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EDITORIAL: Intervention still a racist joke
ISSUE 180 - 25 Jun 2009
ISSUE 180, June 25, 2009: When the army troops began rolling into prescribed communities in the Northern Territory two years ago there was, surprisingly, still a bit of humour around.
This was illustrated in a series of photographs sent to NIT from the community of Willowra, with hand written signs like "Helipad" perched next to a sparse, dusty paddock and "Beware Pointed Land Mines" attached to termite hills.
It was a sign of defiance at a time when people hadn't fully grasped the extent of the Howard government's intervention. It happened so fast, with so little consultation, that confusion abounded.
The situation wasn't a joke, but we often attempt to find humour in the bleakest of situations. Two years on from the initial military invasion, the intervention is hardly a laughing matter.
Despite a change of government, there has been little change for Indigenous people forced to live under the intervention.
At first, there was hope the ALP would move in the right direction. It was going to implement a 12-month review and act on 'evidence-based policy'. It was going to consult and deliver.
Minister for Indigenous affairs Jenny Macklin feigned attempts at doing this. She appointed a review panel, made up of respected Aboriginal leaders such as Peter Yu and Marcia Ella-Duncan.
The panel was a fair and balanced one.
It was also an expensive exercise, coming in at around $3 million. But this seemed a small price to pay to ensure the NT intervention was not just a billion dollar black hole into which poured taxpayer dollars.
Unfortunately, the Rudd government turned out to be no different from its predecessors in its approach to the most dramatic and far-reaching policy change in Indigenous affairs for decades.
When the review panel finally handed down its report, which recommended changes such as reinstating the Racial Discrimination Act (RDA) and making income management a choice rather than a blanket measure, Minister Macklin barely acknowledged it.
She did announce the government would reinstate the Racial Discrimination Act, but that has still not yet happened.
There have been delays and we should not be surprised if Macklin breaks this promise, just as she broke her promise on properly reviewing the intervention and acting on evidence-based policy.
Because instead of taking the review's findings into account and announcing that income management would be voluntary, she relied on a few claimed anecdotes from anonymous women in the Territory. It fell somewhat short of the extensive consultation conducted as part of the review.
Macklin may not be driven by the same mission manager 'save the blacks' mentality that beset her predecessor, Mal Brough, but at least you knew where you stood with Mad Mal.
Macklin is a different story. An example of this is her backflip over the Alice Springs town camps furore.
She had been outspoken against the plan for Aboriginal people to give up their property rights for basic government funding while in Opposition. But safely surrounded by the trappings of office as Minister, Macklin is now trying to force them to do just that.
It is in her hands that the future of the NT intervention exists, so it's no wonder so many are terrified.
Two years on from the intervention's announcement, Aboriginal people are still waiting to be delivered the vital services that could justify this expensive and ideologically driven election stunt. And a lot of evidence actually points to the intervention having negative consequences for Aboriginal people.
This racist intervention has always been a joke. But it never was a funny one.
Chris Graham, Editor
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