ABORIGINAL BROADCASTER CONDEMNS LISA JANE SPENCER'S MOCK WELCOME TO COUNTRY

SATIRE / EDITED IMAGE: This photograph has been digitally altered for satirical and editorial purposes. The clown makeup was not present in the original image.

BY TANGIORA HINAKI

An Aboriginal broadcaster has criticised comedian and social media personality Lisa Jane Spencer after she performed a mock Welcome to Country at an anti-immigration rally in Melbourne.

Ms Spencer appeared at the March for Australia demonstration outside Victoria's Parliament House on Sunday, where she reprised elements of a character that has previously attracted criticism over its portrayal of Aboriginal people.

Her earlier online material included a character called "Aunty Lisa", with Spencer wearing white face paint, mimicking Aboriginal cultural practices and depicting petrol sniffing.

The video prompted criticism from First Nations advocates, while SBS distanced itself from the content after its branding was used without permission. Ms Spencer has rejected accusations of racism and has defended her material as satire intended to push boundaries.

Speaking to Ngaarda Media, Aboriginal broadcaster John Ross Pearce Scharnberg said he believed the material went beyond criticism of an individual and instead relied on stereotypes about Aboriginal people generally.

"She's trying to talk about all Aboriginal people as a whole when she does it, and that's very wrong."

Mr Scharnberg said stereotypes suggesting Aboriginal people did not work or depended on government assistance ignored generations of Aboriginal labour and the historical experiences of First Nations communities.

He pointed to last month's 60th anniversary of the Wave Hill Walk-Off, saying Aboriginal workers had played a significant role in Australia's pastoral industry, often under deeply unequal conditions.

Mr Scharnberg said he believed there was an important distinction between satire directed towards an individual public figure and comedy that generalised an entire racial group.

"I think it's definitely hate speech because it's portraying as if all Aboriginal people are like that."

He also questioned whether similar treatment of other important Australian traditions would be accepted simply because it was described as comedy.

"If someone was to get up in a slouch hat and army uniform and put on some fake medals and started mocking one of the soldiers … would that be comedy or would it be satire?"

"It'd be straight-out disrespecting. We all know that."

Despite his criticism, Mr Scharnberg said he would consider speaking directly with Ms Spencer.

He said such a conversation could provide an opportunity for her to hear from Aboriginal people, particularly those living in remote communities, about the cultural and historical context behind the issues depicted in her comedy.

"I'd maybe like to try."

"Helping [her] understand why people are living out in remote communities … and probably try and help her see other perspectives."

Mr Scharnberg also said the impact of colonisation differed between Aboriginal communities and warned against judging cultural knowledge or practice without recognising what had been lost through dispossession.

He said communities in Melbourne and Sydney were among those that experienced the earliest impacts of colonisation and that many Aboriginal people were now working to recover language, ceremony and cultural knowledge.

Ms Spencer has previously maintained that her comedy targets different groups and viewpoints and should be permitted to challenge social boundaries.

Ngaarda Media has contacted Lisa Jane Spencer for comment.