No Comment: Anthony Lean Silent on DCCEEW Advisory Council Member’s Controversial Remarks

Anthony Lean, Secretary at the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) remains conspicuously silent after a controversial statement by Advisory Council member Rowena Welsh-Jarrett.

The controversy began when Rowena Welsh-Jarrett, a seemenly prominent figure within Labor (e.g. voice to parliament picture) and the DCCEEW’s (National Parks and Wildlife) Advisory Council, publicly challenged the Aboriginal authenticity of individuals who have fewer than four Aboriginal grandparents, provoking heated debate and community division.

But despite a media enquiry and requests for clarification, Lean has not publicly addressed the controversy, nor provided a clear stance from his department.

Thus, one could argue that Lean’s lack of response risks legitimising discriminatory attitudes and undermining the DCCEEW’s stated goals of fostering inclusivity and embedding Aboriginal perspectives in policy-making.

And one can only imagine what would have happened if a non-Indigenous person questioned an Indigenous person’s heritage / credibility based on only having one Aboriginal grandparent (I actually have more than one but that’s besides the point) because it kind of sounds like colonial – White Australia policy thinking, when they tried to illegitimise the half casts or anyone that wasn’t a full blood Aboriginal….

It should be unacceptable that a government advisor or officials (responsible for Aboriginal outcomes) would fail to address such an essential issue promptly and decisively.

But as silence persists, I and probably the broader community continue to await Anthony Lean’s response, hoping clarity and decisive leadership will soon prevail…

“…formulating such strong detrimental views about Aboriginal people and communities when you only have one Aboriginal grandparent so your cultural understanding responsibility and insight is limited bless because all 4 of my communities (Grandparents countries)… It’s a shame that you associate “grassroots “ with poverty it’s an indoctrinated rhetoric “colonial lie”!” – Rowena Welsh-Jarrett