| Invasion' must end, say indigenous leaders Patricia Karvelas, Political correspondent |December 05, 2007 A GROUP of prominent Aboriginal leaders have called on the Rudd Government to immediately halt the federal "invasion" of the Northern Territory. Les Malezer, Michael Mansell, Heather Sculthorpe, Larissa Behrendt, and Terry O'Shane have written a letter attacking respected Aboriginal academic Marcia Langton, who, in The Australian last week, warned Labor to stop playing short-term politics with the commonwealth's intervention in remote communities and expressed concern about moves to wind back key elements of the reforms. In the letter they say they "completely reject Marcia Langton's opinion that the corrupt invasion of remote Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory should continue". "The invasion must stop immediately and be replaced by a program of development assistance to these communities," they argue Another oppositional view similar to Marcia Langton's from Warren Mundine | ___________________________________________________________________
Speaking three days after the election of the Rudd Government, Professor Langton said: "There's never a good time to play short-term electoral politics with the life-and-death issues in Aboriginal communities." But yesterday, the group of Aboriginal leaders said problems in indigenous communities had to be addressed from within. They say that Aboriginal people are living on their lands and fighting for their cultural and physical survival but, "because of who they are, they are denied the most basic levels of respect and services from government". "These are not bad communities; they are the victims of bad governments," they say. They add that there is no justification for the Government to withhold welfare payments and terminate jobs, change land tenures, remove permits or withhold housing services. "We demand the Rudd Government stop the invasion and sit down with Aboriginal leadership and communities," they say. "We send a message to Marcia Langton and any other proponents of the invasion to defend their communities and Aboriginal rights, not white, racist government." Mr Malezer, who is chairman of the Foundation for Aboriginal and Islander Research Action, has rebuked past ALP president and Aboriginal activist Warren Mundine for urging Labor to continue the Howard government's indigenous reforms. "He must face reality ... Howard lost the election," he said, adding that throughout Australia the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people had voted convincingly to end the "human rights abuses of the Howard government". Source Follow Howard line: Mundine
Patricia Karvelas; 4/12/07
Aboriginal activist Warren Mundine has expressed “great fear” that the indigenous rights agenda of the past will creep back under the influence of Labor’s left wing and the Aboriginal old guard.
Mr Mundine, the former Australian Labor Party president, said he wanted Labor to pursue the Howard government’s tough line on indigenous affairs and urged Kevin Rudd to apologise to the Stolen Generation soon to get it “over and done with”. Mr Mundine said the the Howard government had “set the agenda” for massive change. “It’s a radical program we have to put in place,” he said. “I think we should take advantage of what the former government did. We have to build on that. The biggest fear I have is that we start to fall back into our old ways and start some of the failed policies of the past.”
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,22865560-5013172,00.html
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