According to anecdotal evidence conveyed by Ryan 'Fitzy' Fitzgerald this week on The Project, Pauline Hanson arrived at Uluru on Wednesday, climbed up to 'chicken rock' (where the chains begin for people who embark upon the full ascent), slid back down on her backside and then, several hours later, met with some Anangu elders to 'get permission' to climb Uluru.
It was an elaborate media stunt by Hanson, geared around showing just how little respect she has for the local traditional owners and their ruling to close the climb in October while she concurrently pretends to respect traditional owners by posing for photos with them and expressing 'concern' with regards to impacts on regional tourism should the climb close. Why do I say this? For the simple reason that for months she has been exhibiting this disrespect in the media while she stirs up the rabid hordes who hang around her social media channels.
This entire disrespectful farce was but one illustration of how this week has gone when it comes to showing respect for Indigenous rights and views.
It's been a big week. On Monday, there was an episode of ABC's QandA on Constitutional Reform for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and the Voice to Parliament. It could have been quite an interesting discussion.
Instead, key debates were truncated for the purposes of television, audience questions went unanswered at times, and the only guest opposed to constitutional reform for recognition and a voice was Jacinta Price. I'm not saying Price should not have been a part of the conversation, but as she is a conservative tending alt-right at times, Price was incapable of adequately representing the views of a much larger group of Indigenous dissenters — the sovereignty activists.
It's ironic really. Had it not been for sovereignty activist voices eventually breaking through the cacophony of ill-informed white men and highlighting Indigenous dissent to the Recognise campaign as well as the lack of community consultation, combined with some members of the Expert Panel highlighting just how far the government had taken the discussion off course, community consultations may not have even taken place leading eventually to the summit at Uluru.
Both Price and Clayton Simpson were correct in highlighting that there were community members who walked out of that gathering, but when it came to QandA properly discussing why, the audience was left wanting.
"How on earth can a government who cannot value the cultural