Advancing Fair Australia, or The Other National Anthem

It’s weird for me to be watching the Olympics in Australia. That regular old pride I feel during the Games, I realized, is intensified this time. The reasons for this are perhaps obvious. Suddenly, the U.S. isn’t always on. The post-match/race/game interviews aren’t with Americans. When an American wins, Channel 7 isn’t very interested in sticking around for the medal ceremony and, thus, the Star-Spangled Banner.

Ah, the national anthem.

You know when you’re doing something and a familiar song comes on and you either a) stop what you’re doing and sing along to it or lip sync as the case may be or b) acknowledge silently to yourself that there is indeed a familiarity with the song and you just continue doing whatever it was you were doing?

Yesterday, I experienced B. The television was tuned to the Olympics, but, because either field hockey or handball or rhythmic gymnastics were on, I wasn’t paying attention. The now-familiar “Advance Australia Fair,” the national anthem of Australia, began to play in honor of the latest gold medalist medallist.

It’s a familiar tune, of course, not because of the Olympics, but because I’ve been here a while now and I’ve heard it enough. When I first heard it, months ago when I first got here, I believed fully that it would never seep in. Such subtle changes in notes and what not. How odd it was, I thought, and, (gasp!) new! And, of course, I would never — could never — feel as comfortable with it as I do the Star-Spangled Banner, the words of which I must say I still tend to mangle every once in a while when I’m partaking in the aforementioned A. (That o’er always throws me off. Is it pronounced “oar” or as it looks “o-er”? One syllable or two?)

Channel 7 Calls It ‘Yum-Cha’

The other day, I wrote about a show that Channel 7 is broadcasting each day before its Olympic coverage starts. Turns out, I’m not the only one frustrated by it.

I found out that it is called Yum Cha. Yum Cha, for those who don’t know, is a Chinese custom of “eating small servings of different foods while sipping Chinese tea in Cantonese-speaking areas of Southern China.” (Thanks, trusty Wikipedia).

I also found out the name of the woman who I despise so much. It is Sonia Kruger and she was in the movie Strictly Ballroom and hosts the Australian version of “Dancing With the Stars.” This non-athlete has been sent to join a panel of other unfortunate Australian personalities that hop from reality show to reality show performing hosting duties, including one of the Daddo brothers, of which I hear there are a few. There is also a guy who put on traditional Chinese dress, including makeup, and then put his hands on the side of his head and pulled the skin back. Yes he did.

But there is much more Channel 7 should be embarrassed about other than this show. I’m thinking about all the equestrian and rowing and field hockey (field hockey!) I’ve had to watch, so now I’m mad. The funny thing is that Channel 7 is happy with its ratings. What the hell else is there to watch? Well, for one, the Olympic coverage on SBS. It’s far superior. I’m actually watching volleyball that is not taking place on a fake beach.

Aussie Olympic B’Casters Forget Manners at Home

If you’re a broadcaster lucky enough to be sent by your news station to cover the Olympics in person, you probably don’t want to come off sounding like an ignoramus. The athletes aren’t the only ones representing their countries.

This morning, four Aussies were sitting behind a desk in Beijing doing some morning-session review before handing it over to the next group.

I’m not sure of the blond one’s name, because Channel 7 doesn’t think regularly flashing them on the screen is beneficial. Nevertheless, I tuned in just in time for the broadcaster to hold up a sheet of paper, shush her colleagues and say, “Can you say [insert two names I didn't catch formed by a complex combination of vowels and consonants that can be difficult for a native English speaker to say.]“

They all shared a commiserating chuckle, decrying the difficulty of reporting the Olympics back to their compatriots here in Australia. Oh, the poor blond who has to (no!) pronounce such names. The woman next to her suggested that her teammates probably refer to her by this nickname or that.

Then, the unknown blond said something to the effect of, “I seem to have become the weightlifting expert. Just because yesterday I said ’45 kilo class.’ By the way, I’ve never seen a person weighing 45 kilos lift weights let alone food.

“Anyway,” the bumbler continued, “I have to tell you. Because I’m the weightlifting expert, I’m going to have to say things like ‘clean and jerk’ and ‘snatch.’ So I don’t want to hear anything out of any of you.”

Blond lady, you said another word for vagina. Snigger, snigger. How old are these people? Unfortunately she won’t be embarrassed and no one will call her on her shit, because she’s blond and hot. Neither of those, though, excuse her from being a broadcaster with a modicum of respect for others besides herself, as well as cultural awareness.

It’s a big ask, I know.

Australian, Want an iPhone? Too Damn Bad

Sigh. Australia, Australia, Australia.

I’ve almost gotten over the insane broadband limits, the surpassing of which slows down my connection. I’ve not quite as much gotten over the impossible-to-understand cell mobile phone schemes: “A $49 cap gets you $450 worth of calls!!!!!” How the hell much does each call cost?! And forget the unlimited nights and weekends. Yes, still working on getting over those things.

Then there is the iPhone. Okay, fine. I get that it started in the U.S. and so of course the U.S. gets it first. Thousands make it down under and get, what they call, jailbroken so they can be used on carriers here. But finally — FINALLY — Australian iPhone availability is announced and I allow myself to get excited. One day, I will have one even if the point of one (its data plan) will cost as much as two weeks’ worth of rent (I’m guessing) per month. But will I?

This today from MacNN:

Telstra Vodaphone and Optus will get less than 80,000 iPhones to sell between them and are expecting to post sold out signs “within minutes of the new phones going on sale,” according to a new report. “There is not enough to go round and each carrier could have less than 25,000 units for sale on July 11th,” one carrier told Smarthouse.

Another Vodaphone executive, who preferred to be anonymous, said that it “will have next to nothing in allocation” and that what limited inventory it will have “will be snapped up within minutes.”

Aussie Ad Goodness: Headed to Those Little Islands in the Pacific

Not Hawaii. Tomorrow, we’re hopping on a plane for New Zealand. Auckland specifically. I know a little bit about the place, though not much. Hopefully we’ll be able to learn a little more about it besides the fact that The Lord of the Rings was filmed there.

So in honor of the trip for which I haven’t packed yet, I’d like to share this Commonwealth Bank commercial that features an American ad team. It’s a great series.

Aussie Ad Goodness: Having Problems Performing?

It took a while to see just where this little, rather disturbing, ad was going. But once it got there, well, it was just perfectly executed. Unfortunately, though, the same can’t be said for the, as they say, bloke.

Missing Apple Mania

We all know the new iPhone will be out next month. (If we all don’t know then we all should perhaps pull our heads out of our asses and start paying closer attention.) That’s big enough news in itself, especially here in Australia, the land where things come to people later in life.

But next week, a full three weeks before the iPhone officially hits these here shores, the Apple Store in Sydney is scheduled to open. And I won’t be anywhere near it. The store opens June 19 at 5:00 p.m. Two hours later, the girl and I will be on a plane in a different state headed to another country.

It’s a hushed affair, of course, but the people are saying it’s three stories, has glass everywhere, and contains a top-secret design feature that eats into the square footage and so we can’t know how big the floors actually are.

And about that phone. I won’t be getting one, because there’s really no point. They’re expensive. And I don’t really call people here. Next year, though! Next year, I say. I’m hoping that by then, the price cut that Americans are going to enjoy, will actually be a reality here. I can’t imagine a $299 16GB iPhone. But I hear Optus and Vodafone will be announcing the price closer to the release date. Can’t wait for that news. Based on nothing in particular, I predict $399 for an 8GB model.

The iPhone Light And How to Use ‘SMS’ Incorrectly

Well it’s about damn time. Australia is gonna get the iPhone. Optus is the latest company to announce that it has signed a contract with the company to sell its wonderful phone down here. Last week, Vodafone said it will also carry it. Well, well, well.

I bet it will cost $1,500. They sell less impressive phones for $1,000 so my belief is not totally unfounded. For that reason, I won’t have one anytime soon. I don’t have many people to call anyway, so I’m not so broken up about that, but to know it’s here if I do want to go out suddenly and take the plunge makes me feel swell.

I wouldn’t be able to understand the plans anyway. I still haven’t figured out really how they work. Meredith has explained it to me, but she has done so in vain because I just don’t get the use of the word “cap.” “Pay this cap and get this much money worth of calls.” Well how much hell do the calls cost? Just tell me how many minutes I get and how much it costs. Period. Nor is there waiting till 9 o’clock to make that cell phone call. Those types of things aren’t included here.

And finally, SMS. Many, many, many Australians use the term “SMS” when they mean texting. SMS (short messaging service) is a text message. It’s not the act of sending the message. “SMS your answer to….”; “SMS me.” Seriously. It grates on my nerves, and I’ve never understood it. Now, of course, it goes over my head and I rarely notice it. But there are those times when it’s a pretty egregious use and I just stop and ponder the implications.

I understand that the word “text” isn’t necessarily a good evolution of a word, either. However, compare “text me” to “short message service me.” Seems to be a no-brainer. To be fair, not all Australians do this. My girlfriend, for one, says “text.” But I pretty much can’t speak for anyone else.

Aussie Ad Goodness: Ever Want to Know What a Koala Does After a Shower?

It’s a scary affair. I find it hard to take my eyes off of it when I see it, though.

A Historical Light Shines on Aboriginals

updated Prime Minister Kevin Rudd apologized to the Aboriginal people on behalf of the government of Australia today. He apologized for the actions of previous governments, which sanctioned the removal of mixed-race (half-caste here) Aborginal children from their families.

Hundreds of people, Aboriginal and not, gathered outside of Parliament House in Canberra, Australia’s capital, to watch the speech, the contents of which come as promised by Rudd during his campaign last fall.

The people gather at Federation Square in Canberra to witness the historical moment. Photo: Andrew de la Rue for The Age

I’m not Australian. Really, I’m not. But to have been here today and watched the speech was amazing. I feel lucky that I was able to see the faces of the people who the apology touches. I know what it’s like to clutch a parent’s leg, screaming to not be taken away. The fear was overwhelming. But my screaming worked that day when I was very young, and I was spared for the moment. However, I eventually made it into a foster home, but it wasn’t for very long, and I wasn’t mistreated by the old white couple. I come from a country with its own history of disgusting treatment toward non-whites. And I only hope the the U.S. could see, and understand, what went on here today.

The Speech
One of the best parts of the speech, I thought, was the fact that Rudd highlighted something that people tend to overlook, or simply don’t realize, and that is the main purpose of the forced removal of Aboriginals from their families was to eradicate them. Until today, I hadn’t heard any news outlets discussing that aspect, but since the speech, I’ve heard it discussed three times.

He also called for a “war cabinet” to be headed by him and Opposition Leader, and Howard’s replacement, Brendan Nelson, which would work to improve the life conditions of Aboriginals.

Rudd said a lot and it’s hard to pick out the best parts, so below is the official apology (taken from one of the many papers reprinting the text):

Today we honour the Indigenous peoples of this land, the oldest continuing cultures in human history.

We reflect on their past mistreatment.

We reflect in particular on the mistreatment of those who were stolen generations – this blemished chapter in our nation’s history.

The time has now come for the nation to turn a new page in Australia’s history by righting the wrongs of the past and so moving forward with confidence to the future.

We apologise for the laws and policies of successive Parliaments and governments that have inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss on these our fellow Australians.

We apologise especially for the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families, their communities and their country.

For the pain, suffering and hurt of these stolen generations, their descendants and for their families left behind, we say sorry.

To the mothers and the fathers, the brothers and the sisters, for the breaking up of families and communities, we say sorry.

And for the indignity and degradation thus inflicted on a proud people and a proud culture, we say sorry.

We the Parliament of Australia respectfully request that this apology be received in the spirit in which it is offered as part of the healing of the nation.

For the future we take heart; resolving that this new page in the history of our great continent can now be written.

We today take this first step by acknowledging the past and laying claim to a future that embraces all Australians.

A future where this Parliament resolves that the injustices of the past must never, never happen again.

A future where we harness the determination of all Australians, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, to close the gap that lies between us in life expectancy, educational achievement and economic opportunity.

A future where we embrace the possibility of new solutions to enduring problems where old approaches have failed.

A future based on mutual respect, mutual resolve and mutual responsibility.

A future where all Australians, whatever their origins, are truly equal partners, with equal opportunities and with an equal stake in shaping the next chapter in the history of this great country, Australia.

Two generations watching the big screen. Photo: Andrew de la Rue for The Age

The Opposition Response
After the standing ovation given Rudd, and Rudd and Co.’s ovation of the 100 Aboriginal elders gathered in the gallery to hear the speech, Brendan Nelson stood up and gave a speech that many thought gutted the heart from what they had just heard. Meredith, still sleeping before her evening shift, I’m sure heard some of my scoffs.

Whereas Rudd’s apology was offered without qualification, Nelson’s certainly was. He took this opportunity, a very public stage, to return people’s attention to gang rapes, welfare use, alcohol abuse, and other social injustices that exist in Indigenous communities. I couldn’t help notice the irony of his comments. That perhaps the way the government has gone about addressing such issues is futile, including the intervention in the Northern Territory last year.

Whereas Rudd called attention to the attempted eradication of an entire race of people, Nelson took the spotlight and, veiled in his own side’s apology, offered justification for the actions of this country’s government. A reporter for the Sydney Morning Herald summed up Nelson’s words pretty accurately: “Dr Nelson spent the first half of his speech apologising for the removal of Aboriginal children, and the second half implicitly suggesting that there should be more of it today.”

As Nelson put it himself:

“There is no compensation fund, nor should there be. How can any sum of money replace a life deprived of knowing your family? Separation was then, and remains today, a painful but necessary part of public policy in the protection of children. Our restitution for this lies in our determination to address today’s injustices, learning from what was done and healing those who suffered.”

The backlash of Nelson’s speech began immediately, as people turned their backs on the screen, going so far as to even unplug the live news feed.

Giving Nelson the back. And a little N.Y. Yankee action in the front. Photo: Justin McManus for The Age

But there were those who did more than turn their backs; the Sydney Morning Herald reported that some of the Liberal (the Bush fans here) members of Parliament didn’t even stay for the speech.

“So the Prime Minister reads a speech, apparently some people stand up and sit down and then a miracle happens over night, there’ll be no petrol sniffing … and girls can sleep safely in the family bed at night,” said Liberal MP Wilson Tuckey. Real nice.

And that’s just the problem. Nelson brought all that back to the front with his remarks, despite his “best intentions,” seemingly unable to let go of the sentiment that made this apology so late in coming: “Our generation does not own these actions, nor should it feel guilt for what was done in many, but certainly not all cases, with the best intentions.”

Bringing Them Home
The apology comes eleven years after the publishing of Bringing Them Home, which details the injustices against Aboriginals. The report, published during former Prime Minister John Howard’s rule, asks for a couple of things: reparations and an apology for the government’s actions which were carried out with the express intent of eradicating Aboriginals.

The report includes a 1927 quote from Dr. Cecil Cooke:

Generally by the fifth and invariably by the sixth generation, all native characteristics of the Australian aborigine are eradicated. The problem of our half-castes will quickly be eliminated by the complete disappearance of the black race, and the swift submergence of their progeny in the white … The Australian native is the most easily assimilated race on earth, physically and mentally (quoted by Markus 1990 on page 93).

Then there’s this gem from a Professor Stirling from the University of Adelaide:

The more of those half-caste children you can take away from their parents and place under the care of the State the better … When they are a couple of years of age they do not require so much attention and they are young enough to be attractive.

I am quite aware that you are depriving the mothers of their children, and the mothers are very fond of their children; but I think it must be the rising generation who have to be considered. They are the people who are going to live on (quoted by Mattingley and Hampton 1992 on page 160).

Two Sides
Ultimately, Rudd’s words are what everyone is speaking of in the hours following his speech. They say it’s a step in the right direction.

The word “sorry” won’t fill the holes left by what happened during most of the 20th century. It won’t answer the question “Who Am I?” which the descendants of the Stolen Generations have. But as far as the future goes, it’s a walk in the light.

There are a lot of people who refuse to see this small bit of it, who hit “comment on this article” and espouse uneducated, right-wing, nonsense based on nothing they know. Hopefully today’s historic act and the positivity surrounding it can overshadow the negative. Hopefully everyone can step up, get over their ignorance, and move forward without forgetting.

Click around:

The day we said ‘sorry’ - a pretty amazing multimedia presentation, including the speech (SMH)
Why we should say sorry – audio slide show in their own words (SMH)
Mixed reactions by Aboriginal elders
ABC coverage
Kevin Rudd’s entire speech – audio (ABC.net)
Brendan Nelson’s speech - audio (ABC.net) and text
History of the Stolen Generations – multimedia slide show

And for a little fun, have a gander at the video of Midnight Oil singing “The Time Has Come” at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Its lead singer, Peter Garrett, is now the federal Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts. He writes, too, yesterday penning an editorial about today’s event and what it means.