Within a week of starting her shiny new job on TV, Brooke Boney was already making waves.
On January 14, she walked out onto the set of Channel 9’s Today show as their brand new Entertainment Reporter.
On her third day, talk turned to Australia Day which was just around the corner, and Brooke spoke her truth.
Brooke was a guest on No Filter. Post continues after podcast.
“I can’t separate the 26th of January from the fact that my brothers are more likely to go to jail than they are to go to school.
“Or that my little sisters or my mum are more likely to be beaten and raped than anyone else’s sisters or mum and that started from that day.
“For me it’s a difficult day and I don’t want to celebrate it,” she told the panel.
“Any other day of the year I’ll tie an Australia flag around my neck and I’ll run through the streets with anyone else.”
Boney's career had previously been mostly with the Triple J, ABC and SBS audiences - spaces where the view she expressed are accepted and well-entrenched.
It's probably why she was so taken aback by the vicious response she got from a much wider commercial audience.
"It was a bloody big one," she told SBS's Insight episode celebrating NAIDOC week.
"I wasn't expecting it to be as big or as severe as what it was. I definitely knew there was a big part of our country who hadn't heard different perspectives on big questions about our national identity before," she said.
"I didn't understand how new the concept would be to so many people."
Dr Vinka Barunga also spoke on the Deadly Future episode on SBS Insight. Post continues after video.
"There were people who were saying really awful things about me, about my family, like awful threats, and it's really hard when people say mean things. I do care when people say mean things about me... but it hurts more when people say things about your brothers and sisters, or your mum, or your family," Boney admitted.
The 31-year-old went on to say that there was also an overwhelming amount of support that came from her Today show speech.
"It's the most amazing thing because you realise that you've said something that's hit a nerve for someone who hasn't thought about it before and it changes their mind," she said.
Boney also added that the whole reason she went into journalism was to help Indigenous people have more of a voice, and her Australia Day speech did exactly that.
"When you can see it, you can be it," Boney told Insight.
While speaking to Mamamia's No Filter podcast in April, Boney also reflected on the Australia Day incident.
“I genuinely believe the things that I say, and I think that that’s why it makes it easy to say them. It’s difficult to sometimes hear the pushback. But I would say that the thing that I have in common with the people who do push back, or who do say nasty things, is that their love for this country is as deep as mine. And we just have different ways of expressing it."
"Like I’ve said before, this is the best country in the world, but we can be better."
Top Comments
Why are the far right so filled with such intense anger and hate? The same happened with Yassmin - so much for 'free speech'!! If you disagree with her, as you are well entitled to do, fine. But to send someone DEATH THREATS? Just for speaking HER truth? Why do people think they have the right to do that? The far right are always against any free speech, unless they agree with what is being said. Attempting silence people by death threats and threatening rape is not exactly 'free speech', is it? It's fascist dictatorship.
Antifa bashing reporters and bystanders in Portland, BLM supporters shooting Police dead, Bernie bros shooting at Republicans playing baseball, Leftie professors smashing people’s faces with bike locks or tens of millions imprisioned, starved or murdered in socialist workers paradises.
Why can’t the right behave like the pure and peaceful left???
"Antifa bashing reporters and bystanders"
A supporter of Fraser Anning bashed a reporter here in Australia during the election campaign in May.
"BLM supporters shooting Police dead"
Yes because white shooters in America have never shot at police.
"Bernie bros shooting at Republicans playing baseball"
It had nothing to do with Sanders. And you forget that there was a shooting of a leftist politician in the UK by a conservative supporter.
"Leftie professors smashing people’s faces with bike locks or tens of millions imprisioned, starved or murdered in socialist workers paradises."
Lol really? No evidence of these, and conveniently omitting that the far right do these things.
It's strange how the far right are so obsessed with America that an Australian automatically looks to the yanks for proof of anything. We've never been so obsessed with the yanks before. You can't find any Australian examples? As I proved above, your 'examples' are null and void, not just because they are yank examples on a topic that is Australian, but because for every single one of them, examples of far right violence can be found. But also because I was talking about verbal violence, death threats, rape threats etc. You had no real answer, because you know I am correct. The far right are extremely verbally violent and hateful and want to suppress free speech and hound those who don't agree with them out of the country. You have no argument against that, as we can see. Because as I said, you know I'm right in what I'm saying.
Let's not pretend either side are innocent parties in the free speech morality argument here.
In the online world and social media, sadly, death threats are commonplace.
Our team leader for an online game (this is a game remember) received death threats and had his name and address revealed after leaving the team (it was reported, noted and recorded by the company - they got perma-banned).
Death threats seem to be more an overall sign of the times than a sign of the politics imo
It wouldn't be a hardship to change the present date of Australia Day.
It doesn't have to be the 26th.
Our country - the one we all share, didn't start on the 26th January.
That's just the day that was "acceptable & proper " to a group of "old-school" & racist bureaucrats who never imagined that our indigenous people would ever be counted as people let alone "Australians".
NOW do you see why it has to be changed ?
My suggestion is that it's held on the Monday of that weekend - that way people still get their 3-day holiday.
It wouldn’t be a hardship to leave it alone either and to stop attacking all aspects of our culture and traditions, culture and traditions the vast majority of us are just fine with.
What date wouldn't represent all the things that happened?
What culture and tradition? The ones of our English heritage? News flash, we live in a multicultural society and our day of celebration should reflect that. If the day is moved, its really no skin off your nose.
It’s frankly bizarre that you see a massacre as an aspect of Australian culture and tradition. And very disturbing that you’re ‘fine with it’.