‘Woke’: Pauline Hanson slams Department of Defence Indigenous weapons training program
Pauline Hanson has criticized the Ministry of Defense for a four-day exercise training program in Canberra which she described as “disconnected” and “woke”.
The department shared a series of images online of Australian Army personnel, including staff sergeants and sergeants, attending Indigenous weapons classes in late May.
Footage shared on social media showed soldiers preparing Boondi, a traditional hardwood stick commonly used for hunting and close combat.
Online, the One Nation leader slammed the training program, saying the Ministry of Defense was “caught forcing soldiers to make Indigenous spears instead of fighting modern warfare.”
“I hope our new defense plan is not spears and clubs instead of guns and drones,” he wrote.
He argued that the app was “contactless” and “woke.”
“To be clear, this is not the Diggers’ fault,” he wrote.
“They are being forced to do this by out-of-touch generals and our woke Secretary of Defense.”
Exercise Greenskin trained soldiers in “finding the right trees to craft clubs, spears, axes, and halberds.”
This is the fourth event of its kind, with 60 staff participating from across the country.
As part of the four-day event, staff also participated in cultural excursions and a military history tour of the Australian War Memorial.
The officer in charge, Major Samuel White, said Exercise Greenskin aimed to “help soldiers better understand the Aboriginal history of their unit”.
“I have a strong connection to Indigenous culture myself, but seeing non-Indigenous Australians and service members learning how to do these things is the highlight,” he said.
Some of the culturally cleansed weapons may eventually be used for ceremonial purposes, Major White said.
NewsWire has contacted the Department of Defense for comment.
