Mention indigenous crime and watch the Left boomerang it back as an indictment of the general society. The violence, truancy and small children infected with sexually transmitted diseases, well it's all white Australia's fault. Were Voice advocates capable self-reflection -- a dubious notion, admittedly -- they would recognise in themselves an abhorrent and racist paternalism

Not so long ago, an exhibition purportedly devoted to the Endeavour's voyage featured artefacts from Captain Cook’s day on the one hand, and a bizarre attempt at cultural equivalence on the other by crowbarring invented indigenous history into a spot of parallel importance. Bruce Pascoe may be Australia's leading cultural counterfeiter, but he is far from alone

Recent decades demonstrate that what makes a recognisable Australian in 2023 might as well be a different beast compared to, say, 1990, let alone any earlier. Increasingly it seems we fretted about the wrong thing. We were worried about multiculturalism's new arrivals, but we should have been worried about ourselves

Pick up any journal article on the subject from any university. If you can get through the langue de bois and the scholastic lexicon you will find the same themes that have trickled downward into Australia's popular media, the school system, the press: white privilege and whiteness, and how to deconstruct them. I am astonished, but less and less so, by the enthusiasm with which many Australians greet their own impending deconstruction

The final activity at a recent conference I attended was a presentation of reworked Aboriginal statistics: in other words, lying. The organisers were quick to remind us that, in the name of 'safety', they would shut down any dissenting voices. They needn’t have bothered. The vibe was more Hillsong than struggle session. I couldn’t help but think we were fiddling while Alice Springs burns