Framing Aboriginal Australians as victims removes responsibility from themselves as an individual rather than helping them flourish, says an Indigenous Australian senator.
Jacinta Price, new Country Liberal Party senator for Northern Territory, told The Epoch Times on Oct. 1 that such an approach creates the expectation that the “perceived oppressor,” who is white Australians in this case, is “responsible to empower you.”
“The problem with the idea that there are two classes of people is that it doesn’t recognise people’s true capabilities as human beings,” she said.
“When you say I’m a victim, you are effectively handing over your power to somebody else.”
“You’re not a victim just because you are Aboriginal [or] because of your heritage. You are a human being, first and foremost, who is capable of great things.”
Price also criticised attempts by politicians and activists to speak on behalf of remote Indigenous communities whose first language is not English and who still live very close to the traditional way of life.
Such an approach portrays Indigenous people as “one homogenous group of people,” the Northern Territory senator added.
“No race of people on Earth all think the same. We’re not respected as individuals in our own right.”
Price was one of the notable speakers at CPAC (Conservatory Political Action Conference) Australia held in Sydney on Oct. 1 and Oct. 2. The event saw prominent figures from different areas discussing political, social and environmental affairs from the conservative standpoint.
Searching For The ‘Truth’
The comment comes as the centre-left Labor Party and the left-wing Australian Greens look to institutionalise an Indigenous advisory body in Parliament which requires adjustment in the constitution. A referendum is due to be held before the next election in May 2025.Meanwhile, Greens senator Lidia Thorpe, who is also of Indigenous heritage, pushed for a treaty and “truth-telling process” of past and current injustices against Indigenous people.
“Let’s tell some truth ... We are the fabric of this country, and we’re not treated like that. We’re treated with contempt, really; we’ve got to always prove our existence in this country. So truth will help heal, truth will help unite. Treaty is a mechanism for a negotiation of settlement,” Senator Thorpe said in August, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Sept. 27 told 4BC Radio that the “truth-telling” should “absolutely” be included in the school curriculum.
However, Price argued that the teachings of Aboriginal culture and history should reflect the truth that is “not the romanticised version and not guilt politics.”
“There is a void because a lot of Australians don’t know about traditional Aboriginal culture. And that void is filled with a romanticism of culture, or a reinvention of culture,” she told The Epoch Times.
“That projection is put on to non-Indigenous kids [who] don’t need to feel as though that they’ve done something wrong because of their backgrounds.”
“We can’t speak on behalf of one another or act in the best interest of one another.”
Creating a deeper understanding of traditional Aboriginal culture in school, Price added, would help people “realise just how close we are as human beings to one another” rather than divide society.
