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EDITORIAL: Before you condemn...
ISSUE 184 - 21 Aug 2009
ISSUE 184, August 20, 2009: Before Alison Anderson walked away from the Labor party, the Strategic Indigenous Housing and Infrastructure Program (SIHIP) was barely getting any press writes NIT’s acting editor AMY McQUIRE*
A few media outlets were beginning to question whether the expensive intervention housing program was actually doing its job. The fact that the $672 million project had not built any homes for Indigenous Territorians was starting to do the rounds.
The CLP had begun grilling parliament on the $100 million allegedly wasted in bureaucratic and administrative costs.
Then there were the revelations that Senator Ursula Stephens had herself written to Minister for Indigenous Affairs Jenny Macklin a year ago, warning her that the program would be a failure and was really worthy of review before "too much more money was wasted".
In the private memo, leaked to NIT, Senator Stephens forecast that it was unlikely any new homes would be built before 2011, that the Indigenous employment goals would not be reached and that the whole model SIHIP was based on - the alliance contracting system - could potentially lead to high-level corruption.
This story exploded in the media, but like all things Indigenous affairs, had the potential to die with barely a whimper. It's by no means rare for this to happen when it comes to Indigenous policy, especially with issues like SIHIP.
Indigenous housing isn't sexy. It does not appeal to the imagination of white Australia, or its media.
Although it is an important factor in raising Indigenous equality, government squandering of money on housing programs that don't work simply does not generate the website traffic or newspaper sales needed to run a successful mainstream media business.
The mess that was SIHIP was in danger of falling back into the newspaper archives and the person responsible for the wasted millions, Macklin, looked as if she could escape with her ministerial reputation intact - if not a little bruised.
That all changed when Alison Anderson, an Aboriginal MLA and then NT Aboriginal policy minister, decided to withdraw in disgust after being briefed that SIHIP's housing achievements could be cut to as few as 300 homes.
Her decision was also spawned by a nasty editorial in the NT News, which she described as racist.
Anderson's resignation threw the NT Labor government into chaos.
NT Chief Minister Paul Henderson's reign looked as if it would end, even as former deputy Chief Minister Marion Scrymgour rejoined the ALP ranks.
For once, an Aboriginal politician held the fate of a government in her hands.
It was a powerful and historic statement, even if you didn't agree with Anderson's politics, or how she delivered the message.
Unfortunately, Anderson's walk-off fell flat on Friday and the power shifted to a white politician - conservative independent Gerry Woods - who decided to back the ALP in the face of government instability in the Territory.
The Henderson government was able to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
Anderson's fate was the opposite. She, quite simply, dealt herself out of the game and it was due in large part to her methods.
She should have delivered her message and then, frankly, kept her mouth closed. Her public comments, for example, about a "dead man walking" (Paul Henderson) did not aid her cause.
While it is understandable that Anderson was emotional about issues that affect her and her family personally (she is from the remote community of Papunya), she should have set that aside, delivered her statement and then waited for the vote.
Her execution was poor but there's no denying there was good in her intention.
People shouldn't underestimate Anderson's frustration, and that of other Aboriginal MLAs, who are working within the rotten Labor machine.
It clearly doesn't work for Aboriginal people and while you have to acknowledge the efforts made by black politicians like Marion Scrymgour and Malarndirri McCarthy to work within the framework, you also can't condemn people like Alison Anderson for recognising that Labor is well and truly broken.
It is no friend of Aboriginal people, and in truth never has been.
Although the saga ended far from the victory for Aboriginal rights we were expecting, it is worth noting that Anderson has achieved a great deal in the process.
First of all, she was able to shave $50 million off the bureaucratic costs of SIHIP, which is no mean feat.
Secondly, she has put Indigenous housing on the front page, even if it was only for a week or two.
For all her faults, Alison Anderson is a conviction politician who shook up a party in desperate need of reform.
There aren't too many out there who would take that stand. You certainly can't condemn her for that.
Amy McQuire, Acting Editor
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