Australian politician slams indigenous focus at Games
What you need to know:
- Protesters have dubbed the Gold Coast Games the "Stolenwealth Games", a reference to the colonisation of Aboriginals' ancestral lands.
GOLD COAST
Rightwing politician Pauline Hanson slammed the segments on Aboriginal culture at the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony as "absolutely disgusting", saying they didn't reflect Australian society.
Hanson, an anti-immigration firebrand known for her outspoken views, said the ceremony's opening sequence was "over the top", but denied her views were racist.
"I thought it was disgusting, absolutely disgusting," she told Australia's Sky News, criticising the "20 minutes" sequence featuring a man playing a didgeridoo.
"I've got nothing against the Aboriginal people but I'm sick and tired of being made to feel as if I'm a second-class citizen in my own country.
"I am indigenous. As far as I'm concerned, I was born here, this is my country as much as anyone else... anyone who is of Aboriginal descent, the same age as I am, why have they got more right to this land than what I do?"
Three people were arrested before Wednesday's ceremony after Aboriginal protesters clashed with police on horseback, highlighting enduring tensions over indigenous rights.
Protesters have dubbed the Gold Coast Games the "Stolenwealth Games", a reference to the colonisation of Aboriginals' ancestral lands.
Hanson added: "Criticism is not racism and I'm sick and tired of people having a go at me because it's 'racism'."
