Musician Ziggy Ramo accuses ABC of censorship over Anzac song on Q+A – ABC News

The ABC has been accused of censorship by a Q+A panellist, on an episode dedicated to whether Australians can trust the media.

Indigenous musician Ziggy Ramo took the national broadcaster to task on the program, saying his preferred choice of song for the episode's closing segment was rejected.

The song, April 25th, includes these lines:

"You didn't give your life

"You weren't an Anzac

"If you're gonna love your soldiers

"You've gotta love the blacks

"But you fly your flag

"Water off your back

"If this don't make sense and you lost your way

"Just remember how much you hate it when I say

"F*** those Anzacs, screaming, f*** those Anzacs. Now, how f***ed up is that?"

Ramo questioned whether his inclusion on the Monday night panel was "performative" diversity on the part of the ABC, after talking about the lack of representation of people from minority backgrounds at media outlets.

"For example, on this show today the song that I'm going to perform is called Stand For Something," Ramo said.

"The song I initially was going to perform was called April 25th, and this was a song that I was not allowed to perform.

"I was basically censored, in the fact that the ABC said that it was not appropriate.

"Me sitting on this panel ticks off a box for the ABC that is cultural diversity, but if I'm not able to express my perspective, is it performative or is it actual cultural diversity?"

He then referenced an earlier comment from Nationals MP and former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce, about the importance of freedom of expression.

But Mr Joyce indicated he felt there were limits, and sided with the ABC's decision on the song.

"I imagine when we say April 25th, we are looking at Anzac Day or something like that," Mr Joyce said.

"You have to be careful what you say.

"You go to a point where you insult people. I could talk to Indigenous people where I grew up and there are so many Indigenous people who are part of the RSL movement, and what are you saying to them?

"What do you say to all the members? What are you saying to them? You don't respect them?" Mr Joyce added.

Host Hamish Macdonald then offered to let Ramo explain his position.

"I want to celebrate the Anzacs, and I do celebrate the Anzacs," the rapper said.

"I myself, have gone to [World War I battlefields in] Belgium when I was 17. I had the privilege to go there and celebrate and understand the sacrifice that people have laid down for this country.

"The whole point of a song about April 25th is saying that I've seen this country recognise the sacrifices that have been made so that we could all sit here today.

"We can't just pick parts of our history that we want to recognise, and bury the others.

"If in World War II, we fought against genocide, yet we don't recognise the genocide in our own country, that's a double standard.

"So the whole reason why the song says, 'I hate the Anzacs,' is to demonstrate, that how outrageous is that?

"If we can recognise how outrageous that is, why can't [we] recognise that on [Australia Day] January 26?

"Why can't we recognise that when we ask to raise the age from 10 because 600 kids last year were locked up, we're 2 per cent of the population, we make up 65 per cent of those kids incarcerated.

"Do we not understand the hypocrisy?"

An ABC spokesperson confirmed Ramo had been asked to "perform an alternative song to close the show".

"[The ABC] instead invited him to present his points of view on all topics, including the sentiment and lyrics of the song April 25th and the reasons he wrote it, during the discussion," the spokesperson said.

"He took up the opportunity to explain those sentiments in detail."

Ramo later closed out the show with an emotional performance of Stand For Something.

Watch the full episode again on iview or via the Q+A Facebook page.

Read the rest here:

Musician Ziggy Ramo accuses ABC of censorship over Anzac song on Q+A - ABC News