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Remote Australia a "failed state", group calls for rethink
ISSUE 161, September 4, 2008 - 05 Sep 2008
SYDNEY, September 15, 2008: A group of prominent Australians has warned that remote Australia has become a "failed state" paralysed by a "perfect storm" of dysfunction and neglect that threatens the nation's security, social cohesion and rare ecosystems.
Fairfax and News Ltd newspapers say the group, which includes academics, politicians, public servants and mining executives, has called for a radical rethink for the region that covers 85 per cent of the continent and holds 65 per cent of its resources wealth.
They argue remote Australia fits the criteria of failed states - endemic poverty, a paucity of services, financial mismanagement and high rates of homicide and violence.
Dr Peter Shergold, once Canberra's most powerful bureaucrat and now chief executive of the Centre for Social Impact, said there has been a "failure of vision and policy" by all governments.
"Mining companies are more aware of the problems and are doing more to solve them," Dr Shergold said.
"If we let communities die, that has implications for our mining industry, for our security and for the type of nation we are."
Fred Chaney, a former Coalition minister and director of Reconciliation Australia, said it's worrying that an area so rich in resources is so poorly governed.
"This is not just about Indigenous dysfunction, it is about dysfunction in strategically significant regions like the Pilbara where the majority is the white community," he said.
"You have a massive production of wealth and a complete disaffection with government.
"The Pilbara is the economic powerhouse of Australia yet it is poorly run."
He said the emergency intervention in the Northern Territory following the Little Children Are Sacred report was symptomatic of a much broader failure of government and a crude example of the "failed state" thesis.
The Remote Focus Group has produced a "prospectus", to be released on Monday, detailing the extent of the crisis and calling for an urgent national debate.
"The overwhelming evidence demands that decisive and comprehensive action is needed to address the crisis in Remote Australia," the group says, and warns that imposed solutions that don't involve consultations will not work. - AAP
 
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