Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore has defended the New Year’s Eve fireworks display despite the entertainment being slammed by Aussies for its political overtones.
Ms Moore was a leading proponent of the Indigenous Voice to Parliament and gave a telling clue that the night would be highly political early on Sunday evening.
In a New Year’s Eve address, Ms Moore aired her disappointment the referendum had failed while gloating about ’70 per cent’ of her electorate voting Yes and calling for ‘real support for our First Nations people’.
Her City of Sydney Council came under fire hours later for the family-friendly 9pm fireworks display for its overtly political performance from Indigenous rap group 3%.
The ‘Calling Country’ fireworks had references to the failed Voice to Parliament referendum, the colonisation of Australia, and the Stolen Generation.
Several outraged Aussies took to social media to air their frustration prompting Ms Moore to step in and defend the show.
Ms Moore was a leading proponent of the Indigenous Voice to Parliament and gave a telling clue that the night would be highly political earlier in the evening
She argued in one social media post the show was designed to ‘acknowledge Blak Power’.
‘[The] 9pm Calling Country fireworks were all about celebrating our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities,’ she wrote.
‘It’s been a hard year for our Indigenous communities as they’ve struggled through the shameful result of the referendum.
‘Tonight was about acknowledging Blak power and resilience through music, art and fireworks.’
Sydney city had one of the largest Yes votes in the nation, along with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s electorate of Grayndler and the Australian Capital Territory.
Before the show, Ms Moore said the 9pm fireworks – normally referred to as the family fireworks, given children are less likely to be awake for the midnight show – would ‘honour Australia and Sydney’s Indigenous heritage’.
She said the show was titled ‘Calling Country’ and was made in collaboration with Indigenous artists.
The show, Ms Moore said, would act as a reminder to the world that ‘Sydney is a global city… is inclusive and diverse for all communities’.
Elsewhere in that New Year’s Eve address, Ms Moore revealed a hope that ‘2024 would be a much better year than 2023, with an end to the devastation of communities in Gaza, Israel and Ukraine’.
The broadcast of the fireworks also featured Melbourne singer Angie McMahon, who not only took to the stage to sing Sinead O’Connor’s Nothing Compares to You, but to make a statement about the Israel-Hamas conflict.
McMahon took the opportunity to weigh in on the Israel-Palestine conflict during her set, telling the crowd: ‘Palestinians should be free’.
Ms Moore also called for an end to approving coal mines and gas projects.
The taxpayer-funded national broadcaster has been widely criticised for their coverage of Sydney’s 9pm New Year’s Eve fireworks display, which was watched by millions of Australians, many of them under 12 years old
In a widespread New Year’s Eve address, Ms Moore (pictured wearing a Yes shirt and holding an umbrella) called for ‘real support for our First Nations people after the No vote for the Voice to Federal Parliament this year’, noting she was ‘very proud that 70 per cent of our city people voted Yes’
The No vote was devastating for strong advocates. Pictured: Yes supporters reacting after it became clear on October 14 the vote would fail
She was later asked why there was any need at all for a ‘Calling Country’ show in the time slot which normally heavily prioritises children’s entertainment.
Ms Moore argued the name of the show hasn’t changed for three years, and is an indication that Sydney is ‘proud to celebrate the world’s oldest culture’.
The taxpayer-funded national broadcaster has been widely criticised for their coverage of Sydney’s 9pm New Year’s Eve fireworks display, which was watched by millions of Australians, many of them under 12 years old.
While the display showed a projection of the popular kids show Bluey on the pillars of the Sydney Harbour Bridge before the 9pm fireworks, it also featured an overtly political performance from Indigenous rap group 3%.
The group’s song ‘Our People’ features lyrics like ‘They stole the land in the name of their kings’, ‘They locked us up and then they threw away the key’ and ‘You can suck my Moby D***’.
However, several changes were made to the song to accomodate the family-friendly show with the last lyric changed to ‘You gon’ sink this Moby ship’.
Up-and-coming Melbourne singer Angie McMahon also copped backlash for her involvement in the widely criticised show. She took to the stage wearing a ‘no kids in prison’ shirt in reference to a campaign to increase the age of criminal responsibility in Australia, which is currently 10
The display showed a projection of the popular kids show Bluey on the pillars of the Sydney Harbour Bridge before the 9pm fireworks
The references to the failed Voice to Parliament referendum, the colonisation of Australia, and the Stolen Generation prompted critics to question why the ABC chooses to politicise New Year’s Eve every year.
And up-and-coming Melbourne singer Angie McMahon also copped backlash for her involvement in the widely criticised show.
She took to the stage wearing a ‘no kids in prison’ shirt in reference to a campaign to raise the age of criminal responsibility in Australia, which is currently 10.
Then, she waded into the Israel-Hamas conflict, telling the crowd: ‘Palestinians should be free’.
Viewers slammed the singer as a ‘wannabe activist’ and questioned why the tax-payer funded performances had to come with a ‘painful political statement’.
And her social media pages have been inundated with mixed reviews from fans and viewers.
Some say they’ve found her music on the back of the political statement and are new fans, while others accused her of ‘selective morality’.
It also featured an overtly political performance from Indigenous rap group 3%
Daily Mail Australia approached both Ms McMahon and Ms Moore’s office regarding the public reception of the show.
Prominent anti-Voice campaigner Warren Mundine told Daily Mail Australia it was ‘disgraceful’ for the New Year’s Eve entertainment to be politicised.
‘We just want to have a relaxed start to the year and have fun, because it’s going to be a big year this year,’ Mr Mundine said.
‘NYE is an incredible landmark occasion for Sydney, and the world, in fact. It’s telecast all over the world, and I think people are getting sick and tired of the politicisation of things.
‘We’re sick and tired of the politicisation of everything. We Australians are pretty laid back.’
An ABC spokesman told Daily Mail Australia that family viewing was an important part of the broadcast.
He said in the lead-up to the fireworks an exclusive viewing of Muster Dogs Series 2 was featured as well as a special surprise from Bluey and Calling Country, a celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait communities, produced by Indigenous social enterprise We Are Warriors.
‘The ABC’s NYE concert also showcased the biggest names in Australian music, including Jessica Mauboy, Genesis Owusu, King Stingray, Confidence Man, Angie McMahon, Mark Seymour, Grentperez and the Queen of New Year’s Eve, Casey Donovan,’ the spokesman said.
‘The ABC is a proud supporter of all aspects of Australian culture and entertainment on New Year’s Eve and every other night of the year.’