Every year, around Australia Day, Jacinta Nampijinpa Price becomes something of a minor celebrity, gracing breakfast television and Murdoch newspapers to push back against the growing campaign to change the date.
Price, a Warlpiri/Celtic woman, is an Alice Springs town councillor, domestic violence campaigner, former children’s television presenter and one-time singer-songwriter.
More recently, however, Price has become the right’s favourite commentator on Indigenous affairs, a speaker of uncomfortable truths willing to go out to bat for Australia Day, and call out what she sees as a culture of violence in remote Indigenous communities. The campaign against Australia Day, Price argues, is a mere distraction from the real issues afflicting Indigenous Australia, driven by the empty virtue signalling of an urban left who have never lived on country.
Price’s substantial media profile could now take her all the way to Canberra — she is running with the Country Liberal Party in the gargantuan Northern Territory seat of Lingiari, currently held by Labor stalwart Warren Snowdon, who has represented the area since the 1980s.
A darling of the right
At the heart of Price’s politics is her claim to authenticity. It was her campaigning against domestic violence, coloured by her own experiences as a survivor, that first brought her national attention.
In 2016, she addressed the National Press Club in Canberra alongside Indigenous academic Marcia Langton and advocate Josephine Cashman to detail her own family’s experiences with violence. Price claimed that Indigenous culture was used as a shield for abusers in communities like hers, and that she had faced pressure from her own family not to speak out.
In a similarly fiery speech at the Centre for Independent Studies, a right-wing think tank, Price argued that domestic violence is an innate and accepted part of Indigenous culture in remote communities.
“Growing up in and knowing my culture, I know that it is a culture that accepts violence, and in many ways desensitises those living the culture to violence”.
Amid fears about the growing number of Indigenous children in out-of-home care, Price has remained a firm proponent of removal, arguing that the spectre of a “second stolen generation” has stopped politicians from taking the decisive action needed to protect communities.
These problems, Price argues, are far more pressing than changing the date of Australia Day, a campaign which Price has “never heard anybody talk about” in Alice Springs.
The ever-bubbling debate around Australia Day has helped grow Price’s profile as a culture warrior. Last year, she denounced the “hollow symbolism” of a proposal by then-NSW opposition leader Luke Foley to fly the Aboriginal flag over the Sydney Harbour Bridge. When Alice Springs Council voted to fly the Aboriginal flag above Anzac Hill (which inspired the flag itself), Price dissented, arguing that doing so was “divisive”.
More recently, in the aftermath of this week’s incident on Studio 10 — where Kerri-Anne Kennerley was criticised by Yumi Stynes for remarks about Invasion Day protesters — Price came out on Kennerley’s side. The incident brought Price a lot of publicity — Studio 10 put her on-air to argue Kennerley’s case the next day, while columns in The Australian and The Daily Telegraph followed.
A family affair
If elected this year to the seat of Lingiari, Jacinta will be the second Price to go into politics. Her mother, Bess, was a minister in Adam Giles’ tumultuous Country Liberal government in the Northern Territory, holding a number of portfolios including community services and women’s policy.
Like her daughter, Bess Price campaigned against domestic violence in Indigenous communities, and like her daughter, she often allied herself with the right, putting her at loggerheads with progressive activists. Price continuously expressed support for the Howard government’s Northern Territory intervention, arguing that “it meant at last somebody was acknowledging there was a crisis that needed to be addressed”.
But the Prices’ representation in conservative media as truth tellers who speak up for those suffering in silence in Central Australia is denied by many. Last year, an Indigenous women’s group called out Price’s “divisive” comments and failure to adhere to cultural protocol, while a petition against Jacinta Price did the rounds in Alice Springs. After fellow councillor Catherine Satour appeared to call out Price for failing to consult with Indigenous women, the council meeting descended into a screaming match.
Alt-right connections
It isn’t just News Corp and the Country Liberal Party taking Price’s message on. Price’s campaign against changing the date saw her join forces with Mark Latham to make a “Save Australia Day” ad.
“The trolls hate her because she’s just the sort of person identity politics would normally applaud,” Latham said of Price.
Increasingly, Price has displayed a proximity with the alt-right. In a Monthly profile last year, Marcia Langton claimed the bulk of Price’s social media following were “rabid racists”, and that her politics were an “appeal to the scientific racism of the alt-right”. When tens of thousands attended Invasion Day rallies across Australia this year, Price shared a video trolling the protesters made by the Australian Liberty Alliance, a reactionary micro-party known for its hatred of Islam. The video featured Avi Yemini, a Jewish alt-right figure who has frequently consorted with Neo-Nazis like Blair Cottrell and Neil Erikson.
It’s unlikely that Price shares all the politics of Yemini or the ALA. Still, her steadfast defence of Australia Day, and emergence as a “trigger-the-left” pundit have won her some weird fans.
Price has a valid point- what improvement has been achieved by “progressives” talking about the date of Australia day?…. raising awareness is not supporting anybody whatsoever. Its a self indulgent ego wank, it allows the metro dwelling “progressives” to feel they are making a difference when nothing happens at all.
Watch Imparja and the other commercial TV services available in remote communities you’ll notice that there is complete saturation of community service and health announcements in lieu of ad’s. These mainstream media services along with the Indigenous media itself have fully penetrated the communities with messages of social improvement by local people for local people . But there remains an unacceptably high incidence of DV and abuse…. Why?
Indigenous culture does protect its own and is rightful suspicious of the police and to a lesser extent external orgs and their staff, unfortunately this protection also shields the perpetrators of DV and many indigenous abusers remain safe in their own communities.
Fear of community based reprisals and fear of strangers allows the cycle to roll on .
This problem with domestic violence and child abuse is also true of white Australia. It is only with the #metoo campaign that historical abuse perpetrated by powerful white men is starting to come out but because of defamation laws, it is not having the same impact as in America. Plenty of high profile white sexual abusers still running free.
Also worth mentioning is the fact that the NT is awash with really hard core porn- and has been for years. This is not the so called ‘soft’ porn available in the eastern states- but really nasty stuff produced in the ACT where its production is legal, although its sale is banned in all states.
It is tempting to think that sexual abuse is more of a problem in Aboriginal communities, but the truth is white Australia is just much better at suppressing what happens in white society. If the same rules that Canberra applies to remote communities were in place, the Catholic Church would have faced an ‘intervention’. The problems of abuse are real, and they are linked to the invasion of Australia. Aboriginal culture would not have flourished for so long if todays tragic events were mirroring Aboriginal traditional society.
White Australia has condoned the violence for way too long- by hiding behind the excuse that the violence we are seeing is ‘cultural’. Meanwhile, alcohol, white male privilege and an imbalance of white male power continue to disempower ALL women. Canberra politicians and public servants have access to brothels with sex workers from third world conned into sexual slavery. The same place that produces the porn that is considered too hard core for most Australian citizens. The Canberra ‘bubble’ is the swollen end of a condom.
Until white Australian (who holds the power) learns to deal with its own entrenched misogyony, and shows that it is willing to let Aboriginal people be in control of their own lives, their own resources and their own future, nothing will change.
Shouldn’t Aboriginal people take responsibility for the violence of Aboriginal people against Aboriginal people? This seems to be your stance. I have never heard a white abuser blame the 19th century English penal system for transporting their ancestor to Australia. Cultural dislocation, generational trauma is not a uniquely a Aboriginal condition.
I don’t believe there is a significant factor in domestic violence beyond an individual imposing their will on another via force. This is the common denominator that requires action beyond abstract talk .
Ng GJB not sure what you are trying to say. Perhaps you haven’t thought this through very clearly.
I am guessing you are male- only a man could reduce domestic violence to a sentence claiming that is is about one individual imposing their will over another. As a woman, I know this by different terms- rape, bashing etc etc. I also know there are many reasons for domestic violence. If only it was as simple as you say.
All of those are examples of one person (female abusers included) imposing their will on another via force.
Whats your point?
Imposing their will is such a bloke way of saying RAPE or BASH. thats my point. Only a man would call RAPE imposing his will.
You’re actually sexist, you realise?
My initial comment was in support of Price’s argument that changing the date of Australia day is a cosmetic answer to the problems facing remote Aboriginal communities, especially domestic violence which is far more prevalent than in non-Aboriginal communities.
No amount of you jumping up and down being offended by what you perceive as male bias changes a thing for any abused person, If your happy to believe it does go on deluding yourself that your an agent for change.
Sexist? For calling rape rape?
Your initial response was not clear. You have clarified it and in the process have shown yourself to be the problem.
You say I am deluded if I think myself an agent of change. (I never claimed to be, but if it makes you happy to think this, go right ahead), You, who know nothing at all about who I am or my life experience, feel quite confident to call me deluded and sexist for pointing out that rape is more than ‘imposing ones will on another by force’
You trivialise my comments (saying I am jumping up and down), and pretend to assume, as Jacinta does, that everyone marching on Australia day is marching solely to change the date of Australia day. This is disingenuous as you would know perfectly well that people are marching for the continuing injustices Aboriginal people face daily. Tens of thousands of Aboriginal and non Aboriginal people all marching for change. Brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers, grandparents all marching for change.
You are unable to see yourself as the problem and you are so happy to have finally found someone who is Aboriginal that you can refer to to support your distorted view of the world. (which you point out has come from watching TV and government advertisements as proof of your own conclusions)
You also state: ” I have never heard a white abuser blame the 19th century English penal system for transporting their ancestor to Australia. ”
What on earth does that have to do with anything being discussed?
How is that at all relevant to todays situation?
Do you think that the only injustices Aboriginal people face happened over two hundred years ago?
Is that what you are attempting to say?
If so then it is pointless continuing this conversation.
Its a pity that people who are prepared to challenge the received wisdom are inevitably sucked into right left vortex’s. Its probably right to point out that changing the date of Australia Day isn’t the most pressing challenge for indigenous Australians, doesn’t mean it couldn’t/shouldn’t be done, but doing it thinking it solves any problems is a mistake. Indigenous women calling out cultures of violence and abuse should be lauded, there is no doubt this is a problem and the intervention can well be criticized for some of its execution but she is right to say that doing nothing …. again! wasn’t an option after the report that triggered it was released for all to see how bad the problem was/is. we should laud these voices that challenge thinking. Sadly she will be dismissed and marginalized by being associated with delusional ratbags like Latham and outright racists and neo Nazis. Which will be a pity because we need voices from within the communities that challenge the thinking and status quo.
I don’t see why changing the date of Australia Day has to be seen as an either or against domestic violence. I have no idea what is happening remotely for Indigenous people but I am sure there are communities that are addressing the violence …change has to occur within….Why cant domestic violence in communities be attended to now along with progressing the idea of changing the date !
Yes there are many communities taking action on domestic violence. And yes the date can and should be changed. I am not sure why Jacinta Price thinks the two are connected. It gets her publicity, but not much respect from those who see through spin.
I believe Marcia Langton’s profile on Price was in The Saturday Paper rather than The Monthly.
It was Ben and a correction and apology had to be made by TSP at the time about an assertion made by Langton in it. First Nation politics is a bit of a minefield entered by the rest of us at our peril. Ms Price is a tireless self promoter and we should stop feeding the beast. She’ll pop up again soon enough and there are plenty of other more important stories to be told by aboriginal people to us, not least of which is addressing the Uluru Statement From The Heart with respect, timeliness and diligence to achieve a Makarrata.
I agree, what has one got to do with the other? KAK seems to be winning the war against Yumi Stynes by conflating the two issues by being basically a bully as well as racist. Nasty too.
I understood that there are more aboriginal children being removed from their families now than in years gone by.