Australians see more African American faces on the film and TV screen than Indigenous Australians... here are some faces and people you may or may not know.

David Gulpilil and his son are currently starring in the new release Ten Canoes - here's a story from 2002.



Man who lives in two worlds
By Steve Meacham

DAVID GULPILIL

You can imagine the controversy if Nicole Kidman or Russell Crowe was shown smoking marijuana on the national broadcaster. But this week one of Australia's best-known actors will be seen smoking a bong on an ABC documentary - and no one will turn a hair.

Since 1971, when he became an overnight sensation in Walkabout, Nicholas Roeg's classic about a clash of cultures, David Gulpilil has been the world's favourite Aboriginal star. His credits include some of the greatest movies made in this country: Storm Boy (1976), The Last Wave (1977), Crocodile Dundee (1986) and, this year, both The Tracker and Rabbit-Proof Fence (for which he received AFI nominations for best actor and best supporting actor respectively).

There have been moments of glitz and glamour. He learned to drink alcohol with John Mellion and Dennis Hopper. He has partied with Bob Dylan and joined John Lennon on the roof as the Beatles recorded 'Get Back'. He's been nominated for more awards than most actors dream of and has been honoured with an Order of Australia medal. Yet here he is, half naked on the dirt floor of a humpy, slowly getting stoned.

For filmmaker Darlene Johnson, it was pretty amazing that Gulpilil allowed her to shoot the dope scene. Even more startling was the fact he had the chance to cut it from her documentary, Gulpilil - One Red Blood, but chose to leave it in.

"What's amazing about David is his candidness," she says. "I have more respect for him because he chose to show that side. As he says, he wanted 'No bullshit'."

The two met "in a bar, as you do" on the set of Rabbit-Proof Fence. The Aboriginal filmmaker had been shooting a documentary about the making of Phillip Noyce's epic and was about to fly to New York because Stolen Generation, her best-known work, had been nominated for an Emmy Award.

Gulpilil told her how much he had enjoyed Stolen Generations and suggested she make a documentary about his own life. Johnson, 32, was both amazed and flattered. Amazed no one had thought of documenting Gulpilil's life before, flattered because, as she puts it: "I'm a Koori. Here's an Aborigine based on tribal land in Arnhem Land asking me, a white-skinned young woman from an urban setting, to make a film for posterity, something he could pass down to his family."

What makes Gulpilil unique is his ability, as he says, "to live in two worlds". There's the world of movies, premieres, airline tickets. And then there's his traditional life - hunting kangaroos and crocodiles as his ancestors did for centuries before him in his tribal homelands.

"That's the real me on screen," Gulpilil said. "I walk on red carpets and eat caviar but this is where my paradise is, where I was born. I'm the same person in both worlds. I wanted the documentary to show how I live and where I hunt."

As soon as the documentary begins, you realise Gulpilil is different. "I don't know how old I am," he says. "I think I'm 48 ... maybe 50." Many of his Aboriginal contemporaries are dead and Johnson believes that's why Gulpilil was so keen to see the documentary made; as if he felt time was running out to record his contribution to Australian culture and the rebuffing of racial stereotypes.

In the documentary Jack Thompson recalls the impact of Walkabout: "No Australian director would have made an Aboriginal man so sexily attractive to a western woman." Only four years earlier, in Journey out of Darkness, the key Aboriginal roles had been played by a blacked-up white actor and an Asian, Kamal.

Gulpilil's career nose-dived in the 1990s, partly because he asked for "a million dollars" to appear in Crocodile Dundee 2. It was a tough time, with petrol sniffing and alcohol getting a grip on Ramingining, where he lives. But Gulpilil and other elders have now made it a dry community and the petrol sniffing has been conquered.

Gulpilil is pleased with Johnson's warts-and-all portrait. "It tells my missing story," he says.

Film roles:
Ten Canoes (2006) .... The Storyteller
The Proposition (2005)
The Tracker (2002) .... The Tracker
Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002) .... Moodoo
Serenades (2001) .... Rainman
Paradiesvogel, Der (2000) (TV)
"BeastMaster"
- Valhalla (2000) TV Episode .... Shaman

Dead Heart (1996) .... 2nd Man
"Snowy River: The McGregor Saga"
... aka Banjo Paterson's The Man from Snowy River
- The Savage Land (????) TV Episode .... Manulpuy
Bis ans Ende der Welt (1991) .... David
... aka Until the End of the World (UK) (USA)
... aka Jusqu'au bout du monde (France)
Naked Under Capricorn (1989) (TV) .... Activity
Dark Age (1987) .... Adjaral
Crocodile Dundee (1986) .... Neville Bell
... aka 'Crocodile' Dundee (USA)
The Right Stuff (1983) .... Aborigine
"Young Ramsay"
- Dreamtime (1980) TV Episode .... Aborigine
"The Timeless Land" (1980) (mini) TV Series .... Benelong
The Last Wave (1977) (as Gulpilil) .... Chris Lee
"The Outsiders"
- Sophie's Mob (1977) TV Episode .... Billy Potter
Storm Boy (1976) .... Fingerbone
Mad Dog Morgan (1976) .... Billy
... aka Mad Dog
... aka Mad Dog Morgan (USA)
"Rush"
- The Kadaitcha Man (1976) TV Episode .... Satchel
"Homicide"
- Slow Fuse (1974) TV Episode .... Gary Willis
"Boney"
- Boney and the Burial Tree (1973) TV Episode .... Balinga
- Boney Buys a Woman (1972) TV Episode .... Dancer
- Boney and the Black Virgin (1972) TV Episode .... Tonto
- Boney and the Payback Killer (1972) TV Episode .... David Ooldea
Walkabout (1971) (as David Gumpilil) .... Black Boy

I didn't know Gulpilil is still acting.

I'd like to see his own movie, although I doubt that'd ever happen.

But since watching his commentary on Rabbit-Proof Fence about how those children would have been caught if his character was really trying. And how he proved it. And how they director kept on his take.

The importance of Indies telling their stories has been more appealing to me, rather than seeing a non-Indigenous use his artistic license to make things unbelievable to those in the know.

I learn nothing from that.

yep, understood.

I don't think the film Ten Canoes falls into that category... anyway have a read.

It came about from a photo of men in canoes at DC's home. There are very few Indigenous directors... but much discussion about how indigenous people are portrayed in films. This is as close as it gets to creative license being indigenous.

http://www.tencanoes.com.au/tencanoes/pdf/Background.pdf

http://www.tencanoes.com.au/tencanoes/pdf/TheCast.pdf

I haven't seen it yet... it's released commercially at the end of June.

Also, I forgot to mention that DG is the narrator in this film, he doesn't act in it, but his son does. I just watched the film Walkabout with DG as a young man - around the same age as his son now. Good film.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: FireFly,

maningrida ~ a recent photographic exhibition by Belinda Mason-Lovering.
Titled ~ The Pioneers

Media from out of Australia show "their blacks" are being reduced to PEOPLE who are CRIMINALS and CHILD ABUSERS.

I really hope AUSTRALIAN PEOPLE are trying to SET THING RIGHT.

Hey that LIZARD image looks GRAND. It looks as if the LIZARD is trying to GET AWAY from the CAMERAMAN.

I would too because HE or SHE is BLOCKING THE SUN and MY WAY.

The news you are reading is true. Yes, there is abominal abuse occuring by males toward children and women within a few remote indigenous areas.

It is inexcusable behaviour, however it is also short-sighted and ignorant for the two government ministers [involved in addressing this issue] not to examine the possible causes of this type of behaviour.

The knee-jerk reaction is increased policing for the security of the women and children in these areas and that is welcomed as a necessary short-term measure. However as we all know, increased policing is a bandaide and ignores the deeper issues of how those communities can heal, change their behaviour, reclaim their self-esteem, and sense of safety and control of their own community.

Equally astonishing and inexcusable is the parade of politicians who, over the years, have talked about funding medical services in remote areas. And guess what? They are still waiting.

And guess what else? One of the hopefully 'positive' facts to have emerged out of this indigenous sexual abuse crisis is the fact that SIZABLE AMOUNTS of government funding destined FOR REMOTE COMMUNITIES such as the one above... NEVER REACHED THEIR INTENDED RECIPIENTS.

The Perception of Indigenous Australians by many...my view on what I call... "Theme Park Aboriginal Culture".

In the bookstore I work in part time, there is a wonderful Indigenous book section. Profiles of activists, anthology, history, ancient art, history criticising the telling of Indigenous history, contemporary writing and essays and art etc etc. People walk up to this section wanting a postcard book. Not a book about aboriginal people actually living in either remote regions or urban settings. Although they ASK for books ABOUT aboriginal people – which usually means knowing how people live, eat, work, think – no, what they really want is a book of pictures of Uluru, The Olgas, the Outback – with the odd token aboriginal standing somewhere in-camera like a film prop. No writing, just pictures of people and places they will never travel to, meet, or think about beyond looking at the red soil, stunning landscape, gum trees and vivid blue skies of the Outback. Not even Cathy Freeman rates any interest unless it's to do with sport. Even her wonderful DVD and book Going Bush is a little too hard core for some.

Determined as I am (in a CHARMING WAY of course) to entice customers of all intelligence levels, to consider buying ANYTHING ELSE a little more indepth – they only want the "token" book. Something to show their friends and say – “look, I’ve been to Australia. Here are pictures of the aboriginal people, that I know nothing about and who cares anyway, as long as I have the book.”

The other thing happening right now in Australia is a so-called government “initiative” to review the content of secondary history school books, a la GWBush. Currently we do have truthful and impartial books written by a bi-racial indigenous academic Henry Reynolds about Colonialization; First Contact; Aboriginal History; etc.

It worries me that this will change and our telling of history in schools will revert back to history by omission, and replicate the scenarios from Leuwin's book Lies My Teacher Told Me. The recent appointment of historian Simon Windschuttle to the ABC (a respected and supposedly impartial Australian Broadcasting Commission - non-commercial TV channel) has sent shivers through the industry. Simon - encouraged whole-heartedly by John Howard, our PM - is keen to replace social theory and anthropology with DATES AND FACTS. yeah, the Prime Minister's.

These issues have prompted me to explore a few ideas that I hope might help to change this perspective, which I’ll keep to myself for now.

thanks for bring this to my attention.
I haven't noticed this topic in my city newspaper.

Over the past five years more than 25,000 Africans have arrived in Australia uner the federal government's humanitarian resettlement programs.

It would be a good topic for our ABC (Australia) TV news to cover.

I definitely think it's both timely and important that you brought this up.

I think you are right about the possibility of Africans being seen as new immigrants in competition for limited resources.

It's hard for me to comment about the other groups because they are experiencing their own issues and tensions - esp. ANYONE of "middle eastern appearance" the now well-trodden MEDIA term. However some positive reactions are emerging especially from the younger Lebanese and Arabs who are making mini-documentaries to show their points of view, and an inside view into their cultures and aspirations.

I have to say I was very suprised about the tensions between indigenous Australians and Africans. I would like to know what their perception of Africa and Africans - culturally speaking - is. I get the impression (impression, not fact) that Indigenous Australians don't readily see a link to Africa because theirs is already a very ancient culture, with part of their population still living outback in the same ways (where possible) as their ancestors did. These are random thoughts... and I may be totally wrong. Perhaps these are questions I need to ask when I can determine HOW to ask them.

Your contributions are always welcome.
I am very interested about the connection between Africa and Australia. There's lots to learn and only so much recorded history (and lots of suppostion) to base theories on.

Australian Aborigines win east coast land claim

By Rob Taylor
Reuters
Tuesday, January 2, 2007; 1:57 AM
Washington Post

CANBERRA (Reuters) - Aborigines won a 10-year fight for control of World Heritage-listed rainforests in the center of Australia's wealthy east coast on Tuesday, sealing one of the country's biggest native land deals.

The Githabul people will help manage 19 national parks and state forests covering 6,000 square km (3,700 square miles) in New South Wales (NSW) state, including rugged mountain peaks said to be home to powerful ancestral spirits.

The area lies beside some of Australia's most pristine coastal scenery, including the hip Byron Bay resort and the touristy beaches and cities of southern Queensland. Most of the country's economic wealth is concentrated along the eastern seaboard.

"They are no longer 'poor-bugger-me' blacks, but they will be standing on their country. The pride of that community is going to change," Warren Mundine, the chief executive of NSW Native Title Services which funded the claim, told Reuters.

Many of Australia's 460,000 Aborigines live in remote communities with poor access to jobs, good housing, health services and education. They account for around 2.3 percent of the 20 million population.

But Australia's High Court ruled in 1992 that Aborigines had a right to ancestral lands used prior to white settlement.

A lower court awarded a native land claim over metropolitan Perth in Western Australia state last September, a decision that is being appealed by both the state and national governments.

Prime Minister John Howard's conservative government has often clashed with Aboriginal leaders, favoring practical measures such as better access to health and education [FF editorial comment: that has not happened ] to symbolic land rights or an apology for past racial injustices. [this either!]

The Githabul deal follows a decade of talks and legal argument with the NSW government, and will allow around 250 tribal members to hunt and fish for protected native animals, including turtles and echidnas, or native ant-eaters.

The claim covers the world heritage Border Ranges and Toonumbar national parks. Tribal elders hope it will also lead to jobs and less welfare dependency among local Aboriginals.

"Everyone usually thinks of native title and Aboriginal culture being in the north, but now here you've got it right in the heartland of the some of the wealthiest land in the country," Mundine said.

He said talks were still under way over a second claim taking in parts of southern Queensland.

Githabul claimant Trevor Close said the agreement would allow his "people of the rainforest" to hunt, fish and run businesses near the parks without fear of punishment.

"The claim was lodged because our boys were sick of being pulled up (by police and park authorities) for doing what they had always done," Close told local newspapers.

Bligh defends Qld stance on title claim
January 2, 2007 - 5:54PM SMH

Acting Queensland Premier Anna Bligh says it's unfair to accuse the state government of refusing to negotiate on a huge native title claim.

The claim is associated with a native title deal which has been struck in northern NSW giving the Githabul people joint control of 19 national parks and state forests.

The NSW government has agreed to hand over joint control of part of the Githabul nation, which straddles the NSW and Queensland border near Mt Lindesay and covers more than 6,000 square kilometres, The Australian newspaper reports.

The area is part of the biggest native title claim on the eastern seaboard and includes many picturesque NSW parks and the World Heritage listed Border Ranges and Toonumbar national parks.

But The Australian newspaper reports the Queensland government has refused to negotiate on the claim for 10 years, ensuring the Queensland areas will be dropped from the original claim and pursued separately.

Ms Bligh said negotiations had taken place but they had been delayed because the claimants had failed to provide material relevant to the Queensland areas.

"The Queensland part of this claim accounts for 15 per cent of the total claim," she said.

"We have received some material in relation to the claim ... but most of the claim material was overwhelmingly based on the NSW part of the claim.

"We look forward to receiving supporting material about the part of the land that is on the Queensland side of the border."

Ms Bligh said it was unfair to accuse the Queensland government of being "slow off the mark" in native title claims.

"As of the end of last year, Queensland had 138 indigenous land use agreements registered, which is more than 50 per cent of the national total," she said.

Ms Bligh said she hoped negotiations would continue with the Githabul representatives.

I haven't had time to post much about this although I've been 'watching' a few important and contentious issues here recently... I am very pleased to see that the original [female] judge's decision to let the policeman go free even though the coroner said he was GUILTY!! has been overturned....even though nationwide, police have been protesting and demonstrating...

Palm Island cop charged
Hurley ... faces manslaughter charge.

February 5, 2007 - 3:54PM

Manslaughter and assault charges were laid today against the policeman at the centre of the Palm Island death in custody case.

The office of Queensland's Attorney-General confirmed to the Herald that formal charges had been filed against Senior Sergeant Chris Hurley.

In the Supreme Court in Brisbane today, Senior Sergeant Hurley was charged with the manslaughter and assault of 36-year-old Mulrunji Doomadgee in 2004.

He was remanded to reappear for mention in Townsville Supreme Court on March 16.

The officer's counsel did not enter a plea.

The move follows recomendations over the case by former NSW chief justice Sir Laurence Street.

Sir Laurence had found there was enough evidence to pursue Senior Sergeant Hurley over the death of Mulrunji, which triggered rioting on Palm Island.

Earlier Queensland's Director of Public Prosecutions had declined to press charges, citing lack of evidence.

Sir Laurence was called in to look at the matter after the DPP's initial decision triggered a public outcry.

Meanwhile a lawyer for Senior Sergeant Hurley will complain to the Attorney-General about the leaking of Sir Laurence's confidential report.

Glen Cranny today said he was disgusted the media had received the report before he had.

The Courier Mail obtained the 12-page report, which found there was enough evidence to charge his client.

The newspaper reported Sir Laurence found that a jury could make the "rational inference" that Senior Sergeant Hurley deliberately kneed Mulrunji as he lay on the watchhouse floor.

Mr Cranny told ABC Radio the leak was "entirely unsatisfactory" and indicative of the way the case had been handled to date.

"What it is, is a very clear continuation of the unsatisfactory way that this matter has proceeded to date, and that is that we're still learning things through the media on a day-by-day basis rather than through the proper channels," Mr Cranny said.

"We don't know where this leak has come from but clearly there's only a limited number of people who have access to it and it's entirely unsatisfactory that we don't have a copy and yet it's out there in the public domain."

Mr Cranny said he would lodge a letter of complaint to Ms Shine this morning.

The Queensland Police Union already indicated it would complain to the Crime and Misconduct Commission about the leak.

- with AAP

Last Update: Friday, February 16, 2007. 11:41am (AEDT)

Cape York native title claim may be landmark case




A Cape York Aboriginal clan in far north Queensland has lodged what could be a landmark compensation claim with the Federal Court for the loss of native title rights.

There has not been a claim of this kind in Queensland for nearly a decade, and there has never been a successful one anywhere in the country.

The Dingaal people believe the State Government hindered their native title rights when it granted leases over their country at Cape Flattery to the Ports Corporation of Queensland and the Cape Flattery Silica Mine.

The leases were granted before their native title rights were recognised by the Federal Court in the late 1990s.

The Dingaal's lawyer, Peter Black, says improved access to his clients' land is a central element of the claim.

"We believe it's land and land alone that will be the source of bringing health and prosperity to the Aboriginal people," he said.

A date for a Federal Court hearing is yet to be set.



FYI:

Cape York Peninsula is a peninsula in northern Queensland, Australia. Cape York 10°41′S 142°32′E is at the tip of the peninsula and is the northernmost point on the Australian continent. It was named by Lt. James Cook in 1770 after His Royal Highness the Duke of York.

From the tip, it is about 140 km to New Guinea across the island-studded Torres Strait. The west coast borders the Gulf of Carpentaria and the east coast borders the Coral Sea. Cape York Peninsula is approximately 137,000 km² in area and it has a population of about 18,000.

NSW govt 'downplaying' indigenous issues

June 22, 2007

NSW Premier Morris Iemma has failed to match tough talk in parliament on child sexual abuse with money for real action, an Aboriginal advocacy group says.

Gary Highland, director of Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation (ANTaR), joined with the state opposition to condemn the government's failure to act on its own report into child sexual abuse in NSW Aboriginal communities.

Mr Iemma insists the government responded by releasing a four-year plan in January.

The government released the report last year, entitled Breaking The Silence, which found the intergenerational cycle of child abuse was an "epidemic" that touched every indigenous family.

It found Aboriginal children were four times more likely to be abused than other children.

"It doesn't matter who you are or what your situation is - it happens," one Aboriginal person was quoted as saying in the report.

The report's recommendations included additional support for witnesses, better police surveillance, and trauma support and counselling for young rape victims.

Together they form a "blueprint" which, if funded, would make NSW the national leader in dealing with abuse in indigenous communities, Mr Highland said.

"These things need extra resources and the premier and the treasurer (Michael Costa) have not provided those resources," he said.

Mr Highland accused the premier of failing to live up to a pledge made in parliament last year over dealing with paedophiles.

"In parliament the premier talked tough. He said 'If you are a paedophile, I am your enemy'," Mr Highland said.

"When it came to doing something he turned to water."

Opposition Leader Barry O'Farrell said Mr Iemma should "hang his head in shame" over the lack of an immediate, practical response to the report.

He said the reported refusal last December by Mr Costa to fund implementation of the report's 88 recommendations proved the government's lack of commitment to the issue.

"The government is effectively complicit in what is happening in Aboriginal communities by its refusal to respond positively to this report," Mr O'Farrell said.

He deplored the government's budget message that NSW was enjoying the fruits of a healthy economy, while failing to find the money required to back the report.

Mr Iemma has insisted that all the report's recommendations would be implemented during the next four years.

"The government has released its response in January ... and it's working to implement it," Mr Iemma said.

"It's a response, an action plan over four years, and it involved law enforcement ... it also involves recruiting additional liaison officers and that's part of the government's response."

Mr Iemma defended slashing more than $20 million from Aboriginal affairs in this week's budget, saying indigenous people would benefit from funding boosts to other portfolios.

But Mr Highland questioned the urgency of a four-year response.

"I don't think if it was any other group of children in NSW, we would have put up with this for so long," he said.

Indigenous author Alexis Wright, who scooped the Miles Franklin Literary Award for 2007, said Aboriginal people needed to be involved in decisions about their future.

"Australia has to stop treating Aboriginal people like children and has to understand that we need to have dialogue and we need to talk and understand what Aboriginal people are trying to do," she told ABC Radio.

On Thursday, Prime Minister John Howard announced a wide-ranging response to the problem of child abuse in the Northern Territory's indigenous communities, including bans on alcohol and pornography.

Mr Howard urged all state premiers to follow his lead.

MEDIA STATEMENT FROM NSWALC

The New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council welcomes Prime Minister John Howard’s sudden realisation that child sexual abuse is a national emergency after 11 years in power, and a decade of so-called practical reconciliation.

However, Council has profound concerns about his draconian policy responses and wonders why he has for so long ignored a stream of reports from within his own government about the crisis of violence and physical abuse in Aboriginal communities throughout its 11 years in office.

Perhaps it is because he has visited so few Aboriginal communities in his term as Prime Minister. Let us not forget the "national summit" on violence in Indigenous communities he held in July 2003 and his pledge to take action because, in his words, communities were being destroyed. The summit came and went; the violence and abuse continued.

We are now told by the Prime Minister it is a national emergency. Aboriginal people have been telling this to Mr Howard and State and Territory Governments for decades. They have pledged to work with all Governments on this issue as a priority. They have been ignored.

The New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council welcomes any action by any government to remove the scourge of family violence and child abuse in our communities. However, every official report which has been released in the past three decade identifying this as a crisis and calling for urgent action has recommended that the sustainable solutions required to successfully tackle these problems will only come with the proper resourcing of community controlled violence programs.

These cannot be prescribed from Canberra. This is a central message of the Little Children Are Sacred report, as it has been in all previous reports. There appears to have been no consultation on Mr Howard’s extraordinary intervention with the affected communities in the Northern Territory.

Programs must be developed to strengthen families and communities to empower them to confront and deal with these problems while looking at long term strategies and the commitment of resources to address the underlying causes of child abuse, including the gross overcrowding and lack of houses, the horrific lack of education and educational facilities and chronic unemployment.

That cannot be done in isolation from the very people who daily suffer the trauma of these problems.

The New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council has no specific statutory obligation in relation to family violence but we do have an active involvement, on behalf of the land rights network in NSW, to advise our people on relevant policy responses from the Commonwealth and State Governments to these matters. We have sought to actively engage Local Aboriginal Land Councils and their communities, in responding to the NSW Government’s Breaking the Silence report into child abuse in this state.

We will be discussing a range of concerns we have with the State Government’s response with state authorities in the near future. We will also be discussing the proposed response from the NSW Government to the proposed intervention in the NT by the Howard Government.

We will ensure they understand the need to work with our communities to produce sustainable solutions, which stamp out the scourge of violence and abuse in our communities.

NSW Reconciliation Council calls on State Government to oppose opportunistic Federal approach to addressing child abuse

The Federal Government’s overdue response to child abuse is [b]a shameful example of political opportunism and will not achieve long term positive outcomes for Indigenous communities, according to the NSW Reconciliation Council.

‘The welfare of Aboriginal children should never be used for political purposes. Mr Howard’s behaviour is shameful. I will not stand silent while he uses the welfare of Aboriginal children for his own political gain,’ Mr Greg Davison, Chairperson of the NSW Reconciliation Council said. ‘Genuine action is necessary; we have seen government inaction on this issue for decades.’

The Council is calling on the NSW Government to lead the way on this issue by funding the implementation of the Breaking the Silence Report recommendations of its own Aboriginal Child Sexual Assault Taskforce. ‘In contrast to the Federal Government’s imposed, discriminatory, knee-jerk approach, these recommendations were developed in partnership with Aboriginal communities in NSW through the Aboriginal Child Sexual Assault Taskforce,’ explained Renee Williamson, Deputy Chairperson of the NSW Reconciliation Council.

The Council believes the Federal Government’s response fails to address the underlying systemic issues, which have caused many of the problems facing Indigenous communities today.’ Ms Williamson stated ‘history has shown us that complex problems such as abuse are not solved through punitive and paternalistic measures…This is protectionism all over again.

‘Trust is a precious commodity in Aboriginal communities. Coercion and fear will only exacerbate problems in the Northern Territory as they have done for so long in NSW,’ said NSW Reconciliation Council Board member Sally Fitzpatrick.

Child abuse is an issue requiring urgent action not only in Aboriginal communities, and not only in the Northern Territory. For Aboriginal communities in NSW, the Council believes that the NSW Government has the opportunity to take a different approach to the Federal Government. By funding the implementation of the NSW Interagency Plan based on the Breaking the Silence Report, the NSW Government will work together with Aboriginal communities to effectively address the issue in partnership.

‘Real solutions can only be found at the local level and only when the system provides trust and support’ explained David Crew, NSW Reconciliation Board member.

For all media enquiries please contact Greg Davison (Chair) on 0418 969 022 or Renee Williamson (Deputy Chair) on 0409 410 285.

Government’s misguided approach will add to trauma of children

Draconian measures announced by the Prime Minister today in response to the crisis of child abuse in Northern Territory Aboriginal communities would only add to the suffering of children, according to Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation (ANTaR).

ANTaR National Director, Gary Highland said that the Prime Minister was right to describe the widespread abuse of Aboriginal children as a national emergency but wrong in the way his government was seeking to overcome it.

“Particularly horrifying is the plan to introduce compulsory health checks for all Aboriginal children to examine for signs of abuse – regardless of whether this is suspected,” Mr Highland said.

“Little children are sacred. Compulsory and potentially invasive checks of this kind will add to their trauma,” he said.
Mr Highland said there was no other group in society that would be subject to these kinds of measures.

“Can you imagine what would happen if the Government ordered compulsory health checks for Anglo, Chinese, Jewish or Muslim children? There’d be an uproar. Yet the Prime Minister thinks it is appropriate to enforce this on Aboriginal children,” he said.[/b]

Mr Highland said efforts to stamp out child abuse should target the perpetrators rather than demonise whole communities.

The Government response also seemed to ignore the findings of the Little Children are Sacred report that non-Aboriginal men were also responsible for the abuse of Aboriginal children.

“We should tackle the extent of pornography and there may even be a case for banning it, but if this is going to happen it should occur across the board – in mining camps, lounge rooms as well as Aboriginal communities.”

Mr Highland said that while stopping alcohol abuse was essential to overcoming child abuse, prohibition would be unlikely to achieve this.

“Prohibition hasn’t worked anywhere else in the world. Why does the Prime Minister think it will work in the Northern Territory?”
Mr Highland said there was no doubting the sincerity and commitment of the Prime Minister and Minister Brough in relation to ending child abuse, but their misguided approach would be unlikely to achieve it.

“The heavy handed control of Aboriginal people helped create the problems of child abuse and violence. More of the same is not going to solve them,” Mr Highland said.

ANTaR has worked extensively to support Aboriginal people who are overcoming violence and child abuse. In 2006 it organized a forum in Parliament House, Canberra bringing Aboriginal leaders who have successfully tackled abuse and violence together with politicians and public servants to discuss strategies to overcome these problems. ANTaR is currently campaigning to urge the NSW Government to properly fund its response to the abuse of Aboriginal children in that state. Its Success Stories in Indigenous Healthbooklet released this week also profiles a number of successful programs that are tackling child abuse and its effects.

Media contact: Gary Highland on 02 9555 6138 or 0418 476 940.