Judy Lovell
My name is Judy Lovell. I am writing this as an individual in response to a letter of invitation. I was previously the manager at Keringke Art Aboriginal Corporation, for five years, including at the time of NTER entry onto the community in June 2007. I currently work with various Aboriginal people on projects of significance to them. I have great conversations with respected elders and I consider myself very lucky to have been taught by them, and to have had the opportunity for exchanging views and working together. These are my responses, reflecting our conversations perhaps, but not written on behalf of any organisation.
1. What is working?
I understand that the store card system is working for some people, although there are some negative ramifications: food raids on people’s kitchens by hungry visitors and pressure on store card holders to supply food to a large number of itinerant people and extended family members are two significant drawbacks with which I am familiar.
I believe the role of GBM is one which has been long overdue. Where the GBM is actually committed to the community’s development and has the adequate skills and experience, then this role is beneficial. There has been significant lack of coordination of community organisations by councils and others over a long period which has meant that anything needing a whole of community approach has not had much chance. With a GBM onsite, there is finally someone who can’t say Not my problem to any community organisation seeking support.
Resultant positive examples I can think of are more focus on economic development – art centres, tourism, visitors to communities and education and training programs which are coordinated across the various community organisations. These are things we have sought as a coordinated, focused community approach, but no one was ever prepared to pull it together at the community level. Now there is movement.
2. What isn’t working?
Young peoples lives, and elderly people who are left with grandchildren to raise. There is a significant gulf in support and delivery of services to both groups. Commonly children stop attending school by age 13, and the Catholic education centre has refused to negotiate VET delivery on the community in previous years. I understand the GBM is trying to change this, but there is an essential need for a revised educational approach which will include work and education together – learning by doing and being involved in commercial and other real life scenarios is the only way to get and keep the attention of most young aboriginal people.
Elderly people with health issues and young dependant families are not receiving any support services for their multiple difficulties: It would be great if there was semi-supported accommodation providing living situations that allow elderly and ill carers to continue to maximize their involvement with young children’s lives. Often elderly people are the only family members capable of providing adequate emotional, cultural and family attachment for their very young relatives. These elders are not receiving appropriate levels of support so their incredible strengths can help provide a solid foundation for the young ones. It makes the elders very sad.
3. Have there been any unintended consequences?
The art centre where I was working absolutely hit the wall from the initial
intervention visit where total chaos and uncertainty took over from a group
of people who were, up until that day, fully invested in, and proud of their
achievements. They were building steadily, increasing and developing their
business. The art centre took a huge financial loss over the past financial
year, starting with the intervention. Many people took off in the initial
stages of the intervention in fear of the consequences, they were initially
told their jobs on CDEP were to be cancelled, their families were all stressed
and so the art centre lost momentum and focus. People who had always been
able to understand the rationale of the collective that the incorporated art
centre is based on became unreasonable and demanding. The art centre became
the total focus of where money might come from and so pressure backed up on
members of families and staff working there. It was very, very evident that
no thought at all had been put into the vital economic and wellbeing role
that community art centers play in communities. No thought into transitioning
people off CDEP into other positions, and it was a full on three months battle
to get the art centre workers acknowledged as essential staff, therefore able
to transition into a paid wage system. The art centre was on the brink of
its first international export and exhibition showcase, and this had been
dependant on a four year process of product development, momentum and capacity
building. That was destroyed in ten minutes when the art centre members were
told of the new legislation which removed their rights to ‘own’
their business, and their re-classification as unskilled work for the dole
recipients. It’s coming back on track now, but it has taken a huge toll.
Everyone is more conservative with their energy and their expectations –
in other words we lost our innovative edge, which in such a competitive business
is a real liability. Trust of external systems is broken. It has taken twelve
months to get over the stream of unfulfilled promises made by the previous
minister at the time of his media frothing entrance into the art centre in
June 2007. This should never be allowed to happen again.
4. How is each NTER measure performing and how should each be taken forward?
The only way forward is with greater Aboriginal involvement. Aboriginal systems of knowledge and communication need support and legitimacy. The most essential thing we need to all learn, on a deep level, is that some things are not translatable. The stringent desire to remove Aboriginal language is wrong. If you remove the language you remove all the concepts therein which are outside the English language cultural world. The knowledge of aboriginal people is incredible and valuable and should be respected by everyone – not seen as a problem to erase.
Bilingual skills are advertised as an excellent educational tool for extending people’s capacity in schools and life long learning. Why then are we not focusing on teaching Aboriginal languages in mainstream schools? Wouldn’t it allow for Aboriginal linguists to shine – as they should, and for the rest of us to have an opportunity to learn things outside our expectations?
I understand the accelerated literacy program is being applied to children in year 5 at school, who cannot even write one English or language sentence about what they did at the weekend. I can’t see where accelerated literacy fits into remote schools with extremely low English and language literacy.
I also understand many children now speak neither their language not English adequately. Shouldn’t the emphasis be on bi-lingual literacy which is effectively delivered rather than accelerated literacy on foundations that are missing? Then Aboriginal teachers would be recruited, supported and employed as well.
5. What progress has there been in improving the safety and well –being of Indigenous children?
The elective surgery waiting list at the hospital in Alice Springs is now so long that hospital has staff driving around to people on the list asking if they would consider cancelling their request for elective procedures. The situation with health checks is about where we predicted it would be – it has exposed thousands of children with basic health problems but not provided a system to cope. Wouldn’t it have made more sense to spend the money to set the clinics up on the remote communities to allow them to undertake this kind of health care permanently?
6. Will the suite of measures deliver the intended results?
No. Engagement of Aboriginal people as Aboriginal people is not adequate in mainstream Australia, especially among policy makers. Until we can accept and allow for Aboriginal perspectives across our cultural world in mainstream Australia the measures will not have the effect required.
7. Will the NTER lay the basis for a sustainable and better future for residents of remote communities and town camps in the NT?
Not without very long term and significant support through service provision, new models developed in response to Aboriginal realities, and the on ground and market interface nurturing of enterprise ideas. Knowledge transmission needs supporting, and workplace training needs to focus on activity based education – doing and learning, not just talking and sitting.
8. What alternative measures should be considered?
See above ideas.
9. Are there other ways of working that would better address the circumstances facing remote communities and town camps?
Many good ideas, many viable ideas exist, but no audience to receive them that has the flexibility or the will to engage, listen, LEARN, and accept difference and diversity in order to work it out together with Aboriginal investment (knowledge). Seek local expertise, not imported models. Positive engagement, positive experiences, adequate housing, freely available and nutritious food, acceptable and available health care, support for cultural activity and travel, opportunity for communication to go two ways - these all need to be established and provided long term.
Yours sincerely
Judy Lovell
7/8/08