Northern Territory “Intervention” walk-off

By Lucas Jordan 8 December 2009, 01:00PM

Donald Thompson Kemarr at Honeymoon Bore, August 2009. Donald is a senior kwerterngerl (manager) for the Amperlatwaty community and a renowned traditional tools and weapons maker.
© Rusty Stewart

Three hundred people have walked away from their homes in protest at the effect the Federal Government’s Northern Territory Emergency Response has had on their lives, writes Lucas Jordan.

Describing the government’s blanket income quarantining as "punishing good people", 300 community members have left Amperlatwaty and the prescribed area it is located in and set up a bush camp at Honeymoon Bore.

They left Amperlatwaty on 14 July 2009 and, at the time of going to press, are still there. They have said they will not return until the government consults with them about decisions that affect their lives. They are also asking for reinstatement of the Racial Discrimination Act without conditions or measures, funding for housing and community development, and the restoration of Aboriginal land rights.

As part of Amnesty International’s campaign to Demand Dignity for the world’s poorest and most marginalised peoples, we have been spending time with communities in the Northern Territory affected by the NTER. Again and again, we are being told that people are upset about blanket measures being applied to everyone without regard to how those measures impact on their lives.

"We can’t handle much because we are all old fellas. We are old men. We never been in school. It’s pretty hard for us to understand how it works... we old fellas, we can’t ring Centrelink because we don’t understand. 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, senior kwerterngerl (manager)

Respect for elders

Banjo Morton Petyarr, Frankie Holmes Kemarr and Donald Thompson Kemarr are just a few of the elders at Amperlatwaty who 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. They received no formal education.

All these men have now had their pensions quarantined under the compulsory income management measure of the NTER. This measure has been applied to all people living in prescribed areas - in the NT all prescribed areas are Aboriginal communities.

These men feel a sense of betrayal. They feel that their government has imposed a policy on them that takes no account of their life-long service to one of Australia’s most important industries. It reminds them of the rationing and welfare days of the past.

‘Basic's difficult

The income management takes half of people’s income or benefits, less any existing outgoings such as child support, and puts it on a BasicsCard account, rather than in their bank account. The money on this card can only be used at certain stores to buy certain things - such as food, medicine, clothes and electricity.

In order to check the balance of their BasicsCard or to seek help, people at Amperlatwaty must call Centrelink staff in Alice Springs. These elders, like so many living in Aboriginal communities, speak English as a second or third language. They do not understand the process that has been imposed on them, and suffer confusion and anxiety over how much money they have available to them and their grandchildren.

Law unequal

The three men are aware that compulsory income management was brought in, as a so-called special measure, when the Racial Discrimination Act was suspended. They know it is intended to ensure that money is spent on feeding and caring for families, rather than on gambling and alcohol. Nevertheless, Frankie Holmes Kemarr questions the validity of a law that is discriminatory. He wonders why the government would introduce a law that punishes "good people along with bad".

These men have responsibilities as guardians of family and culture. The BasicsCard and compulsory income management have made them feel degraded. They feel that their contribution to this country as working men and family men has been diminished by bad government policy.

They hope the policy will change. Until it does, the people who left Amperlatwaty will stay where they are at Honeymoon Bore. There, at least, they have dignity.

Income management degrades dignity

Income management is one of the most controversial aspects of the Northern Territory intervention. It is applied solely based on race and the government suspended anti-discrimination legislation to introduce it.

Rather than addressing the underlying causes of Indigenous disadvantage or the risk factors for violence against children, Amnesty International has found that the blanket and discriminatory application of income management has undermined benefits and deepened the insecurity and deprivation of affected communities.

The Australian Government has committed to reinstating the Racial Discrimination Act, but is proposing to retain income management as a ‘special measure’ as allowed for in the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD).

Amnesty International, and the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, believe this distorts the principle of special measures under CERD.

Special measures have the sole purpose of securing the advancement of a group of people so they can enjoy human rights and fundamental freedoms equally with others. Most importantly, special measures should only be introduced with the consent and the participation of those affected by them. And special measures must stop once their purpose has been achieved. Amnesty International strongly believes that income management does not fit the definition of a special measure under CERD, and does not comply with Australia’s international human rights obligations.

Take action

The unheard truth in the heart of Australia - Send a letter to the Hon. Jenny Macklin, Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs.

More information

Government proposals on Northern Territory Emergency Response fall short - News, 1 December 2009

Lucas Jordan is Amnesty International’s Indigenous rights researcher.This interview was recorded at the Honeymoon Bore bush camp in the presence of senior men and women and their families.

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