fPcN interCultural:

friends of Peoples close to Nature

Wed, 08/15/2007 - The Honorable Fred Chaney (AO) and Associate Professor Sue Stanton UOW (University of Woolongong) spoke to a well-attended Vincent Lingiari Memorial Lecture at the Charles Darwin University last night

The theme:'40 years since the Referendum: Learning from the past, walking into the future' - was heavily influenced by the Federal intervention into Northern Territory Aboriginal homelands

Sue Stanton was scathing of the motives for the Federal government's intervention, describing the imposition of "top-down" paternalistic control as a continuation of the "Australian Holocaust"

Ms Stanton denounced the use of media-elected "black leaders" to instill hostile programs against Aboriginal people and asked that concerned spokespeople start "flying above the radar"

Fred Chaney Co-Chair of Reconciliation Australia was less critical of the Federal intervention, but could only offer "hope" as a means of dealing with a situation he described as unworkable

Mr Chaney stated that "micro-management" of Aboriginal people on such a scale was impossible and that "centralised programs do not work"

He used quotes from economic and political spokespeople - such as Noel Pearson to back up his assertions. People Mr Chaney described as not the "usual suspects" (politically sympathetic) but who were equally appalled by the Federal government's unworkable intervention strategy

Image - Paddy Doolak's mob (Wave Hill) rely on a Community Development Employment Projects (CDEP) scheme for employment

60 year old Paddy is concerned for his future and the survival of his community due to the Federal government's scrapping of CDEP

source
12 August 07