Our shame

Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory are rife with sexual assault and domestic violence, the Territory Government's only Aboriginal minister said yesterday.

The Minister assisting the Chief Minister on Indigenous Affairs John Ah Kit told Parliament that Aborigines in the Territory faced a "stark crisis" as living conditions continued to spiral downwards.

He said it was almost impossible to find a a functional Aboriginal community in the NT.

And he told of his shame at seeing city-based Aborigines ''humbugging'' people as they entered shops and said even he would lose patience with beggars.

Cargo-cult mentality

He said Aboriginal people felt enormous shame at the anti-social behaviour of their countrymen and women. He said Aborigines must escape from the cargo-cult mentality of government doing everything for them.

Mr Ah Kit's comments came as he addressed the Assembly about a series of changes designed to improve the operation of Aboriginal communities.

"Aboriginal Territorians are facing a stark crisis. To say anything else would be a lie -and I believe that now is the time for the truth to be told.

"For years, Aboriginal people have been saying that their communities are facing disaster – but not just because of a lack of government resources.

"Many Aboriginal people acknowledge that the rot lies within their own communities. The high rates of sexual assault, domestic and other violence are no more acceptable to Aboriginal people than they are to anyone else.

Hassled

"Aboriginal people feel enormous shame at the anti-social behaviour of their countrymen and women; of drunks and beggars in the streets; and of the lack of will from so many Aboriginal people to take charge of their own lives.

"As an Aboriginal person myself, I feel no good when people are hassled and humbugged as they enter shops – I want those Aboriginal people to become a part of our society instead of existing on the fringes.

"Aboriginal people in the Territory must escape from the cargo-cult mentality of Government doing everything for them.

"Aboriginal organisations must bite the bullet and develop new strategies to overcome the cancerous ideology of despair."

Mr Ah Kit then went on to detail "the downward spiral of despair" that has hit many indigenous Territorians.

"The simple fact is that it is almost impossible to find a functional Aboriginal community anywhere in the Northern Territory.

I am talking of the dysfunction that is endemic through virtually all of our communities both in towns and the bush.

We cannot pretend that a community is functional when half the kids go to school because they have been up most of the night coping with drunken parents – or because they themselves have been up all night sniffing petrol. We cannot imagine a community is functional when less than one in 10 people are too ill through chronic disease or substance abuse to hold on to a job, let alone receive training.

"It's a downward spiral of despair for far too many of our fellow Territorians."

Mr Ah Kit said the NT risked becoming a ''financial basket case'' if current trends were not reversed.

He said the possible strain on resources was highlighted by the huge growth in kidney disease which "threatens" to take 56 per cent of the Territory's current annual hospital budget.

He blamed previous governments for failing to provide the fundamentals of education and training required for Aboriginal people to run their own affairs.

With Year 9 Aboriginal students from Marrara Christian School watching from the Assembly's visitor's gallery, Mr Ah Kit said the Community Government process "has failed".

Under proposed reforms, Mr Ah Kit vowed the Government would transfer responsibility for the delivery of essential services from community councils to the Department of Community Development and Cultural Affairs.

Negotiate

He pledged the Government would spend $600,000 immediately to help organisations representing Aboriginal people to develop the capacity to negotiate to achieve the best possible outcomes.

He said the Government would assist in the development of the Indigenous Knowledge Centres at a "a number" of Aboriginal communities to make full use of a range of multimedia technologies.

Mr Ah Kit said with these and other proposed changes, it could take until a second Labor Government term "to get the runs on the board".

Newshawk: http://www.tuf.org.au
Pubdate: 8th March 2002
Source: Northern Territory News
Author: Camden Smith
Website: http://www.ntnews.com.au
Email: ntnmail@ntn.newsltd.com.au
Copyright: 2002 Northern Territory News