Taxpayer-Funded Indigenous Activism Fireworks Display ABC

The ABC is supposedly funded by the tax dollars of all Australians, but you probably wouldn’t be able to tell based on their recent New Year’s Eve Sydney fireworks display. It was more of an exercise in propaganda. I think they were probably expecting the Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum to win, which it didn’t, but they went ahead with the program all the same. Here’s how the hosts introduced the evening:

“I’m Zan Rowe, and I’m Charlie Pickering. We are thrilled to be coming to you live from Gadigal land for the New Year’s Eve celebrations, and evening of incredible music from some of the nation’s biggest artists.”

So despite standing in front of the Sydney Harbour Bridge which spans Sydney Harbour in the city of Sydney, the biggest city in Australia, they never once mentioned the word Sydney in their introduction. It’s Gadigal land, don’t you know?

Of course, there was the obligatory Welcome to Country that we all love: “And to kick things off, our Welcome to Country performed by Aunty Joan Bell and Pequita Bell. We honour our elders and leaders including Barangaroo, Pemulwuy, and many others who fought the first boat people who landed in Sydney Cove. Welcome to Gadigal Eora country. Welcome to my country. Welcome.” Welcome to MY country, not your country. In it, they honoured the warriors who slaughtered those evil first boat people that many of us are descended from. Not divisive at all! At least she used the word Sydney.

Don’t worry, the division continues! “And I’m joined right now by Triple J’s Nooky, one of the curators of what you’re about to see.” He chose to wear a giant QR code on his shirt. After the Indigenous Voice defeat, Nooky famously said these words live on Triple J: “We ain’t licking our wounds today. We’re sharpening our spears!”. We’re sharpening our spears. It’s all very war-like with Nooky. It’s probably no surprise that his organisation is called waw, W-A-W, We Are Warriors. Just out of interest, here’s Warrior #005, Felicia Foxx. She’ll kill you with her Mascara. “Well I’m Felicia Foxx, I’m an extravagant, strong, black woman who don’t take s*** from no-one.”

Anyway, back to Nooky’s tolerant and unifying language, “I started to showcase blak excellence and create pathways for our youth and just elevate stories of blak power and blak success and blak love.” You know, all the stuff that brings us together as a nation, blak success, blak love, blak power.

Then an Indigenous band called “3%” played a rather divisive song – 3% referring to the percentage of Australians who identify as Aboriginal. Here’s some of the lyrics: “They locked us up and then they threw away the key, It’s the stolen generations hauntin’ trauma that I see, They stole the land in the name of their kings, Now look at how they act when you mention Alice Springs, I see my people always locked up, locked up, locked up, locked up, Why my people always locked up, locked up, locked up, locked up? Free my people always locked up, locked up, locked up, locked up, Here my people always locked up, locked up, locked up, locked up!”

Anyway, you get the idea. Noting that this song was put on just before the family fireworks at 9pm. So lots of kids would have been watching all of this. After the song finished, they proceeded to blow up the Harbour Bridge, well, not really, but they plastered it with messages such as ‘Warriors’, ‘Rise’, ‘We Are Sea’, ‘Be Strong’, and so on.

It wasn’t just about Indigenous people. Melbourne singer Angie McMahon had some words to say about the Israel-Palestine conflict. Just before her last song, she said: “Thanks again. Palestinians should be free.”

Prominent anti-Voice campaigner Warren Mundine commented on the politicisation of the ABC’s New Year’s Eve entertainment labelling it ‘disgraceful’. He said, “We just want to have a relaxed start to the year and have fun. New Year’s Eve is an incredible landmark occasion for Sydney, and the world, in fact. It’s telecast all over the world, and I think people are getting sick and tired of the politicisation of things. We’re sick and tired of the politicisation of everything.”

It’s not the first time the ABC have been accused of sapping the fun out of New Year’s Eve. In 2022, they had rap duo Barkaa and Dobby who performed their song I Can't Breathe while wearing Black Lives Matter t-shirts. They also had Blak Douglas as curator of the Welcome to Country fireworks theme who said, “We are taking over one of the most famous icons on the planet [the Sydney Harbour Bridge], an icon that was never consulted amongst either the Gadigal or Cammeray people.”

So yes, the ABC have again spoilt New Year’s Eve by making it all about blame and victimhood. Thankfully, I turned it off straight after Charlie Pickering failed to mention the word Sydney during his introduction.

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Allégro by Emmit Fenn