'A quiet reflection of the truth of the Australian story'
Linda Burney on ABC Darwin Mornings with Adam Steer - Thursday, 21 January 2021
ADAM STEER, HOST: Linda. Good morning. How do you feel when you first heard Zali’s proposal there?
LINDA BURNEY: Good morning, Adam. And thank you for the welcome. It's great to be on Darwin ABC once again. I actually have welcomed Zali’s proposal, I think it's thoughtful. And I think it's respectful. If people will take it up, that's their decision. If local councils take it up, of course, that's their decision. But I really do think that there is clearly a growing awareness that the 26th of January is a complex and difficult day for First Nations people.
STEER: What would a minute's silence mean for you on the day?
BURNEY: When you go to many events, there is a minute’s silence that happens at sporting fixtures. If there's been someone prominent from that game that's passed away. I've been to many Aboriginal functions where the acknowledgement or Welcome to Country has had a minute’s silence built into it to remember those that have gone before. I go to, as a local member, and you would know this, I go to many ANZAC ceremonies where there is a minute's silence. And I think it's just a respectful way and very often as the beginning of a session of Parliament, if there have been past members that have passed away, in the ensuring period when we haven't been in Parliament, there will be a moment silence observed there. And I think it's respectful and for me, I really liked the idea because as Zali said in the piece you’ve just played, there needs to be a recognition that wars did take place on Australian soil, and lives were lost on both sides.
STEER: A quiet reflection of the truth of the Australian story, one might say.
BURNEY: A quiet reflection of the truth of the Australian story. What Labor is advocating as we did last year, is we're pragmatic enough to know that the date is not going to change and not advocating for that, but certainly advocating for a different way to observe the 26th of January. I don't have a particular timeline when we could observe this. I think it's up to individual people to take a moment out of their day. To think about it.
STEER: Multicultural Affairs Minister Alex Hawke says it's an ill considered proposal which would perpetuate divisions between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. What do you make of that comment?
BURNEY: If Alex Hawke is saying that I know that I'm on the right track.
STEER: In other news, cricket Australia has announced it would drop references to Australia Day in promotional material for Big Bash league games in the lead up to the day. Instead, the day will be referred to simply as January 26. The Prime Minister Scott Morrison has called the move ‘pretty ordinary.’
SCOTT MORRISON [AUDIO GRAB]: “I think a bit more facts on cricket. A little less focus on politics would be my message to cricket Australia. I think that's pretty ordinary, but I mean that's what they're putting on their press releases.”
STEER: That's the Prime Minister speaking to a Brisbane commercial radio this morning here. How do you feel about that reaction, Linda?
BURNEY: I find incredibly disappointing, but not surprising. I don't think this is about politics. This is about Cricket Australia Recognising like a number of other national sporting leagues, the NRL, the Rugby Union, And I think netball Australia has also done it, where there has been a real recognition that they have a high profile in the community. Australians love their sport. And they have a leadership role to play in leading and displaying and walking the talk when it comes to Reconciliation within the capacity that they have. Cricket Australia, of course, is enormous thing in the summer it in Australia and I was very sad to see the Australians lose to India but good luck to India, just with the test. But with Big Bash, which is also growing in popularity, I congratulate Cricket Australia, and I think it's not politics, it’s decency.
STEER: So you are supporting Cricket Australia's announcement to drop references to Australia Day in their promotional material?
BURNEY: I think that's what their Reconciliation Action Plan outlines there. They've got a Stretch Reconciliation Action Plan. And that's the most ambitious that you can have. It requires of many things, including an external audit of how you've met the action plan. And clearly this is part of their action plan. And they have recognised that they play a leadership role in the country. And the Women's League is doing the same thing. And, you know, they have a role to demonstrate what their philosophical basis is, and what their values are.
STEER: It's almost half past 10 you're on ABC Radio Darwin right across the Northern Territory. Adam Steer with you. Linda Burney is the federal opposition spokesperson for Indigenous affairs. How about you personally at the moment, how do you feel as January 26 approaches?
BURNEY: Well, as a Wiradjuri person as you as you've introduced me, Adam, it’s a day where we feel very conflicted. I’ve got a very busy day on the 26th. I’m attending the cleansing dawn ceremony in Sydney. That is every year. I'll be attending that in my official capacity as Shadow Minister. I'm attending a couple of local events which are citizenship ceremonies, in George's River and Bayside Council, in the areas that I represent. I'm also going to a film about called Australia Daze, where I'm on a panel in the evening, in, in the Inner West of New South Wales, which is a film about Australia Day and what it represents. So I'll be also participating online with Yabun which is the big Aboriginal festival, here in Sydney, every Survival Day. And for me as an Aboriginal person, I, I really want people to embrace the extraordinary history that we have in this country of human occupation of over 60,000 years. And that's the heritage of all Australians. I want people to feel proud of that. I also want people to reflect that it is not a day that Aboriginal people see is the birth of a nation. It's actually called Survival Day.
STEER: Linda Burney, good to talk to you this morning. Appreciate your time.
BURNEY: Thank you, Adam.
ENDS
LINDA BURNEY
TRANSCRIPT - THURSDAY, 21 JANUARY 2021