Narelda Jacobs is defending her decision to accept the King’s birthday award despite her fierce opposition to the monarchy
Studio 10 presenter Narelda Jacobs has accepted the King’s Birthday award for her contribution to journalism, despite her fierce opposition to the monarchy.
The 47-year-old presenter made headlines in September when she called on Britain to apologize and “make amends” for First Nations colonization just days after the Queen’s death.
But on Monday, Jacobs willingly accepted an OAM, one of the monarchy’s highest honors.
Jacobs defended her apparent backtrack in a lengthy Instagram post, explaining that she accepts the award “from her community” and not the monarchy.
“While I would rather receive such an honor from another head of state, the Commonwealth is the system in which we operate,” she wrote.
Studio 10 presenter Narelda Jacobs, 47, (pictured) accepted her royal honor on Monday despite her fierce opposition to the monarchy
“Before deciding to be inducted into the King’s Birthday Honor Roll, I thought of all the First Nations people who have bravely taken up the spaces created by the colony.”
Narelda then revealed that she had thought about her late father Cedric’s legacy before deciding to accept her OAM.
Cedric, a Whadjuk Noongar man and member of the stolen generation, received an MBE from Queen Elizabeth II in 1981.
Jacobs defended her apparent backtrack in a lengthy Instagram post, explaining that she accepts the award “from her community” and not the monarchy
“I thought of my father receiving his MBE from the Queen in 1981 while fighting for recognition of his Noongar sovereignty, even though he was fully aware of the monarch’s role in dispossessing his people,” she wrote.
“I have chosen to orient myself towards those who recognize the importance of entering the space in order to change it.”
She then noted her support for The Voice to Parliament in Australia’s upcoming referendum, a proposed body set to work with the government on laws and policies affecting Indigenous people and residents of the Torres Strait Islands.
“Before deciding to be inducted into the King’s Birthday Honors Roll, I thought of all the First Nations people who bravely took up the spaces created by the colony,” she wrote
“I thought of my father receiving his MBE from the Queen in 1981 while fighting for recognition of his Noongar sovereignty, even though he was fully aware of the monarch’s role in dispossessing his people,” she wrote
This comes after Narelda sparked heated debate on social media after she called on the monarchy to apologize for the colonization of First Nations following the death of Queen Elizabeth II
“In this referendum year, I am grateful to be part of the change,” she wrote.
This comes after Narelda sparked heated debate on social media after she called on the monarchy to apologize for the colonization of First Nations following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
Her plea was supported by some progressive Australians, but also by Britons, who say they owe Aboriginal people no apologies for the actions of their ancestors more than 200 years ago.
Following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, Jacobs shared an Instagram Story with left-wing women’s website Mamamia, which read: “I’m an Aboriginal woman.” Don’t ask me to mourn the Queen’s death.
Others pointed out that Narelda is of Irish and English descent on her mother’s side, making her “as much British as she is indigenous”.
Narelda’s late father, Cedric, was an Indigenous man, while her mother, Margaret, a white, immigrated to Australia with her family from Northern Ireland.
Queen Elizabeth visited Australia 16 times during her 70-year reign.
In 2002 she watched a cultural show at the Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park in Cairns.
Queen Elizabeth visited Australia 16 times during her 70-year reign. In 2002, she attended a cultural show at the Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park in Cairns (pictured).