Keynote Address by Dot West AM, World Indigenous Television Broadcasters Network
Delivered on the lands of the Anangu of the Mutitjulu Community, Sails in the Desert, Yulara, Uluru Kata-Tjuta, Northern Territory
Tuesday 13 December 2022
Firstly, I would like to pay my respects to the Anangu on whose unceded sovereign lands we meet on today. I would also like to acknowledge their Elders, both past and present and would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge all First Nations people here today – both our own people and the global guests from the World Indigenous Television Broadcasters Network.
This is the first time the World Indigenous Television Network has been able to reconvene in person since the last gathering in November 2012 on Gadigal Country in Sydney – 10 years ago TV and they are here, again with us today, ten years on.
For the year of the world Indigenous peoples in 1993 I was asked to deliver a Boyer Lecture for the ABC. Let me share with you how I began that lecture to provide some understanding as to why our First Nations media industry matters.
WE SAT IN THE RIVER BED
ME MATES AND I,
WE HEARD WHAT YOU SAID
ABOUT OUR PEOPLE, AND OH WHAT LIES
YOU SPREAD YOUR WORD
AND IMAGES TOO
AROUND THE WORLD
FOR ALL TO VIEW
BUT ONE THING YOU FORGOT
WAS THE TRUTH OF THE MATTER
THE FORGOTTEN LOT
IN A LAND OF CHATTER
YOU TOLD OF OUR FIGHTING
OUR DRUNK AND ROAMING WAYS
ALL THE WHITE SIGHTINGS
WHICH ONLY, YOUR EYES CAN PORTRAY
YOU DIDN’T KNOW US
OR EVEN UNDERSTAND
WHEN YOU TOOK A GUESS
AND REPORTED, ABOUT THE ORIGINAL INHABITANTS, OF THIS LAND
SO BACK IN THAT RIVERBED
WE PLOTTED AND PLANNED
FOR OUR VOICE TO BE HEARD
IN THIS RACIST LAND
WE’RE HERE NOW
WITH OUR OWN SOUND WAVES
TO TELL OF HOW
WE BECAME YOUR SLAVES
THE STORIES ARE RICH
AND CULTURES STRONG
WE WILL TEACH
OF THE RIGHT AND THE WRONG
SO WATCH YOUR VOICE
YOUNG WHITE ONE
WE NOW HAVE A CHOICE
TO CORRECT YOUR TONGUE
That little ditty was inspired by Mr Macumber one of the founders of CAAMA in Alice Springs, who in 1985 were the first Indigenous radio station licenced. Around the same time Warlpiri Media was formed and started their own pirate TV service, soon to be followed by other remote communities. We saw the power of media and we wanted to tell our stories, our way. We were sick of hearing and seeing others talk about us. We wanted to be seen and heard.
Against the odds we continue to build our First Nations media industry. We now have 35 licenced radio stations with 230 broadcast sites around the country with the capacity to reach 48% of our people. We have the Koori Mail, our national newspaper, along with a strong online presence in platforms such as IndigenousX, the National Indigenous Times, Indigitube, along with published content from all our organisations daily. We have a number of our radio stations with their own mobile app where you can hear them anywhere, anytime. We have a satellite delivered narrowcast TV service in ICTV where our remote broadcast sector share their content. We have production companies producing world class and award-winning content. We also have three local narrowcast TV services with ICTV in Alice Springs, Larrakia TV in Darwin and Goolarri TV in Broome. And we’ve got our national television service, NITV. All of this is ours as First Nations people and everyone of you have played a role in carving out our place in the Australian media landscape – so be proud of all we’ve all achieved.
And isn’t it magical to be back on Anangu Country 10 years on from where we first launched NITV free to air in 2012 on SBS. When I came here for that celebration 10 years’ ago I was newly appointed to the SBS Board and it was such a wonderful moment in time, to know that our National Indigenous Television service was going to be truly national. You see, from 2007 up until 2012 NITV went out as a narrowcaster on the Aurora satellite along with Foxtel and Austar. It wasn’t ideal, our people expected that our service could reach them and all Australians in their homes on their standard televisions, no matter where they lived, but that wasn’t the case.
But let’s not underestimate what we had achieved up until 2012 – we had got our television station started – with a budget – albeit a very, very, tiny, weeny budget in comparison to others. The hard yards of getting to originally launch the station in 2007 could not have been made possible without our amazing trailblazer, Rachel Perkins along with Sally Riley and many others in the industry, including newcomer to media at the time, Pat Turner. A big shout out to all of you who helped to pave the way for our National Television Service. But there’s one person I would particularly like to point out – she started with NITV in 2007 and is still with us as the Executive of Indigenous Content across the whole SBS suit. She is the passionate, the one and only, Tanya Denning….
In 2012, Our TV station was given a lifeline by SBS and for the last 10 years not only our people, but all Australians, have had the privilege of immersing themselves in our First Nations world through our news, our stories, our cultures and our lives. The last 10 years hasn’t been a smooth ride – we had bumps, turns and potholes to overcome. When NITV, and I suppose myself as a Board member, got to SBS in 2012 we struggled to find our place in Australia’s multicultural broadcaster. I walked into my first Board meeting in Melbourne with holes in my shoes, after being out here on Anangu country where they simply melt at the soles. The crew at NITV were relegated to the back of the bottom floor, and hey, perhaps at the time it was the right fit – it kept the crew together and with that togetherness of course came strength.
NITV in those early days of SBS were finding their feet, navigating themselves within the organisation, which quite frankly, at the time, had very little power in this corporation – it was an outsider, a newcomer to the block. But with the persistence, dedication, and continued drive of the team, led by Tanya and the growing willingness of the corporation to accommodate our needs – NITV eventually found their place. A place where we no longer sat on the periphery of this organisation, but sit at its heart – in both the cultural and operational fabric of the organisation and also physically – where staff now filter throughout the organisation whilst having their main office space right next to the Managing Director, James Taylor, who has made some amazing changes in SBS, changes where the corporation has realised that NITV is a representation of the oldest living culture in the world and what a tremendous honour and gift this is. I know, sounds simple enough, but it’s not, especially when you consider that we have so many in this nation who haven’t opened their eyes and hearts to us as a people, who haven’t realised that they are living on the lands of a people that have the oldest continuous living culture in the world.
I’m really saddened to be leaving SBS Board at this time – things are only just cranking up. We have an Elevate RAP which will connect the oldest living culture in the world with our country’s newest arrivals, and everyone in between. We have a National Indigenous Television service that’s just going from strength to strength in the content we create and the business we run. You only needed to see the magnificent work on display this week, and particularly yesterday by the team to bring you this magnificent celebration of NITV’s 10th year as a free-to-air broadcaster. That concert yesterday was simply magic – I cried, I laughed, I sang, and hey, I even danced. It was such a wonderful way to end my 10 years with SBS and NITV – with regret. I say with regret because there were other things I really wanted to achieve whilst in the position.
I certainly wanted to help increase NITV’s budget – a budget from government that has remained the same for the last 10 years, apart from CPI. I also wanted to see stronger industry partnerships which could provide support to increase our First Nations content. I wanted to help NITV realise that they too could broadcast in HD. I wanted to ensure that SBS’s Indigenous Content Strategy is owned by everyone and that, just like ABC, we too could have a safe portal for our young fellas to access our kids content with ease. I also wanted to change the SBS Act and Charter to ensure that no matter who comes in to govern this corporation in the future – NITV will remain at the heart of SBS – pulsing strongly.
First Nations broadcasting and media services play a crucial role in keeping our people informed on all matters, on essential information, in a way that connects and communicates with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander audiences – this cannot be underestimated. Our stories, our way, told by our mob, available to all Australians, is what we continually chase and strive for.
Our media has a strong and proud history. Our Elders and leaders fought hard to establish First Nations media organisations to ensure that our cultures, languages, lore and stories were represented our way. And we all continue this fight, every day, and with every breath we take.
I’d like to invite our partners, you, our allies to fight alongside us, with every breath you take – so we are never, ever, the forgotten lot in a land of chatter – ever again.
For a PDF version of this address, click here.