A defiant ABC radio host has shocked listeners by playing an iconic Australian protest song for an hour in reaction to the rejection of an Aboriginal Voice to Parliament.
Corey Webster, whose Blak Out show plays only indigenous music on national youth radio network Triple J used his Sunday night slot to play Yothu Yindi’s Treaty on a continuous loop.
Before he did so Mr Webster delivered a fiery speech saying Indigenous people ‘ain’t licking our wounds today, we’re sharpening our spears.’
In a video he shared, a visibly upset Mr Webster’s hands appear to be shaking as he read his prepared statement.
Australia resoundingly voted No to the proposed change to the constitution, with every state rejecting the proposal and only the ACT voting Yes.
Mr Webster, a rapper who performs and hosts as Nooky, and a proud Yuin and Thunghutti man from the NSW South Coast, gave a passionate explanation for his decision to repeat the tune.
‘We did not give up this land and the planting of the Union Jack never changed our laws at all,’ he said, reciting lines from the hit 1991 song Treaty.
NSW rapper Nooky, aka Corey Webster used his Blak Out ABC radio show to deliver a fiery speech and played iconic protest song Treaty for an hour
Indigenous actor Deb Mailman with Corey Webster, aka Nooky, from Triple J
‘And it’s that message of hope and survival that you’re gonna hear for the next hour.
‘And trust [me], it isn’t a mistake. We’re gonna repeat this message until it rings true.
‘We will not sit in silence. They will hear us as we rejoice as a people and light our sacred fire in the face of their broken promises. Treaty now.’
He then played the hit 1991 song Treaty for the rest of the hour-long show.
The song’s chorus is the simple refrain ‘Treaty yeah / Treaty now.’
A formal treaty with the Australian government has long been the wish of many of Australia’s indigenous groups. Among other things it would recognise their sovereignty over land.
Though shocked at Nooky’s act, listeners who took to social media appeared supportive of the protest.
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‘Nooky on triple j’s Blak Out opening monologue about what the resounding No vote meant to him was incredibly powerful.
‘Him playing Yothu Yindi Treaty for the whole hour by the looks of it … f***ing perfect.’
Triple J is a youth network with a target audience of 18 to 30, an age bracket which is understood to have largely bucked the national trend by backing the Yes vote.
Mr Webster opened his Sunday evening radio show with a spine-tingling monologue in which he reflected on the personal impact on him and his family.
He described the success of the No campaign as ‘the most overt unconcealed manifestation of racism I have ever experienced in my whole life; yesterday they said our pain and our suffering continues’.
‘The disadvantage and the inequality continues but so does our love our happiness our strength and our pride.’
Mr Webster said his daughter and his grandmother have helped him deal with the pain he felt from the rejection of the Yes vote.
‘Last night amongst the torment I found solace when I sat down with my eldest daughter Olivia.
‘See, it’s our kids we need to be there for right now, but it’s them who hold the power to heal, the power to bring change. When I look at them I see the hope that hasn’t died.
‘I’ve seen the word defeat get thrown around alot this morning [but] hearing my Nan hold herself in such composure in this moment, I didn’t feel defeat.
A clearly upset Corey Webster delivered a powerful speech on the Blak Out show that he hosts on Triple J
‘See defeat, that’s when we stop having joy, stop having hope, that’s when we stop loving and caring for ourselves and this land of ours its when we stop being strong and proud of who we are.
‘We could never lose, we haven’t lost a thing.’
Treaty was the first song by a predominantly Aboriginal band to chart in Australia in 1991, when it won song of the year.
It was the first song to include an Indigenous Aboriginal language to gain widespread radio play internationally.
