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The Forum > Article Comments > Black is the new black > Comments

Black is the new black : Comments

By Peter Shmigel, published 26/11/2013

It's only by switching off 'auto pilot' policy-making – and working with new and pragmatic indigenous leadership - can indigenous and non-indigenous Australia arrive at a better location.

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My hope for all Australians including Aborigines and "indigenous policy-makers" is that they recognise that snout-in-the-troughism, while understandable, is immoral.

If someone is standing on the street handing out stolen $100 bills, I'll line up with the rest of them, and I don't blame people whose "rights" have been defined thus, for taking advantage of it.

But everyone will admit that the history of indigenous policy has been pretty bad, even disgraceful, disastrous. If the European administration had never adopted any indigenous policy but only impartially applied the same law to all people and their property - even if it had never recognised native title - I don't think there's any doubt indigenous people would have been better off than under the incredibly destructive policies of the last 200 years.

The starting position should be a repugnance at indigenous policy and it's dreadful attempts at race-based social engineering which brings out the worst in all parties.

The best that could be hoped for all is to admit the chronic failure and dysfunctionality of indigenous policy over two centuries, to consciously reject race-based policy on principle, to reject snout-in-the-troughism for all, to adopt respect the rights of liberty and property for all as the basis of policy, and to restrict government to the role of defending those rights, not trying to re-engineer indigenous society which is bad in principle and bad in practice.
Posted by Jardine K. Jardine, Tuesday, 26 November 2013 8:22:55 AM
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Lets be honest with ourselves. There is no quick fix to Indigenous disadvantage, which will take hundreds of years to overcome for those at the more disadvantaged end of the spectrum.

None of the "magic bullets" promoted in the past (such as big spending on programmes, land rights, and "self-determination") worked. I can't see how "switching off 'auto pilot' policy-making and working with new and pragmatic Indigenous leadership" is going to make a whole lot of difference either. It may help and it is a start, but we should not expect too much.

Education has always been the express means of social advancement but we know that in the most disadvantaged Indigenous communities even getting parents to send their kids to school is a big challenge. Issues of substance abuse, and family violence and dysfunction (affecting some communities) is also a generational problem. Another difficulty is location. Many of the most remote Indigenous settlements are in locations that may have great difficulty ever supporting commercial employment.
Posted by Bren, Tuesday, 26 November 2013 9:07:34 AM
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Pete, what do you mean “only by … working with new and pragmatic indigenous leadership can [we] arrive at a better location”?

Is this code for “Only by working with indigenous leaders who want to live like whitefellas”?

Since federation there have been four major landmarks in Indigenous affairs. The Howard government reversed them all.

The first was the 1967 referendum decision to include Aborigines as Australian citizens.

Second was the 1976 Land Rights Act which gave Aborigines freehold title and power to veto mining and other intrusions.

Third was the 1992 Mabo High Court decision which overturned the legal fiction of terra nullius.

Fourth was the 1990 replacement of the Department of Aboriginal Affairs with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Council.

The combination of these four paradigm shifts laid the foundation – at long last – for Indigenous leadership to learn to govern and, in due course, resolve the multiple challenges.

All four historic achievements are now history. Laws passed in August 2007 overrode the Racial Discrimination Act, allowing Aborigines to be treated in a pre-1967 discriminatory manner.

Hard-won rights to control traditional lands were revoked. The Native Title Act 1993 which gave effect to the Mabo ruling was amended in 1998 to reverse that effect. ATSIC was abolished in 2004.

Just as potent as these legislated moves were the symbols – by their presence or absence. John Howard never affirmed the worth of Indigenous culture with anything like Hawke’s Barunga meeting, Keating’s Redfern speech, Fraser’s Lingiari lecture or Rudd’s formal apology to the stolen generations. He pointedly refused to say sorry for past offences.

In 1998 he added Aboriginal Affairs to the ministerial responsibilities of Minister for Immigration and Detention Phillip Ruddock. The symbolism of giving that portfolio to the despised Minister for People We Don’t Want Here was not lost.

And you wonder why “conventional policy and programs aren't working and need changing”!

Until Australians elect a government which truly listens to the aspirations of Indigenous people – and allows them to form their own decision-making council – the first Australians will remain marginalised and ignored.
Posted by Alan Austin, Tuesday, 26 November 2013 12:40:15 PM
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...The overriding problem of Aboriginal communities, is it offers a lifestyle built on the foundation of indolence.
Posted by diver dan, Tuesday, 26 November 2013 1:06:17 PM
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Oh yes Diver Dan, I'm sure everyone wishes they had the fabulous lives that many Indigenous people have in some of their communities.
They obviously live the high life, that's for sure...
Posted by Suseonline, Thursday, 28 November 2013 12:49:25 AM
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Spoken like a true Jardine! Are you a descendent of Frank? "If the European administration had never adopted any indigenous policy but only impartially applied the same law to all people and their property - even if it had never recognised native title - I don't think there's any doubt indigenous people would have been better off than under the incredibly destructive policies of the last 200 years."

Can I please add that if the European Administration hadn't dispossessed Aboriginal people; hadn't slaughtered them in their thousands; hadn't practiced sexual terrorism on women and kids; hadn't stolen their children; hadn't subjected them to the daily humiliation of racism; hadn't punished them for speaking their languages and practicing their culture; hadn't subjected them to inferior education and housing; and then hadn't introduced grog and sit-down money, then I agree Aboriginal people would have been better off. But then again if the things above hadn't occurred we wouldn't be the rich Euro-centric country we are today, now would we.
Posted by GoonaBum, Thursday, 28 November 2013 2:36:17 PM
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