Former Australian of the Year Grace Tame has described the country as “so-called Australia” while promoting a new jewellery collaboration.
Tame unveiled a series of images on Wednesday showcasing her work with Melbourne artist and jeweller Tom Whitty.
In an accompanying statement, she reflected on being branded “difficult” for speaking openly about issues including “manmade poverty, famine, gender inequality, racism and environmental disasters.”
“From Palestine, Brazil, Serbia and France to so-called Australia and beyond, revolution against the exploitative corporate class is sweeping across the globe,” Tame wrote.
“It is being led by First Nations trailblazers, students and ordinary civilians alike.”
Australia has no single Indigenous name, although the country is commonly referred to as “Country” in Indigenous contexts, including Welcome to Country ceremonies.
The name “Australia” is generally credited to English explorer Matthew Flinders, who helped popularise it in the early 1800s after becoming the first person to circumnavigate the continent.
Tame’s collaboration with Whitty includes limited-edition earrings in both gold and silver.
Grace Tame (pictured) referred to the country as “so-called Australia” while promoting her jewellery collaboration on Wednesday
The earrings being sold by Tame
The earrings depict a woman swinging from an eye, and the first 50 purchases also came with a temporary tattoo.
The silver design was priced at $130, while the gold version cost $150. Every purchase included a limited-edition foil print.
Whitty said the collection’s name and design drew on moments when Tame faced intense public scrutiny.
“The title of these earrings references both the iconic moment Grace gave side-eye in a show of contempt to former Prime Minister Scott Morrison on her final day as Australian of the Year, as well as the more recent moment current Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called Grace ‘difficult’,” he wrote.
Tame and Whitty also referred repeatedly to the continuing conflict between Israel and Palestine, including the humanitarian crisis in Gaza following Israel’s bombing campaigns.
Tame has been a vocal critic of Israel’s military operations and has repeatedly described its attacks on Palestine as “genocide.”
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Last month, she attended a rally in Sydney marking three years since Israel began its assault on the Palestinian enclave after the October 7 attacks, in which about 1,200 people were killed.
She accused Rupert Murdoch’s newspapers and governments of “weaponising antisemitism” to “distract and divide” Australians over the war in Gaza.
Tame (pictured) launched two pairs of earrings with Melbourne artist Tom Whitty, priced at $130 and $150, celebrating “difficult women”
“There is nothing really I can add to this conversation because we all know the truth—we know of Israel’s violent establishment in 1948, the brutal occupation, racialised policies, settler violence and our own governments’ complicity in all of these atrocities,” Tame said at Sunday’s protest.
“We know about the cynical weaponisation of antisemitism, which is just another tool to distract and divide us.”
Robert Gregory, president of the Australian Jewish Association, told Our News Outlet at the time that Tame’s comments were “deeply offensive” to Jewish Australians facing rising antisemitism.
“Antisemitism is not a political weapon or a distraction. It is a very real threat to Jewish Australians, who have faced intimidation, harassment and violence. At Bondi Beach, we saw where unchecked antisemitism leads,” Mr Gregory said.
“There is nothing cynical about calling out antisemitism. What is cynical is trying to discredit those who speak out against it simply because their experiences are politically inconvenient.
“Grace Tame should be standing with victims of antisemitism, not dismissing their concerns.”
Tame referred to the mixed responses to her activism in Wednesday’s post.
“I know that speaking out is terrifying and comes with great risk, but the consequences of doing nothing should terrify us more,” she wrote.
“It doesn’t have to mean addressing crowds of thousands or publicly criticising the government.
“It can mean boycotting newspapers, joining peaceful protests or wearing a defiant pair of earrings.”
Our News Outlet has contacted Tame’s representatives for comment.
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Should calling Australia “so-called” challenge national identity or spark honest conversation?
