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Aboriginal Law Bulletin

Aboriginal Law Bulletin (ALB)
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Aboriginal Law Bulletin --- "Newspapers Call for Action!" [1981] AboriginalLawB 18; (1981) 1(1) Aboriginal Law Bulletin 11


Newspapers Call for Action!

Two of the country's leading newspapers, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age have recently carried editorials calling for a change in government policy towards Aborigines.

On 27 March 1981 The Age stated –

The idea of making an historic pact between black and white Australians has taken root firmly. When Aboriginal leaders first proposed suph.a treaty two years ago, it seemed bizarre to many whites: there has been no warfare for years, so why do we need a treaty? But with time there has been a growing acceptance that a Makaratta -- literally, a settlement to a long dispute is an excellent way of recognising the injustice in which the white immigrants over a long period seized the land of the original Australian people, and in many places drove them almost to extinction. It would be a resolution, both material and symbolic, of the past and present mistreatment of a race.

.. . if the Makaratta is to be taken seriously, there is an enormous amount of work to be done before a treaty can be signed. Specific land claims will have to be investigated. Agreement must be reached on principles for land rights claims not only in the north, but also in detribalised and urbam areas like Victoria. The question of compensation when land cannot be restored must be tackled. There will need to be great changes in the attitudes of the Queensland and West Australian Governments, which now oppose even straightforward claims for land rights, and are threatening to make matters even worse.

On 20 April the Sydney Morning Herald reviewed the Final Report of the Select Committee of the Legislative Assembly upon Aborigines –

The report catalogues damning evidence why the present condition of Aborigines in NSW is a disgrace to our society. Their crime rate is exceptionally high. A sixth of all those in the State's child welfare system are Aboriginal children. The average life expectancy of a NSW Aboriginal is about 52 years - 20 years less than a non-Aboriginal - and this short life is generally lived out in nasty and brutish conditions.

The only sensible response when facts like this emerge is to urge a sweeping change of policy. It is the merit of the report that it does this. The principle of self-determination will not be easy to put in practice. The Australian Law Reform Commission, for example, is examining the question of tribal punishments - mutilation is sometimes used - to see how they could be, or whether they could be incorporated into the Australian legal system for Aborigines. It is finding the question a complex one. But difficulties like this do not alter the fact that self-determination is the only viable policy for future. The policies of the past have been resisted by the Aborigines and have failed. The report points out that the most effective programs, have been those initiated by the Aborigines themselves to meet their needs as they perceive them. There, in that fact, should be our starting point in erasing the moral blot on our society.

(The final report of the Select Committee of the NSW Legislative Assembly upon Aborigines (the Keane Report) is available from the NSW Government Printer, Sydney).


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