The shocking reality in the heart of Australia

18 November 2009, 04:59PM

As temperatures soared upward of 40 degrees Celsius, Amnesty International Secretary General Irene Khan travelled to remote Indigenous communities in central Australia to see first-hand how recent government measures have affected the lives of Aboriginal people.

Having witnessed some of the worst living conditions in the world, Irene Khan is well-placed to assess the extent of poverty and its impacts:

"For a country which, by human development standards, is the third most developed in the world and one which has emerged from the global financial crisis comparatively unscathed, such a level of poverty is inexcusable, unexpected and unacceptable," said Irene Khan. "In the heart of this first world I found scenes more reminiscent of the third world."

In the Utopia Homelands, an impoverished grouping of communities 350 kilometres north-east of Alice Springs, she met with Topsy Ngale McLeod, who, aged in her 90s, lives in a small, temporary shelter made from bark and tree branches. Topsy is one of more than 45,000 Aboriginal people now subject to racially discriminatory measures, including blanket quarantining of social security payments, as a result of the Northern Territory Emergency Response (NTER).

"Indigenous people in remote Aboriginal communities deserve the same respect, safety and protection as does any Australian - but this will not be achieved in a sustained manner under the Emergency Response, which is stigmatising and disempowering an already marginalised people and which is in violation of Australia's international obligations," said Irene Khan.

Exclusion and disempowerment

Banjo Morton Petyarr, Frankie Holmes Kemarr and Donald Thompson Kemarr are just a few of those who share that sense of exclusion and disempowerment. They spent their entire working lives on cattle stations. From the age of 12 or 13 they supported their families as station hands, drovers, stockmen and boundary riders.

All these men have now had their pensions quarantined under compulsory income management , which takes half of their income or benefits and puts in on a BasicsCard account, rather than in their bank account. The money on this can can only be used at certain stores to buy certain things - such as food, medicine, clothes or electricity.

"We see the card [BasicsCard] but we don’t see the money, the money must be circling around somewhere. it’s pretty hard for us to wait and find money for the kids."

Frankie Holmes Kemarr

These elders, like so many living in Aborignial communities, speak English as a second or third language. They do not understand the process imposed on them, and suffer confusion and anxiety over how much money they have available to them and their grandchildren.

The three men are aware that income management was brought in to ensure that money is spent on feeding and caring for families, rather than on gambling and alcohol. Nevertheless, they feel a sense of betrayal. They feel that their government has imposed measures that takes no account of their life-long service to one of Australia's most important industries.

Hope for the future

Amnesty International is calling for laws designed to protect people from discrimination - which were suspended under the Emergency Response - to be immediately reinstated in the Northern Territory without any loopholes.

"The blunt force of the intervention's heavy handed 'one size fits all' approach cannot deliver the desired results. The Government will not secure the long term protection of women and children unless there is an integrated human rights solution that empowers peoples and engages them to take responsibility for the solutions," Irene Khan said.

Irene Khan called for a new approach, grounded in a genuine respect for traditional culture and with human rights principles at its core, to tackle the complex problem of the entrenched poverty and discrimination faced by Indigenous peoples in Australia.

"There is a real risk of an enormous opportunity for change being squandered. The Government's apology to the Stolen Generations and other Indigenous Australians, along with its support for the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, is a welcome shift from the past. This Government is making a serious financial and political investment but to achieve the returns it wants it must replace its blunt and blanket policy approaches."

Join Irene Khan's call and send a letter to the Hon. Jenny Macklin, Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs.

UPDATE: The Social Security & Other Legislation Amendment (Welfare Reform & Reinstatement of Racial Discrimination Act) Bill was introduced to the Parliament on 25 November 2009. Amnesty International is currently analysing this legislation and will make a statement in due course.

The Utopia Homelands region

Share: What are these?

Features and analysis

Comments

Comments are submitted by members of the public and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or positions of Amnesty International Australia. If you find a comment objectionable please contact the web editor.

Page 1 of 1 pages

 

Sorry, commenting is no longer available in this weblog entry.

Make an impact

Gas well burning from oil exploration, Niger Delta © Kadir van Lohuizen

Destroying the environment, driving conflict, deepening poverty, deteriorating health – the human rights costs of oil from Niger Delta is far too high.

Stay Informed

Sign up for email updates

Email address:

Subscribe using RSS

Get Involved

We need your support to defend and protect people who have been silenced, abused, or had their most basic rights as individuals violated. Become a Human Rights Defender today

• Join Amnesty International
• Act locally