Major Australian media outlet apologises for ‘racist’ full-page ad featuring Indigenous people

Ad shows Wesfarmers chair Michael Chaney handing money to Indigenous leader Thomas Mayo

The Aboriginal flag is seen flying in Melbourne, Australia (Getty Images)

One of Australia's major news outlets issued an apology following a backlash over its racist depiction of the Indigenous people in a full-page advertisement in its daily newspaper.

The advertisement in the Australian Financial Review shows independent member of parliament (MP) Kate Chaney sitting on the knee of her father, Wesfarmers chair Michael Chaney, while he hands money to Indigenous leader Thomas Mayo.

Wesfarmers, which owns the Bunnings hardware chain, has donated funds in support of the Indigenous referendum, which has received backing from several other corporates.

The ad was captioned “Don’t worry sweetheart, it’s just shareholders’ money” while describing Mr Mayo as a “radical activist”.

Australians will cast their ballots in a referendum later this year on whether they support altering the constitution to include a "Voice to Parliament" – a committee to advise the House on matters that affect the lives of its Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people.

A successful referendum would finally give constitutional recognition to the country's Indigenous people, who track below national averages on most socio-economic measures.

The ad was authorised by Advance, the group behind Fair Australia, which has been lobbying against the referendum.

Ms Chaney on Thursday said it was “disappointing to see the No campaign stooping to personal and racist attacks when Australians are more interested in learning the facts about the voice and how it can contribute to Closing the Gap”.

“Ultimately, I think people will vote in the referendum based on what is fair and useful, not based on fear and hate,” she said.

Nine, the company that owns the Australian Financial Review, said the advertisement "should not have run and we apologise for it".

"We want to encourage a mature debate from both sides and avoid personal and/or inappropriate attacks," a spokesperson for the company said in a statement.

Outraged Australians, including lawmakers, took to social media to denounce the advertisement.

“In a few small steps the No campaign has reduced a respectful and important national conversation to racist, sexist, insulting tropes,” independent MP Monique Ryan tweeted.

Linda Burney, the Indigenous Australians minister, claimed the Fair Australia campaign was seeking to mislead voters.

She accused opposition leader Peter Dutton of “bullyboy tactics” over his criticism of corporates supporting the referendum.

“I don’t want to, every time I hand over my credit card or cash at Bunnings, or at Coles, I don’t want part of that money going to an activist CEO,” Mr Dutton said.

Mr Dutton previously announced that the opposition Liberal Party would campaign against the national vote. However, that led to a divide within the Liberal Party, with some publicly rejecting the party’s position.

NSW Liberal MP Matt Kean drew comparisons with segregation messaging in the US in the 20th century.

“The racist trope of Thomas Mayo in today’s full-page AFR ad has no place in Australian politics,” he tweeted. “It’s a throwback to the Jim Crow era of the Deep South. The No Campaign has every right to be heard but can do much better than this.”

A spokesperson for Advance said criticism for the cartoon was from “elites”, according to SBS News. “There it is again – the Yes campaign elites playing the race card straight off the top of the deck.”