Blak voices and white noise: on the silencing and resurgence of Indigenous bioethics in Australia

Christopher Mayes (Deakin University , Deakin University )

Blak voices and white noise: on the silencing and resurgence of Indigenous bioethics in Australia

Christopher Mayes (Deakin University)

Abstract: "We didn't know" is a common refrain used by white politicians, academics and publics in Australia when confronted with examples of racism. Bioethics is no different. While bioethicists in the late-20th century were preoccupied with cloning and reproductive technologies, the biomedical abuses and neglect suffered by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australia received scant attention.

White epistemologies of ignorance are used to silence and suppress recognition of past wrongs and support the defence "we didn't know". However, the historical record suggests otherwise. Ethical breaches and racial injustices were known and were vocalised by Indigenous communities, scholars and activists.

Despite these efforts, professional bioethicists remained largely silent on institutional racism and failed to make connections between colonialism, denial Indigenous sovereignty, and health outcomes. While institutional reforms have occurred in recent years, broader bioethical discourse has often failed to engage meaningfully with Indigenous voices. Drawing on archival sources and interviews, this paper retrieves subjugated knowledges to highlight how an early Aboriginal bioethics from the 1980s and 90s prefigured the resurgence of Blak bioethics today, which emphasizes Indigenous sovereignty and decoloniality. This paper calls for a reorientation of bioethics to include Indigenous moral authority and lived experience as central to ethical deliberation.

Bio: Christopher Mayes is an Associate Professor in Philosophy, Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences and the co-convener of the Philosophy and Religious Studies research group. He joined Deakin in 2017, having previous held research fellowships at the Rock Ethics Institute (Pennsylvania State University) and Sydney Health Ethics (University of Sydney). He is an interdisciplinary scholar with disciplinary backgrounds in sociology, history and philosophy. His research interests include history and philosophy of healthcare, sociology of health and food, and bioethics. He co-hosts Undisciplinary: a podcast the explores the history, ethics and politics of health.

Zoom Link: https://deakin.zoom.us/j/87904604135?pwd=9FBGQ0KzQJ5ct1iBrrDWaKnQQK7nmZ.1 

Meeting ID: 879 0460 4135 // Password: 73627693

This meeting is at 12:30pm Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST) 18 August 2026 [02:30am UTC 18 August 2026]