Last night I viewed on TV the Q & A program with a panel largely comprised of indigenous Australians. It became apparent that there is division amongst indigenous persons about whether the federal government intervention 10 years ago was effective, or resulted in a weakening of indigenous self determination efforts about where they want to be in this second decade of the 21st century.
I pray that my indigenous brothers and sisters can be self determining again and that they move quickly across their communities to ensure that domestic violence and high rates of youth incarceration are reigned in. One very poor outcome of the intervention was the denigrating of indigenous men as the perpetrators of domestic violence and child abuse. The evidence across Australia is that indigenous and non-indigenous males are more likely to carry out domestic violence so the finger cannot just be pointed at indigenous males. I have met many fine indigenous men and we have plenty of examples of high profile law abiding and socially responsible indigenous men across the Australian population.
Let us all step up together, indigenous and non indigenous persons, to stamp out domestic violence and child abuse. Let us stand united in shaping Australian society under the umbrella of the UN Charter of Human Rights. A first step might be to have an Australian version of this Charter.
May the Force be with us!
GD
