Political Recognition of Aboriginal Communities in Australia - Essay Example

Closing the Gap Initiative and Political recognition of Aboriginal communities in Australia (Institution) (Name) (Course) (Module) (Prof) 26th July 2009 Introduction Australia basically constitutes two mainstream societies; the indigenous and the settlers. The social and economic divide between these two societies is wide and glaring. The indigenous communities have sought to retain their traditional way of life that relatively shuns away from modernization. While the foregone benefits of modernization might be self inflicted, little has been done in facilitating modernization of these communities. Former Prime Minister Paul Keating began the focus on indigenous communities by appreciating the fact the non indigenous communities contributed immensely to the present circumstances afflicting such communities. Another Prime recognition of the errors of the non indigenous communities was through the parliamentary apology speech by Prime Minster Kevin Rudd followed by that of the parliamentary opposition leader Brendan Nelson. Rudd’s government launched a program dubbed Closing the Gap Initiative that would seek to provide the same economic, social and cultural benefits to the indigenous communities. This paper will discuss the three speeches in relation to the Closing the Gap Initiative and show how the Redfern speech was the basis of the Closing the Gap Initiative. Discussion The Redfern speech as delivered by Paul Keating seemed to rouse Australians from their comfort zone in coexisting as a society. He roused the emotions that the mainstream Australian society was enjoying its situation then at the expense of other indigenous communities (Watson, 2002). He claimed that the problems afflicting indigenous Australians were brought by the non indigenous people. In his view, he saw the need of the non indigenous people appreciating the fact that they have not been mindful of the indigenous people and should thus starting doing so. This would in the end be aimed at creating harmony in the society. “The starting point, for a more prosperous and harmonious society, might be to recognize that the problem starts with us non-Aboriginal Australians”. (Watson, 2002, p, 24) This in itself appreciates the fact that non indigenous people symbolize problems to the indigenous people. In what the non indigenous viewed as modernization or civilization, the indigenous people had a varying opinion. Keating pointed this out by saying “We took the traditional lands and smashed the traditional way of life. We brought the diseases. The alcohol. We committed the murders. We took the children from their mothers. We practiced discrimination and exclusion.” (Redfern Speech). As such, the speech as delivered by Keating appreciated the fact that there are different perceptions to life between the indigenous communities and the non indigenous communities. In what the non indigenous communities perceived as modernization and civilization such as mechanized framing and other social behaviors, the indigenous people perceived it as evil. On the other hand, the incomers perceived the aboriginal culture as primal and strange. Broome (p,15) notes one settler’s experience with the aboriginal; “they constantly wondered in large numbers, half naked and armed with spears….shouting to one another in shrill voices and strange tongues had a strange effect” Indigenous communities in Australia have a unique culture like all societies around the world. However, given their traditional way of life was not convenient for the foreigners, they had to forcibly assimilate the aboriginal people. For instances places were renamed into English names such as Melbourne which was formerly known as Kulin Nation (Broome P 15). While the intensions were good; introducing them to the benefits of civilization, it was done in total disregard of the pre existing aboriginal culture. However, the aboriginal culture has exposed the indigenous people to natural hazards and denied them benefits of civilization. Such is best show by the difference in life expectancy levels between the non aboriginal and the aboriginals. According to the Closing the gap Initiative, no indigenous Australia shave a life expectancy of 80 years while that of the indigenous people stands at 58 years. Keating is bold enough to state that, him and his fellow non aboriginal Australians have erred in curtailing indigenous people’s way of life in various ways. In his speech, Keating says that non indigenous Australians failed to consider how they would feel the same actions that they took against the indigenous people were they being done on them. He mentions for example the separation of families, clearing of natural forest for cultivation and settlements which used to be hunting grounds from the aboriginals (Watson, 2002). The speech by Keating was the pioneering step in reconciling aboriginal communities and the non indigenous ones in Australia through recognition. In fact the speech has been voted as the most unforgettable speech in the history of Australia according to a radio survey, (“Redfern speech still resonates”, 2007). He said that guilt was not a constructive emotion and thus the non indigenous communities needed to go beyond that. But he also said that it was improper to blame the victims for the effects of non indigenous people’s actions specifically the social breakdown that happened as a result of their failure to imagine themselves in the indigenous people’s position. However, recognition of the wrong doings does little as much of the process is irreversible. For instance, Keating noted that “We took the traditional lands and smashed the traditional way of life.” (Redfern Speech). Unfortunately, the Closing the Gap Initiative which seems to draw inspiration from political recognition of such wrong doings on the indigenous people can achieve very little in this regard. According to the Jupp, Nieuwenhuysen and Dawson, (2007) the recognition of aboriginal sacred places and even establishment of museums displaying aboriginal art are in the in the right direction. Nevertheless, separation of the indigenous people from their culture for a long period cannot be compensated by several museums and preservation of historical sites (Littler and Naidoo, p 139). Keating’s view of that recognition alone cannot cater for the damages done to the indigenous communities proposes actual steps being taken into actively compensating for the wrong doings. Unfortunately, it is impossible to quantify the extent of the damages on culture and other spheres of life that the non indigenous communities caused the indigenous ones on their arrival and subsequent settlement in Australia (Moreton-Robinson, 2004). While Keating and other political leaders, such as the current Prime Minister Kevin Rudd have mainly dwelt on cultural abuse and interaction, Jupp et al (2007), says that the moral character of the settlers in largely ignored. He says that the Britain and other countries in Europe used Australia as a dumpsite for social outfits. He says that most of the Britons that were settled in Australia between 1938 and1967 were serial criminals who needed to be separated from the society and be involved in gainful economic activities. Therefore, the British government helped them with the clearing of land in Australia and farming technology to launch them as large scale farmers in a foreign land that would serve Britain’s domestic market. This aspect can be slightly linked to one of the building blocks in the Close the Gap initiative as safe communities. In essence, we may argue that the traditional ways of the indigenous communities had very little crime rates as observed by Jupp et al (2007). Hostilities among members of such communities were minimal until the arrival of the foreign settlers. Jupp et al (2007) say that the settlers used divisive tactics that set communities against one another thus introducing the element of crime and enmity in the traditional societies. According to the Closing the gap initiative, indigenous communities are far more likely to be subject of crime and violence than non indigenous communities. In more recent follow-up of the “recognition” of crimes against humanity, Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd gave a parliamentary apology to indigenous communities on February 13 2008. In what he called a national apology to lost generations, he recognized that even past governments have not been true in showing their remorsefulness and acting upon their guilt of oppression to indigenous communities. Rudd also recognized the failure by past governments on their failure to appreciate the fact that they have not been fair to the aboriginal communities as a wrong doing against the communities in itself. He said that “We apologize for the laws and policies of successive parliaments and governments that have inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss on these our fellow Australians…. for the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families, their communities and their country…For the pain, suffering and hurt of these Stolen Generations, their descendants and for their families left behind…... To the mothers and the fathers, the brothers and the sisters, for the breaking up of families and communities, we say sorry….And for the indignity and degradation thus inflicted on a proud people and a proud culture, we say sorry,” (Rudd’s parliamentary apology). In his words the speech had a specific aim; “To remove a great stain from the nation's soul and in the true spirit of reconciliation to open a new chapter in the history of this great land Australia,” (Rudd’s parliamentary apology). The same speech was also meant to part of healing the nation. Keating had said that guilt was not enough to heal the wounds and the emotion was not helpful in any way towards the indigenous communities (Moreton-Robinson, 2004). Consequently Prime Minister Rudd offered to put actions behind the speech by introducing the Close the Gap Initiative. In his speech, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said that the experiences of the indigenous people “cried out” for an apology. His speech however was to be followed with actions as described by the closing the gap initiative. In matters of health, it has been noted that most indigenous communities dwell n the rural areas where accessibility to health facilities and other public and social amenities are poor and not readily available. The Rudd government through the Closing the Gap initiative has committed over $101.5 million over five years to 2010‑11 for New Directions: An equal start in life for Indigenous children — child and maternal health services (Closing the Gap Initiative). It would seem that, Rudd views activities of the past governments as being offensive to the indigenous communities. While Keating had proclaimed that he recognized the mistreatment of the indigenous communities through what has been named as “cultural genocide”, he did not take actual steps in addressing the mistreatment. On the other hand, Prime Minister accuses preceding governments of perpetrating the mistreatment by failing to take due action as expressed in the closing gap initiative. In one of the most outstanding building blocks of the initiative, Rudd promised to facilitate increased levels of literacy. According to the closing the gap initiative, $98.8 million will be provided for over five years from 2007‑08 and 200 extra teachers deployed in remote community schools in the Northern Territory. In his apology, Rudd called for a future where the determination of all Australians, indigenous and non indigenous was harnessed in order to close the gap that lies between aboriginal life expectancy, educational achievement and economic opportunity and that of non aboriginals. In support of the Prime Minister’s views as expressed in his parliamentary apology, the opposition leader in parliament, Brendan Nelson also gave an apology speech. However, his speech was not as widely accepted both nationally and in parliament as the preceding one. He appealed to Australians to “Spare a thought for the real, immediate, seemingly intractable and disgraceful circumstances in which many indigenous Australians find themselves today,” (Brendan’s apology speech). These disgraceful circumstances that Brendan referred to are expressed in the Closing the Gap initiative as lower than average literacy levels, poor health care services and low life expectancy, violence and insecurity, general backwardness in terms of development. His speech also sought to recognize the mistreatment that suffered by indigenous communities in Australia in the hands of settlers. Brendan recognized that the greatest transgression of the non indigenous Australians was the belief that aboriginal culture was inferior and so the race. According to him, this was expressed on many settlers’ personal beliefs as well as government policies (Gallery of Modern Art and Queensland Art Gallery, 2008). For instance there was a wide reaching convection that half-caste children being separated form their aboriginal homes and mothers to be taken care of by government and church-ran institutions for their own good. Others were placed for adoption in white families as a way of ‘rescuing’ them from the seemingly primitive aboriginal culture. Such practices did not recognize the wishes of the young children as they were not given an opportunity to decide where they felt most comfortable and how they would like to live their lives (Harrison, 2004). In a relatively contrasting position to that of Prime Minister Rudd, Brendan opinioned that the current non indigenous generation in Australia should not be held responsible for what happened to the aboriginal communities back then. He sought to convince the non aboriginal community not to feel guilty for the actions of their ancestors as some of the actions had good intentions. In addition, he to some extent blamed the aboriginal communities of wrongly accusing the non aboriginal communities of mistreatment and overlooking some of the benefits. He claimed that “Even when motivated by inherent humanity and decency to reach out to the dispossessed in extreme adversity, our actions can have unintended outcomes. As such, many decent Australians are hurt by accusations of theft in relation to their good intentions,” (Brendan’s apology speech). To some extent, such a position would mean that Brendan believes that the Closing the Gap initiative is not correctional but rather an undeserved favor to the aboriginal people. He stressed that “No one should bring a sense of moral superiority to this debate in seeking to diminish the view that good was being sought to be done.” He added that “Separation was then, and remains today, a painful but necessary part of public policy in the protection of children.” Basically, Brendan’s position in Closing the Gap initiative is to show that the program is not being used to compensate the wrongs committed earlier but rather a show of recognition that some errors were committed in the past and are regretted. Looking back at the three speeches as discussed above, it is apparent that the current political leadership is keen on facilitating better lifestyles for the aboriginal people and yet still recognizing the fact that the non aboriginal communities developed at the cost of the aboriginal people (Neill, 2002). Far away from the economic front is the social and cultural cost that the aboriginal people had to bear with the coming of white settlers. The Redfern Speech as delivered by Keating had the right principles and ideas in place though the government did not implement any measures to address the problem. However, the developments witnessed through the establishment of the Closing the Gap Initiative and the preceding apologies from parliament have been largely continuation of the wishes expressed by Keating in his Redfern speech. References Brendan Nelson, Parliamentary Apology, (Accessed on 20th July from) http://www.aph.gov.au/House/index.htm Broome, R. Aboriginal Victorians: a history since 1800, Sydney: Allen & Unwin, 2005 Closing the Gap Initiative (Accessed on 20th July from) http://www.budget.gov.au/2008-09/content/ministerial_statements/html/indigenous-03.htm Gallery of Modern Art and Queensland Art Gallery, Contemporary Australia: optimism, Brisbane: Queensland Art Gallery, 2008 Harrison, M. Who wants to create Australia?: essays on poetry and ideas in contemporary Australia, Perth: Halstead Press, 2004 Jupp, J., Nieuwenhuysen, J. and Dawson, E. Social Cohesion in Australia, London: Cambridge University Press, 2007 Kevin Rudd, Parliamentary Apology, (Accessed on 24th July from) http://www.aph.gov.au/House/index.htm Littler, J. and Naidoo, R. The politics of Heritage: the legacies of 'race', London: Routledge, 2005 Moreton-Robinson, A. Whitening race: essays in social and cultural criticism, Sydney: Aboriginal Studies Press, 2004 Neill, R. White out: how politics is killing black Australia, Sydney: Allen & Unwin, 2002 Paul Keating, “The Redfern Speech” (Accessed on 20th July from) http://apology.west.net.au/redfern.html “Redfern speech still resonates”, Sydney Morning Herald, April 3, 2007 Watson, D. Recollections of a bleeding heart: a portrait of Paul Keating PM, Perth: Knopf, 2002 Read More