‘We have been inundated with comments ’: Today Show responds to Uluru backlash

Today host Deb Knight has addressed the backlash the show received after featuring Pauline Hanson in a debate on the closure of Uluru.

The Today show has responded to the backlash it received yesterday after featuring an all-white panel to discuss the closure of Uluru.

Appearing on the show this morning, Today host Deborah Knight acknowledged the “heated debate” around the issue, adding: “We have been inundated with comments in response to Pauline Hanson on the show yesterday.”

Many Australians on social media deemed it “racist” and “unbalanced” for the show to host the One Nation leader and radio host Steve Price, without including any indigenous voices.

Australia, you are exhausting. https://t.co/Y5yLXV8xLK

— Benjamin Law (@mrbenjaminlaw) July 14, 2019

Let’s talk Uluru climbing with … Pauline Hanson and Steve Price. Couldn’t they find anyone whiter? https://t.co/9br4H2qbaQ

— Jonathan Green (@GreenJ) July 15, 2019

Hello media,

Please stop asking Pauline Hanson for her opinions on things she knows nothing about.

Thanks
Australians. Quiet or otherwise.

— Now What 🤷🏼‍♀️ (@toninicho) July 15, 2019

This morning, Northern Territory Senator Malarndirri McCarthy — a Yanyuwa woman from Borroloola — appeared on the show and urged Senator Hanson to come to Uluru and learn about the spiritual significance of the landmark.

She said attempts to stop people climbing the rock have been going on for more than a decade.

Deb Knight addressed the Uluru controversy on Today this morning. Picture: Nine

RELATED: Backlash to Today’s Uluru debate

Asked to address Senator Hanson’s claims on the show yesterday that banning people from climbing the rock would affect tourism and local jobs, she said the One Nation leader was “incorrect”.

“What has occurred is that there is employment at the rock and there will continue to be employment,” said Ms McCarthy. “This has been a very methodical planned process for quite a number of years.

“I think it is really unfortunate that a member of the Senate — a parliamentarian who has the opportunity to get as much information as she possibly can — has not done that. That’s why it is really critical that Senator Hanson thinks very seriously about taking up the offer. I am prepared to facilitate that.”

Ms McCarthy explained that Uluru is a sacred place to the local indigenous place. “In terms of the song lines for the Anangu people, it is a sacred place, a spiritual place.

“When you go there it’s an enormous rock in the middle of nowhere that fills the heart. I remember taking Oprah Winfrey there in 2010 as Tourism Minister — she understood completely the importance of the spirituality of the place.

“There’s camel rides and walks and runs and cycles and opportunities for breakfast after the sunrise with the traditional owners. There are so many other things that take place at the rock. I just urge Senator Hanson to come and actually see that.”

Senator Malarndirri McCarthy has offered Pauline Hanson to come to Uluru and see its local significance.

Senator Hanson criticised the upcoming closure yesterday, saying it was “no different to coming out and saying, ‘We’re going to close down Bondi Beach because there are some people that have drowned’. How ridiculous is that?”

The One Nation leader said nothing needed to change because “we’ve been climbing the Ayers Rock, or Uluru, for many years”.

“The Australian taxpayers put in millions, hundreds of millions of dollars into it and they’re wanting another $27.5 million to upgrade the airport there for the resort,” she said.

“Now the resort has only returned $19 million to the taxpayers only just recently. It employs over 400 people there, 38 per cent are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.

“The fact is, it’s money-making. It’s giving jobs to indigenous communities, and you’ve got thousands of tourists who go there every year and want to climb the rock.”

Pauline Hanson criticised the Uluru closure yesterday. Picture: Today Show

In November 2017, the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park Board started the countdown of when the climb would be closed permanently.

The date of October 26, 2019 was put forward — a significant day for the Anangu indigenous community because it was that day in 1985 that the government returned ownership of the land to the traditional owners.

But since setting the date, the number of people climbing Uluru has skyrocketed.

Before park management announced it was closing the climb, around 140 people were climbing Uluru each day.

Since then, the number has doubled and at times tripled to 300-500 daily visitors.

Ms Hanson said she was struggling to understand the “cultural sensitivity” around Uluru.

“It is an iconic site for all Australians,” she said.

“I can’t see the cultural sensitivity when people have been climbing the rock for all these years, and all of a sudden they want to shut it down? I don’t get it, I really don’t get it, and how are they going to pay back the Australian taxpayer?”

In the 12 months to June 2019, more than 395,000 people visited the Uluru-Kata National Park, according to Parks Australia, about 20 per cent more than the previous year.

In the 12 months to June 2019, more than 395,000 people visited the Uluru-Kata National Park, according to Parks Australia, about 20 per cent more than the previous year.

Yet just 13 per cent of those who visited also climbed the rock, the government agency said.

Tourism operators say that Australian and Japanese tourists most commonly seek to climb Uluru.

The Aboriginal connection to the site dates back tens of thousands of years, and it has great spiritual and cultural significance to them.

“Since the hand back of Uluru and Kata Tjuta to traditional owners in 1985, visitors have been encouraged to develop an understanding and respect for Anangu and their culture,” a Parks Australia spokesman said.

“This is reflected in the ‘please don’t climb’ message.”