Government action of pure contempt towards Aboriginal peoples

by ray jackson, president, indigenous social justice association

this action by the federal government is an action of pure contempt towards aboriginal peoples.

this action by the federal government merely highlights that the somewhat
abused term, democracy, as mutated as it is, does not apply to aboriginal
peoples.

but, i would argue, it has always been thus. or at least since the
invasion.

only if we give up our cultural and spiritual existence will we ever be allowed to at least get a whiff of this term, democracy. one way or another, government thinking goes, we will buckle to the dominant society and become pale imitations or ghosts of that dominant society.

but it will not ever happen. some, like now, will ape the society that
will always place them on the fringes to be used as a blunt instrument to
keep the aboriginal masses under control. governments realise that they
need to create that amorphous middle-class to show the world of what is
possible if only them damn blacks would emulate their breast-plated
brethren.

those aboriginal middle-class representatives that i have met over the
years have, in my opinion, short memories of the assistance that was given
to them by good families, good education, good upbringing and good
employment. their often repeated claim that as they had made it then why
shouldn't the others.

they must just want to stay at the bottom and blame history, the white system, racism or whatever excuse they wish to use to do nothing about creating a better life for them and their family.

they do not have that level of assistance. they are raised in sometimes fractured
and feral families, they attend mediocre and sometimes racist schools, and
have no hope of employment.

there are concrete and substantial underlying causes of why they are at the bottom. not everyone has the opportunities of a pearson, a mundine or a langton. most of us just do what we can to continue to exist.

given empowerment we can make it but governments will not allow that to happen.

there is of course some truth to that argument but it is exacerbated by the actions of governments who still see us as children to be saved but by their actions push us further into the mire.

the continued ignoring of the people that they say they want to save pushes those people into despair. the cynical clayton's consultation is an abuse of their worth when their recommendations become as dust when those recommendations do not match what the government will accept and implement.

changes to the alcohol laws will not stop the ever-increasing arrest and
incarceration rates for the nt aborigines. a recent report shows that the
nt has the highest arrest and incarceration rates in australia. this
intervention extension will only grow those numbers.

we need to put to the federal and nt governments the rightful argument that we need detox units, we need proper rehabilitation centres that will help the nt aborigines rather than increase the arrest rate. where are they?

where is the required housing? do we have best practice education that must include bilingual studies? where is the recognition and respect that must be given as a matter of right to our elders and significant others in the communities?

the gillard government had, finally, the chance to turn things around in the 73 designated communities but preferred to bring to fruition their plans to force traditional owners from their lands so they can be opened up to uranium mining and other events.

unlike in aotearoa, in canada and in the usa the maori and the first peoples own their lands and own the resources. canadian first nations are arranging joint deals with china and iran, to name just two countries that will work with the first nations.

we continue to be told that we live in poverty and welfare by choice but
we do not. give us our rightful ownership of our lands and resources and
we will raise our people and their families as a truly equal people and
not as a victim.

in the interim renounce the unjust and un-australian intervention and
empower the elders to do things right. blackfella way.

we know the game the governments continue to play against us and that,
simply, is we are never allowed to win. ever.

isja01@internode.on.net
(m) 0450 651 063
(p) 02 9318 0947
address 1303/200 pitt street waterloo 2017

www.isja.org.au

we live and work on the stolen lands of the gadigal people.

sovereignty treaty social justice