Page 594 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 19 May 1992
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publicly made of the fact that this process is continuing in many ways under the heading of social welfare; that is, pressure is still being applied by social welfare agencies to remove children from parents and families in the best interests of the child. The supposition, I think, that still exists in many minds is that being brought up in a white affluent society is often in the best interests of the child.
The question that should be asked, and is asked by many, is whether your children would benefit from being away from you, from your family and, in Aboriginal communities, from the broader community. The best interests of the child are served in a secure, integrated environment in which the whole family can contribute to the rearing of that child within their own culture and within their own spirituality.
I want to move back for a moment, Madam Speaker, to some of the issues raised by Mr Humphries in his speech. When he dealt with data and statistics in the ACT I had some difficulty with some of the points he made, although the conclusions he came to, I think, were appropriate. The Royal Commissioner into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody really based his whole argument not on deaths in custody, not on Aborigines in prison, but more on the fact that that was merely a symptom of a wider problem. If it so happens that the statistics on Aborigines in custody in the ACT are at the same level as with the rest of the community, that does not necessarily mean that the problem is resolved here.
The point made by the royal commissioner was that there is a structural problem, and that structural problem is what needs to be resolved; that the deaths in custody and the appalling number of people of Aboriginal descent who are in custody are simply a symptom of that wider problem. It is a conclusion that the royal commissioner came to and I guess it is a conclusion that, in many ways, Australians have been waiting for for some time. That is why I believe that this royal commission has had so much impact on Australians.
Aboriginal people reared in a foreign urban society are disconnected from their stabilising environment, their family, friends, community support, and their respect for social and moral behaviour, and are much more likely to demonstrate behaviour that is unacceptable to that foreign and urban society. This is part of the same structural problem.
In schools and education, I think that history has demonstrated that white, Anglo-Saxon, Christian culture is at odds with a wide range of expressions of Aboriginal culture and their spiritual, legal and community beliefs. Curricula throughout Australia must address understanding of the local Aboriginal culture, which differs enormously from region to region. Education systems can only be guided by informed local Aboriginal people in formulating these curricula, which should be taught to Australians. Input must be encouraged, and participation must be accessible. There have been examples in terms of the ACT at Jervis Bay and Wreck Bay. Questionnaires were put in Eduspeak, and there was no response from the Wreck Bay community because the language was designed in a specific way almost to exclude them.
Madam Speaker, I consider myself very fortunate that in my teaching career I spent two years teaching in a school that had a strong Aboriginal community. I believe that my understanding of Aboriginal people was increased significantly at that time. My understanding of the needs that they desire to be met has also increased.
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