Beyond Twitter & Canberra, Some Reasons To Be Cheerful from Indigenous Australia

If one were to judge by Twitter, everything in Australia is currently shit. Endless angry and hurt tweets about injustice, power imbalance, sexual abuse, and gender discrimination.

There’s no doubt that there’s legitimacy to many concerns being expressed — especially by women of lived and very damaging experience. As someone who was in and near politics for nearly 20 years, I am among those who say: the culture sucks and make changes now.

But there’s equally no doubt that some of the current discourse is on the border of a “gendered McCarthyism”. While the cause may be worthy, we can at times see inaccurate generalisations about all men, dismissiveness of due process and personal responsibility, and the scoring of partisan points. One hopes that the over-reach of the few isn’t counterproductive to the vital goal of the many to improve the culture of politics and power including in favour of women.

And that dynamic combines at times with the blurring of lines among Canberra-oriented ‘Blue Ticks’ about what’s happening at Parliament: it can be hard to tell if some journalists are reporting on events, pursuing values-based journalism, or advocating for reform. All those things are valid, but mixing them all together in a political and emotional Ninja doesn't appear to be in the public interest.

With these thoughts banging around in my (limited) brain, I got lucky today. ‘Total Control’, the ABC series about a female Indigenous politician and her Canberra challenges, was filming in the alleyway near my office. I went down and introduced myself to Ms Deborah Mailman AM, the incomparable and award-winning Indigenous star of the series (which is being directed by Indigenous co-star, Wayne Blair, most recently of ‘Aftertaste’, also on the ABC).

She was between scenes and maybe bored, and I was perhaps the only available option. Besides her very public thespian talents, Ms Mailman, I can attest after our chat, is awesome: totally present, super smart, and very proud of her culture. It was an honour.

We chatted about Parra and its positive changes, my idiosyncratic office building (a converted Art Deco movie theatre filled with quirky tenants) and, mostly, about Indigenous success and strength.

The strong cohort of Indigenous people in the arts and production; the growth of Indigenous-owned business; the fact that there are equal employment levels for Indigenous and non-Indigenous people with a higher degree. I’d like to think the conversation in some ways marked advancement and attainment — often in the face of on-going racism in some pockets of our society.

While there are clearly remaining gaps on many measures, a glass half-full perspective — like I make out Ms Mailman has — could add to that list.

· 20% improvement in the last ten years (from 45% to 66%) in Year 12 attainment and record numbers of university graduates who are Indigenous.

· The success of some Aboriginal Land Councils in leveraging their assets to advance students and culture through self-funded and self-determined initiatives.

· The progress, as recognised by the NSW Deputy Ombudsman’s official review, being achieved by strategies like OCHRE in NSW which are based on community-based self-determination.

· An unprecedented revival of some Indigenous languages, which are vital to pride, which is vital to positive outlooks.

· The election of greater numbers of Indigenous people to both State and Federal Parliament — and, yes, the issue of Constitutional recognition remains frustratingly unresolved.

Or, at another level, during a recent trip to western NSW, I came across Thulii Ngemba Coffee Café in Brewarrina, where 60% of the population is Indigenous. It’s a new Indigenous owned and operated business that features healthy food options, where previously there were basically none, and uses local native tucker where it can. Three times the owner has apparently told the Coca-Cola rep to “hit the road, Jack”.

So, by pointing out some positives in another aspect of Australian society — one that’s historically our toughest — am I not hearing or denying the rage of some women in the current context? Am I seeking to distract or being naïve or artificially optimistic? Am I even deluding myself, including about other gaps that haven’t been closed among Indigenous people like health outcomes?

Is my point of view bound up in some white and male privilege and it’s apparent biases — conscious and otherwise — toward “merit”?

All questions for others to judge and answer, but I hope my intent is earnest, if my execution flawed. A Buddhists expression resonates with me: “The mark of a mature mind is its ability to hold two seemingly contradictory thoughts at once.”

I’m not sure of my own maturity levels — having recently posed for a silly selfie in the nude in a hotel spa after a long muddy bike ride — but I would like to think that, not only me, but many Australians, like the 90% who are not on Twitter, can both support real reform including hearing victims of abuse and also find reasons to be cheerful about our great country.