Indigenous Australian journalist Stan Grant says he will meet hatred with love in his final appearance on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) before a self-imposed hiatus.
Appearing on the Q+A program which aired May 22, Grant told audiences that his critics were successful at hurting him.
“I’m sorry that I must have given us so much cause to hate me so much, to target me and my family to make threats against me, I’m sorry,” he said.
“I am down right now, I am. But I‘ll get back up, and you can come at me again, and I’ll meet you with the love of my people,” he said in reference to his Aboriginal heritage.
He criticised media outlets saying they were often “the poison in the bloodstream of our society.”
“I fear the media does not have the love or the language to speak to the gentle spirits of our land. I’m not walking away for a while because of racism. We get that far too often. I’m walking away because of social media hatred. I need a break from the media.”
Controversy Over Coronation Coverage
His decision to stand down comes after he said he received abuse online after taking part in ABC’s coverage of the coronation of King Charles III in early May.“I pointed out that the Crown represents the invasion and theft of our land. In the name of the Crown, my people were segregated on missions and reserves. Police wearing the seal of the Crown took children from their families. Under the Crown, our people were massacred.”
Yet Grant’s involvement in the program—and the sharing of his views on colonialism—received criticism, especially because audience members were tuning in to celebrate King Charles III and the monarchy, not critique it.
Grant meanwhile also cited a lack of support from the upper echelons of ABC when he received blowback online for his appearance, which later saw Managing Director David Anderson issue an apology.
“Stan has our full support. And he has always had our full support,” he wrote in an email to ABC staff.
“Stan makes an enormous contribution to conversations of national importance.”
On May 23, Labor Deputy Leader Richard Marles lauded Grant as a “wonderful Australian.”
“To see somebody of his calibre, saying what he said and taking the steps that he has, has got to give us all pause for thought about the public debate and the public environment in which we live today in Australia,” he told ABC radio.
While Indigenous Minister Linda Burney said, Grant’s experience raised serious issues about the media’s role in the country, particularly in the lead-up to The Voice referendum—a veiled criticism of the views published in right-leaning media outlets.
On May 22, ABC staff held rallies outside their Sydney and Melbourne offices in support of Grant.
