Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation (ANTaR)
Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation (ANTaR) is an independent, national network of mainly non-Indigenous organisations and individuals working in support of justice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australia.
ANTaR NSW has around 30,000 supporters, many of them active through Local Reconciliation Groups in suburbs and regional towns, and through the Sea of Hands. Our supporters welcome the review of the Northern Territory Emergency Response legislation, and the emphasis being placed on practical questions and evidence to determine its success or otherwise. We welcome that the Terms of Reference for the Review Board state that the Review must have regard to the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (RDA).
We write this submission in endorsement of the 10-Point Plan for modifying the Northern Territory Emergency Response given in the Social Justice Commissioner’s Report 2007 (Part 4: Ways forward – modifying the NT intervention measures so that they comply fully with Australia’s human rights obligations)
In particular we believe most strongly that any measures to combat family violence and child abuse in Indigenous communities must be built on respect for human rights. Non-discriminatory programs must and can be found, within the proper operation of the RDA, and we refer the Board to the detailed recommendations in the Social Justice Report.
In seeking answers to the very real problems of Indigenous communities in the Northern Territory and elsewhere, we, like Tom Calma, wish to emphasise the importance of taking cues from those Indigenous-led programs which have been operating successfully in the NT and elsewhere in Australia. Australian and international evidence shows that the most effective forms of health and well-being service delivery and capacity building, particularly for Indigenous communities, are those where the recipient communities are fully involved, consulted, and empowered.
Such an approach represents a genuine partnership which gives dignity, respect and recognition to all parties, and reinforces the effectiveness to both the Government and Aboriginal people’s efforts. If the Government is serious about building Community Partnerships, then Aboriginal people must be involved in the design, implementation and monitoring of measures which directly effect them.
In relation to the welfare measures adopted in the NTER, we understand from a number of sources that the blanket operation of income management is causing great disruption and distress to many individuals, and we strongly recommend that these measures be modified to target specific cases of abuse and neglect. Such targeting would also allow more funding to be directed to on-ground improvements in housing, health and education services, rather than being used in administration.
In relation to monitoring of the NTER now and in the future, we would ask that statistical information be made available to the public to indicate that money spent is resulting in change in the direction of provision of basic services to Aboriginal communities, and to the safety of children and families.
The current Government is showing itself willing to act to help redress the wrongs of the past. We look forward to the recommendations from the current Review, especially in regard to the Racial Discrimination Act, and to building trust between Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Australians.
We note in this regard the commitments made by Minister Macklin prior to the change of Government (speech of 8 August 2007 on the NT National Emergency Response Bill), in which she committed a Labor government to:
- A long term strategy to train more police and place them in these communities permanently, specifically a commitment to training an extra 500 AFP officers and to an Indigenous recruitment strategy.
- Ensuring that the rights of Aboriginal people to use the land in accordance with traditional purposes are not affected by the five year leases.
- Provision of additional funding to contribute to the cost of the additional teachers who will be needed to make sure Aboriginal children in the NT get the education they deserve.
- Reinstatement of coverage of Part11 of the Racial Discrimination Act for the legislation governing the NT Intervention.
- A commitment that the Commonwealth government must gain the trust (of Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory), engage them and respect them throughout this emergency and beyond.
- A commitment that the work of strong and effective Indigenous community members and organisations must continue to be supported.
- The replacement of temporary measures with permanent reforms that have the confidence and support of Territorians.
- Program funding must be geared to evidence-based results.
- Practical measures must include
- safe houses that provide a safe place for women and children
- governments to deliver teachers, classrooms, teacher housing and support services (e.g. Indigenous teacher assistants)
- Reform of the Community Development and Employment Program including … ensuring participants are not left without sufficient income or participation opportunities.
We applaud those goals and would urge the Review to address them in its Report.
We note the emphasis on ‘intended results’ and ‘unintended consequences’ in the questions to be addressed on the Review’s webpage (Questions 5 and 6). While these are significant issues, in our view the initiation of the Intervention in 2007 was so entangled with ideological considerations, and so poorly informed by virtue of lack of consultation with Indigenous communities and existing community-based and governmental service providers, that the question of past ‘intent’ needs to be secondary to the ‘needs and wants’ of the people most affected by the Intervention. The Australian public, and NT communities, received very mixed (and sometimes frightening and inflammatory) messages from the original Intervention – a new Statement of Intent needs to be developed, reflecting a new level of mutual commitment and consultation. The Review has an opportunity to set a new standard for Commonwealth Government liaison with the people of these communities, and with Indigenous Australia more broadly. We believe this to be vital, because the large reserves of goodwill toward Aboriginal Australia in the wider community were eroded – whatever the ‘intent’ of government – by the way in which the Intervention was originally launched.
The opportunity to galvanise Australia for real change was partly squandered by the failure to acknowledge and affirm the many good community and government programs that have been working on these issues for many years. Many of these programs, particularly where community-controlled, have had remarkable success, often with little or no Government support.
Maintenance of a Commonwealth and COAG commitment to eliminate Indigenous disadvantage in all its forms is vital for Australia’s future. We look forward to the Committee’s report.
Bob Makinson
President,
Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation (NSW) Inc. – ANTaR NSW.
Postal: ANTaR NSW, PO Box 1176, Rozelle NSW 2039.
Office email: antarnsw@antar.org.au