Gallery: Q & A in Arnhem Land
Q & A's forum with Indigenous Australians should be on the ABC calendar every year.
- Published by David Knox
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- Filed under News
Last night’s Q & A broadcast from Arnhem Land reminds us of the power of television to bring important issues into our living room.
While other networks indulged in escort grannies, reality races and sport, ABC was discussion education, justice, welfare, living conditions, racism and more with an audience of largely Indigenous Australians.
The outdoor broadcast from the GARMA Festival included Noel Pearson, Ken Wyatt, Nova Peris, Djawa Yunipingu, Joe Morrison and Dhanggal Gurruwiwi, in an extended episode.
But it was the faces in the audience and their questions that made for compelling television. Pictures, after all, say a thousand words…
It lit up Twitter with plenty of accolades from viewers who were drawn this most-remote of Q & A broadcasts.
ABC should make this an annual part of the Q & A calendar.
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9 Responses
It was good to see the discussion about language preservation. Television has had an important role in language preservation for language groups and dialects. Some notable examples are New Zealand’s Maori TV and the Welsh channel S4C. The success of modern Welsh language revival in Britain can be largely attributed to S4C.
@TonyWilson – that’s your opinion, as mine is. Not sure what was biased or lacking in neutrality that you refer to in regards to the program being commented on.
daveinprogress.” I found myself thinking; yes, this is what progressive television is all about and what the core business of the ABC is”
Actually, the core business of the ABC is to be nuetral, unbiased, not to be “progressive”
Incredibly important Q&A and goes to the core of what the ABC is all about. I agree it should be an annual event – that sea of diverse faces, full of dignity and pride needs to be seen and heard by the rest of the nation on a regular basis. The fact that Nine actually broadcast a show in the same timeslot called My Granny – the Escort is the strongest endorsement of continued funding to the ABC.
@dwuuuu – there must be a spacetime wormhole near you and something you said back in 1996 has just popped up in the comments here.
Yes i found it a poignant experience; that still of the boy says it all. I found myself thinking; yes, this is what progressive television is all about and what the core business of the ABC is. That said, Insight and Jenny Brockie also visited the top end with an entire episode – last year? or 2012? Important viewing.
If you re read Dwuuu’s comment and the context to it, there definitely needs to be one again next year….”they have their channel”… Aren’t we all Australians?
Good point. NITV also does not broadcast Q & A.
No. They already have their own tv channel, no need to dedicate a special q & a every year.