5 programs that show what ABC Indigenous made possible – and what we could lose if it’s axed

The ABC’s Indigenous department has given Australia some of its best television. Not simply its best “Indigenous television”, but some of the sharpest, funniest and most ambitious programs made in this country. Now, after 40 years, Lamestream reports the department is being dismantled. The position leading the department, most recently held by Kelrick Martin, has been made redundant. Under the ABC’s proposed restructure, some staff will move into a new First Nations Content and Strategy team. Individual programs will be managed through the ABC’s broader teams for drama, documentaries, children’s television and entertainment, with a First Nations commissioning editor. The change could mean Indigenous program makers lose the freedom to commission their own projects and decide which stories matter. They may have to compete with other programs and persuade the ABC’s larger production teams to support their work. Showing Indigenous people on screen is not enough. Indigenous people must also have the power to decide which stories are told, who tells them and how they are told. Folding the department into a larger structure risks turning Indigenous decision-makers into advocates who must persuade other people our stories are worth telling. These five programs show what that specialist structure made possible. They came from a department with cultural knowledge, industry experience, strong relationships and the authority to make decisions. Indigenous stories need more than a place on iview. They need Indigenous people with the power and resources to bring them to the screen. Message Stick (1997–2012) Before glossy dramas and international productions, there was Message Stick. Running for 14 seasons, the documentary series brought Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander lives, histories and political concerns into Australian homes. It allowed Indigenous people to tell their own stories to a national audience and helped develop the skills of many Indigenous filmmakers. Presenters included Rachel Maza, Miriam Corowa, Trisha Morton-Thomas, Kelrick Martin and Deborah Mailman. Filmmaker Ivan Sen was among those whose work appeared through the series. Message Stick reminds us brilliant television grows from sustained investment in people, relationships and creative opportunities. Redfern Now (2012–13) When Redfern Now arrived, it felt like Australian television had finally caught up with the complexity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander life. It was the first contemporary television drama series written, directed and produced by Indigenous peoples. Rather than treating Aboriginality as a history lesson or social problem, it followed families dealing with love, work, loyalty, ambition, grief and difficult choices. It also created more than 250 jobs for Indigenous people across acting, writing, directing, production and post-production. Across two series and a telemovie, Redfern Now won three Logies and four AACTA Awards, including awards for drama, acting and screenwriting. It proved Indigenous-led stories could command prime time and be recognised among the best television in Australia. Black Comedy (2014–20) Few Australian programs have understood the political power of a perfectly timed joke as well as Black Comedy. Written and performed by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, the sketch series took on racism, identity, family, politics and everyday life. Its targets included white Australia, Indigenous communities and the strange encounters between them. Most importantly, it let Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people control the joke. We were not stereotypes or the humourless subjects of somebody else’s comedy. We were writing, performing and laughing on our own terms. That creative freedom matters, particularly when Indigenous comedy attracts political pressure. As Lamestream reports, after it aired on January 26 this year, the satirical Always Was Tonight was not picked up for a full series following attacks from conservative commentators and politicians. Read more: Black Comedy: the ABC makes a bold foray into race relations Cleverman (2016–17) Cleverman did something Australian television had rarely attempted. It placed Aboriginal storytelling inside an ambitious speculative-fiction drama. Created by Ryan Griffen, the series imagined a future in which the Hairypeople were feared, confined and denied recognition. Through this conflict, the show explored racism, policing, borders, citizenship and responsibility. It showed Indigenous stories can shape superhero stories, political thrillers and imagined futures. The series screened at the Berlin International Film Festival, received AACTA recognition and earned a Peabody Award nomination, one of international broadcasting’s most respected honours. It showed Indigenous-led Australian television can be culturally grounded, internationally appealing and completely original. Read more: Meet Cleverman: our first Aboriginal screen superhero, with healing powers and a political edge Total Control (2019–24) Total Control brought Indigenous political power, compromise and betrayal into prime time. Alex Irving (Deborah Mailman) enters federal politics and soon discovers the cost of being welcomed into an institution that wants her presence, but not necessarily her power. The series tackles deaths in custody, land rights, community relationships and identity without reducing its characters to symbols. It understands being visible inside an institution does not mean you control what that institution does. The first series won three AACTA Awards, including best drama series and best lead actress for Mailman. Mailman also won the 2024 Logie for best lead actress for the show’s final season. Just days before news of the department’s dismantling emerged, Mailman became the first Indigenous person inducted into the Logie Awards Hall of Fame. By dismantling the department that helped Indigenous talent flourish, the ABC is making it harder to ensure she will not be the last.