“With them a reminder of the dangers they faced, in the shape of three lorries…carrying Aborigines”

Joe is reading from a Centenary edition of the Western Mail. Its description of the Aboriginal population as dangerous contrasts ironically with the gentle opening scene in which this passage is read, emphasizing the racism of white society.

“The ding always sells us little shriveled ones and them wetjala kids big fat ones”

Cissie complains that the Indigenous children get taken advantage of when they try to buy food. They receive the smallest and least desirable pies for the same amount of money as the larger pies that are given to the other children. The Indigenous children are not immune from racist practices.

“It is an offence to supply liquor to an Aboriginal native under the Aboriginal Act”

The double standard is apparent: Alcohol can only be consumed legally by white Australians. The assumption is that they are “civilized” enough to control themselves while under the influence.

“You might think your doin’ ‘em a good turn, but you’re not. Take it from me, I been dealin’ with ‘em for years. I got nothin’ against ‘em, but I know exactly what they’re like”

Sergeant Carrol sets the tone of racism and profiling early in the play. He thinks he already knows enough about the Aboriginal people, and nothing will change his mind. The fact that he is so obviously beyond persuasion shows the plight of the Aboriginal characters: They are at the mercy of people who tell them what they are and who insist that they can’t aspire to anything. The passage also develops the theme of The Hypocrisy of Western “Civilization” by illustrating the tension between two forms of racism: one that seeks to “civilize” colonized peoples and one that seeks merely to subjugate them.

“Claims he wouldn’t be able to go out and leave his wife alone at night”

Neville is speaking about a landlord named Mr. Smith, who does not want Aboriginal Australians near his home. He claims that his wife would be in danger in close proximity to them. Whether he actually believes this is ambiguous, but Neville treats it seriously, as if the man’s fears were well-founded, because it suits his racist agenda.

“I’m afraid that soap is no longer included as a ration item”

The sergeant tells the family that they will no longer be issued soap. This is a central example of colonialism’s hypocrisy: The white authorities claim the Indigenous Australians are an unclean people, yet soap, a basic tool of cleanliness, is suddenly taken away from them. This implies that the goal is not actually assimilation, even if one were to accept that as a valid attitude toward other cultures.

“Your trouble, Milly, is you got three healthy men bludging off you, too lazy to work”

When Milly complains to the sergeant about the cessation of soap rations, he changes the subject. Rather than addressing her claims, he tells her that her real problem is the men who should be providing for her are loafing about. In reality, there is no work for the men, who are certainly not lazy. That her complaints do not even receive a proper response underscores that the white authority figures are beyond persuasion.

“Thirty returned to the settlement in pregnant condition”

Neville reads from a paper. Thirty girls were taken from the settlement for domestic work. Thirty of them came back pregnant. The implication, particularly given Mary’s fears later, is that the girls were raped by their new bosses.

“I’m a great believer that if you provide the native the basic accoutrements of civilization you’re half way to civilizing him”

The Aboriginal characters must abide by someone else’s definition of “civilized.” Because Neville is able to withhold aid from them based on his idea of what their standards should be, he is also capable of eroding their traditions if they get desperate enough to obey him. The clinical reference to “the native” is a clear indication that Neville—and by extension, white Australian society—views the Indigenous population as akin to a different species.

“I don’t want any lip from you”

Before Gran has even responded, the Constable tells her that he doesn’t want her to talk back to him. This provides two signals. First, he expects her to talk back, or at least claims to do so, which hints at both the nature of what he is telling her and his contempt for her opinions. Second, because the rest of the family follows Gran’s lead, the authorities seek to silence all the Indigenous characters.

“Sugar catches more flies than vinegar.”

Neville speaks this adage to Jimmy Munday after denying him train fare after his release from jail. The irony is that Neville is telling a man whom he just imprisoned unjustly that if he treats Neville, his captor, more kindly, he may receive better treatment. That Jimmy’s reasonable request is treated as bad-tempered illustrates the impossibility of placating racist standards.

“Too late to adopt the Tasmanian solution”

The “Tasmanian solution” involved the poisoning of Indigenous people by means of placing strychnine in their flour rations. The Sergeant and the Constable joke blithely about the practice and how it would save them from the “inconvenience” of the Aboriginal population’s demands. Their casual tone emphasizes The Violence of Systemic Racism, revealing that their own behavior exists on a spectrum that includes outright murder.

“And when she had that baby them trackers choked it dead and buried it in the pine plantation”

Mary tells Joe a story about a friend of hers. After being raped by the sons of a farmer, she became pregnant. When the baby was born, they killed it. The anecdote is an extreme example of colonialist violence and heightens the tension surrounding Mary’s pregnancy.

“They chuck ‘em on a big fire, chuck ‘em in river”

The white characters’ version of history differs greatly from that of the Aboriginal characters. Billy tells a story about when his group was attacked by police, who slaughtered them and threw them on the fire. That Billy himself has become an agent of this violence highlights the moral compromises some marginalized individuals make to protect themselves.

“I think she was scared of the living”

The Matron tells her husband that Mary’s reason for not wanting to work in the hospital is not that she is scared of the dead bodies she might encounter. Rather, she is scared of Mr. Neal, the living man who might harm her there. Rumors of ghosts and hauntings in No Sugar are never as dangerous as living racists.

“Since all the natives have shifted out, Northam is no longer a ration depot”

Sergeant Carrol tells Joe that he cannot camp near Northam. as there are no more rations. He speaks as if the Indigenous population just chose to leave, knowing full well that he is talking to someone who was forced to leave. It is unclear whether he believes that or is just parroting the party line, but both reveal his disdain for Joe.

“In that time some six thousand natives disappeared and only one was left alive”

Neville addresses the Royal Western Australia Historical Society. The 6,000 Indigenous people who “disappeared” were poisoned, a fact that Neville and the colonial powers he represents omit from the official historical narrative. The disappearance is presented as a mystery, despite the fact that it was a mass murder. The episode illustrates the relationship between white supremacist violence and narrative control.

“So he could have a nice, white little town”

Jimmy challenges Mr. Neal on Australia Day. He points out that all of the hardships they have endured during the play were predicated on a lie: the nonexistent scabies outbreak. The truth is that they have suffered so that Mr. Neal—and all that he represents—can live in a segregated community.

“We don’t hit people to make them do God’s will”

Sister Eileen lectures Billy, who has been hitting David to get him to go to Sunday school. Although her intentions are good, the episode exposes the violence with which Western colonialism often imposed Christianity on colonized populations.

“A little knowledge is a dangerous thing”

Mr. Neal tells Sister Eileen that she is not to encourage the Indigenous characters to read. Mr. Neal and the white authorities are blatantly invested in keeping the Aboriginal population subjugated and assume that denying access to knowledge makes them easier to control.

“It doesn’t hurt to remind yourselves that you are preparing yourselves here to take your place in Australian society, to live as other Australians live, and to live alongside other Australians; to learn to enjoy the privileges and to shoulder the responsibilities of living like the white man”

Neville speaks to the Aboriginal characters on Australia Day. His belief that their goal should be to live as “whites” is ironic as well as racist, as the play demonstrates that the “responsibilities” and “privileges” of the white characters are bound up in the oppression of the Indigenous ones. His conflation of white colonialist culture with Australia is also highly ironic; the Aboriginal people are Australia’s Indigenous population, yet Neville sees them as requiring integration into “Australian society.”

“Well, here’s plenty of clean cotton wool and baby powder and Lysol soap”

After the baby is born, the Matron tells Gran how to clean and protect the baby. Gran replies that she doesn’t need the powder because she will use her own. The Matron does not argue with her, which suggests that she understands Gran’s expertise with the elements of the land and ultimately respects her judgment, even if she initially assumed her incompetence.

“A classic case of emotion comes in through the door and reason goes out the window”

All strong emotion from the Aboriginal characters is dismissed by Mr. Neal as evidence of irrationality. This illustrates both his racism and his hypocrisy: He preaches an allegiance to reason but can’t see the validity of the characters’ anger over being denied basic rights.