Aboriginal Politics & media

I clearly recollect the Prime Minister of Australia, Mr Gough Whitlam, standing before 60 of us Aboriginal people and asking that we tell him what we wanted from his government rather than 'what we think is best for you'. No other Prime Minister had ever made that statement and nobody since, including Kevin Rudd. —Chicka Dixon, Aboriginal activist and humanitarian [6]

Aboriginal flag

The Aboriginal flag was first displayed on 12th July 1971 on National Aborigines Day, at Victoria Square in Adelaide. It was also used at the 'Tent Embassy' in Canberra in 1972.

Indigenous Elder Harold Thomas designed the flag in 1971. Yellow represents the sun (giver of life) and yellow ochre. Red represents the red earth (the relationship to the land) and the red ochre used in ceremonies. Black represents the Aboriginal people.

Many Australians are reconsidering the Australian flag and want to have it merged with the Aboriginal flag. Stephen Berry started one such initiative and called it the Sunburnt Flag (www.sunburntflag.com.au).

Why is the Aboriginal flag not flown on Sydney's Harbour Bridge?

I wasn't the first one to suggest that the Aboriginal flag be flown on the Sydney Harbour Bridge. To date the bridge displays the Australian flag and the flag of the state of New South Wales.

My inquiry was answered by the Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA) who owns the bridge [13].

"The Australian Flag is permanently flown on the Sydney Harbour Bridge because… it is the one flag which is nationally and internationally recognised as the symbol of our identity as a nation."

"The NSW State Flag is flown in recognition that the Harbour Bridge is one of our most significant assets. On at least two weeks of the year, however, the NSW State Flag is exchanged for the Australian Aboriginal Flag in recognition of the significant contribution of our Aboriginal people. These occasions include Reconciliation Week… and NAIDOC (National Aborigines and Islanders Observance Committee) Week…"

So—the NSW State Flag celebrates the bridge for 50 weeks a year, while the Aboriginal flag celebrates Aboriginal culture for two weeks a year. Now you know where the state government's priorities are.

Aboriginal politicians

Unsurprisingly, there are not many Aboriginal politicians in Australia's history.

Liberal candidate and Nyoongar man Ken Wyatt became the first ever Aboriginal person in the House of Representatives and the only Aboriginal parliamentarian at federal level after the federal election in August 2010.

Ken Wyatt is only the third Indigenous Australian to sit in the national parliament. He held his maiden speech draped in a traditional ceremonial cloak of kangaroo hide ("bookha") and wearing the feather of a cockatoo. In a rare moment of Australian political history both sides of politics joined to give him a standing ovation [19].

• Late Neville Bonner was a Queensland Liberal Senator from 1971 to 1983.
• Aden Ridgeway was a New South Wales Democrats Senator from 1999 to 2005.

Many of the remote mobile polls and the polling stations in larger centres did not cater for people who could not read or write, or who did not speak English. I witnessed this myself, seeing AEC staff struggling with Aboriginal naming conventions, illiterate voters and those who couldn't speak English. —Deidre Finter, independent candidate for Lingiari [17]

How many parliamentarians should represent Aboriginal people?

The Lower House in Australia's political system is made of 150 politicians while the Senate has 76.

Assuming that Aboriginal people constitute 3% of the population, Australia should have at least six Aboriginal federal parliamentarians.

Aboriginal politics resources

In Black Politics Sarah Maddison argues that until Australian governments come to grips with the complexity of Aboriginal politics they will continue to make bad policy with disastrous consequences for Aboriginal people.

Based on original interviews with influential Aboriginal leaders Black Politics seeks to understand why Aboriginal communities find it so difficult to be heard, get support, and organise internally.

Aboriginal people are tired of politics

The quote by Chicka Dixon at the top of the page voices the concerns of many Aboriginal people. They are sick and tired of politicians who seem to be unable to address Aboriginal issues so that real beneficial outcomes are achieved.

Following is an edited extract of Galarrwuy Yunupingu's opinion [7] on politicians and Aboriginal affairs. Galarrwuy is a long-serving former chairman of the Northern Land Council.

"Every minister I have known—Labor or Liberal—was no different from any other in this sense [of—often unsuccessfully—trying to find answers within their three-year period in office], even though some of them were my friends. They almost always request the same things and repeat the same things, then consult about the same things; then, by the time they finally have to do something, they leave, get moved or are thrown out of office."

"Aborigines too often forget that a politician's full-time responsibility is to themselves and their government. That's their first commitment. Whatever portfolio they receive is just for show. Very few can break the mould and certainly not in Aboriginal affairs."

"Aboriginal affairs ministers get a lot of scrutiny, so they are always busy trying to justify their decisions to the rest of their party members in parliament—to keep their reputations intact in the hope of a better appointment—or ducking for cover, worried sick about their jobs and whether they will be re-elected. That's the real situation."

"Meanwhile, back in the bush, Aborigines have been sitting in their communities for the past 60 to 70 years waiting for service delivery and the deliverer has never arrived. I see this today with housing, health, education and infrastructure. Everything that has been said and promised in the past few years is still hanging in the wind, floating in the distance like a mirage."

Prof Patrick Dodson, inaugural and long-time chair of the former Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation, shares similar views [20].

"It's not that we haven't had a discussion on maters that concerns us," he says. "We've had plenty of those, we've had marches in the streets, plenty of reports. [But] what we haven't had is a strategic conversation that is facilitated around rules that have got some international application in order to help us all get past the anger and frustration, because we've had all of those reports that have seemed to go nowhere."

Politician Victor Dominello who took over the Aboriginal affairs portfolio for NSW in 2011 gives some insight how Aboriginal politics look like on the other side [23].

"As soon as I got into the portfolio, I was being absolutely inundated by people saying 'here's a solution, read this book, here's a journal, what about this' and so on," he told an Aboriginal newspaper. "Within a couple of weeks, I thought 'this is crazy, it's going take me years just to read all of this material'. And I think that's part of the problem. Decision makers—people like myself who have to show political leadership—are in their offices reading, reading, reading but not out there and listening to the grassroots."

Of all politicians former Prime Minister Paul Keating set was is considered the "high water mark in political honesty" [23] with his speech in Redfern in 1992 where he bluntly admitted that "we committed the murders. We took the children from their mothers. We practised discrimination and exclusion. It was our ignorance and our prejudice."

There are also voices critical of the Aboriginal attitude. A reader of the Koori Mail Aboriginal newspaper writes [21]:

"Stop giving up, stop being frustrated. Why don't you strengthen your hearts, get a backbone and gather in council and from an Aboriginal government. One with the courage of its convictions to stand up and say enough is enough."

There is no friendship in politics. —Ali Cobby Eckermann, Aboriginal poet [12]

It has to be understood by observers of Aboriginal politics in Australia that all governments' primary objectives on the surface is to deal with the bricks and mortar issues while beneath the covers social engineering is going on. —Michael Ghillar Anderson, Aboriginal leader [8]

Life is getting harder for our people. We are still being stigmatised, demoralised and disempowered even more. The government needs to work with our people and not dictate to us. —Barbara Shaw, town camp resident in Alice Springs [11]

Aboriginal affairs: A lot of money for little gain?

The Australian governments pumps millions of dollars into Aboriginal politics, health and assistance. Between 2008 and 2011 the total of all portfolio Australian Government Indigenous Expenditure (AGIE) figures were very similar at around A$ 3.4 billion [27].

But in 2011 the Productivity Commission found the returns of this investment ''dismally poor'', the Finance Department ''disappointing at best and appalling at worst" [28].

Projects might fail due to two reasons.

Blanket solutions don't work

Government programs often propose one solution that is then applied to many cases. But such blanket solutions rarely work in Aboriginal affairs. What might work in a community in Western Australia's Kimberley region might not be successful in Central Australia.

75% administration costs

Secondly, every programme has to be administered by a government entity. These can consume a significant portion of the funds allocated as the following example shows [1].

"Of $1.3 million allocated to another COAG trial in the Far-East Kimberley region of Western Australia, only $327,000 was spent on Aboriginal people and programs over two-and-a-half years.

The rest of the money was spent on salaries, travel and other related administrative expenses of the Department of Transport and Regional Services, which administers the program."

This equates to 75% of administrative costs.

If you somehow follow the Aboriginal money trail, you'll quickly find that it bypasses the shanty towns, the camp dogs and diabetes row [and ends up with] white consultants and white contractors and white public servants. It ends up in the deep pockets of the Aboriginal industry. —Ray Martin, broadcaster and journalist [14]

Recognition of Aboriginal people in the NSW constitution

On 8 September 2010 New South Wales Premier Kristina Keneally introduced legislation to amend the preamble of the NSW constitution to formally recognise Aboriginal people as the first peoples in the state, and their contribution to the state's identity [16].

The amendment introduces the following section into the Constitution Act 1902 preamble:

1) Parliament, on behalf of the People of New South Wales, acknowledges and honours the 
   Aboriginal people as the State's first people and nations.

2) Parliament, on behalf of the People of New South Wales, recognises that Aboriginal people
   as the traditional custodians and occupants of the land in New South Wales:
	a) Have a spiritual, social, cultural and economic relationship with their traditional
	   lands and waters and
	b) Have made and continue to make a unique and lasting contribution to the identity
	   of the State.
	
3) Nothing in this section creates any legal right or liability, or gives rise to or affects any
   civil cause of action, or affects the interpretation of tan Act or law in force in New
   South Wales.

The amendment followed a two-month consultation period with the public. The government insisted on the third paragraph to be included which makes the amendment symbolic only.

Worldwide, the US, Canada and New Zealand have all moved to recognise Indigenous people in their respective constitutions.

The lack of acknowledgement of a people's existence in a country's constitution has a major impact on their sense of identity, value within the community and perpetuates discrimination and prejudice&hellip Recognition in the Constitution would have a positive effect on the self-esteem of indigenous Australians and reinforce their pride in the value of their culture and history. —Dr Maria Tomasic, president of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) [18]

ReconciliACTION group—put thoughts into action

The ReconciliACTION Network is a volunteer anti-racism network made up of Indigenous and non-Indigenous young people aged 16 to 29 years. Their members include young people who have an interest in reconciliation and Indigenous rights issues and those who are active in their communities.

ReconciliACTION was started in 2002 by a group of Indigenous and non-Indigenous young people from metropolitan, regional and remote New South Wales. Since then ReconciliACTION has grown to include over 250 young people from across Australia, with partner groups in the ACT, Victoria and Queensland.

The aims of this group include education, advocacy, support for young people working to overcome racism in their local communities and skills and leadership development. The Network is open to all interested people aged between 16 and 29 years.

Website: www.reconciliaction.org.au

Aboriginal issues in the media

The media has a responsibility to tell the country what is happening in a way that connects Australians. If you see that people are not listening to the truth, find another way to tell the story. —Jeff McMullen, foreign correspondent and journalist [9]

Many Aboriginal people are sick and tired of how media portray them. Here's how Jason, an Aboriginal character in John Danalis' book Riding The Black Cockatoo, describes his experiences.

"[The misuse of images by media] happens one hundred times a day to us; ever notice that whenever they show a negative story on the news about Aboriginal people they nearly always run it with pictures of blackfellas sitting under a tree, as if that's all we do. And most of the time the pictures they use don't even relate to the people in the story, could be some mob from the other side of the country. I used to get angry, but if I got upset every time it happened it would kill me. It's better to laugh and stay strong." [10]

For an example of how media portray Aboriginal people see my chapter on alcohol consumption.

No black faces on television

If you're regularly watching Australian television you might have noticed that its series and soap operas feature exclusively white caucasian actors.

Neighbours and Home and Away have been branded racist for consistently failing to feature families from different ethnic backgrounds [2] which would reflect the true demographic of Australia. Viewers might get a wrong idea about Australia. In 2007 about 24% of Australia's population was born overseas [3] with the top five countries being the United Kingdom, New Zealand, China, Italy and India [4].

We are not very visible in the media, unless it's via an allegation that the person suspected of a crime was Aboriginal which is an interesting observation from people who mostly wouldn't know us if they fell over us. —Nyoongar Prof Colleen Hayward, Edith Cowan University, Perth [5]

Journalist accused of racial vilification

Nine high-profile Aboriginal people in 2010 took Herald Sun newspaper columnist Andrew Bolt to court claiming racial vilification over articles Mr Bolt had published. [22]

He had described the complainants 'fair-skinned' and 'professional Aborigines' in the articles headlined 'It's so hip to be black' and 'White fellas in the black'. The articles suggested the group was 'rorting the system' and gaining benefit by identifying with only one aspect of their cultural heritage.

The plaintiffs claimed the publications breached the Racial Discrimination Act. They did not seek financial compensation, but merely an apology from Mr Bolt's employer and the removal of the offending articles. One of the articles was still online in May 2011.

In October 2011 Justice Bromberg ruled that Andrew Bolt and his employer, the Herald & Weekly Times, had in fact breached the Racial Discrimination Act 1975.

Mr Bolt admitted that the Aboriginal people he had mentioned in his article were of Aboriginal descent and genuinely self-identified as Aboriginal people. But he denied that they were offended by the articles [29].

Justice Bromberg disagreed and found that the articles "contained erroneous facts, distortions of the truth and inflammatory and provocative language". As a result Mr Bolt's conduct was in breach of section 18D of the Act.

Mr Bolt admitted to having failed to contact any of the people mentioned in the article, that some of his mainly online sources may have been incorrect, and that he had erred in places.

In his judgment the justice noted "that young Aboriginal persons or others with vulnerability in relation to their identity, may be apprehensive to identify as Aboriginal or publicly identify as Aboriginal, as a result of witnessing the ferocity of Mr Bolt's attack on the individuals dealt with in the articles."

It is important to note that the judge's ruling is not about the freedom of speech, as Mr Bolt and his supporters tried to point out. The case was about Mr Bolt's conduct and manner and the way he had written the articles.

We are not saying that you can't talk about racist issues. What the judgment clearly said was that it's how you handle it. You cannot be malicious; you must handle it based on truth and fact, not fiction and racism. —Pat Eatock, Aboriginal pensioner who filed the case against Andrew Bolt [29]

Justice Bromberg 'got' that Aboriginality is a lived experience, not just something where people can flick a lever and say you are or you aren't. —Mark McMillan, Aboriginal lawyer and one of the people mentioned in the article [29]

Learn more about Aboriginal identity.

Warlpiri Media Association

The Warlpiri Media Association (WMA) is a non-profit community organisation based in Yuendumu, 300kms north-west of Alice Springs, Northern Territory. It is managed by a locally elected Indigenous management committee and also known as PAW Media and Communications. PAW is the abbreviation of the three language groups of that area, Pintupi, Anmatjerre and Warlpiri. WMA provides media services over a 40,000 km² area.

Warlpiri Media employs Indigenous and non-Indigenous staff who create and broadcast local media as well as media for a broader regional and national audience.

WMA's major area is video, both production and local transmission. In 2001 they launched the now popular PAW radio network, and also offer a music recording studio and the capacity to produce web based projects.

The association has been in business since 1993 and celebrated its 25th birthday in 2008.

One example of their fine video productions is the popular bush comedy Bush Mechanics.

Find more information about Warlpiri Media on their website at www.warlpiri.com.au.

Ads targeting Aboriginal people

Most media in Australia targets western people. Advertisements for Aboriginal people, however, have to be different should their messages reach them.

During 2011 the Roads and Traffic Authority of NSW ran a seatbelt campaign aimed at changing the behaviour of rural male drivers who forget to buckle up [25].

While most ads showed white people, a print ad below [26] targeted Aboriginal people. Note the use of the wavy decoration which incorporates colours typically found in Aboriginal art, and the prominent use of the Aboriginal word "mob" (used to address fellow Aboriginal people).

[1] 'Inside Australia's third world', The Age, 15/9/2005 [2] The Courier Mail, cited in NIT 27/11/2008 p.29 [3] 'Fact Sheet 15 - Population Projections', Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship, www.immi.gov.au (26/12/2008) [4] '3412.0 - Migration, Australia, 2006-07', Australian Bureau of Statistics [5] 'Leaders told: Don't ignore urban people', Koori Mail 447 p.18 [6] 'Looking back', Koori Mail 454 p.21 [7] 'We need mould-breakers in place of do-nothing Aboriginal affairs ministers', The Australian 25/7/2009 [8] 'Australia gets bad rap to UN rapporteur over Aborigines', media statement, 17/8/2009 [9] 'Closing the space', NIT 25/1/2007 p.28 [10] 'Riding The Black Cockatoo', John Danalis, Allen & Unwin, p.189 [11] 'Town camps deal', Koori Mail 465 p.7 [12] 'Deadly Voices: An Intervention', Sydney Writers Festival, event 240, 23/5/2010 [13] Letter from the RTA to me, 27/4/2007 [14] 'Leaders 'must be smarter'', Koori Mail 478 p.29 [15] 'Hopefuls ready to face voters', Koori Mail 482 p.7 [16] 'Preamble a new chapter?', Koori Mail 484 p.1 [17] 'Election wrap up - it's a worry', Koori Mail 484 p.23 [18] 'Call for Indigenous inclusion', Australian Associated Press, 12/10/2010 [19] 'A 'measured' Wyatt is ready for challenges', Koori Mail 486 p.5 [20] 'Dodson in call for 'brave new world'', Koori Mail 490 p.9 [21] 'Assimilation has taken heavy toll', readers letter, Koori Mail 492 p.23 [22] ''Bold' nine await ruling', Koori Mail 499 p.8 [23] 'Keating speaks out again', Koori Mail 503 p.16 [24] 'Oombulgurri rebuts news riot report', Koori Mail 409 p.35, media article: www.perthnow.com.au/news/six-charged-over-aboriginal-riot/story-e6frg12c-1111114310322 [25] 'Clip Every Trip', advertising.nsw.gov.au/campaigns/clip-every-trip, retrieved 20/11/2011 [26] Koori Mail 510 p.19 [27] 'Budget 2010–11: Indigenous affairs', Parliament of Australia, www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/rp/BudgetReview2010-11/IndigenousAffairs.htm, retrieved 23/11/2011 [28] 'Indigenous programs 'very hard to get right' ', www.smh.com.au/national/indigenous-programs-very-hard-to-get-right-20110825-1jcj7.html, retrieved 23/11/2011 [29] 'Columnist guilty of discrimination', Koori Mail 511 p.6