First of all I would like to pay my respects to the traditional owners and custodians of the land on which we are gathering, past and present …
The Australian Greens still remain united and steadfast in our opposition to the approach taken by the NT intervention.
We continue to oppose …
– the suspension of the Racial Discrimination Act,
– compulsory seizures of lands,
– indiscriminate quarantining of welfare
– and to the trampling of the human rights of Aboriginal people in the NT
– the lack of consultation with Aboriginal people
The Rudd Government made a fundamental error when backed the racist approach of the previous Howard Government.
They are now compounding that error by extending elements of the intervention across Australia – with the introduction of new national welfare quarantining laws.
The Greens have opposed quarantining from the outset – we don’t think it is any more or less wrong when single mothers in Melbourne or Perth have their income quarantined than it was wrong when they decided to pick on blackfellas in the Territory…
We do hope, however, that this will mean that more ordinary Australians come to understand the injustice that has been done here … and will stand side by side with us to condemn it.
Let me also put down once and for all the myth that Kevin Rudd’s new laws will restore the Racial Discrimination Act.
They do not.
These laws are just as discriminatory and just as wrong – simply sharing around the misery a bit more doesn’t alter the fact that these laws target and disproportionately impact on Aboriginal people.
The Greens have introduced a bill that would restore the RDA, but we know the major parties will vote against it – just as they voted against it when we first tried to restore the RDA in November 2008.
There is no doubt that more resources are needed to address Aboriginal disadvantage and to close the gap … but this type of Intervention is not the way.
It is outrageous that after so many years of crying out for these resources, they are being so blatantly squandered on unnecessary, ill-conceived and ineffectual measures … while successful Aboriginal programs and organisations still go begging.
Where are the new schools and houses? Where are the new health clinics and day-care centres? Where are the new jobs and the community enterprises?
This is why The Australian Greens are calling on our Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd to admit that he has made a mistake … and to start to put these scarce and precious resources to more effective use.
The heavy handed and paternalistic approach of the intervention isn’t working … and very clearly was never going to work.
The huge amount of resources being poured into the NT has the potential to turn around lives on remote communities – but most of the money is being spent on administration in Canberra and Darwin …
It is not hitting the ground to address the real needs.
This is a massive opportunity that is being wasted. More needs to be done to ensure this money is spent wisely on the things that actually make a difference.
We’ve had too much frivolous spending…
…and too much ignoring of Aboriginal peoples’ wishes…
… and far too much of this total disregard for the basic human rights of Aboriginal people in the NT.
The so-called ‘consultation’ process to ‘reform’ the NT ’emergency response’ laws was a total sham.
This was not full prior informed consent … the Minister had already announced her intention to go on with the intervention, and the consultation meetings were only allowed to discuss the narrow range of options the government had already chosen.
The suspension of the Racial Discrimination Act remains an international embarrassment for the Rudd Government.
The proposed new laws do not deliver on our international human rights commitments – and we can be sure that the UN will, again, be highly critical of this response.
The Greens will continue to oppose the racist NT Intervention policy … to get our brothers and sisters down in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Hobart, Brisbane and Perth informed and stirred up about it… and to seek at every turn to bury it for good.