Ette-itorial: The racism inquiry that has captured very little media attention

By Leanne Dolby | Social Media Officer, National Indigenous Times

Last week I gave evidence before a federal inquiry into racism, hate and violence directed at Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people about my experiences as a First Nations media worker. Unsurprisingly, my testimony, like so many Blakfullas in this country, was all but ignored by mainstream media. This is  part of the structural violence and erasure mob experience. We are exhausted trying to demand a call for action and of being either pigeon-holed or overlooked. 

On Monday 13 July I was called into the Inquiry into racism, hate and violence directed at Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to represent my organisation, National Indigenous Times to speak about what a typical day in the life of an Indigenous media worker looks like. 

While, I spoke up about several issues - the hate directed at First Nations peoples on social media; the comments section of National Indigenous Times; the people I interview and what it's like being on the ground as an Indigenous media worker - my focus was on one day in particular, January the 26th, 2026.

This was the the day I grabbed my equipment, under the impression that I was interviewing staunch First Nations mob at the Invasion Day protest at Forrest Chase. 

I would amplify their message that despite policies that legislated genocides, stole our grandparents, enslaved our people and continue to justify the racial discrimination that runs rampant within our society, First Nations existence is resistance. The day is a reminder that attempts to erase Indigenous people failed.

On January 26th, Liam Alexander Hall continued the legacy of failing to erase our mob, when he threw a bomb into Forrest Chase, that thankfully failed to explode. He was charged with allegedly committing a terrorist act. 

I was close to the stage when I saw a bag being thrown off the second story of Forrest Chase into the crowd, and I saw smoke. I did not know at the time that 32-year-old Hall had thrown a bomb in the crowd approximately 10 metres away from me.

As he was beckoned into the cop paddy wagon, there was an uproar of police violence downstairs as riot protocols were now used to control and disperse a crowd of First Nations mob and non-Indigenous supporters. This is despite the crowd being the victims of what we now know to be an attempted terrorist attack just minutes prior.

As other mainstream media organisations were on the sidelines filming the chaos that ensued, I was heavily handedly pushed by one police officer and towered over by a six foot officer within the crowd because, presumably, to them I was just an Aboriginal woman with a camera. 

Everyday, my concerns for the safety of my people and myself continue to grow. Far right movements target Indigenous communities, yet mainstream media barely or only belatedly talks about it. 

National Indigenous Times and independent outlets gave the inquiry’s evidence from media workers the editorial spotlight it deserves while mainstream organisations such as the ABC and the Guardian only gave general periodic updates on the inquiry. Unsurprisingly tabloid media was not interested in covering witness testimonies. Despite NIT’s limited staff capacity, our journalists, specifically Dechlan Brennan, dedicated the time to listen and prioritised coverage to reflect the importance of the inquiry. 

Working in Indigenous affairs as a Blackfulla means that I log into our social media and delete comments, block accounts that tell me that my people deserve to die and then, while I am stuck in traffic on the drive home, I wonder if one of these profiles belongs to a person drowning in the same sea of traffic as me.

My job often involves celebrating amazing people across the nation and having the privilege of using National Indigenous Times to celebrate those feel-good stories. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander yarns that focus on Blak excellence play a critical role in the humanisation of First Nations people and shape the way the wider community perceives us. Such yarns offer a grassroots perspective directly from mob, a perspective rarely covered in mainstream media where our achievements are overlooked.

On the flip side, I am interviewing people who have been courageous enough to open up about the most traumatic experiences of their lives and the gross injustices they have experienced in hopes that they receive accountability and justice. There’s been moments where I’ve held the hands of my interviewees and sobbed with them while shakily holding the mic. I’ve gotten big snuggles from children innocently playing at vigils, too innocent to know that they’re at their mother’s vigil. 

Indigenous media differs from mainstream media, because we challenge the legacy of the Australian media ecosystem. Since colonisation, the media has been used as a tool of oppression by constantly instilling Eurocentric values and reducing our people to racial stereotypes. 

As technology advances, so too does racial discrimination. Comment sections are echo chambers where racists feel safe expressing disgust for our people and artificial intelligence consumes inherently racist media coverage and re-generates the bias all while building data centres that drain our water, consuming what we as Indigenous people fight tirelessly to protect.  

At the inquiry, I called for sustained action into rectifying racial discrimination, not only during moments of public attention, but every day. I called for governments, digital platforms and institutions to do more to address racism directed at Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.  

So far, the vast majority of my media peers remain silent in the face of discrimination towards my people, often amplifying narratives that further fuel the struggle my people experience. 

Leanne Dolby is a Noongar Yamatji Naaguja Nanda nyarlu woman currently working at National Indigenous Times