Andrew Bolt: Kyam Maher must show us the proof of Indigenous heritage

South Australia’s Attorney-General Kyam Maher is creating an Aboriginal Voice to South Australia’s parliament, claiming his own Aborginal ancestry — but can he prove it?

Is Kyam Maher, South Australia’s Attorney-General, really an Aborigine? I’ve tried asking him privately, and now ask very publicly because this is a big deal.

For one, many Aboriginal activists complain that up to a third of our 810,000 Aborigines are actually whites, or not Aboriginal in any meaningful way.

The examples are many, including Professor Bruce Pascoe, author of the equally fake history Dark Emu; Lauren O’Dwyer, the former Victorian Labor candidate whose allegedly Yorta Yorta great-grandfather was white; and Professor Kerrie Doyle, who claimed to be of the Winninninni tribe, of which no record exists, and claimed her Aboriginality through a stepfather with no Aboriginal ancestors in his genealogy.

Second, Maher, who claims Tasmanian Aboriginal ancestry, is now creating an Aboriginal Voice to South Australia’s parliament that gives people identifying as Aboriginal extra political rights.

Unlike Australians of any other race, Aborigines would be able to choose a Voice, a kind of Aboriginal parliament, to advise state bureaucrats, sit in on Cabinet discussions and address the state parliament once a year.

Kyam Maher publicly announced his Aboriginality on National Indigenous Television seven years ago. Picture: Matt Turner

But that means whites claiming to be Aboriginal would also have those extra political rights and powers. What a farce.

So shouldn’t this profound switch to race-based politics come with tighter checks on who is actually Aboriginal? Shouldn’t the Albanese government’s own plans for a Voice demand the same?

And shouldn’t Kyam Maher set an example by himself giving proof he’s Aboriginal?

It was seven years ago that Maher publicly announced his Aboriginality on National Indigenous Television.

As the presenter said excitedly: “South Australia’s newly appointed Aboriginal Affairs Minister has revealed an Indigenous background he knows very little about.

“Kyam Maher says his mother recently discovered she has Aboriginal bloodlines from Western Victoria.

“Mr Maher says details of which Aboriginal nations have become lost over the past couple of generations, but his mother now identifies as a proud member of Mt Gambier’s Aboriginal community.”

Then a beaming Maher spoke: “Our family includes Indigenous heritage but for two generations it’s not something families discussed a lot. It’s only later in life my mum became acquainted with her heritage …

“It’s not something that played an active role in my growing up … but it’s something that I’m very proud of.”

But where’s the evidence?

Professor Bruce Pascoe claims Aboriginal ancestry. Picture: Lillian Watkins

Genealogists from the impressive dark-emu-exposed.com website have examined Mrs Maher’s family tree – and her husband’s – but couldn’t find one Aboriginal ancestor.

What’s more, Viv Maher’s story changed. Her Western Victorian Aboriginal ancestry had switched to Tasmanian Aboriginal ancestry in an obituary for her in 2018: “Later in her career, Viv found and acknowledged her Aboriginal heritage through a male forebear of hers married to an Aboriginal Tasmanian woman. The name of that ‘wonderful woman’ was unrecorded, Viv said.”

Not recorded? Odd.

And when dark-emu-exposed.org checked, every ancestor who could have been that “wonderful woman” turned out to be of British or German descent.

Last year, the story changed again. Remember, in 2015 we were told Kyam Maher’s mother had “only recently” discovered she had Aboriginal bloodlines, supposedly from Western Victoria.

But last year her son said not only was he of Tasmanian Aboriginal ancestry, but “it’s always been known in my family that we have Aboriginal heritage”.

Now, I’m not claiming anyone was dishonest. Maybe Mrs Maher was confused or misinformed, or made assumptions that turned out to be wrong.

After all, many people these days really, really want to identify as Aboriginal out of the fullness of their good hearts, and maybe don’t check closely enough whether they really are.

On the other hand, maybe the genealogists made a mistake. Maybe I’ve misinterpreted what Mrs Maher and her son have been saying, and maybe they do have proof.

That’s why Roger Karge, head of dark-emu-exposed.org, wrote to Maher last month, asking him to explain his Aboriginal ancestry. Perhaps show some evidence.

I also wrote to Maher last Friday, asking the same thing; my producers at Sky News have emailed and rung his office half a dozen times since to follow up. Maher’s staff received these inquiries; but haven’t answered them.

I don’t think that’s appropriate. Most importantly, Maher should set an example so fake Aborigines don’t steal the limelight from real Aborigines, or hog their benefits or misappropriate their political power.

Indeed, Maher himself seems to have gained politically – certainly in media coverage – by identifying as Aboriginal, and as South Australia’s first Aboriginal Attorney-General.

So it’s only right he proves he’s Aboriginal. Isn’t it? And not just him.