Ideas@TheCentre
Greens' backward Indigenous policy could risk bipartisan understanding
Sara Hudson |
20 August 2010
The Greens' backing of Aboriginal self-determination has won it the support of the NSW Aboriginal Land Council, which in an unprecedented move launched an advertising campaign urging Indigenous Australians everywhere to get behind the Greens as a protest vote against 'the assimilationist [is that even a word?] policies' of the Australian Labor Party and the Liberal-National Coalition.
In response, Aboriginal academic and community leader Marcia Langton argued that a vote for the Greens is a vote against Indigenous rights, citing the Wild Rivers Act as an example:
'They can't say they are standing up [for] Indigenous rights and support the denial of the right to economic development.'
There is now bipartisan support for mutual obligation and conditional welfare, with both major parties releasing similar policies for unemployment in recent weeks. The current Labor government has continued most of the measures introduced by the Howard government’s Northern Territory Intervention.
Both parties are supportive of the Cape York Families Responsibilities Commission and there is bipartisan support for the Australian Employment Covenant, established by Andrew Forrest.
Key points of difference are the Coalition’s opposition to the Wild Rivers Act and its intention to abolish the permit system. Abolishing permits for travelling on roads into remote communities is important for tourism and economic development.
Labor intends to increase its record spending on Indigenous affairs, which is all well and good as long as the money doesn't continue to be wasted, as it has been under the ill-fated public housing scheme (SIHIP) in the Northern Territory.
The Greens want equality of outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people within a generation but do not seem to realise that the insidious effects of passive welfare will prevent that from occurring.
If elected, the Greens would revoke the quarantining of income support payments. The party's solution for employment and enterprise development in remote, rural and urban communities is to conduct a study and implement its recommendations. The rights of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islander people to hunt, fish and gather flora and fauna would be protected as long as it is done sustainably and in line with traditional cultural practices.
The common ground between the two major parties on Indigenous affairs shows how far the debate has moved since the last election. But the Greens are out of step. While the party is unlikely to win the election, it could wield some power in the final outcome. Hopefully voters will realise that a vote for the Greens is not a step towards Indigenous self-determination but a step backwards.
Sara Hudson is a Policy Analyst at The Centre for Independent Studies.
