Yesterday the government came out guns a-blazin with The Solution to the myriad, varied and devastating problems in many NT Aboriginal communities.
The Feds have some pretty odd ideas. Clearly, changes need to be made, but not by the hand of parliamentarians and bureaucrats in an office thousands of kilometres away and without the consultation of local government, territory government, local experts or, most importantly, the communities in question.
Much of this new plan is racist and authoritarian. The plan completely undermines the Lands Act in allowing the government to take control of land from Aboriginal communities under 5-year-leases. They couldn't do this in a state; only in a territory.
The most offensive part of the plan, as far as I can see (and let's be honest, I am no expert by any means) is the scrapping of the permit system to allow people to enter what is currently restricted areas without prior permission from the Aboriginal community living there. This will mean police and the army will be able to get into these communities to enforce health checks etc etc. How distressing will it be for a child - who very likely doesn't speak English - to be forcibly removed from their home and family and taken to a doctor? They are going to have to be very careful. And what about the recruitment of doctors to carry out these checks - there is a massive shortage of doctors in the Centre as it is. Where are they hiding all these extra ones?
It will also mean many unsavoury characters out to make a quick buck will have immediate and unrestricted access to the communities to sell drugs, grog, petrol, porn...anything. It's going to make these acts harder to police, not easier, and is a massive step back. There are fears that prostitution, abuse, carpet-bagging (the exploitative way in which dealers buy art from desperate Indigenous artists for a very low amount of cash or 'in kind' with drugs, alcohol or other contraband then sell it for a huge profit) will increase and be impossible to patrol and stop.
There's a great article on SMH online today, in which the president of the CLC (Central Land Council - where my mate Bec works) passionately denounces the planned changes to the permit system. Check it out: http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/howards-got-it-wrong/2007/06/22/1182019326040.html
The Government will have to be very, very careful about how this is rolled out. It will be interesting to watch.
Must be an election year or something.
3 comments:
Disabling the permit system will no doubt cause cultural upset in some indigenous communities, but do you honestly believe allowing easier access for doctors to treat sick communities is a bad thing?
I suppose we need to ask what's worse - allow access and easily immunise children against some nasty, preventable conditions still rife in 3rd-world indigenous Australia, or carry on and let them suffer needlessly??
It's no secret that indigenous women also have abnormally high rates of cervical and breast cancer death? Early intervention is the absolute key - if we could increase access to these women, wouldn't more lives be spared?
I 100% agree- there needs to be a little more cunsultation, something the current government aren't particularly known for. Either way, I believe it's a step in the right direction to amend the disgusting state of health of our indigenous population. Let's hope they keep to their said intentions after the election (if they make it!).
oh no no! I didn't mean to imply that it is better to have permits than to have access to health care.
Doctors and nurses do get out to the communities when there is an emergency (if it is reported) and there are some health workers out and about - just not nearly enough. In many cases, they need permission to enter the land but I have not heard of health workers being denied access.
What a lot of people up here are taking issue with is that the indigenous communities are being painted as these utterly hopeless pits of hell where every adult is an abuser and every child abused. This is NOT the case! There are plenty of communities that are operating brilliantly, and have no need for the changes of law. It is so insulting to imply that these communities can't look after themselves and need some great white knights to come in and fix their problems. There is, of course, a lot of cynicism here, and many people who are far more expert in this field than i am (which wouldn't be hard) believe the govt is using the issue of child abuse as a front for taking full control of the communities and lands they live on in an election year.
The communities that DO have problems are of course in desperate need of help but this has been the case for decades -and has gotten particularly bad in the last 10 years...why is it only now that somehting is being done?
But that is beside the point. It is insulting, racist and imperialistic to take away land rights from ALL communities and imply that ALL communities are hell-holes and that the abuse is ONLY being perpetrated by blacks. Often the permit system is directly responsible for ensuring that the communities are safer places to be and that the members of the community are not in contact with alcohol and drugs or petrol, and are not vulnerable to exploitation and abuse.
Argh. The govt just needs to be careful...it is so complex, and this government in particular has such a shocking record when it comes to indigenous health and indigenous affairs in general...It does my head in.
Thanks Belly for writing the longest and most in-depth comment on my blog ever - appreciated! It's great that everyone is debating this.
...and it looks as though the fracas over your way is still continuing, with some very pissed off individuals making quite a bit of noise.
Any updates Sar? What's happening through your eyes? What's the feeling over there?
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