Off the wire
• 1st LD: Syrian army accuses Israel of targeting key airbase in Damascus, warning of consequences  • Late goals assure Madrid's quarter-final place, new unbeaten record  • 1st LD Writethru: S. Korea's central bank freezes interest rates at 1.25 pct  • NBA Commissioner Silver backs Yao to become CBA boss  • Serbian champion Red Star defeats Turkish side Fenebahce in Euroleague  • Urgent: S. Korea's central bank freezes interest rates at 1.25 pct  • Tokyo shares open higher in early trading  • Dollar changes hands in upper 114 yen zone in early Tokyo trading  • Urgent: Syrian army accuses Israel of targeting key airbase in Damascus  • Xinhua world news summary at 0030 GMT, Jan. 13  
You are here: 　 Home

"Offensive" Australia Day ad slammed for depicting controversial European settlement

Xinhua, January 13, 2017 Adjust font size:

A television advertisement depicting the European invasion of Australia has been labelled "highly offensive" by members of the Aboriginal community, with some saying they are "disgusted" at the use of the event as a method to sell a product.

On Thursday, Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) released its 2017 Australia Day ad, in which it encourages Australians to eat lamb on the national day, Jan. 26. To many Indigenous Australians, however, Jan. 26 is known as Invasion Day, the beginning of European settlement and the slaughter of thousands of Aboriginal Australians.

Despite the ad's multicultural appeal, in which "boat people" from throughout Australia's history come to the shores to attend a barbecue, members of the Indigenous community expressed their displeasure at MLA using the European invasion to sell meat.

Indigenous journalist Amy Mcquire told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) it was insensitive to use the European landings in an ad for Australia Day, even if the message is an inclusive one.

"(Using) the continual pain, the real pain felt on this date for their own purposes, for a marketing stunt ... that's the most offensive part of it," Mcquire said on Friday.

"There are Aboriginal people dying in custody, having their children taken away, committing suicide ... and that oppression stems from that original invasion."

"So to use that as a marketing ploy to sell lamb is even more disgusting I think."

MLA spokesman Andrew Howie said the ad was never created to cause offense, rather showcase and further foster Australia's accepting and multicultural identity.

"The work that we create is never designed to be offensive, it's not designed to cause offense to people," Howie told the ABC.

"This year's campaign is a celebration of Australia's history. This year, and with the essence of the brand being very much around unity, we realized that this time of year there are cultural sensitivities.

"If we were going to be inclusive (then) we needed to understand some of those cultural sensitivities."

Australia Day is on January 26. Endit