The Deputy Leader of the Opposition ignored history with a “racist” and “inflammatory” January 26 address she made in Sydney, academics have said.
Speaking at the St Matthew’s Australia Day mass in Albury on Sunday, Member for Farrer Sussan Ley made an analogy between the arrival of the First Fleet and a mission to colonise Mars, such as has been proposed by tech billionaire Elon Musk.
The deputy leader made no reference to Indigenous peoples, or First Nations occupation of this continent, in her speech.
Human rights lawyer and academic Dr Hannah McGlade denounced the comments as a dangerous reversion to discredited ideology.
“This analogy between colonisation and Elon Musk’s interest in Mars is blatantly disrespectful and worse, because we all know that Australia was founded under the lie of terra nullius, meaning empty land,” the Noongar woman told NITV.
“This was a racist legal fiction that was applied to the lands of Indigenous peoples on the basis of the purported superiority of the white race.
“Shame on this politician and all of her ilk.”
Speaking to the assembled congregation, Ms Ley encouraged them to reject the messages of the protests happening around the country.
“The problem with those activists is they are so fixated with projecting themselves as survivors, that they leave no room for us to come together as citizens,” she said.
“And history shows us strong and successful societies are not made up of survivors, they are built and maintained by citizens.”
Dr McGlade condemned the comments, saying the inspiration behind them was clear.
“It’s very inflammatory, clearly racist, and drawing on Trump and his recent success.
“Trump is trying to dismantle diversity and inclusion, and his administration is attacking Indigenous people … even questioning their citizenship.
“This current Liberal opposition are not fit for government … they would be a disaster for Aboriginal people that we can’t afford.”
The prime minister also weighed in on Ley’s speech on Monday, calling it ‘very strange’.
“There aren’t people that we know of on Mars,” Albanese said.
“[It was] a very strange analogy to draw, and one that was disrespectful of the fact that there were people here.”
A spokesperson for Ley rejected the characterisation of her speech as referencing terra nullius.
“It is not surprising to see Anthony Albanese lacks the imagination to understand the significance of Australia’s founding story,” they said.
“He may see Australia’s founding as an invasion story, but the Deputy Leader does not.”
‘Don’t know much about history at all’
The speech has also invited a plea for a more honest telling of the country’s violent founding.
Ley declared in her address that colonists arriving to this continent were travelling to the edge of the “known world” and “did not arrive, as some would have you believe, as invaders.”
“Like so many other colonial stories it could have ended in disaster and collapse,” she said.
“The imperial impulse to extract wealth and rule through naked violence could have been the norm.”
The violent clashes between settlers and First Nations people known as the Frontier Wars saw hundreds of massacres committed across the continent, as colonists attempted to establish their prosperity through farming on traditional lands.
Many of the rallies across the country on Sunday called for a renewed focus on truth telling of such atrocities in the wake of the Voice to Parliament’s defeat.
Distinguished Professor Bronwyn Carlson, head of the Centre of Critical Indigenous Studies at Macquarie University, said some people go into a ‘sort of frenzy’ around this time of year and Ms Ley’s lack of knowledge about history evidences the greater need for education in the country.
“Politicians such as this need to question themselves about why they peddle hate to secure votes and those who vote for them need to ask themselves how does this low bar peddling of hate improve the world at all,” she said.
“Only those with limited critical thinking skills and who hold ingrained white supremacist views would highlight Elon Musk as some sort of exemplar to follow.
“It is particularly sad when women follow these kinds of men who have demonstrated their misogyny openly (along with their white supremacist ideology – we all saw the salute) – white women ought to be very wary of these men also and not let their ignorance and hate for Aboriginal people see them back these imbeciles.”
Historian Bruce Pascoe, the author of Dark Emu, said Ley’s comments were reflective of a broader ignorance of history.
“Australia doesn’t know a lot about its early history,” the Yuin Bunurong palawa man told NITV.
“You’d only hope that anyone in politics has had a good education, particularly in history.
“If they think that the First Fleet was like Elon Musk taking billionaires to Mars, then you don’t know much about history at all.”
Mr Pascoe encouraged people to engage more fully with the country’s darker history.
“A lot of Australians, once they know the history, will find it richer and deeper and more rewarding … everyone will benefit from this.”
However Ms Ley’s spokesperson rejected those calls, encouraging people to be “proud”.
“What was evident this weekend is the rising support for Australia Day is clear – it is a day which brings us together and we should be proud of our history.”
That view was rejected by another political heavyweight: former Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney, who dismissed Ley’s comments in a quick message.
“Simple,” the Wiradjuri woman said.
“You can’t rewrite history.”