Territory leader refuses to acknowledge war contribution

NT Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro has been criticised for not acknowledging First Nation peoples in Darwin at a ceremony to mark the 83rd anniversary of the Bombing of Darwin in World War Two.

Ms Finocchiaro was the only person not to pay tribute to the traditional Larrakia landowners, although Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles and former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce, did.

The Chief Minister told the ABC she  didn’t think every speaker needed to do it.

“The feedback I get from the community on acknowledgements of country is that Territorians … feel like it’s been rammed down their throats,” she told ABC Radio Darwin.

“We’ve just been indoctrinated by an [NT] Labor government over eight years who have shamed people into feeling like they have to do something that lacks a genuine nature and is tokenistic.”

Larrakia traditional owner Richard Fejo described the incident as “embarrassing”.

“What really upset me is my grandfather … and his brother fought at the Bombing of Darwin,” Mr Fejo told ABC Radio Darwin.

“They were down there at the wharf, pulling men out of the waters that were injured, and then they had to clean up the deceased.

“And I know there’s more than two Larrakia men out there that served at that time, and their families have spoken to me, and they’re upset.

And deputy Opposition Leader Dheran Young accused Ms Finocchiaro of “playing political games”.

“An acknowledgement doesn’t harm anyone; it’s a basic act of respect for the first custodians of our country,” Mr Young said in a statement.