Media release – Michael Mansell, 21 October 2024
LYDIA THORPE REFLECTS FRUSTRATION ANTHONY ALBANESE HAS CAUSED ABORIGINAL PEOPLE
Tasmanian Aboriginal leader Michael Mansell said it was understandable that Senator Lydia Thorpe took the protest action she did at parliament house in front of King Charles because, since PM Albanese abandoned his promise to implement the Uluru Statement in full, there is no other process for Aboriginal people to take other than protest.
Mr Mansell said, “Had PM Albanese kept his word about moving to treaty discussions, as he promised on his election victory and subsequently, people like Lydia Thorpe would have no need to protest: she and others would be sitting at the table negotiating treaty terms. Even the Senate have had to bypass the Albanese government with a proposed Bill for a Truth-Telling Commission.
What Lydia Thorpe says is true. People might complain about the forum in which she spoke some down to earth turths, but what other forum could she use when Prime Minister Albanese has shut Aboriginal people out of treaty and truth-telling? That Lydia Thorpe was forced to express her frustration is entirely the fault of Albanese.
It was noticeable that the Prime Minister was sitting beside the King when Lydia Thorpe made her speech. Albanese should have told the King that it was the fault of the Australian government for reneging on its promise that Senator Thorpe was reduced to making her point the way she did. I’ll bet Mr Albanese said no such thing to the King.
Senator Thorpe is expressing the frustration that Albanese has created when he walked away from treaty and truth-telling talks. The Prime Minister is responsible for Aboriginal outbursts against authority because there is no other process. Albanese’s weak leadership has created a vacuum. Aborigines must now resort to protest and condemnation for protesting while Albanese irresponsibly allows the visiting King to take the brunt of Aboriginal frustration.”
Andrea M. Maxine KOCH
October 22, 2024 at 20:23
That was wonderful rhetoric Lydia, but I still do object, for all the wonderfully clear bravado, to the suggested treaty.
Why? These folks can buy their own handkerchiefs, beads or shiny mirrors, but treaties from fools and betrayers cannot give anything, then or now.
Meanwhile I stood up with my standing ovation.
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Here are many facts.
— Moderator
James
October 23, 2024 at 12:03
The ills of history impacted many, particularly the early convicts and the early indigenous. We pray that the horrors never repeat.
Modern Tasmania is a vibrant state, and Australia is a multicultural melting pot of diverse cultures – which makes Australia better than it was 100 years ago, and better than it was 250 years ago.
It’s naïve to suggest a treaty is anything more than a power and money grab. There is no requirement for a treaty. We don’t have separate nations in Australia because we are all Australian.