Released 22nd September 1998
On the weekend of 19th September, two weeks before the Federal Election, Frank Robson, a Fairfax reporter stated in The Sydney Morning Herald's "The Good Weekend" magazine under the heading: "The first eleven" (page 35):
"In his parliamentary office high above Brisbane, One Nation MP Jeff Knuth is explaining why he prefers rural Aborigines to urban ones. For starters, they're easier to understand. "They don't use big words," Knuth says, "They just go, 'Why you do that?' or 'Why you go that way for?' or 'Come on, let's go down the river' - that's how they talk.
"The new member for Burdekin considers himself an authority on Aboriginals, as he calls them, and hopes one day to become the State's Minister for Aboriginal Affairs. If he does he'll try to implement his plan to have rural Aborigines return to the old system of working, without pay, for white pastoralists. As Knuth sees it, this would eliminate Aboriginal land grabs...."
and so Mr Robson raves on.
The taped conversation between Robson and Knuth was played to a Courier Mail reporter by One Nation on the Monday following The Good Weekend article's appearance.
The reporter put his story forward to the chiefs-of-staff. Based on information received the article would, if published, have shown how distorted the Fairfax article was.
The article was not published despite media interest in the Robson claims which had spread to negative news reports about One Nation on newspapers and television stations around the country.
The Courier Mail restricted their coverage of One Nation on Tuesday 22nd September to a New Idea article in which Mrs Hanson's son Steven was quoted.
There was no interest in balance by the mainstream media in a real issue which had been so blatantly misreported, you can come to your own conclusions as to why.
The book "Raparapa" was the main emphasis of my comments made to a journalist (Robson) who has distorted the message I was trying to deliver. "Raparapa" is a book written by twelve Aboriginal stockmen who grew up and worked the large cattle properties of the Kimberleys The main thrust of my comments was directed at the decision of the Government of the day in the early 1970s to force graziers to pay the hundreds of Aboriginal stockmen and their families the same wage as white stockmen. Their decision, at first glance, seemed fair but this is where the twelve stockmen give account of the tragedy that has befallen the Aboriginal people that were forced to leave there traditional way of hunting, culture and their union with white mens horses and cattle.
As was falsely reported, I did not show any malice towards the Aboriginal people, my true statement reads that I thought the Aboriginal people were a wonderful carefree natured race and their simplistic way of talking had always appealed to me. My further comments about alcoholism was to point out what a tragedy has befallen this once proud people. The consequences of alcohol has caused so much self-destruction in the Aboriginal community, I also commented that alcohol should be taken away from Aboriginals, this decision should be left up to them, as has been done by some Aboriginal communities.
Contrary to what this journalist said, I do not want the Minister for Aboriginal and Islander Affairs, I said I would take this on if offered only if primary industries was not available. Nor did I state that if I was a Minister for Aboriginal and Islander Affairs, that I would force Aboriginals back to the pre '70s under white pastoralists. I focussed on the book "Raparapa" and its merits as a train of thought not a must to all Aboriginal people living in Australia. I did, however, admit that as an experiment if some Aboriginals would like to return to living on the land and working in with pastoralists this should be made available according to what the twelve elders in the book "Raparapa" are advocating.
In conclusion the journalist had quoted some truth in what I have stated but has twisted what I have said to show malice towards myself and One Nation and has personally branded me as a racist or as one with an ideology of returning to black slavery. This is far from the truth and has left my faith in interviews with journalists in mistrust.
If anyone is interested in more on this subject buy the book "Raparapa".
Yours sincerely,
One Nation Member for Burdekin, Jeff Knuth