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 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 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).

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 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." [7]

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]

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]

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.

Find out about Aboriginal topics in newspapers, newsletters or TV & Radio in my large resources section.

[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