A better way

ANtaR, a not-for-profit organisation, seeks to restore Australia’s indigenous community to a life

Not so long ago, I mean about 500 to 200 million years ago, Gondwanaland was a supercontinent. It encompassed a huge land mass including Australia and India. In this context, the First Australians and people from the Indian subcontinent share a common past!

History of colonisation

Willem Janszoon is thought to be the first European to have sighted and landed on the Australian mainland. He was a Dutch navigator who landed in 1606 on the western shore of Cape York. Although the Dutch charted the whole of the western and northern coastlines of what they called “New Holland”, occupation and settlement was done by the English. Most of us know of James Cook’s discovery and the First Fleet that followed, with convicts, officers and marines and their families under the command of Captain Arthur Phillip. A settlement was established at Sydney Cove on January 26, 1788, Australia’s national day. Many more fleets arrived and the population grew steadily in subsequent decades; the continent was explored (Burke and Willis, Hamilton Hume, Charles Sturt to name a few) and an additional five self-governing colonies were established. On January 1, 1901, the six colonies federated, forming the Commonwealth of Australia.

Colonisation was a bitter and bloody struggle. The arrival of the colonisers resulted in occupation of traditional lands of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, without their consent. Australia’s indigenous population was severely affected by the occupation, destruction of lands and food resources, and by introduced European diseases. Unlike other British colonies (such as New Zealand), the British never signed a treaty with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Supporting the disadvantaged

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people remain at a significant disadvantage even today. Recently I met Rajiv Viswanathan, an active member of Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation (ANTaR) and co-author of a paper issued by the organisation titled, A Better Way: Building healthy, safe and sustainable communities in the Northern Territory through a community development approach.

ANTaR is a grassroots but national non-government, notfor-profit, community-based, advocacy organisation dedicated specifically to the rights – and overcoming the disadvantage –of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people through lobbying, public campaigns and advocacy. It focuses on changing the attitude and behaviour of non-indigenous Australians, so that the rights and cultures of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander are respected and affirmed across all sections of society. ANTaR has been working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations and leaders on rights and reconciliation issues since 1997.

Sobering statistics

Rajiv quotes some sobering statistics for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people: the life expectancy for indigenous males is 59 years compared with 77 years in the non-indigenous population and, for indigenous females, 65 years compared with 82 years. Infant mortality rates are higher, rates of school attendance and completion are lower (45% of indigenous Australians complete year 12, versus 86% for nonIndigenous Australians), and the employment rate is 48% (compared to 72% for other Australians). And Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are significantly over-represented in prisons. These are significant disadvantages and the underlying reasons are complex and deep rooted. However Rajiv points out that a significant factor was the series of government policies dating back to colonisation and which, through the decades, has contributed to severely destabilising communities and social structures.

Change, at long last

Some changes have taken place in the last 30 to 40 years that began in the 1960s. In 1967, the Australian people voted at a referendum to give powers to the Federal government to make laws for Aboriginal people, in addition to people of other races. Other key milestones were the recognition of Native Title Rights in the early 1990s, increased public participation in the Reconciliation process, and the national apology by Kevin Rudd to the Stolen Generations.

In spite of this, much remains to be done to enable Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to overcome a long history of poverty and marginalisation. In 2008, the Federal, State and Territory governments initiated the Closing the Gap program, committing to achieving improvements in indigenous life expectancy, infant mortality, early childhood development, education and employment over the next decade. But government action cannot work on its own – indigenous and non-indigenous communities must themselves be part of the solution. And some Government actions remain as concerns.

Federal government initiatives

The Federal Government brought in the Northern Territory Emergency Response (NTER) in June 2007 as a response to a perceived crisis in child safety in Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory (NT). To many, the intervention involved a range of punitive, top-down, externally imposed measures without appropriate consultation with Aboriginal communities. In November, the Government released its proposals for the future of NTER, after a consultation process that began earlier in the year with its paper, Stronger Futures in the Northern Territory

In A Better Way Rajiv and his colleagues advocate for a community-driven, “bottom up” approach to drive greater benefits for indigenous people as has been demonstrated internationally, particularly the US. In a community development approach, Aboriginal people would own, participate in and shape their own development. Governments would work with, rather than for, Aboriginal people by supporting community-centred initiatives, recognising that “initiatives are most successful where communities feel a sense of ownership and pride”.

Changing the Constitution

ANTaR is also campaigning actively for recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia’s Constitution. Although the Constitution is the nation’s defining document, indigenous Australians were excluded from its drafting - and were often discriminated against within the document. Although progress has been made in eliminating some of its entrenched discriminatory provisions, the Constitution remains silent on the history, rights and contribution of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

The Federal Government has committed to hold a referendum on constitutional recognition at or before the next Federal election. At a minimum, this could involve a formal statement of recognition in the Constitution of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ prior ownership of, and connection to, the land, and the continuing contribution of their histories, cultures and languages.

A referendum would also give us the chance to make other changes which would benefit all Australians. For example, the Constitution currently gives the Federal Government power to make laws for people of any race, including laws which discriminate against a particular racial group. At a referendum, we could vote to introduce a new anti-discrimination provision, protecting all Australians (including sub-continental communities) from discriminatory laws.

Add your voice

So what can we do to get involved?

Informing ourselves of the situation would be at the top of the list. There are a large number of resources available (see links below). Secondly, on a day-today basis, Reconciliation Action Plans (RAP) can be done at your workplace to introduce symbolic and practical measures in support of reconciliation. Next, you could volunteer your time with one of the many community organisations working in the field.

Lastly, vote wisely when a Referendum is brought out on constitutional recognition. Some of the reforms could be beneficial for our own communities, in addition to demonstrating that Australia is a mature nation, ready to accept all aspects of its past, and to commit itself to a more just and inclusive future.