GOVERNMENT'S EMERGENCY INTERVENTION FAILS TO ENGAGE WITH INDIGENOUS CHALLENGES
3 July 2007
Indigenous university staff on Tuesday condemned the Howard Government’s ‘emergency intervention’ to abuse in certain Indigenous communities, stating that the lack of consultation and long term strategy behind the plan will seriously undermine its effectiveness and weaken the very communities it is designed to assist.
“Indigenous university staff wish to add their voices to the alarm and condemnation that has already been expressed by scores of Indigenous and non Indigenous organisations over the Howard Government’s plan,” said Terry Mason, Chair of the National Tertiary Education Union’s (NTEU) Indigenous Committee.
“We strongly believe that positive outcomes for Indigenous communities, whether they are aimed at stopping abuse or dealing with other problems, can only be achieved through genuine consultation and negotiation with the communities concerned.”
“It needs to be clearly understood that we do not condone child sexual abuse in our or any other communities, but neither should we support poorly thought out measures which will result in the further squandering of resources and, in the long term, further reinforce a ‘blame the victim mentality’.”
“The absence of a strategic plan developed in consultation with Indigenous communities is reflective of the current Government’s failure to engage more broadly with the challenges facing Indigenous people.”
“Child abuse is not just a health issue it is also about the absence of essential services such as employment and education, from pre-school to a postgraduate level,” said Dr Carolyn Allport, NTEU President. “A glaring example is provided by the latest census data, which reveals that between 2001 and 2006, at a time when enrolment in higher education has risen to record levels, the number of Indigenous students has continued to decline.”
“These figures are one part of an overall crisis in Indigenous education which has implications every bit as serious as the health crisis.”
“The Union and its Indigenous members are keen not to impugn the qualifications and motives of the scores of health and other professionals who have been drafted by the Federal Government as part of its emergency intervention,” said Mason. “In the absence of a sustainable long-term plan, however, the question needs to be asked why the Government is acting in this way and only now after years of hard evidence that abuse is a serious problem in some Indigenous communities.”
“We do not want to see Indigenous issues hijacked for the political advantage of one side of politics or used as a pretext to undermine the control of Indigenous land.”
For information and comment Terry Mason, Chair, NTEU Indigenous Tertiary Education Committee: (03) 9254 1910