Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
As many of you know, everything involving Aboriginal affairs in Australia has become intensely racialised. You can’t do anything anymore without mandatory tribal name-drops, acknowledging country, or plastering warning messages everywhere just in case an Aboriginal person happens to be watching. It’s become predictable, performative, and incessant. Most people are thoroughly sick of it, but it grinds on in the name of reconciliation and historical restitution.
Take, for instance, the recent million-dollar grant handed out to Aboriginal sea urchin divers (and thank you to the viewers who flagged this story). As the ABC reported earlier this month: “NSW government funds Aboriginal-led south coast sea urchin enterprise with $1.48m grant.” Yes, because apparently, traditional diving techniques only work if they are weighted down by a massive sack of public funds.
According to the article, just months ago, Walbunja divers John and Denzel Carriage were facing jail time for “cultural fishing” before state prosecutors abandoned the case. John lamented: “I’ve been to court around four times. It’s not a good look for our culture and it scares a lot of the next generation to do what we do.” The ABC solemnly notes that this is an “enduring tradition” for John and his elders. And as you can see, John keeps that ancient heritage alive by donning a traditional Aboriginal neoprene wetsuit and wielding a traditional Aboriginal steel blade to cut open the urchins and extract the sweet, edible gonads—which is the actual anatomical part that is eaten.
The ABC predictably notes that this project is all about the “restoration of their traditional sea country.” But as you can see in this photo, navigating that traditional sea country requires a traditional Aboriginal aluminium dinghy and a traditional outboard motor. Since these ancient artefacts don’t come cheap, it’s incredibly convenient that the taxpayer is there to foot the bill (as always).
Here’s cousin Denzel showing off a massive urchin. Naturally, the most effective way to harvest these creatures is by using a traditional Aboriginal snorkel and diving mask. Don’t stress about the cost, though—the taxpayer has that covered.
Of course, it wouldn’t be an ABC piece without the obligatory bureaucratic buzzwords, dedicating an entire section to “Healing sea country.” They interview Walbunja elder Wally Stewart, who supervises from the boat while the boys are in the water. He proudly states: “You can see them in the water, they’re just natural divers, taught by cultural fishermen.” And here is John again, putting those innate, natural cultural skills to use on the ocean floor—armed with a traditional Aboriginal, marine-grade, stainless steel pry bar. Because nothing heals sea country quite like a solid dose of modern metallurgy.
Predictably, the ABC wheels out an academic expert, University of Wollongong Associate Professor Tillmann Boehme, to deliver the required historical grievance: “We have an Aboriginal community that has been dispossessed of their sea country, dispossessed of their resources.” Well, the highly-paid expert has spoken. Please hand over your wallets quietly so the government can atone for the past by funding a commercial sea urchin business.
To be fair, if you strip away the identity politics and historical grievance, the core of this project actually makes a lot of sense. The article notes that due to decades of overfishing of the urchin’s natural predators, these creatures have completely taken over, creating vast, underwater wastelands known as “urchin barrens.” They’ve stripped the sea floor bare. But the results of the cleanup speak for themselves: over just a ten-month period, removing the urchins allowed the native kelp and seaweed to aggressively bounce back.
So yes, establishing a commercial industry to clear these pests is a fantastic idea. But why must it be filtered through the lens of race? And why does the taxpayer have to underwrite a racially exclusive enterprise? If the NSW Government simply wants to fund environmental remediation and stimulate the economy, then open the contracts up to the best divers available—Aboriginal or otherwise. Insisting that only one specific demographic is entitled to profit from public funds is precisely why everyday Australians are thoroughly fed up with these race-based grants.
MUSIC
Allégro by Emmit Fenn
As many of you know, everything involving Aboriginal affairs in Australia has become intensely racialised. You can’t do anything anymore without mandatory tribal name-drops, acknowledging country, or plastering warning messages everywhere just in case an Aboriginal person happens to be watching. It’s become predictable, performative, and incessant. Most people are thoroughly sick of it, but it grinds on in the name of reconciliation and historical restitution.
Take, for instance, the recent million-dollar grant handed out to Aboriginal sea urchin divers (and thank you to the viewers who flagged this story). As the ABC reported earlier this month: “NSW government funds Aboriginal-led south coast sea urchin enterprise with $1.48m grant.” Yes, because apparently, traditional diving techniques only work if they are weighted down by a massive sack of public funds.
According to the article, just months ago, Walbunja divers John and Denzel Carriage were facing jail time for “cultural fishing” before state prosecutors abandoned the case. John lamented: “I’ve been to court around four times. It’s not a good look for our culture and it scares a lot of the next generation to do what we do.” The ABC solemnly notes that this is an “enduring tradition” for John and his elders. And as you can see, John keeps that ancient heritage alive by donning a traditional Aboriginal neoprene wetsuit and wielding a traditional Aboriginal steel blade to cut open the urchins and extract the sweet, edible gonads—which is the actual anatomical part that is eaten.
The ABC predictably notes that this project is all about the “restoration of their traditional sea country.” But as you can see in this photo, navigating that traditional sea country requires a traditional Aboriginal aluminium dinghy and a traditional outboard motor. Since these ancient artefacts don’t come cheap, it’s incredibly convenient that the taxpayer is there to foot the bill (as always).
Here’s cousin Denzel showing off a massive urchin. Naturally, the most effective way to harvest these creatures is by using a traditional Aboriginal snorkel and diving mask. Don’t stress about the cost, though—the taxpayer has that covered.
Of course, it wouldn’t be an ABC piece without the obligatory bureaucratic buzzwords, dedicating an entire section to “Healing sea country.” They interview Walbunja elder Wally Stewart, who supervises from the boat while the boys are in the water. He proudly states: “You can see them in the water, they’re just natural divers, taught by cultural fishermen.” And here is John again, putting those innate, natural cultural skills to use on the ocean floor—armed with a traditional Aboriginal, marine-grade, stainless steel pry bar. Because nothing heals sea country quite like a solid dose of modern metallurgy.
Predictably, the ABC wheels out an academic expert, University of Wollongong Associate Professor Tillmann Boehme, to deliver the required historical grievance: “We have an Aboriginal community that has been dispossessed of their sea country, dispossessed of their resources.” Well, the highly-paid expert has spoken. Please hand over your wallets quietly so the government can atone for the past by funding a commercial sea urchin business.
To be fair, if you strip away the identity politics and historical grievance, the core of this project actually makes a lot of sense. The article notes that due to decades of overfishing of the urchin’s natural predators, these creatures have completely taken over, creating vast, underwater wastelands known as “urchin barrens.” They’ve stripped the sea floor bare. But the results of the cleanup speak for themselves: over just a ten-month period, removing the urchins allowed the native kelp and seaweed to aggressively bounce back.
So yes, establishing a commercial industry to clear these pests is a fantastic idea. But why must it be filtered through the lens of race? And why does the taxpayer have to underwrite a racially exclusive enterprise? If the NSW Government simply wants to fund environmental remediation and stimulate the economy, then open the contracts up to the best divers available—Aboriginal or otherwise. Insisting that only one specific demographic is entitled to profit from public funds is precisely why everyday Australians are thoroughly fed up with these race-based grants.
MUSIC
Allégro by Emmit Fenn
