The Federal Intervention is manifestly oppressive
to Aboriginal people
Berrimah
prison is full - (I was in there earlier
this year ('07) for an anti-racism protest
in '02) - The NT State's preferred
option is more black prisons
These
prisons are used as POW
camps in the ongoing war of invasion
against Aboriginal people
Two
PARIAH members were also imprisoned in
Berrimah in 2001 for their part in a protest
to support the people of East Timor in
1999
Mick
Lambe- August 07
Nationalism
+ Militarism + Racism = Fascism*
-
Image depicts Australian Federal Parliament flagpole
atop Uluru *(Source:
history)
CAAA: Central Australian position on NT Intervention
Written by WGAR: Working Group for Aboriginal Rights Australia)
Mar 30, 2008 at 11:49 PM
CAAA: Central Australian position on NT Intervention WGAR: Working Group for Aboriginal Rights Australia
30 March 2008:
Contents: Position Paper Media Releases Opinion News
POSITION PAPER:
CAAA: Central Australian position on NT Intervention
Feb 08: "Based on the discussions by the people of the Central Australian Aboriginal Alliance, who are directly affected by the NT intervention, the workshop concluded that the intervention was unjustified, serves no real purpose and is apartheid in nature and design. It was also concluded that the intervention is racially discriminatory and in contravention of human rights charters and is contrary to the most recent UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
The intervention is viewed as the second invasion through what is equivalent to martial law.
The Central Australian Aboriginal Alliance against the intervention condemns the Federal Government's approach, particularly when social welfare reforms and child protection are attached to compulsory land acquisition, an unprecedented power never witnessed before in Australia
MEDIA RELEASES:
HREOC: 10-point plan to improve NT intervention and native title gridlock the focus of HREOC reports http://www.hreoc.gov.au/about/media/media_releases/2008/33_08.html 27 Mar 08: "Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner Tom Calma will officially launch the Social Justice Report 2007 and the Native Title Report 2007 in Sydney next Monday (31 March). Mr Calma will outline his 10-point plan to amend the Northern Territory intervention to maximise protection of children and families while also ensuring the basic human rights of Indigenous people are protected."
HREOC: Annual Social Justice and Native Title Reports tabled in Parliament today http://www.eniar.org/news/hreoc26.html 20 Mar 08: "Amending the Northern Territory intervention legislation to maximise protection of children from abuse while ensuring the basic human rights of Indigenous people are protected is one of the major elements of a 10 point plan outlined in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Report 2007 tabled in federal Parliament today. ... "For as long as the NT intervention allows the conduct of racially discriminatory actions, it will lack legitimacy among Aboriginal people and communities, as well as the broader Australian public." "
Greens: Social Justice report sets the agenda for review of NT intervention http://www.rachelsiewert.org.au/600_media_sub.php?deptItemID=468 20 Mar 08: "Greens Senator Rachel Siewert today welcomed the release of the 2007 Social Justice Report by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner Tom Calma – calling it an influential and pivotal document which she expects will have a major impact on the upcoming review of the Northern Territory Intervention."
OPINION: UTSpeaks: What follows sorry? http://www.uts.edu.au/new/speaks/2008/March/1903.html 19 Mar 08: "In many ways, the intervention in the Northern Territory is a textbook example of why government policies continue to fail Aboriginal people:
* the policy approach was ideologically led rather than making any reference to the research or understandings about what actually works on the ground;
* in fact, the policy approach contained in the intervention actually lies in direct contradiction of what the research shows us works and what experts recommend as appropriate action;
* the rhetoric of doing what is in the best interests of Aboriginal people, or children, masks a list of other policy agendas that are unrelated to dealing with systemic problems of violence and abuse and seek to undermine community control over their own resources; and
* the approach is paternalistic and top-down rather than a collaborative approach that seeks to include Aboriginal people in the outcomes.
The Rudd government has continued to support the intervention in government and has continued to roll out the quarantining of welfare payments. ... Rudd will always be remembered for the unequivocal apology he delivered the 13 February 2008 but it is what he does next that will define his legacy." Larissa Behrendt
On Line Opinion: First do no harm http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=7147&page=0 25 Mar 08: "In the context of the current interventions in the Northern Territory by the Australian Government, it is important to understand how social factors can directly impact on health. Twenty-five years ago I was privileged to be part of a study with the Mowanjum community based near Derby in the north of Western Australia. We looked at the impact of temporary reversion to traditional hunter gatherer lifestyle on the health of a group of middle-aged people with diabetes. These people had retained the knowledge and ability to live as hunter-gatherers - which is the reason this study was possible. After only seven weeks there was a profound improvement in all of the metabolic abnormalities of diabetes and all the risk markers for heart disease. But in addition, I was struck by changes which I could not measure at the time - wonderful changes in people's demeanour. When the people in this study went back to their own land - even for only a few weeks - they changed greatly. They were confident, competent and articulate practitioners of their traditional lifestyle. They seemed to physically grow in stature! What I was witnessing was the dramatically positive impact of mastery and control. The intervention in the NT risks producing the opposite - the loss of any sense of mastery and control - and the consequences of such disempowerment are likely to be dire indeed." Kerin O'Dea
NEWS: NIT: Scrymgour supports elements of school dorm calls http://www.nit.com.au/breakingNews/story.aspx?id=14459 28 Mar 08: "The most senior Aboriginal politician in Australia has cautiously backed plans for child dormitories but warned against taking children "lock, stock and barrel" out of remote communities. Northern Territory Deputy Chief Minister Marion Scrymgour has also cautioned against "returning to the days of the past" Her comments follow calls by former Australian of the Year Galarrwuy Yunupingu for government authorities to urgently build boarding accommodation in remote Aboriginal communities. ... The former principal of Yirrkala School in Nhulunbuy, Leon White, said the proposal would disempower parents. ... Barbara Shaw from Tangentyere Town Council in Alice Springs said removing children from their parents would be "going backwards" and she was surprised such a proposal would surface so soon after the apology to the Stolen Generation."
Australian: 'Rescue our kids from chaos' http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23443994-2702,00.html 28 Mar 08: "INDIGENOUS people increasingly support the idea of removing children from the "chaos and confusion" of Aboriginal communities by placing them in boarding schools and hostels, says Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin." WSWS: Australia: Federal and NT Labor governments expand punitive measures in Aboriginal communities http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/mar2008/ntin-m28.shtml 28 Mar 08: "Since its election last November, the Rudd government has substantially expanded the previous Howard government's police-military intervention into indigenous communities across the Northern Territory (NT), with full assistance from the NT Labor government. ... The Rudd government has also made clear its intention to push on with 100 percent quarantining - stripping all payments from parents whose children miss school or are considered "at risk" - which was part of the legislation passed by federal parliament last June with Labor's support."
7:30 Report: Yunupingu defends his stance on NT intervention http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2007/s2201147.htm 27 Mar 08: "Galarrwuy Yunupingu, you've said today that despite the Federal Government's intervention, Aboriginal children are still going to school with empty stomachs and you've proposed the building of mission style dormitories. Your critics say that would be a step backwards? GALARRWAU YUNUPINGU, GUMATJ: My statement is correct. I believe I make those statements, and the situation is as I described it. Kids are getting up with empty stomach and need to be fed, cleansed, washed and clothed before they go to school. The dormitory type situation might not be the right expression but it is mainly for feeding purposes and cleaning up the children in preparation of sending them off to school. ... I said that we want to be equal player in any development on Aboriginal land. See, mining companies a good example here. Mining companies normally comes in, do the prospect, find the minerals, dig them out and then go all the way to the bank, leaving us sitting there wondering what we should be doing with the holes and the mess they have made."
Australian: Journalists to get a blanket exemption http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23437902-7582,00.html 27 Mar 08: "AS the federal Government shuts down Northern Territory Aboriginal communities to outsiders after a brief window in which they were open, Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin will make a one-off ministerial declaration exempting journalists." ABC: Intervention issues raised with sex discrimination commissioner http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/03/26/2199531.htm 26 Mar 08: "The federal sex discrimination commissioner says she has been told welfare quarantining is causing difficulties for some Indigenous women. Elizabeth Broderick is on a listening tour in the Northern Territory and has heard positive feedback about additional policing and health checks introduced as part of the federal intervention. But she says women are telling her the income quarantining measures are causing problems in day-to-day life."
NIT: NT Aboriginal leaders back MEAA code of conduct http://www.nit.com.au/news/story.aspx?id=14447 25 Mar 08: "Aboriginal leaders from the Northern Territory have backed a plan by Australia's peak media union for a code of conduct for journalists entering communities on privately-owned Aboriginal land. ... prominent Territory Aboriginal activist and former NT government staffer Eileen Cummings today told NIT that the permit system was still the best system and that it hadn't restricted press freedom. ... Deputy chair of the Central Land Council (CLC) Maurie Ryan told NIT that the argument for press freedom shouldn't compromise Aboriginal rights. ... Alice Springs based Aboriginal activist Barbara Shaw called on the permit system to be brought back "harder and stronger for our people"."
NIT: Ten-point plan for NT intervention: Calma http://www.nit.com.au/story.aspx?id=14365 24 Mar 08: "A respected Indigenous leader has developed a 10-point plan for the Rudd government to improve the Northern Territory intervention and ensure it does not curtail human rights. ... Mr Calma said the government should also be required to obtain consent before taking over the management of indigenous property and guarantee "just terms" compensation for the acquisition of property." ABC: Two in three children checked in intervention listed for follow-ups http://www.abc.net.au/message/news/stories/ms_news_2197605.htm 24 Mar 08: "The Northern Territory Health Department says just under half of the child health checks have now been completed in Aboriginal communities as part of the Commonwealth's Indigenous intervention."
ABC: Medicos return for Indigenous health checks in NT http://www.abc.net.au/message/news/stories/ms_news_2196243.htm 21 Mar 08: "The Northern Territory Health Department says many medical staff involved in the initial roll-out of child health checks as part of the Commonwealth intervention are returning for another stint." ABC: Indigenous leader questions new parenting laws http://www.abc.net.au/message/news/stories/ms_news_2196268.htm 21 Mar 08: "An Aboriginal community leader [Cedric Wyatt from the Aboriginal Legal Service] in Western Australia says new legislation to compel parents to undertake responsible parenting classes will not make any difference in indigenous communities. New legislation which passed through the Upper House yesterday will see parents who refuse to attend fined or referred to the Commonwealth for consideration on whether their welfare payments should be quarantined."
NIT: Welfare reform poses major problems for travel: Shaw http://www.nit.com.au/News/story.aspx?id=14430 20 Mar 08: "TRAVEL restrictions have proven one of the main problems with the federal government's controversial welfare quarantine roll out in the NT according to surveys of residents in prescribed communities, a Territory Aboriginal activist has said. Intervention Rollback Working Group member and resident of the Mt Nancy town camp in Alice Springs Barbara Shaw has been collecting "hundreds" of stories via survey to present to the federal government concerning the impact of income management on NT Aboriginal communities."
- - - Subscription to 'WGAR News' is free.
To subscribe, email and include the words "subscribe WGAR News" in the message header.
- - -
You can also subscribe to our second list 'WGAR Contact' which focuses on activities and events and provides a point of contact.
To subscribe, email and include the words "subscribe WGAR Contact" in the message header.
- - -
WGAR: Working Group for Aboriginal Rights (Australia)
The Northern Territory Government is ramming through legislation to override a court decision preventing a controversial mine expansion from going ahead
Our refusal to accept the land's status as belonging
to the "Crown" and use of the courts
in exposing local racism was never appreciated
by the invasive interests protected and supported
by the former Country Liberal Party. The
family that won the right to the Kenbi claim
adopted
me as family, due to the State's attempts
to remove me from my (then) home of seven years
Many of the Belyuen people are related to the
people at One
Mile Dam Aboriginal Community where I spent
10 months living with the people and publicising
their concerns in 2005 (Mick Lambe)
