National day of Action on the Northern Territory “Intervention”
Australian issues, Energy issues, Political lies, Rights - - Posted on November, 18 at 4:55 pm by Helen
In my self-centred frenzy of spruiking our new plan for world domination family business on my own blog, I missed the National day of Action on the Northern Territory Intervention yesterday. So here’s a roundup of links and commentary from Australia and the US. After all, the election focus has switched back to “responsible economic management”, especially of middle-class white peoples’ mortgages, so we all need a reminder that a couple of months ago, the Australian government sent the army into aboriginal communities and is to annex their land, all in the name of protecting children.
Sadly, one doesn’t have to be a cynic to tell that this was a political stunt (as well as highly convenient now that they won’t be tying up all that lovely uranium. To some people, this may sound strangely familiar). To quote the National Sorry Day commission,
- there are the 339 Recommendations from the Deaths in Custody Report, released in 1990.
- there are the 54 Recommendations from Bringing Them Home Report, released in 1997.
- now there are another 97 Recommendations from the Little Children are Sacred Report, released in June 2007. This makes a grand a total of 490 recommendations.It is agreed amongst commentators that most of the earlier 393 recommendations until June 2007 either have been absolutely ignored, or implemented in an ineffectual manner through inadequate funding, limited resources and insufficient service providers and staff.
Here’s some of the bloggers who responded to the day of action:
(L)isten up. Your worldview is broken beyond repair. Aboriginal peoples aren’t withered obsolete organs, to be seen only in terms of their utility or troublesomeness. You don’t get to do whatever you want with them. You don’t GET to decide whether to keep them, treat them, or excise them. They are human beings to be respected, not irritating vestiges or evolutionary curiosities. They have societies and a dynamic heritage of their own, as well as being part of a broader Australian society. They form sovereign nations.
Start listening to equal humans, to equal nations. Treaty, now.
As you can hopefully see, there is nothing even remotely right, sensible or well-intentioned about these actions. They breach the Racial Discrimination Act, violate property laws, strip citizens of personal autonomy, push people onto welfare and then restrict their access to it. And the intervention does these things to only one racial group within the population.
Instead of working with Aboriginal people, the government is working specifically against them, including appointing non-Aboriginal managers of communities. This is not a dialogue, it is not help, it is not intervention, it is quite frankly invasion.
*Brownfemipower also gives the call to action a kick along (she was already across, and writing about, this issue before), and gives a hat tip to
*Firefly at She who Stumbles, who explains the abolition of Community Development Employment Program (CDEP) - part of the “intervention” - and the likely consequences. She’s the originator of the call to action. Thanks, Firefly.
The call to action contains many useful links. I’d add to that the Little Children are Sacred report (warning - PDF), which - contrary to the intention of its writers - was used by the federal government to launch the “intervention”. The report listed 97 recommendations. As the Sorry Day quotation mentioned above, the government ignored all of the report’s recommendations, including the first, which was to work together with aboriginal leaders to form a co-ordinated response to abuse and disadvantage.
Posted in Australian issues, Energy issues, Political lies, Rights |
November 18th, 2007 at 6:38 pm
“Sadly, one doesn’t have to be a cynic to tell that this was a political stunt”
I think this was more than just a political stunt Helen.
By calling the Aboriginal community intervention a response to a “disaster” & “emergency” the Howard government with the assistance of the Corporate media Enablers are playing an evil role for the Corporations & Free Marketeers by using techniques of “Disaster Capitalism”…as they did w/ the Tampa situation…& 9/11 and Bali tragedies….& have with the Drought…passing draconian laws & assisting the Right-Wing ruling elite whilst turning Workers into Serfs:
This is a MUST watch…it’s only 6 minutes long but eye opening:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kieyjfZDUIc
(The Shock Doctrine: DIRECTED BY JONÁS CUARÓN. Alfonso Cuarón, director of “Children of Men”, and Naomi Klein, author of “No Logo”, present a short film from Klein’s book “The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism.”)
Might add, well timed & articulate post Helen…& worthwhile links.
November 18th, 2007 at 6:49 pm
Ta Nask.
November 19th, 2007 at 12:57 am
Unfortunately the attendance at the NDA in Darwin was a fairly accurate reflection of the level of apathy amongst the citizenry of our fine country.
November 19th, 2007 at 7:29 am
Howard hit rock bottom in his cynical, opportunistic, hypocritical, self-serving ‘emergency intervention’.
Utter creep, not a shred of principle left in him.
And Captain Brough ain’t much better. Arrogant authoritarian fool.
Nuff sed.
November 19th, 2007 at 9:22 am
But look at all the child sex offenders they’ve arrested! Oh wait, that’s right, the total to date is zero (0).
Sadly but predictably, the shameful NT exercise didn’t rate in Rudd’s top 5 agenda items if he wins government. I’ve got a depressing feeling it would be lucky to make the top 50.
November 19th, 2007 at 10:11 am
Joe Blow in the street think and believe Brough has done the right thing. If Kevin07 is to try to use this against Howard it would back fire. KenL have some faith in Kevin07. The first action is to get rid of Howard, then we may be able to correct the wrong.
November 19th, 2007 at 10:57 am
I wasn’t suggesting he try to use it in the campaign Muskiemp, but I suspect this is one instance where his me-tooism reflects his sincere convictions.
November 19th, 2007 at 5:16 pm
Ken, gotta distinguish between agreeing in principle that something needs to be done about the indigenous problems, which everyone agrees on. And supporting Howard’s particular plan, which is a disgraceful disaster. Rudd has to walk a very fine line for now. He has already said he will reinstate the CDEP program and permit system, which are not trivial changes, and I expect there will be additional substantial changes once he gets control.
Like Muskiekemp said, one step at a time.
November 20th, 2007 at 6:41 am
Agree seeker. Most of us around here had no illusions about the true intention of the NT invasion, but it would scarcely be believable to the general population, who only see news headlines about paedophilia.
This is not similar to Beazley’s backstepping on Tampa just prior to the 2001 election, because that was an instant in time.
The NT invasion will be unravelled and the situation repaired after the election, starting with the restitution of CDEP and permits (absolutely essential before communities are permanently destroyed) and the repeal of the land grab (doh). This can be done very quickly through the parliament when it resumes.
Then it is a bureaucratic exercise to make sense of what the hundreds of public servants, medicos, and military are actually doing on the ground, and some of that can be turned to good.
No point Rudd making a big fuss about it all now (or even at the time of the legislation, so close to the election it was a clear wedge), the CDEP/permit promise is enough to signal the right intention. Rudd understands how bureaucracy works and I am trusting that he will listen to the best advice.
Watch him on the symbology though. This will define him as a statesman and not an opportunist. Everbody wants an apology and he must do that properly (not through some idiotic mention in the preamble, a complete waste of a referendum). Then we will see how much further he is prepared to go.
Personally I want the Education Revolution to be extended properly to cover the Aboriginal people on communities (building schools, sending teachers, and restoring bilingualism). And how about giving all Australian children the chance to learn an aboriginal language in primary schools?