenter wrote.

“Imagine the poor international tourists,” someone else wrote.

However, there were some who liked the idea.

“I love this… the languages ​​of the countries are so diverse,” one person wrote.

‘It’s pretty cool, also educational. I like it,” said another.

Some fired back at those unhappy with the renamed cards.

“It seems the only ones who are angry and complaining are those who listen to 2GB and watch Sky News,” one person wrote.

“So yeah, conservatives are the only ones getting triggered.”

SBS has been showing indigenous names for Australian capitals since February 2023.

Introducing the measure, the government-funded broadcaster said it would reflect “traditional management and more than 60,000 years of history.”

Introducing the practice, SBS Elder-in-Residence and Widjabul Wia ballwoman Rhoda Roberts AO said the “revitalization of First Nations languages ​​is healing our nation.”

“For me, it is a time of a new awakening that informs us all,” she said.

‘Behind every word you will find information about the seasons, the location and the ecology of our beautiful country. It is more than education – it is also the science and realization that words can enlighten us all.”

SBS News and Current Affairs Director Mandi Wicks said at the time that the network was “proud to take this important step in representing First Nations in Australian media.”

“The power of language to promote inclusivity cannot be underestimated, and this initiative will further share First Nations languages ​​and cultures with all Australians,” she said.