Aussies have taken to Twitter to express their frustration and disappointment in Scott Morrison using the hashtag #NotMyPM after the Prime Minister ditched the Uluru closure ceremony to attend a netball game in WA.
[jwplayer BnUa15n0]
#NotMyPM was the number one trending topic on Australian Twitter on Monday night following his piss-poor decision to not attend the closure of Uluru ceremony, which was a monumentally important occasion for thousands of Indigenous people across the nation.
But to make matters worse, it wasn’t just ScoMo that wagged on the event. The Indigenous Australians Minister Ken Wyatt also failed to attend the event, which is pretty ridiculous considering it’s in his job description to represent the interests of Indigenous Australians on a federal level.
However, Australians aren’t just upset that he didn’t attend the event. They’re equally frustrated by his frankly offensive excuse for not showing up. The PM (yep, the man that’s meant to represent the whole country) simply brushed off his absence by saying he “can’t be in two places at once,” SBS reports.
“My schedule didn’t permit to be there. I can’t be in two places at once. I was in WA on the weekend and I was travelling back with my family from the West Australian telethon.”
Scott Morrison opted to attend the WA Telethon and a Diamonds netball game, which would usually be an acceptable way to spend your time as the Prime Minister.
However, Indigenous people in Australia have been forced to sit by and watch as a place of spiritual and cultural significance like Uluru has been disrespected for decades. The absolute least Scott Morrison could do was show up to the ceremony and pretend to give a shit.
“Well I would’ve thought that the Prime Minister should’ve been attending this occasion. I saw him at the basketball somewhere in Australia,” Indigenous politician Pat Dodson told NITV.”If he had a real empathy with the religious and cultural foundations of the First Nations of this country he should’ve been here.”
Many people, including Liangiari member Warren Snowdon were quick to point out that Scott Morrison likely would’ve made a bigger effort if a Christian festival or event called for his attendance.
“The Prime Minister should’ve been at this event and showing respect for First Nations across Australia, but particularly with the Anangu, who have been generous in how they’ve shared this place, and to highlight the importance of Aboriginal culture and spirituality across Australia,” Dodson said.
It has taken decades for the rest of Australian society to even acknowledge that climbing Uluru is culturally insensitive and just plain wrong. And even now that the climb has finally been banned, the leaders of the country still fail to represent the best interests of the Indigenous community by attending the closing ceremony.
Do better.
Thankfully, hundreds of #NotMyPM tweets flooded social media on Monday night, reminding us that a large chunk of society is pretty upset with the government’s response to the situation.
https://twitter.com/nofuxremain/status/1188728229231595520
There are lots of things wrong with this government. Scomo’s absence at the Uluru closing ceremony clearly indicates he has no sympathy for the first nation’s peoples! Does he really deserve to be the PM of #Australia? #NotMyPM #Auspol
— 💧Kumar Jha (@KumarJha66) October 28, 2019
Morrison on Uluru Closing Celebration : I can’t be at two events at once so I went to the white one. #NotMyPM #auspol
— Elmer Olson (@ElmerOlson) October 28, 2019
Shame that a Telethon which is held annually and a netball match which is also not a once in a lifetime event, stopped you from attending the celebration of the closure of the Uluru climb, an insult to the Indigenous people. #NotMyPM
— Frances Williams (@frances4820) October 28, 2019
