Screening The Final Quarter across Qld

NTEU Queensland Division held more than half a dozen screenings of the documentary The Final Quarter for members and friends across the state to increase awareness of the ingrained structural and casual racism experienced by First Nations Australians inside and outside sport. NTEU Queensland and Northern Territory Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Officer Phil Mairu presented the films to members at a number of campuses. 'At every viewing I went to, I noticed it was a different part of the documentary that people reacted to,' said Phil. 'After each viewing we held a Q and A session to talk about what this racism looks like when we see it in our lives and workplaces, and what we can do to call it out when it does occur. ' The Final Quarter is a 2019 Australian documentary about the final years of Adam Goodes’ Australian Rules Football career – during which he was the target of repeated racial abuse by fans, as well as members of the Australian media and football commentariat. The film traces the abuse of Goodes from 2013, when during the AFL's annual Indigenous Round, a 13-year-old Collingwood supporter called Adam Goodes, an Adnyamathanha and Narungga man, an 'ape'. Upon hearing the abuse, Goodes pointed the girl out to security, who ejected her from the stadium. Goodes was deeply affected by the incident, but never blamed the girl for her actions. The girl phoned to apologise, saying that she hadn't realised the impact of her words. Four days later, on Triple M’s Breakfast show, Collingwood President Eddie McGuire suggested Goodes promote the musical King Kong – a remark he later apologised for. In 2014, Goodes was named Australian of the Year by Prime Minister Tony Abbott. Goodes used this platform to promote reconciliation and the acknowledgement

of racism towards Indigenous Australians. For this he was punished. Over the following years, and particularly in 2015, Goodes was repeatedly and loudly booed by opposition fans at most matches. The motivation for, and acceptability of, the booing generated wide public debate. Was he being singularly booed for his supposed bad sportsmanship, or because he was a proud Blackfella who didn’t know his place?

As Waleed Ali says in the documentary: Australia is generally a very tolerant society, until its minorities demonstrate that they don’t know their place. And at that moment, the minute a minority – someone in a minority position acts as though they’re not a mere supplicant, then we lose our minds. And we say, ‘No, no you’ve got to get back in your box here’. The film is powerful. It does not use interviews or narration. It merely plays the events of the past as they happened and in context, so that viewers can draw their own conclusion.

As well as highlighting the abuse suffered by Goodes, and refusing it to be downplayed, or forgotten, the film scratches away the veneer to show the defensiveness, awkwardness and hostility shown by White Australia when issues of race are raised. ◆

Mike Oliver, Senior State Organiser, Qld Division

Werte!

In this new look edition of Advocate, we've taken the opportunity to rename the Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander News section to Werte!

An Arrernte word, werte (pronounced wer-da) a greeting like 'hello'. It can also be used to grab someone’s attention. Arrernte is spoken in the Northern Territory around mparntwe/Alice Springs. ◆

Celeste Liddle, National A&TSI Organiser

http://www.metromagazine.com.au https://theeducationshop.com.au © ATOM 2019 ISBN: 978-1-76061-277-1 A STUDY GUIDE BY KATY MARRINER NTEU is currently embarking on a series of screenings of The Final Quarter. All Divisions have received information with regards to the film and arranging local screenings. If you are interested in any screenings which might be happening in your area, or are interested in organising one, please contact your local Branch and/or Division for information.

The film is available for online streaming at http://thefinalquarterfilm.com.au. Educational materials regarding the film are also available at this website. For further information, please contact Celeste Liddle, National A&TSI Organiser, cliddle@nteu.org.au.