Urban outcasts

In the past six months the federal and state governments have clearly demonstrated complicity in introducing discriminatory policies which have caused, and will continue to cause, anguish for members of Indigenous communities.

I speak specifically about the Queensland Alcohol Management Plans that restrict the strength and quantity of alcohol consumed by Indigenous people in discrete communities as well as the federal government plans to cease work-for-the-dole (CDEP) and community housing infrastructure programs (CHIP) for Indigenous people living in urban areas.

Nowhere else in Australia would the government be brave enough to tell non-Indigenous people what they can or can not drink because they can’t think of alternative strategies to address social problems they helped create.

Nowhere else in Australia would the government stop providing public housing in urban areas and divert the funds to rural areas because of concerns over mismanagement of tax payers’ money by local government authorities.

Despite my frequent condemnation of some Indigenous people who allow themselves to fall victim to alcohol and illicit drugs and the consequences of such excesses, I cannot support the total erosion of basic human rights for members of a community because of the errant ways of a minority sector.

In 1837 state legislation was passed which prohibited Aborigine’s access to alcohol. Despite this, alcohol was often purchased illegally and there began a trend of rapid consumption of beverages with a high alcohol content. Aboriginal people were given the right to drink alcohol in various states and territories between 1957 and 1975: a right which for many Aborigines became a symbol of equality, citizenship and status.

The right to drink, to work and have access to adequate housing is, to me, a basic human right. If on the other hand it is the unanimous decision of community representatives, after having a legitimate poll, to impose restrictions on these rights - then I will always support their right to implement the wishes of the general population - as opposed to restrictions imposed by government.

What troubles me immensely is the potential consequences of such patronising policies, especially those relating to CDEP and CHIP in urban areas.

With CDEP options no longer on the table for unemployed Indigenous people, I believe the long term effect will be more Indigenous people struggling to feed their families with the added stress of the imposition of Centrelink policies (loss of welfare due to non-compliance with job interview quotas).

In respect to CHIP, I believe more Indigenous people will be forced onto the streets to live the destitute lives of homeless people because of the inability of Indigenous housing co-operatives to build more houses to meet their needs as a result of these funding cuts.

Sadly I predict Indigenous people renting privately will also be evicted in greater numbers by unsympathetic rental agents as a result of complaints from non-Indigenous neighbours of overcrowding because the renters dared to look after their relatives in difficult times.

Indigenous Affairs Minister Mal Brough relied on a damning report by Price Water House Coopers which found poor governance, inefficiency or corruption in many Indigenous Community Housing Organisations (ICHOs) as the sole reason to redirect housing funds away from urban areas and into remote communities.

As with his Shared Responsibility Agreements (SRAs), which have been a complete national disaster, Brough’s new policies will prove equally as catastrophic.

These views are shared by a significant number of respected Australian Indigenous leaders, and also by many eminent Indigenous leaders world wide, with whom I’ve consulted during the past fortnight.

On the March 27-29 I had the good fortune of being invited to present a paper at the United Nation’s International Expert Meeting on Urban Indigenous Peoples and Migration held in Santiago, Chile.

With no prior working experience with United Nations (UN) forums I decided to discuss UN protocols with Megan Davis, Director of the Indigenous Law Centre, University of New South Wales and renowned international law expert. Megan was most generous with her busy time and guided me through correct processes that she considered prerequisites for successful preparation and delivery of papers to the UN.

After purchasing the Lonely Planet pocket book to do some research on Chile; where it was in South America, the population and climate this time of the year, food, currency, politics and so on, I was ready to take my seat on a flight across the vast Pacific Ocean.

Two days later when I arrived at the United Nation’s centre, ECLAC (Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean), in the fashionable outer Santiago suburb of Vitacura, I was transfixed and in awe of the colourful parade of the swirling international flags off to the right of the entrance.

Once inside the impressive UN building I simply followed the signs, until I arrived at my location and was directed to a seat in the inner circle of a large room. I discovered later that the first circle of seats was reserved for the 26 expert presenters - the outer circles were for non-speaking government officials and non-government organisation (NGO) representatives.

Perched high above the speakers, in small petitioned rooms, were a myriad of interpreters whose role is crucial to the effective running of the conference. On several occasions expert speakers started their paper before the interpreters were ready and were embarrassingly brought to a halt by the presiding chairman until such time as the interpreters were organised. I sat for most of the day with my ear piece in place and control set at station 5 for the English version of presentations.

The general focus of papers was on Indigenous migrations into cities and the problems associated with the maintenance of culture while trying to provide for families in an alien environment.

What I heard was that most of humanity will soon live in cities, and the trend of global urbanisation is irreversible. Cities in general are seen as the engines of economic and social development, creating jobs as well as generating creative civic cultures. Cities today, however, can also generate and intensify social exclusion, limiting the benefits of urban life to the poor, to women, to youth, and other marginalised groups including Indigenous peoples.

I was pleased with my presentation and learnt much from the experience. Some of the pertinent recommendations noted from the forum included:

Improved access to urban services:

• governments should develop specific economic policies that stimulate employment opportunities in urban areas through vocational training, supporting Indigenous enterprise, and access to credit and loans;
• governments should provide health services that are culturally appropriate in consultation with Indigenous leaders; and
• government should also ensure access to education that is culturally appropriate including Indigenous languages, cultures and histories, in consultation with Indigenous organisations.

Housing:

• governments and housing providers must take steps, to the maximum of their available resources, to achieve the full and progressive realisation of the right to adequate housing. Effective housing delivery for the members of Indigenous peoples should be developed, including promotion of rental housing that meets the needs of Indigenous urban dwellers.

Government should also invest in the development of Indigenous expertise in the full range of technical capabilities for effective housing program design, delivery and management. In this connection, it is important that the development and use of Indigenous materials and technologies be supported. To ensure that housing is culturally adequate for Indigenous peoples, they must be included in the design, development and implementation of housing projects.

And the lessons to be learnt? That Indigenous people must not live in despair because governments of all persuasions wish to violate their basic human rights.

After returning home from the successful conference in Santiago I took the initiative of inviting senior members of the UN-HABITAT and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Geneva, to visit Australia and tour major cities to speak to Indigenous leaders on the impact of the government’s draconian policies.

It is my hope that the UN report card on the government’s handling of Indigenous issues will be released in time for close scrutiny by voters before the federal elections at the end of this year.