Opinion & Commentary
Permits will throttle growth towns
The Northern Territory government's tourism department recently mounted an advertising campaign encouraging people to ‘make a great investment’ by travelling to the Territory. But if you want to head off the beaten track and avoid the crowds at Uluru, you may be out of luck.
Vast tracts of the Territory are difficult to visit because of the permit system. You need a transit permit to travel along parts of the Central Arnhem Road. You need an entry permit to visit most Aboriginal communities. Depending on which parts of the Territory you plan to visit, you may need permits from several Aboriginal land councils.
Though the cost of a permit is not prohibitive (some are free, some cost up to $100 a vehicle), it generally takes about two weeks (and sometimes months) to process an application, stymieing any spur-of-the-moment travel plans. Even if you have a permit, roads can be closed to all non-local traffic, making it impossible to visit some communities.
Despite everyone – from land councils to airport staff and tourism operators – telling tourists they need a permit, the legality of the permit system is unclear. The Howard government removed most of the permit restrictions for travellers. These changes were meant to come into effect on February 18 last year.
However, the Rudd government vetoed these changes (though this has not yet been enacted) and land councils request all visitors to Aboriginal land comply as if the permit system is still in place.
Central Arnhem Road is the main arterial highway linking Arnhem Land with Katherine and the rest of the Territory, yet it is often closed during the wet season (October to April). Arnhem Land's remoteness and inaccessibility could be considered part of its appeal. But making it difficult (if not impossible) for tourists to travel there will not help the Northern Territory Government's Working Future plan. Under the plan, 20 indigenous communities, nine of which are in Arnhem Land, will be developed into growth towns.
The permit system needs to go if communities hope to grow on the back of tourism. Instead, sacred sites and burial areas could be closed or offer restricted access, with an entry fee, similar to national parks.
Gapuwiyak is one of 20 communities the government has designated a Territory growth town. It has one shop. On the day I visited, the community was meeting to discuss the government's new plans. The shop was closed and the traditional owner, upset at the government's changes, decided no fuel cards would be sold at the store. Without a fuel card we couldn't buy petrol at the town's fuel pump. Luckily, local companions were able to negotiate with the traditional owner to let us buy a fuel card. Yet such capricious rules and the lack of any alternative stores suggest Gapuwiyak has a long way to go before it can become a growth town.
At Baniyala, a small homeland community, there is no guarantee of regular tap water. The locals store large containers of water to cover periods when the generator that runs the water pump breaks down or runs out of fuel. Without a reliable water supply it will be difficult for the community to realise its dream of turning their visitor accommodation into a viable tourism business.
Even Nhulunbuy, the Territory's fourth largest town, is not conducive to tourism. There are only two hotels and these are often booked by employees at the local mine. To add to the shortage of accommodation, no camping is allowed within the Nhulunbuy town lease and no campervans or caravans are allowed on the Central Arnhem Road.
The areas in the Territory most in need of the tourism dollar are those shut out by senseless and archaic laws put in place when it was believed Aboriginal culture could continue only if communities were closed to the public. Under the pretence of cultural respect are deep pockets of Aboriginal disadvantage hidden by the permit system.
Many of the locals have great ideas for tourism ventures – including wild buffalo hunting, gathering wild yams and screen-printing Aboriginal designs on to T-shirts. These entrepreneurs would like the opportunity to share their culture and land and make some money, but they are thwarted by the policies and people put in place to ‘protect’ them.
Sara Hudson is a policy analyst at The Centre for Independent Studies. She recently travelled to east Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory.
