Tom Cutts

The contrast between the prominence of Indigenous Affairs policies during the current federal election campaign and the last could not be any starker. In 2007 the Coalition sought to save the children of the NT with their Northern Territory Emergency Response. They enjoyed full support from Labor which on the face of it, despite the absurdity of the legislation itself, suggested a new era or partnership in Indigenous Affairs policy formation. As the leader of the Opposition, Kevin Rudd went beyond his support of the Intervention by addressing other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander issues also. He promised, that if elected, a Labor government would formally apologise to the Stolen Generations, significantly fund efforts to ‘close the gap’ between Indigenous and non-Indigenous health and educational outcomes, and tentatively agreed to a reworking of the Constitution in order to officially recognise Indigenous Australians as the Nations First Peoples. The Apology came and went, with no compensation; the gap according to most socio-economic indicators remains unacceptably vast; and constitutional change during Rudd’s term as Prime Minister was rarely mentioned again. With all the gusto of the current and past Federal Governments in these areas, we might have expected a strong Indigenous Affairs focus leading up to this election. It appears however that 2007 may have been an aberration. Bipartisan support in the construction of national Indigenous policies has left, it would seem, the two major parties accountable for nothing.

Neither Julia Gillard nor Tony Abbott have as yet made one announcement regarding the Indigenous Affairs portfolio. Indigenous Affairs minister Jenny Macklin has merely echoed Labor’s empty promise of constitutional change through a referendum. The Coalition has maintained its support of the Intervention (they were the architects after all), and remain suspiciously silent on any budget initiatives in regards to ‘closing the gap’. Labor’s Member for Lingiari Warren Snowdon, has suggested that his government has been active in putting forward possible Indigenous policies and it is simply a disinterested media that has created the false impression of inactivity. Given the historical relationship between Indigenous Australians and the media, this assertion sounds feasible, if it weren’t for the Member’s inability to actually outline what these ‘national’ policies might be.

Silence from the party leaders is hardly surprising. As the Opposition’s Indigenous Affairs spokesman, Tony Abbott was clueless at best. So ineffectual was he in this role that no-one should be blamed for failing to remember he ever held the position. Abbott’s blind support of John Howard’s often blatantly racist attitude towards non-white Australians is telling and should serve as a very real warning should he be elected Prime Minister. As the Government’s Education Minister, Julia Gillard broke a key 2007 election promise by not delivering on the development of planned and funded boarding schools for remote Aboriginal communities. Gillard seems more disinterested or perhaps oblivious rather than particularly racist; but one generally informs the other. With so much at stake for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in the immediate future, it really is appalling that Labor and the Coalition have so far neglected to address issues with ongoing, generational significance. National Indigenous health and education disparities as well as the internationally deplored Northern Territory Intervention should be key talking points for both parties. Constitutional recognition; ‘closing the gap’; and Indigenous – non-Indigenous reconciliation should be at the forefront of both political agendas.

By apparently transcending party-politics and developing a bipartisan approach to Indigenous Affairs through the Northern Intervention, Labor and the Coalition have seemingly washed their hands of meaningful debate in regards to Indigenous policy-formation. Ironically, this may prove to be beneficial for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. In April of this year, the National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples was formerly incorporated. An improvement on ATSIC in that the Congress will seek to be fully independent from Government, the foundations for change are now slowly being laid and a truly national representative body for Indigenous people is beginning to take shape. Labor, the Coalition and the Greens all have Aboriginal candidates running for seats in the Upper and Lower Houses of Parliament. There has even been renewed talk of establishing reserved seats for Indigenous delegates within Parliament; as is the case in countries such as New Zealand. While the major political parties silence on Indigenous Affairs issues throughout the current campaign has been unfortunate and in many ways negligible, it only serves to strengthen an Aboriginal Rights movement that will never rest, has never switched off, and that gathers pace with or without governmental support.

By Tom Cutts