
At 7,688,287 square kilometres Australia is the sixth largest country in the world. It is the oldest continent, also home to the oldest continuing civilisation, the history of Aboriginal people reaching back some 75,000 years. Why then, has such a large nation, with such long existence and a civilisation, become so small in its thinking?
Largely in denial about its current Indigenous forebears, Australia clings to an Anglo-American world (largely defined as White), unable therefore to ‘own’ its own geographical locale, so suffering a long-standing irrational fear of invasion, and fear of the outsider, even if coming in rickety boats, while still raising a colonial flag and pledging allegiance to a foreign monarch.
The history of the latecomers (and 237 years is but a speck in 75,000) relationship with Aboriginal people has ranged from, refusal to accept they even exist ‘terra nullius,’ paternalism (they will soon die out, while we ‘smooth the dying pillow’), declared genocide and active massacre, to incarceration and marginalisation at the edges of towns, and finally consistently refusing their aspirations, cruelly breaking their hearts.
There have been some efforts to get things right, Paul Keating’s Redfern speech being memorable, but Australian’s soon after showed their preference, overwhelmingly voting in the mean-spirited, archetypal ‘little man,’ John Howard. Anthony Albanese, in his one piece of political courage, tried to have the Constitution changed to simply have Aboriginal people consulted in decisions made about them. The electorate, led by Peter Dutton and David Littleproud, made sure that even something so limited as ‘consultation,’ requested so graciously in ‘the Statement from the Heart’ would not be acceptable to the Australian electorate.
That loss follows a long series of losses for Aboriginal people; the finding against the Yirrkala petition, the blocking of the Larrakia petition made to Queen Elizabeth II by local law enforcement, resulting in the petition being damaged, and rejection of the calls for Treaty, even after Prime Minister, Bob Hawke promised to enact such.
How can our hearts not be sufficiently large and open to acknowledge the wrongs committed and have a desire to right them?
Of course, the very date of Australia Day makes justice with Aboriginal people impossible, being akin to asking the French to celebrate 22nd June (the day the Nazis enforced an armistice on them in 1940) as their national day.
What causes us to to define ourselves by hanging onto the apron strings of nations far from us, while fearing those in our own geographical domain? What close-mindedness cannot appreciate the great civilisations of the East? The oldest of those is that of China with almost 5,000 years of continuity, and yet whole sectors of the Australian community seem spooked by the very mention of that land. The ‘yellow peril’ and ‘red menace’ still play well. Are our minds not broad enough to understand that we are now living in a new epoch, one, which if we could move past our fears, could open enormous opportunities, economically and otherwise?
Why we may move past a point where the arrival of a few ‘boat people’ leads to generalised hysteria.
Even our flag is representative of our colonial mindset. It stands as symbol of a reticence to ‘leave home,’ to make our own statement. Yes, our current flag was chosen in a competition, and was probably symbolic of newly formed Anglo-Australia, but surely now we ought acknowledge we are a different people, living in a changed world, and fly a flag showing such recognition. Our current one, after all is hardly special, unlikely to win any, ‘well that’s an incredible flag’ competition.
That same mentality causes us to still pledge allegiance to a foreign monarch.
That colonialist mindset cements us as a ‘sub-imperial power,’ one seamlessly moving from Britain to the USA as our ‘protector,’ though neither have done anything to protect our land. Britain saw Australia as expendable in WWII, wanting to keep our troops for defence of the ‘home country.’ And what help did we receive from ‘our great American friends’ when asked for in the Indonesian Konfrontasi, and Timor Leste conflict? Hadn’t we made sufficient downpayment in Korea and Vietnam? And we are still making down-payments, most recently in Iraq and Afghanistan for ‘bugger all.’ Can’t we grow beyond being ‘taggers along’ and find our own way?
The colonial mentality could not be any clearer than in the AUKUS (soon to be seen farce), cargo-cult mentality at its finest!
Our core military celebration is about serving in a war, having nothing to do with us, on the other side of the world. ANZAC Day commemorates (though perversely it has almost become a celebration) our invading another country, in a misguided exercise, at the behest of our colonial master. The result was a loss to an empire, the Ottomans, at that time known as ‘the sick man of Europe.’ At least we can’t be accused of arrogantly parading military triumph!
Our blind adherence to empire has in the past 16 months made us complicit again in genocide.
The Gaza butchery may have been drawn to a temporary halt, but it showed Australia once more clinging to the empire’s shirt tails daring not raise a voice of censure over Israel’s, supplied with weaponry, by our colonial master, massacre of defenceless civilians in their tens of thousands. Small-minded politicians in Australia, seemingly rate painting a swastika to be a worse crime than that butchery. Perversity on this seems to know no measure, extending beyond the talent of any satirist.
Australia, is now not time to stand up, independent, broad-minded and open-hearted? Can we not fill this brand expanse of land with large vision, forging our own path, as mature adults, acknowledging our past wrongs, while committing to a different way?
Wouldn’t that be something worth celebrating?