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Brooke Boney comments attracts media scrutiny

Welcome to the storms that engulf brekkie TV, Brooke Boney.

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Few would have expected new Entertainment reporter Brooke Boney to make the first media impact for the new-look Today team, but that’s just what happened yesterday.

The former Triple j presenter, who describes herself as a proud Gamilaroi woman, is understood to be the first Indigenous presenter on breakfast television.

She weighed into the debate over moving the date of Australia Day, stressing her view was a personal one only.

“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,” she said.

“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.

“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.”

Yesterday the discussion attracted both media coverage and social media criticism. For Boney it was probably a first moment at the centre of the storms that engulf breakfast television.

While Today welcomed everybody’s views on Twitter Boney was forced to respond with, “please watch before you @ me. Love you guys ❤️

“My love for this country and for all of you is stronger than the hate in any comments section. My experience is what it is. No one can take that away from me. #proudaussie #proudgamilaroi”

The new-look Today show is trailing Sunrise nationally but winning in Sydney.

34 Responses

  2. They picked the wrong date, because, at the landing it wasn’t – ‘Australia’.
    On the 5 July 1900, ‘The Commonwealth Of Australia Constitution Act’ was passed, after a “bunch of Colonies’ voted that it should happen. Everything that happened before that was simply ‘building the ship before it was launched and named’. — “Australia” Day should be – 5 July, the actual and neutral day.

    1. Either that or January 01st as in 1901 that is when the Constitution of Australia first came into being from that agreement. Of course it wouldn’t happen on that date, though there is also March 29th as that is when the first national election was had in 1901.

      1. Plus in 1984: The Australian Citizenship Act became effective on 22 November 1984 and made significant changes, including that Australian law would no longer regard Australians as British subjects. Which is also when Advance Australia Fair became our National Anthem and also later in 1994 from Jan 31st onward new citizens have been required to take a pledge of commitment to Australia, instead of an oath to the Queen of Australia, so either of those dates fit as well.

          1. Yeah the 31st is the most complete date of us becoming us, we have our own national anthem by then and mention of the Queen is removed, so apart from a republic that’s it. Surprised they didn’t use it back in 1994 when they made Jan 26th the public holiday date (before that it was the closest Monday to the 26th from 1946 on).

      1. I still think July 5 as the actual true commemorative day. The actual ‘holiday’ can be a Friday or Monday anytime. Not to hot, not too cold. All frozen countries still have a national day but the lucky country gets a choice. The important thing is , not a divisive date, which Brooke is right to suggest. Who could pick on May 8 , when it is chosen for such a corny reason.

        1. Yeah it’s still a good date, I mean that’s why India have there’s on January 26th as it’s the date the Constitution of India came into effect (26 January 1950), after British Rule. Like I said ours came into effect an Jan 01st 1901: peo.gov.au/learning/fact-sheets/australian-constitution.html much like with India however for obvious reasons it won’t be used, so going back to the agreement in principal date isn’t that bad. I still prefer Jan 31st as that was as I say the last of the building of us (to date) and separating us from England and the Queen a bit more.

          Anyway, best make this the last one I comment on this, as it’s TV Blog after all and I don’t want to annoy David too much 😉

  3. ‘The tradition of having Australia Day as a national holiday on 26 January is a recent one. Not until 1935 did all the Australian states and territories use that name to mark that date. Not until 1994 did they begin to celebrate Australia Day consistently as a public holiday on that date.’….this is not an historical date or event….“Australia Day has not always been on the 26th of January,” Macquarie University Professor Bronwyn Carlson, an expert in indigenous studies, told news.com.au.
    “It has over the past 100 years been celebrated on various days in various months so it is not like a longstanding tradition.”
    She said someone made the decision to hold a national celebration on a day that marked the coming of the First Fleet and the dispossession and oppression of indigenous peoples.
    ..and it was not Capt Cook…he died 9 yrs earlier….
    In May 1787 the First Fleet, commanded by Captain Arthur Phillip.

      1. So many people jump on random posts ..all over the internet and take it as gospel..about anything…
        People need to take the time to search and check the real facts..then make an informed comment…

        1. For those who want to ague…don’t bother…I am as old as dirt…I have first hand knowledge…I have actually lived through all these date and name changes of the day.

          1. Same and I even remember when it was all very Sydneycentric and most of the other states didn’t give a toss about it.

  4. Oh dear, here we go again. The minority shouting down the Majority with the support of the Media.
    I support Australia Day. It won’t change whilst 73% of the country polls at not wanting the date change.
    I’m tired of the devisive politics of the left, constantly driving a wedge and making everything from eating meat, to our national day a protest.
    Brooke Boney a lefty from Triple J I’m not surprised! How about listening to the elders of this nation, still living on the land, quoted time and time again in the media, they don’t care for it being on the 26th January.
    Don’t be afraid to speak out in support of Australia Day. This how the left wedges is, silencing the majority with fear of persecution by keyboard warrior.
    We are a modern successful multi cultural society, the majority of us want to celebrate what’s great about Australia in our lifetimes. Stop dwelling on the past.

  5. Good for her. New respect for Nine reading this. I totally get where she’s coming from. I’ll never understand why people can’t acknowledge the reality that an awful time in Australia’s history began on that date. And I can’t believe people are truly so attached to that particular day that they fight tooth and nail to keep it, while disregarding and disrespecting our First Nation people. Sorry. I’ll get off my soapbox now. ?

  6. The date will change in the future when we have a more enlightened government. I was not happy with Daily Mails reporting of this. They called Brookes comments a rant but when Karl said very similar things a year ago, Daily Mail called it an impassioned plea. So it looks like women and especially colored women have a long way to go before The Daily Mail gives them equality.

  8. Well said Brooke.
    It’s about time this issues was resolved.
    We should go back to how it was 20 years ago, last Monday in Jan public holiday. Pretty simple really.

  9. Why must we visit this topic every year? why can’t the media just leave it alone? Australia Day is on January 26 and will be forever. If you want to spend the day reflecting on negative things go for it, but the majority of Australian’s including Aboriginal Australian’s choose to celebrate what’s good about our country, we choose to celebrate our achievements as a nation. No country except maybe New Zealand has a perfect past. While we can’t erase what has happened or change it, We must move forward from it. Celebrate that we live in a country that protects the vulnerable, Celebrate that although it’s not perfect we do have a public health system and can get health care when we need it with out having to pay thousands of dollars or walk for miles.

    Celebrate the fact that we live in a free society, that we have the freedom to be Gay, to wear whatever we want. To buy land or a…

    2. Sure we can celebrate all that. But why does it have to be Jan 26… There are 364 other days in the year. Look at the history, it’s mortifying as to what occured.

      Triple j have moved the hot 100 out of respect and I think others should follow suit.

      1. Because it is January 26 and always will be. Whatever day we make people will still find some way to protest. Just enjoy what we have here and celebrate that

        1. because even if you change the date , we will still celebrate Australia Day and then there will be complaints about celebrating that cause its invasion , also she goes on about her mother or sister being beaten and raped , they are having that done there on people , what has that got to do with Australia Day. ok its a difficult day for you to celebrate , but its a free democratic country and i will celebrate living in this great land .you can try and rewrite history but it happened . how many years must we keep saying sorry before it becomes meaning less word

    4. Well, a desperate federal government trying to distract from its long list of failings actually raised it but don’t let the facts get in the way of your argument! It’s not that hard to find one date all Australians can live with rather than forcing indigenous Australians to ‘get over it’ which you seem to suggest. What moron came up with this date for our national day in the first place? Call it Settlement Day or anything other than Australia Day, axe Queen’s Birthday and find a new date for our national holiday. Not that bloody hard

  10. Whilst I’ve said here previously that I’m not a huge fan of dual female hosting teams for brekkie TV (perhaps ironic given I’m a big Studio 10 fan) and I’m more a 7 and 10 viewer than Nine I have to say Georgie Gardener and Deb Knight are a better hosting team than Sam Armytage and Natalie Barr. Today seems to have a much more watchable feel and dynamic then before. Also the format having watched only briefly I’ll admit appears less tacky then Sunrise which is good. Tom Steinfort is not a bad newsreader either and helps add balance to the panel. May switch to Today on days Sam & Nat host.

  11. Nine have certainly picked one here.
    Its our fault that her “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”.
    So raping of little girls and beating women didn’t happen before white man arrived, ???

  12. Expressing harsh truths can be difficult as it risks alienating others. It’s possible to have own experiences and have others not understand because of misunderstandings. There had at least been a platform for public debate in social media and news media. For many, Australia Day has been both positive and negative. Changing the date has been contentious and divisive. One of the better resolutions I read in comments in news media was to have Australia Day on the last Friday of January. It would most years not be the 26th, though it would fall on that date on some occasions, yet would not be specifically linked to the 26th.

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