NT Emergency Review Panel
As a non-Aboriginal Australian I draw to the attention of every member of the Review Panel to the many academic facts and opinions that are pertinent to the question of whether the Northern Territory Emergency Response (NTER) should continue to be imposed at all, or that of any future Australian Government intercession or enactment that relate to Aboriginal people.
I have used the suite of nine points outlined by the NTER Review Secretariat to develop this personal response; the most significant of these being questions 7, 8 and 9 as they encompass every aspect of the lives and future of Aboriginal children and their communities.
In order to contextualise the NTER and your final proposals to the government, it is vital that panel members recognise that persistent deprivation of rights is directly linked to the high levels of economic, social and cultural disadvantage that exists in Aboriginal communities; this has been the catalyst that led to extreme levels of violence addressed by the NTER. Those appalling conditions developed because Australian Governments’ explicitly denied Aboriginal peoples’ right of self-determination over their education, economy, land, lives and future as documented again and again by authorities over many decades - a brief list from the 10s of 1,000s of such evidence appears below:
- Commonwealth Franchise Act (1902) s.4 – denial of political rights.
- Commonwealth Invalid and Old-Age Pensions Act, 1908, s.16 (1) – denial of economic resources.
- Queensland Govt. Gazette, CXII, 207, 6 June, 1919, 1579-1582 – denial of right to financial resources for employment.
- Community Development Employment Projects, 1995, s.614a – discrimination and denial of right to benefits (rental /superannuation /tax benefits)
- Constitutional Law, Commonwealth Government , 1967s.51 & s.127 - failure to enact Federal Legislation of Rights of Indigenous Australians.
- Dr B. Pittock, Convenor Legislative Reform Cttee, 1967 – failure to ratify International Labour Organisation Conventions 107/169 - denial of minority rights.
- Schools Commission, Aboriginal Consultative Group, Report, 1975 – deprivation of inalienable rights to choice and funding for Indigenous teaching curriculum.
- National Aboriginal Education Committee, 1980 – deprivation of right to unconditional resources for Indigenous education.
- Prof Erica Daes, UN Working Group on Indigenous Populations (UNWGIP), 1988 – deprivation suffered by Indigenous peoples affected by colonisation.
- ATSIC, Report to Government on Native Title Social Justice Measures, Economic Development, Chptr. 7, pp.127-143 – deprivation of right to infrastructure and essential services for Indigenous communities.
- Dept. of Employment, Education & Training, National Review of Education for Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Peoples: Final Report, Canberra, 1995, p.21-32 – denial of right to control Indigenous education
- HREOC, NISATSICFF, Bringing Them Home Report, 1997, App. 9 Recommendations, p.557-660 – deprivation of rights, liberty and families.
- Gatjil Djerrkura (Chairman ATSIC), UNWGIP, 17th Sn, 1999 – removal of Indigenous rights.
- Social Policy Group, 1999, Research Paper 27, pps. 4-6, 21-22, 34-37 , Parliament of Australia – absence of rights.
- HREOC, Submission on Mandatory Sentencing to Inquiry by Senate Legal & constitutional Reference Cttee, November 1999 – violation of Indigenous children’s rights
- ATSIC, Senate Employment –Workplace Relations, Small Business & Education References Committee, 2000, Submission No.34, Vol. 5, pp.137-138 - deprivation of right to unconditional resources for education of Indigenous children.
- Gordon Report, Little Children are Sacred, 2001, Overview, p.1. – deprivation of right to resources to remedy violence.
- Monique Keel, ACSSA Briefing No. 4, September 2004, Family Violence and Sexual Assault in Indigenous Communities, Walking the Talk, pp.9-13. – deprivation of right to funds and resources to remedy family violence.
- Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Amendment Bill 2006 (Cth) – deprivation of right to control Indigenous lands & destruction of Indigenous Communities.
- PM Kevin Rudd The Apology, 13/2/2008 - acknowledging Aboriginal Australians as Indigenous peoples of Australia.
- Dr Helen Watchirs, ACT Human Rights and Discrimination Commissioner, Thirteen Months On – Bad Luck or Bad Practice, July 2008 – racial discrimination & denial of infrastructure and welfare rights.
This begs the question – when acknowledged facts and opinions plainly refute any strategy that denies Indigenous rights, why would any ‘informed’ government suppose that increasing or sustaining deprivation of rights and welfare will improve the lives of Aboriginal children, their parents and Indigenous communities? To consider further denial of rights through the NTER is a paternalistic approach that, decades of history reflect, will cause further harm rather than secure Aboriginal children’s safety in a secure and prosperous Indigenous environment. (Dr H. Watchirs, ACT Human Rights and Discrimination Commissioner, July, 2008)
Are Governments’ genuinely committed to a sustainable future for Aboriginal communities?
- Reinstate the Racial Discrimination Act (1975)
- Discontinue the NTER
- Sign the Declaration of Indigenous Rights
- Negotiate with Indigenous leaders to Legislate for recognition of Indigenous Rights and places in Parliamentary representation.
- Negotiate with Aboriginal Community Leaders, legislate and guarantee financial and technical support for Indigenous controlled programmes that enhance Aboriginal children’s safety - target all the causes of social disadvantage – Indigenous Political Rights, Indigenous Land Rights, Indigenous Economic Rights, Indigenous Social Rights and Indigenous Cultural Rights.
- Legislate for a Compensation Fund to pay restitution for past deprivations.
- Negotiate with Indigenous leaders for Legislation for guaranteed financial (not tied to performance or benchmarks) and technical support for Infrastructure, health, education and welfare support in Indigenous communities.
- Legislation that guarantees support for and Indigenous control of all community programmes.
I stress again, if Australian Governments’ are sincerely prepared to enhance Aboriginal well-being, they will be prepared to admit their weakness in promoting Indigenous well-being.
The abysmal nature of decades of mis-management by Australian Governments has caused an unsolicited state of emergency in Aboriginal Communities and seriously undermined and endangered the well-being of Aboriginal children; consequently, it is paramount that they are not permitted to retain their roles for ultimate responsibility and management of Indigenous Australians.
Legislation must be enacted that rightfully ensures Elected Indigenous Community Leaders adopt this role in order to preserve their well-being through self-determination; Governments’ agents should more appropriately, through Legislation, act only in Advisory capacities in all Indigenous matters.
Josie Nemorin (Australian Citizen)