Just as advocates for marriage equality had made no provisions for penguins being forced into loveless same-sex unions, this week has shown that Voice advocates may not have adequately considered the unintended consequences of moves to address inequality, however well-intentioned.
2GB host Ben Fordham brought us the story of the future of the Naremburn Tennis Courts, and claims that the club has been cast into a storm of uncertainty thanks to an unresolved Aboriginal land rights claim concerning the site. He’s dedicated two days to the issue, interviewing Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council CEO Nathan Moran, State MP for Willoughby Tim James and former Tennis Australia president Steve Healy.
The stakes are high — this represents 100 whole years of history that could be wiped out, as Healy puts it, by a stroke of the pen, seemingly without any need to compensate the community using and occupying the land.
Fordham was incredulous, asking Moran how the claims his organisation put forward on sites like Naremburn and Balmoral (among the tens of thousands of claims put forward by Moran’s organisation and others) could represent anything other than a “land grab”.
I mean, I can only ask, how would the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Councils of this world like it if that kind of thing was done to them?
Having to deal with the fallout of some kind of land grab, to have irreplaceable sites of deep history and community destroyed with the stroke of a pen, with generations passing before anything approaching could be even reluctantly discussed?
You can’t even imagine.
I’m worried that a decade’s worth of graffiti on the wall of the tennis club’s toilet block will be lost.
Lost for parallels.
Do these moribund clowns even go and listen back on what they’ve said? Do they even believe what they say?
I doubt that any Right-Wing shock-jock actually believes what they say. I think they all know that the Voice is not a threat, that climate-change is happening, that Trump lost, and that vaccinations are useful. But what is important is that their audience believes this garbage. The fastest way to lose an audience of bigots is to try and educate them.
Exactly, and the creation of the narratives based on fantasy or conspiracy, a la the US, used to confuse and befuddle ever increasing numbers of ageing voters, urban and regional; blasting away via free to air tv, radio etc., pubs, clubs, aged care units and sports viewers cannot avoid.
No of course they don’t believe what they say. Very few of those media sharks ever do; they do and say whatever for the ratings alone. And those ratings translate into advertising dollars, thus, once again, money is the answer to every question posed by the stupidity of this country in dealing with the huge issues we face on every front.
I assume this took place in NSW.
A 100-year-old tennis club is ancient. Really? Not against 60 thousand years of continuous occupation.
Fordham was good at hosting Ninja Warrior. He should stick to that.
“A” Thanks for that. Never watched it and have no idea what it is about. So who is he? Apologies I don’t really want to know.
He must have a big problem if he thinks 100 years trumps 40 000 years.