SPEECH NOTES - ALBURY RECONCILIATION FORUM

Albury
31 May 2003

Introduction

I wish first to acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the place where we meet today and pay respect to their elders and to their culture – the oldest living culture in the world and one that should be regarded as a gift, not a threat.

I also want to make it clear that I can speak only for myself. I can not speak for others. I can only share some of the conclusions and understandings I have come to after almost 30 years in public life and politics. A lot of people have contributed to my education over that time - cattlemen, farmers, Indigenous people and environmentalists.

Different Culture

Perhaps the most important thing I have come to understand is that when we deal with Indigenous people, we are dealing with a different culture.

The land and waters are the basis of Indigenous spirituality and identity and Indigenous people have responsibilities under their traditional law to care for country. They are not defined by schools, employment or achievements.

Their history is oral – carried in songs, stories and dance. That makes it difficult for our courts and legal system, which rely on written records.

In Indigenous society, information is not necessarily available freely. Some information, particularly about significant places, is only released after various levels of initiation. It is hard for non-Indigenous people to accept and respect something they will never understand.

All Indigenous people are not the same. There were over 300 separate Indigenous nations, each with their own boundaries and responsibilities for country.

Under Indigenous law, no-one can speak for some-one else’s country. One Indigenous person can not represent all others. The concept of a peak organisation – like the Farmers’ Federation or the ACTU – is alien to Indigenous culture.

That imposes strains on Australia’s system of public administration. It is highly centralised at state and federal level, but the only way to deal effectively with Indigenous communities is according to their nation boundaries – in other words, at local and regional level.

Assets also are held by the family group, not by individuals. Decisions, particularly about land, therefore can not be made by an individual, only by the group.

History of Dispossession

The history of Indigenous people since colonisation (or invasion) is a history of dispossession.

Initially there was a great fraud. The British administrators deemed Australia to be “terra nullius” – land belonging to no-one. This allowed them to settle the country without treaties or agreements with the original owners. (This legal fiction was only dispelled in 1992 by the High Court’s Mabo decision)

Indigenous nations then were pushed back from the coast and off their traditional country by the pastoral industry.

Some were able to maintain contact with their traditional lands by remaining on large cattle runs, particularly in northern and central Australia. But the equal pay decision in the 1960s meant even they were forced out. They became fringe dwellers around inland towns.

Many also were placed on missions and reserves. Indigenous nations were jumbled together, irrespective of their different laws and responsibilities for country.

As a result, traditional laws and boundaries were fractured and blurred. The spirituality and culture of Indigenous people were diminished by removal from their traditional lands.

Today, Indigenous people are clearly the most disadvantaged group in Australian society. Their life expectancy is about 20 years less than the rest of us and twice as many of their kids die at birth. They account for 40% of the prison population in NSW and 60% of those under 15 in correctional institutions.

A whole of government approach is essential to deal with that situation because many of the issues are inter-related. There is a cycle of poverty. If you don’t have a good house, you won’t have good health. If you don’t have good health, you won’t get a good education. If you don’t have a good education, you won’t get a good job. If you don’t have a good job, you won’t have a good house……….and so the cycle is perpetuated.


Political and Legal Struggle

Perhaps the greatest achievement of Indigenous people is that they have survived. Their political and legal struggle always has been two steps forward and at least one step back. The response of government and the Australian community to their plight has been grudging and mean spirited.

Assimilation policies prevailed until the 1950s. The stated aim of government policy was to “breed out the colour”.

Young Indigenous children were separated from their families and placed in institutions like the Cootamundra Girls’ Home and the Kinsela Boys’ Home, where they endured great pain and cruelty.

Indigenous people were not even recognised in the census until the 1967 referendum. Until then, they had the legal status of fauna and flora.

Their struggle to regain some of their traditional lands has been opposed every step of the way. In the 1970s, the Queensland Government even refused to transfer a lease after its sale to the Winchinam people. That led to the case Kowarta v Bjelke-Petersen, where the High Court eventually ruled the state’s action was in breach of the Anti-Discrimination Act.

The Mabo case commenced in 1982 and once again was opposed strongly by the Queensland Government. When the High Court ruled 10 years later that some remnants of native title continued to exist, those fragile rights were wound back by Mr Howard’s 10 point plan in 1998.

In a recent decision, The State of WA v Ben Ward, High Court Justice McHugh noted:
“The deck is stacked against native title holders whose fragile rights must give way to the superior rights of the landholder whenever the two classes of rights conflict. And it is a system that is costly and time consuming. At present, the chief beneficiaries are the legal representatives of the parties. It may be that the time has come to think of abandoning the present system, a system that simply seeks to declare and enforce the rights of the parties, irrespective of their merits.”

The Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody delivered 339 recommendations in 1989. Some of the recommendations have not been implemented in 2003.

The “Bringing Them Home” report on the separation of Indigenous children from their families was released in 1997. The authors have been attacked and denigrated and the Federal Government still has refused even to say “sorry”.

Even the reconciliation process was a compromise. Mr Hawke was elected Prime Minister in 1983 with a policy of national land rights. That was opposed by Premier Burke in Western Australia and disappeared into the ether. As a fallback, Mr Hawke then promised a treaty. It never eventuated. Instead, there was a 10 year process of reconciliation. The Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation delivered its report in December 2000 and made six major recommendations. Only one and a half have been acted upon.

No wonder that Indigenous people have little faith in Australia’s political processes.

Issues Won’t Go Away

The bottom line for Australia is that Indigenous people have survived against all the odds and their issues won’t go away. They are involved in a battle for survival of their culture and under their law, they can’t give up. They won’t give up.

From a purely pragmatic perspective, Indigenous people have rights under international treaties and conventions, the common law, and state and federal legislation. They have many legal mechanisms by which to pursue their agenda.

Indigenous people also are increasing as a proportion of rural and remote populations. Their birth rate is higher than the national average, more people are identifying as Indigenous, and they are remaining in inland areas as the ageing white population shifts to the coast. They already represent over 60% of some isolated communities and, on average, are expected to account for 20-25% of rural and remote populations within 20 years.

Indigenous people are a significant part of many regional economies.

They are significant land-owners and hold about 20% of Australia’s land mass under various tenures. They will continue to increase their estate by purchasing additional land through the Indigenous Land Corporation. They also are entering joint management arrangements for national parks and will continue to seek native title rights, particularly in northern Australia where they have been able to maintain connection with their traditional lands.

They also are starting to be elected to local and state governments.

Then there is the moral and spiritual dimension – what Henry Reynolds refers to as “that whispering in our hearts.” Australia will be a diminished nation until we accept the truth of our history and go forward together as a reconciled society – a point well made by Sir William Deane.

Conclusion

The real issue therefore is how long it takes our governments and community to accept that reality and come to grips with Indigenous aspirations – and how much damage we inflict on ourselves along the way.

We only have two choices – to remain a divided nation or to have a shot at creating an harmonious society. Indigenous people won’t give up their struggle. For a whole range of reasons, the issues won’t go away.

I don’t want to leave a legacy of division to my kids and grand-kids. There is a responsibility on this generation of Australians to take action. We can’t use the excuse any more that “we didn’t know”. We do know.

That’s why I’m involved in the reconciliation movement and why so many others are too. That’s why there is a people’s movement that we all must continue to nurture until it becomes irresistible.


Ends



Rick Farley: email rickfarley@oz2000.com