Politics

Ten years ago, the Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, rose in the Parliament and apologised on behalf of the nation to the Stolen Generations. He apologised for the impact of laws and policies that removed our children from their families and communities, acknowledging these past wrongs and their ongoing impact today.

#Apology10 - IndigenousX speaks Roxanne Moore

IndigenousX examines #Apology10

Alice Springs town councillor Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has been at the receiving end of community criticism from groups in Alice Springs recently. Last week a petition was circulated on social media to protest against mainstream media’s representation of Ms Price as a community leader.

What we choose to pursue at this time will either make things harder or easier for future generations.  Our decision now will either protect the existence of an ancient culture and knowledges or contribute to its complete decimation.

"But the angry black woman is not just a dehumanising caricature; actual angry black women are a real threat to the colony. And when we get angry, right on cue the Native Police arrive to quell the troublemakers, each and every time"

Opponents to Australia Day are invariably criticised in two ways. The first is a favoured manoeuvre for establishment media pundits: claim the focus on 26 January is trivial while more pressing Indigenous issues are neglected.

On 26 January, 1788 the British Crown contravened its own law – and prevailing international law–  by laying claim to 7.692 million km² of land that was already inhabited and cared for by over 200 First Nations, each with a sophisticated and ecologically-focussed system of governance. And the trespass continues.

Aboriginal Peoples and Nations are subjects in international law: always was and always will be. We have held our relationship to country from time immemorial and we are still here today. We survive under the duress of an ongoing colonialism, but we continue to maintain our relationships with land and peoples to this day.

Hey ancestor, you talking to me? Country time everyday. I know, I know, but wouldn’t you know it, it’s the 26th of January again, old Whitefella Day. Party time for some, sad day for others.

We cannot seek an end to the oppression of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people by cajoling the broad majority of Australians with soft entreaties of ‘change the date’. As rightly pointed out by many, changing the date of Australia Day – without the achievement of social justice or legal restitution in the form of Land Rights and Treaty – only moves the celebration of unfinished business to another date.

Recently, a wonderful story hashtag-restored my faith in Australia’s mainstream media. For once it was talking somewhat positively about the homeless Indigenous people of Darwin. 

Least anyone become overly concerned, the date chosen to mark Australia Day has historically been a movable feast. For instance, July 15 was once the favoured date. While many believe that the current date – January 26 – commemorates the landing of the so-called “First Fleet” (which itself is historically inaccurate), I would expect that the date was moved from the gloom of a southern winter to mid-summer for the sake of devotees of the barbeque and patriotic lamb advertisements.

I searched the Internet for my name on a fine January morning, it can be the only way to find reviews of my work. I found my name somewhere unexpected, in an article by Keith Windschuttle in Quadrant (“Australia Dystopia”, Quadrant, January/February 2018). He quoted me, which is OK although I would prefer not being used to further his vitriol. He also called me a ‘hypocrite’, which is not ok.

As a health researcher I am troubled by the predatory possibilities of “the Aboriginal problem”. Many a mortgage has been paid off the back of knowing “the Aboriginal problem” or claiming to solve “the Aboriginal problem” as advancing new knowledge. Within Indigenous health research, people (and by people, I mean predominantly white people) make money from knowing “the Aboriginal problem” under the premise that a deeper understanding of “the Aboriginal problem” will somehow fix it.

Recently the Productivity Commission looked into the way in which GST revenue is distributed across Australia’s states and territories. Currently, GST revenue is carved up based on a number of factors to achieve what is called horizontal fiscal equalisation (HFE). This assessment involves a number of measurements, one of which includes taking into account the proportion of Indigenous people in each state or territory.

“Mental” illness labels are increasingly greasing the wheels of shiny new cars that take people further away from Country, says LeVive.

This week I appeared on #QandA as one of the questioner’s to the Prime Minister regarding the Uluru Statement from the Heart. He sought to defend his dismissal of a proposed First Nations Voice to Parliament by relying on the fact we already have Indigenous MP’s in Parliament.