The construction of 'Indigenous identity': racism, the media and the Bolt case

The media 'are not only a powerful source of ideas about race, but they are also one place where these ideas are articulated, worked on, transformed and elaborated' (Hall, 1981: 37). The media are so influential that they construct for us, positions of knowledge and identification which allow us to identify with 'ideological truths' as though such 'truths' originated from ourselves (Hall ,1981: 30, 31). Using the case of Eatock v Bolt [2011] FCA 1103 (28 September 2011) as a backdrop, this paper analyses the impact of the media on the construction of racism and attempts to define Indigenous identity in Australia. The paper commences with a presentation of the facts and decision of the case. The Federal Court of Australia determined that the comments made by Andrew Bolt in reference to 'fair skinned' Aboriginals in the Herald Sun newspaper in 2009 were in breach of section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (Cth) as the comments were likely to humiliate, offend and intimidate 'fair-skinned' Indigenous Australians. The next section of the paper traces the comments made by some columnists and politicians following the decision of the Federal Court of Australia. Broadly these columnists and politicians argued that the decision amounted to censorship and a curtailment of free speech. It is argued that representations of 'Aboriginality' reflect the oppressive relationship between Indigenous Australians and the state/wider society. Historically, the classification of Aboriginal people was used by the Australian state to ideologically legitimize the incarceration of Aboriginal people and to separate Aboriginal children from their families. The media plays an important function in this process of classification. It is argued that aboriginal identity is linked to notions of self-concept and attachment rather than skin colour. Confining of the debate to solely freedom of speech ignores the immense power played by the media in the construction of racism in Australia. For Indigenous Australians, the Bolt case goes beyond arguments about freedom of speech and directly impacts upon the question of who has the right to define the identity of Australia's first peoples.