In our country of Australia we have just seen how young criminals in a youth detention centre in the Northern Territory have been brutalised. These youngsters, mainly indigenous youth, have committed criminal acts including violence yet we choose to punish them with more violence from their warders. It is sickening.
Our Prime Minister to his credit has immediately instituted a focused Royal Commission to quickly get to the bottom of this culture of punitive violence.
I heard indigenous leaders react with horror to what they have seen in the Four Corners Program on the youth detention centre. I like what Warren Mundine said about stopping the criminal acts as the front line for fixing the problem of the appallingly high rates of indigenous incarceration. I understood him to mean to get action into the communities from which the young offenders come, such that the senior community members take up the challenge to raise their youth in a culture of peaceful living. I imagine in my dreams warrior elders, men and women, walking amongst their people and somehow drawing them into a style of living that isn't short brutish and ugly. Self determination is the go.
Such self determined action won't suddenly heal the wrongs of the 1788 invasion, but it will help, especially in a context of recognising the first Australians in the Australian Constitution.
I say again that we need a group of indigenous leaders that represents the various indigenous communities across Australia to have a voice on the floor of the Federal Parliament. This group of what I call the Philosopher Kings and Queens of the indigenous peoples should sit with the parliament at least twice each year and the elected MPs should have to sit and listen to what is needed for self determination. All other parliamentary business should be suspended. The emerging actions should receive bipartisan discussion and swift decision making across both houses of the Federal parliament. Any indigenous representative who is too shy to speak for cultural reasons such as language, could have the help of someone by their side interpreting and getting the message across.
The high level indigenous group I recommend is not to be body that receives government funding for projects and that manages large amounts of government money. I don't want this group to be open to accusations of not using government funds wisely. I want them to be above this and above political affiliations.
I have written to federal politicians about my scheme but get back the typical letter from a public servant explaining to me all the wonderful things the government is doing in indigenous affairs. Nothing is substantially changing for my indigenous brothers and sisters. We the great unwashed need to be able to get through the public service barrier and have the pollies themselves respond. I'd rather them tell me my idea won't work with an explanation of why not rather than have the public service standard response.
Enough already!
GD
Noted in the press on 30/07/2016 that the NT Centre in question had been closed for some time and that there were reports of the abuse available. This is even more worrying. Facts are known, reports get written and nothing much changes. There is no doubt that indigenous incarceration rates need to be tackled at the grass roots community level in order to reduce criminal activity. A lot of guts, determination and bipartisanship is needed right now from the pollies. Right now, not tomorrow or next week.
Enough already!
GD
Noted on 2/07/2016 that the government has now decided to have Mick Gooda as a commissioner for the Royal Commission to represent indigenous concerns as well as a new legal commissioner. the original choice for Commissioner withdrew because of possible conflicts of interest. Having Mick there is something that a lot of people wanted.
Enough already!
GD
Tuesday, July 26, 2016
Wednesday, July 13, 2016
WA State Government about to launch a new plan
The WA State government is about to launch a new plan to assist regional remote indigenous communities to survive and prosper (See several relevant articles in the West Australian newspaper of 14 July 2016.).
The plan is a step away from the Barnett government's statement of some months ago that foreshadowed the closing down of many of the remote communities. This came as a result of the Federal government indicating that it would cease to fund the states for these communities to the tune of many millions of dollars.
The new plan is for some $200 million plus of state government money to be available over several years to assist communities in housing, education, jobs and health. Remote communities that want to survive must show that they have a high school attendance rate and at least one member of each of its families in a job in order to tap into this funding. The planners are using models from communities that already meet these sorts of criteria and hope that the model will be taken up by other communities. I fear that very remote communities will disappear.
Only time will tell if this plan works. Having visited almost every remote community in WA as an educator with the Education Department of WA I worry that the criterion of job availability may be very hard for some communities to meet. If a very remote community does not have access to job opportunities will it fail to survive? I feel for the old people who understandably cling to their land and don't want to see their community numbers depleted with the young moving off to find work.
Is there some way to transition the elders so that they don't become broken hearted if their community fails to survive as such? They have suffered enough from the cultural disruption of white settlement.
I can't even bring myself to think of a community shutting down and leaving the elders in limbo.
GD
The plan is a step away from the Barnett government's statement of some months ago that foreshadowed the closing down of many of the remote communities. This came as a result of the Federal government indicating that it would cease to fund the states for these communities to the tune of many millions of dollars.
The new plan is for some $200 million plus of state government money to be available over several years to assist communities in housing, education, jobs and health. Remote communities that want to survive must show that they have a high school attendance rate and at least one member of each of its families in a job in order to tap into this funding. The planners are using models from communities that already meet these sorts of criteria and hope that the model will be taken up by other communities. I fear that very remote communities will disappear.
Only time will tell if this plan works. Having visited almost every remote community in WA as an educator with the Education Department of WA I worry that the criterion of job availability may be very hard for some communities to meet. If a very remote community does not have access to job opportunities will it fail to survive? I feel for the old people who understandably cling to their land and don't want to see their community numbers depleted with the young moving off to find work.
Is there some way to transition the elders so that they don't become broken hearted if their community fails to survive as such? They have suffered enough from the cultural disruption of white settlement.
I can't even bring myself to think of a community shutting down and leaving the elders in limbo.
GD
Wednesday, July 6, 2016
NAIDOC WEEK
NAIDOC Week is here again. I watch with joy the various celebrations of indigenous culture. I trust it will be a good NAIDOC week for all indigenous Aussies and an informative one for all non-indigenous Aussies.
GD
GD
Saturday, July 2, 2016
Welfare card - no cash
In the West Australian newspaper of the weekend of 2 and 3 July 2016, Andrew Forrest made a plea for more widespread use of welfare monies being available through a card and not in cash. He cited locations where this has been tried and how the drug buying dropped and even one case where the major dealer left the area. It seems the women feel they have more control using this card such that their men cannot get the cash and go off and buy drugs and/or alcohol.
My pragmatic streak finds me agreeing with Mr Forrest. If his suggestion contributes to breaking the poverty cycle of indigenous communities where poverty abounds then well and good. My altruistic streak bemoans that it has come to this when in a democracy where individuals make choices within the law the freedom to have cash and spend it how one likes is denied.
Andrew Forrest also tries to employ indigenous persons with his capacity to make a difference in this area. As a retired educator who as part of his career visited almost every remote indigenous community in WA I worried on each visit about how much education we were really getting done. Low attendance rates were the worst feature with the teachers making enormous efforts to provide a relevant education culturally tweaked to be appropriate to the location. Even if we were winning on the struggle to sheet home the education I feared that for this who felt the ties of the community so strongly that they wanted to live out their lives at that location, what were they to do each day?
Of course they could hunt for traditional food as they used to in times gone by. They could teach their young the ways of the traditional culture including the local language. This would be ideal giving purpose to life each day. Unfortunately such ambitions were usually contaminated by the worst features of the non-indigenous society that had annexed the traditional lands. Poor food choices, poor health facilities, the scourge of alcohol and other drugs were mostly too strong and overpowered the desire to live the traditional life enhanced by the best that could be taken from the indigenous cultures.
Some communities adapted and have pastoral, mining and land care involvement and can be self sufficient and be free to make decisions about their lives. Unfortunately many communities do not have these situations and domestic violence, youth suicide and seriously high rates of incarceration exist.
The federal parliament of our country needs a direct avenue whereby they can listen to the communities, tune into their needs and suggest self determined solutions, then through bipartisan action work to put those solutions into place. This direct avenue is an honorary body of revered indigenous leaders from the local areas meeting with the parliament at least twice per year. Normal parliamentary business would be suspended to provide a serious and respectful act of listening by the parliamentarians. They must be open minded and not expect one size fits all solutions. The revered leaders like the Dodson brothers, Noel Pearson, Rosalie Kunoth-Monks are the great persons of whom I write. They are the Philosopher Kings and Queens of our diverse indigenous nation and as in Plato's day are to be listened to with respect and reverence.
I am like a cracked record on this matter and will continue to push for this group as described. We see signs of such in the group reviewing and commenting on constitutional recognition for indigenous persons.
I am a technological novice who doesn't know how to work the hustings to get support for my suggestion. I am aware of Facebook and Twitter but am nervous about committing to these social media behomoths. There are smart technical savvy people out there who could lead the way.
GD
My pragmatic streak finds me agreeing with Mr Forrest. If his suggestion contributes to breaking the poverty cycle of indigenous communities where poverty abounds then well and good. My altruistic streak bemoans that it has come to this when in a democracy where individuals make choices within the law the freedom to have cash and spend it how one likes is denied.
Andrew Forrest also tries to employ indigenous persons with his capacity to make a difference in this area. As a retired educator who as part of his career visited almost every remote indigenous community in WA I worried on each visit about how much education we were really getting done. Low attendance rates were the worst feature with the teachers making enormous efforts to provide a relevant education culturally tweaked to be appropriate to the location. Even if we were winning on the struggle to sheet home the education I feared that for this who felt the ties of the community so strongly that they wanted to live out their lives at that location, what were they to do each day?
Of course they could hunt for traditional food as they used to in times gone by. They could teach their young the ways of the traditional culture including the local language. This would be ideal giving purpose to life each day. Unfortunately such ambitions were usually contaminated by the worst features of the non-indigenous society that had annexed the traditional lands. Poor food choices, poor health facilities, the scourge of alcohol and other drugs were mostly too strong and overpowered the desire to live the traditional life enhanced by the best that could be taken from the indigenous cultures.
Some communities adapted and have pastoral, mining and land care involvement and can be self sufficient and be free to make decisions about their lives. Unfortunately many communities do not have these situations and domestic violence, youth suicide and seriously high rates of incarceration exist.
The federal parliament of our country needs a direct avenue whereby they can listen to the communities, tune into their needs and suggest self determined solutions, then through bipartisan action work to put those solutions into place. This direct avenue is an honorary body of revered indigenous leaders from the local areas meeting with the parliament at least twice per year. Normal parliamentary business would be suspended to provide a serious and respectful act of listening by the parliamentarians. They must be open minded and not expect one size fits all solutions. The revered leaders like the Dodson brothers, Noel Pearson, Rosalie Kunoth-Monks are the great persons of whom I write. They are the Philosopher Kings and Queens of our diverse indigenous nation and as in Plato's day are to be listened to with respect and reverence.
I am like a cracked record on this matter and will continue to push for this group as described. We see signs of such in the group reviewing and commenting on constitutional recognition for indigenous persons.
I am a technological novice who doesn't know how to work the hustings to get support for my suggestion. I am aware of Facebook and Twitter but am nervous about committing to these social media behomoths. There are smart technical savvy people out there who could lead the way.
GD
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