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A segment that aired on The Project heavily criticized Indigenous Australians over the reaction to the Queen’s death has sparked heated debate.
The ten-minute segment, which aired Friday night, was led by Indigenous advocate Ben Abbatangelo, who opened with: “There are many things about the Queen’s death that don’t sit well with Blackfellas.”
The death of Queen Elizabeth II at the age of 96 on September 9 made headlines around the world and was covered extensively in the Australian media.
Mr Abbatangelo said the large amount of ‘positive’ media coverage and images of people ‘swooning’ over ‘old buddy Queen Lizzie’ was ‘no surprise’.
“It is again history being written on the hymn of whiteness,” he said.
The ten-minute segment, which aired Friday night on The Project, was led by Indigenous advocate Ben Abbatangelo, who opened with: ‘There are many things about the Queen’s death that don’t sit well with Blackfellas’
Mr Abbatangelo, a Gunaikurnai and Wotjobaluk author, said the “fact missing from the fiction” is that the Queen and the monarchy “represent a system of colonialism, a practice that has paralyzed generations of First Nations peoples.”
The segment then turned to the reporter who sat down with Indigenous leaders Meriki Onus and Celeste Liddle to gain their insight into how the Queen’s death affected them and the wider Indigenous community.
“As an Aboriginal living in the colony, it was clearer that we live in a totally different reality than everyone else here,” said Ms. Onus.
“This fanfare that they have for this person who is so far removed from our reality – it’s weird and it’s really strange to watch.
“I do find it a bit insulting that people I thought were more understanding become monarchists out of nowhere.”
The segment then turned to the reporter who sat down with Indigenous leaders Meriki Onus (left) and Celeste Liddle (center) to gain their insight into the impact of the Queen’s death on them and the wider Indigenous community.
Ms Liddle suggested the public reaction to anyone speaking out about the Queen or the monarchy that had grown since Her Majesty’s death.
“As soon as you say something, you’re drowned out by ‘she did so much,'” said Mrs. Liddle.
The Channel Ten segment featured clips of monarchists emotionally praising the Queen and her life after news of her death broke.
But Mrs Liddle thought the Queen should not be celebrated and said she was “a direct descendant of people who approved our expropriation”.
‘She benefits from that. This absurd idea that this one family has been given the gift of God to rule over all of us,” she said.
‘The slavery, the expropriation, the means by which they became rich – she is the direct representative of that system.
Indigenous leaders suggested the public response to anyone speaking out about the Queen or the monarchy that had risen since Her Majesty’s death
‘It seems almost insane to me that such a system can still exist, and that people are strengthening it so quickly.’
The Queen’s death came with new tension for Mrs Onus, who on the same day revealed the funeral of her cousin who died in her custody.
She said it had “not escaped her notice” that the Queen was able to hold a funeral where millions of dollars had been spent, while many First Nations families struggled to afford the services of their own loved ones.
“It is very deep to me that that person can have a funeral and that wealth has been gained through the dispossession of my family and people,” she said.
“And we need to find money to bury someone who was killed by that system.”
After the segment concluded, Mr Abbatangelo admitted that he still felt “uplifted” when asked by fellow panelists how he felt when he heard the leaders share their stories.
“It’s been a very enlightening couple of weeks,” he told the panel.
“To see the media and so many people uphold the whiteness of it all by default has been really extravagant.”
Co-presenter Hamish Macdonald asked how Mr Abbatangelo felt when he saw the Australian leaders now proclaiming ‘God save the King’.
“It’s absurd, how do you feel?” Mr Abbatangelo replied.
After the segment concluded, Mr Abbatangelo admitted he still felt “elated” about the impact the Queen’s death has had on the Indigenous community
“We say from our point of view, ‘Hey, everybody’s getting screwed’.” In the end we are sure – but all of you, how are you?’
His fellow panelist pointed out that the change of monarch was ‘surprising’ to many Australians after 70 years.
The full segment has been shared on The Project’s social media accounts, but the comments have been noticeably disabled.
Instead, many shared their thoughts on their own Twitter accounts, with many supporting both the segment and the monarchy.
“Thank you for telling the truth,” one said.
‘Look important,’ wrote another.
“Australian TV gets it,” tweeted a third.
Meanwhile, one Twitter user said it was “missing miles” and was “insulting” to the Queen.
“I wonder why they blocked people from responding. Never seen so many fake dribbles in my life,” wrote another.