SELF-DETERMINATION NOT INTERVENTION

Melbourne Rally Against the N.T. Intervention and For Aboriginal Justice 

Around 100 people marched against the Federal Government’s racist intervention into Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory on Sunday, calling for community autonomy and investment in Indigenous-determined, Indigenous-controlled solutions to poverty, health problems, and child abuse.

The protest, held at the GPO Building in Bourke St Mall, was part of a National Weekend of Action against the intervention, with demonstrations also occurring in Sydney, Brisbane, Alice Springs, Newcastle and Lismore.

Protestors walked the streets of the CBD, and sat down occupying an intersection for fifteen minutes, chanting ‘Always was, always will be, Aboriginal land’.

150 days have now passed since the 21 June announcement of the federal intervention. Despite the federal government's claim that the intervention is a response to the Anderson & Wild "Little Children are Sacred" report, there have been no new charges laid in connection with child sexual abuse. No new community-based services to ensure the safety and protection of children have been established, and there has been notable duplication of services - particularly in the area of child health checks.

The removal of hard won land permits and of the CDEP program, together with mandatory welfare quarantines for everyone in the so-called “prescribed communities”, and the imposition of non-Aboriginal ‘business managers’ – much like the old ‘mission managers’ – makes clear the Coalition’s intention to remove Aboriginal land rights to make way for mining companies and corporate profits, undermine the independence and autonomy of Aboriginal communities, and is an attempt to threaten the very existence of these communities.

The only visible change in most communities has been the construction of new housing for government business managers. Many people are sceptical about  allocation of promised funds, with 700 new public service jobs having been created and $88 million being spent to administer the welfare quarantine changes.

The weekend’s protests demanded the incoming federal government listen to Aboriginal people, stop wasting public money, improve services to families and children, build housing for Aboriginal people not public servants, and stop moving people out of paid work (CDEP) on to welfare (work for the dole). Protesters argued that the intervention is racist and called for removal of 'business managers', an end to welfare quarantines and restoration of the Racial Discrimination Act.

Speaker Robbie Thorpe connected the intervention into Northern Territory communities with the poverty and conditions of Aboriginal people all over Australia, and especially in Victoria.

‘The rate of child abuse is five time higher in Aboriginal communities in Victoria than anywhere else in Australia’, Robbie said, speaking at the Sunday rally. ‘So why isn’t anyone talking about doing something about that?

‘Our people are on the streets. The government is selling off our assets. Everyone keeps saying we’re dispossessed. We’re not dispossessed – we’re just dispersed, and displaced. This is our land. Sovereignty was never ceded.

‘Australia is the perpetrator of a heinous crime, and everyone living here are the beneficiaries. This is a crime of genocide.’

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