PROMINENT Aboriginal leader Warren Mundine this week labelled Black Lives Matter divisive and untruthful during a major address in Sydney.
The former ALP national president told the internationally-affiliated CPAC forum on Wednesday that Australia was not a racist nation.
“BLM has exaggerated Aboriginal deaths in custody and is helping to spread historical misinformation,” Mr Mundine said.
RIGHTS
“From the arrival of the First Fleet, indigenous people were recognised as subjects of the British Empire – and had enjoyed all the rights of settlers including voting rights,” he said.
“The status of indigenous people was never covered under the Flora & Fauna Act – that’s just not true and is a long-repeated myth.”
Mr Mundine, who has in recent years become an active member of the Liberal Party, told the gathering of 300 plus attendees that it was time to talk the truth.
“BLM talks about the 434 indigenous deaths in custody since 1991 as if there had been 434 killings by police and corrective services offices,” he said.
“This is just not true. The vast majority of these deaths were not caused by officers.
IGNORED
“Most died of natural causes or by their own hand or from accidents.”
He said BLM also ignored there were 951 homicides with indigenous victims between 1989 and 2012 representing 12 per cent of homicides in Australia.
“Where’s the outcry and marches for these black lives?” he asked.
“They ignore the fact that indigenous women are 35 times more likely to be hospitalised due to non-fatal family violence than any other Australian woman.
“Indigenous women are also five times more likely to be victims of homicide.”
He said indigenous children were seven times more likely to be victims of substantiated abuse or neglect.
“I’m frustrated that people aren’t telling the full truth about indigenous Australia and not acknowledging and dealing with the underlying problems of crime in their communities and within their families.”
Mr Mundine said the indigenous population gained voting rights in the 1800s at exactly the same time as non-indigenous Australians – which included all men aged over 21 years and also included women in South Australia.
He said there had been a pause to indigenous voting rights in Queensland and Western Australia, but these had been re-stored by the mid 1900s.
“It’s a myth that indigenous people didn’t get the right to vote until 1962,” he said.
“I can recall a polling booth being made available in my grand father’s community.
“Australia is not a racist country. The truth has always been that black lives matter, blue lives matter and all lives matter.”PC
Good on you Mundine for sharing more of the whole story. BLM does not work towards social harmony but disruption and victimhood which helps no one except those using it as a means to power. The history of black people in Australia is vastly different to the US. although there was much regrettable treatment historically, Aborigines are one of the most well funded and positively discriminated for groups in our country today.
Thank you Warren for putting the plight of women forward. Let’s tackle the real problems and improve the lives of women and children.
Margot, thanks for the female perspective.