Stan Grant's Speech: Racism Is Destroying The Australian Dream

Deadly Unna by Phillip Gwynne explores racial issues directed at the Indigenous Australians. Gwynne’s story is based on events that occurred in the Yorke Peninsula, South Australia. This book clearly shows that Australia is not the land of the fair go for certain demographics, while other demographics do experience Australia as the land of the fair go. People who have money will experience Australia as the land of the fair go, but the people who do not will not be able to experience Australia as a land of equal opportunity. Indigenous Australians are also included in the demographic of people who cannot experience Australia as the land of the fair go.

These speeches were able to reflect the statement that significant and valued speeches are able to transcend its immediate context as they have become a stepping stone in Australian society by influencing a change to reflect our values, evidently seen through former Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd’s Sorry Speech (2007) in the acknowledgement of the maltreatment of Aboriginal people which brought Australia closer to

Ever since the first settlers arrived in Australia right up to the end of the 20th century indigenous Australians had limited rights compared to whit Australians. One of the biggest problems was that there were different laws and treatment of aboriginals depending on what state they resided in. The year of 1967 was a big year for indigenous rights as a referendum was held to give the federal government the power to make laws for all aboriginals. Many factors and events influenced the overwhelming success of 1967 Referendum but the Freedom Rides of 1965 was the most important of these events in making the referendum the most successful in Australia’s history.

The concept of inequality is a crucial part of Oodgeroo Noonuccal’s poem ‘An Appeal’. The nation (Australia) is constantly looking for a person/group of people to follow. The underprivileged are stuck in the midst and subsequently, they feel a sense of inequality. Noonuccal accentuates the auditory effect of the underprivileged, in an attempt to evoke a depressing or compassionate feeling towards them from the reader through the use of imagery in the ‘underprivileged call’. The use of personification in ‘unfriendly doors’ displays how the statesman can force the ‘unfriendly doors’ to groups of people in which he dislikes, which shows how mean and unfriendly Australians can be.

However, there is still hope. While the injustices of the Stolen generation, massacres and centuries of mistreatment against Indigenous Australians can never be erased, we can create future in which these atrocities never occur again. These atrocities emerge from ignorance and fear, so working to understand Indigenous culture must surely be the only path to removing the racism that plagues Australia. We have so must to learn from the rich cultural history of Indigenous Australians, particularly in their spiritual relationship with the land they have lived on for thousands of years. If we embrace this incredible knowledge, not only will we eliminate the barriers preventing equality in our society, we will also be stronger as a nation in both environmental and social relations. Ultimately, we have the potential to become an example to the world of the way a nation’s people can overcome their past mistakes and pave a future of cultural sharing for the benefit of all

This article discusses the speech given by an Indigenous journalist, Stan Grant who participated in a debate where he spoke for the motion “Racism is destroying the Australian Dream’’. Hence, the main points of this article are mostly evidence given by Grant in his debate to support his idea that the Australian Dream is indeed rooted in racism.

This sudden change still has an enormous effect on today’s Indigenous population. How is it fair that the oldest population of people die a decade younger than non-Indigenous Australians? The perpetuation of racism which is manifested in our society has left many Indigenous Australians in a disadvantaged position. Including through, limited access to education with adult literacy rates of just 30 percent and literacy rates of children under 15 more than 48 percent lower than non-Indigenous Australians, consequently means lower educational achievement rates and higher unemployment rates of 17.2 percent compared to 5.5 percent for non-Indigenous Australians (Australian Bureau of Statistics , 2013 ). These facts must be recognised to ensure real equality and a fair-go for Indigenous people.

The ‘Bringing Them Home Report’ was a significant event for the civil rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, as what they experienced between 1910 to 1970 was something no human being should have to go through, The Stolen Generations suffered a great deal of traumatic experiences. On 11 of May 1995 change, had to take place as this wasn’t a lifestyle a human being should live, the inquiry period began for The Bringing Them Home Report. It was a National Inquiry that looked into the separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families. It was a complicated

The Ngunnawal People have been living within the borders and surrounding mountains of the Australian Capital Territory for over 25,000 years. The way the Indigenous people used the land to live off was extremely efficient and sustainable. They had a bounty of knowledge about the land surrounding them, and over generations, devised resourced management skills to ensure maintenance of the animals and plants, and most importantly, the land in which provided these things. Aboriginal culture existed long before Captain Cook arrived in Australia in 1770. He claimed the land to be "Terra-Nullius", meaning that the land did not belong to any person. This claim obviously seemed ludicrous and crazy to the Indigenous people whom already lived on the land.

For Pearson, allusions to the Redfern Speech alongside clever implementation of inclusive language facilitate the notion that Indigenous issues are a concern for the nation as a whole. This is evident through the usage of ‘our nation’ and the actions that ‘we’ have to take to correct the injustices of the past, which has the effect of reconciling the divide between Indigenous and European Australians; thus unifying the nation. Atwood, on the other hand, employs pathos through personal anecdotes and humour in order to establish a relationship with her audience. This provides her textual integrity, as it resonates with her audience on a personal level. The humorous personal anecdote of her daughter’s breakfast play allows Atwood to reinforce her argument that in order to ignite interest in literature “something else has to happen”, assisting her audience to emotionally identify with her perspective. While pathos aids Pearson 's calls for reconciliation as he explores the challenges in resolving complications between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, it provides Atwood the ability to illustrate the need for multifaceted female characters in an attempt to rectify past

Gordon Bennet includes a representation of values, identity, history and culture into his work as he explores indigenous background through abstract art. Bennet has been influenced by his background as his mother is Aboriginal and this has carried on for generations, however his father was English. He had described his childhood as “overwhelmingly Euro-Australian, with no knowledge of my Aboriginal heritage,… My identity was shaped by the historical narratives of colonialism with all its romantic illusions and factual deletions” expressed by Gordon Bennet. (National Gallery of Victoria, 2015) Gordon Bennett’s art challenges stereotypes and “labelling of Aboriginal Australians. He works illustrates the suffered of Aborigines, using a rich visual

In conclusion, it is clear that racism has affected many people, like a contagious disease, following people where ever they go. Racism has been and still is a prolific evil in Australian society. It’s disgusting that people believe there is a different between them and treat each other differently only due to their culture and colour of skin. Literature and media both prove that racism still

Edward Mabo is renowned throughout Australian culture as a leader, a leader who fought against the xenophobic system, for his rights as a person and culture, and won. But his journey to fight for his rights had its difficulties. Opposing issues of discrimination, as well as forces who tried there hardest to silence Mabo. It was these issues and set backs that motivated Mabo to achieve his goal. It was the lack of action and care for his ‘people’ that drove Mabo to fight for his and his people’s freedom from cheap labour exploitation, racism and corrupted ownership of land. It was ultimately the success of Mabo’s case, which pushed through the change needed in Australia.

Keating’s universal values conveys the need to acknowledge past discriminations, encouraging hopeful beliefs of reconciliation as opposed to assigning guilt. In taking responsibility, he proposes ideas into transforming the attitudes of Australians into improving their national identity by becoming one with the Indigenous people. “If we improve the living conditions… If we raise the standards.... If we open one door others will follow.” Keating uses anaphora in emphasizing that by transforming society in bridging the gap of inequality, we will live in unity. He provides Australians the truths of their past and the sad reality of their contemporary society. Thus, the emphasis of “we” suggest that change will happen when people unit.. Keating has also effectively achieved this sense of urgency towards peace. “Imagine if non-Aboriginal Australians had served their country in peace and war… Imagine if we suffered the injustice and were blamed for it.’ The establishment of pathos and ethos creates an awareness of ethical mistreatment, instilling empathy if we position ourselves in these vulnerable situations. Its great rhetoric is credited for paving the way for 2007’s formal apology to Indigenous Australians thus contributing to recent development of Australia’s reconciliation, namely, the ‘Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples Recognition Bill 2012.’

The way that society sees you should not depend on the colour of your skin. Even today, in the 21st century, people in our society judge other human beings by their colour or race. One of the main racism issues is the discrimination towards our Indigenous people. National data from the Challenging Racism Project reveals that 27% of Aboriginal people over the age of 15 experience racism more than once in their life. Racism towards Indigenous Australians includes mostly verbal abuse such as name-calling and insulting language. Exclusion from workplaces and social events also plays a major part in the racial discrimination. Do we really want Australia to be seen as such a racist and prejudiced nation? What can we as individuals do to stop this racial hate from going on? All of this is happening because we stole the Aboriginal people’s land. If we had