Page 1244 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 30 May 2007
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Despite these events, we still do not have any formal recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the first Australians, nor any official apology for the injustices inflicted on our indigenous people since colonisation. Reconciliation has both symbolic and practical implications which would better address issues of indigenous disadvantage in health, education, housing, employment and civic participation.
The acknowledgment of past wrongs is integral to moving forward as a nation. Every Australian state has said sorry. However, in the absence of an official apology from the federal government, how are we going to truly rebuild relationships with our indigenous people and have policies in place that adequately address their needs?
The Howard government is more than happy to identify with the ANZACs and past sporting heroes such as the PM’s beloved Don Bradman, but he does not feel that he should apologise for the decisions of previous public servants that administered Australia’s very misguided policies towards indigenous Australians, particularly the stolen generation. The PM argues that, since he was not personally involved, why should he apologise for such acts?
In the adjournment debate last night we had Dr Foskey discussing the 1967 referendum, and she has mentioned it again tonight. While that was a significant step towards reconciliation in that it removed two sections of the constitution which discriminated against Aboriginals, I would like to talk about another significant event we are reminded of during Reconciliation Week; that is, the 10th anniversary of the Bringing them home report.
The Bringing them home inquiry was established in order to raise the general public’s awareness of the official policies that resulted in the forcible removal of indigenous children. This recognition was seen as integral if any progress was going to be made in addressing the needs of victims and their families. However, sadly, of the 54 recommendations made in the report, 35 have been ignored. The recommendations need to be implemented if we are to have any hope of ameliorating the issues our indigenous people face.
A recent World Health Organisation report into indigenous health argued that, until the government publicly acknowledged the role of Aboriginal people’s stress, alienation, discrimination and lack of control, progress would not be made. The same report also concluded that Aboriginal people are the unhealthiest indigenous people of all the developed nations and are almost 100 years behind other Australians.
The federal government boasted in its recent budget that it had increased funding for indigenous Australians. However, these funds are usually one-off programs that are not sustainable. Also, to put it in perspective, how little the federal government is concerned about indigenous issues is illustrated by the fact that the federal government has committed just over $135 million over four years for Aboriginal health, while committing $123 million to the ludicrous citizenship test which was introduced today in the federal parliament. If we are to adequately address the problems that indigenous communities face, a lot more money needs to be committed and the recommendations implemented.
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