On Friday 18th June, protesters held a community picket of the FAHSCIA offices in Melbourne on the 3rd Anniversary of the Northern Territory Intervention. Speakers including Indigenous people suffering the effects of the intervention first hand, Unionists and politicians expressed their disgust with the way the racist intervention, started by Howard, but continued by the Rudd/Guillard ALP controls Aboriginal peoples lives without improving their living conditions at all. The front entrance of the building was blocked, the back entrance closed after protesters almost entered the building and a replica of the Basic Cards as burnt.
Related: Video’s of picket from the Melbourne Anti-intervention Collective - MAIC Facebook Page

Speakers at the picket in Casselden Place, the home of Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA) which implements the Intervention in the Northern Territory included, Jenne from the Tiwi Islands talking of her experience on welfare quarantining, Steve Patrick Jampijinpa, assistant teacher from Lajamanu in NT, talking about the ban on Indigenous language being spoken freely in schools, Richard Kennedy talked about the racialisation of the Intervention, and the history of racist 'interventions' into Indigenous society, Alistair Nicholson former Chief Justice of the Family Court discussed the negative effects of the NT Intervention and slams the ALP, whilst Robbie Thorpe talks about racism in Australia. Footage of these speeches can be seen here

An account of the demonstration can also be read at Joanne Knight’s Blog

The Rudd/Guillard Government has continued and extended the Intervention policy towards Aboriginal people pushed through in the final days of the Howard era. The Intervention was based upon the suspension of the Racial Discrimination Act (RDA), indicating the racist basis of the Intervention. Aboriginal Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin claims her new Intervention legislation is ‘reinstating the RDA’. This is a lie.Under the new laws all of the racist Intervention policies introduced by Howard in 2007 will remain in place. Government measures to control Aboriginal communities include:
• Government Business Managers on Aboriginal communities
• Signing over Aboriginal land for 5-40 years before housing or services are offered
• Racist alcohol and pornography bans
People will not have access to the Racial Discrimination Act to challenge these measures.

The NT Intervention has made Indigenous health worse. It has forced Aboriginal workers back onto working for ration cards and less than $4/hr in cash. It has ripped properly paid jobs out of the communities. It has banned Indigenous languages from being spoken freely in schools. It has stolen back hard-fought-for Aboriginal land, and on top of it, installed white ‘Government Business Managers’ in the only opulent houses in the towns. The Intervention does nothing to empower Indigenous communities or improve their living conditions. The reality is, it was never supposed to.

Get involved in MAIC!

Melbourne Anti-Intervention Collective (MAIC) is meets every Monday, 6:30pm at the New International Bookshop (NIBS). The bookshop is easily found in the basement of the Trades Hall building located on the corner of Lygon and Victoria Streets in South Carlton. All welcome!

Melbourne Anti-intervention Collective is an open group of Indigenous and non-Indigenous people committed to rolling back the Northern Territory intervention. With a shared belief in self-determination and grassroots activism we work closely with the communities affected by the intervention and others opposed to it. Through protests, rallies, public meetings, publications and fundraising we aim to show solidarity with Indigenous communities, raise awareness about the racist intervention policies, and put pressure on the government to rollback the intervention and committ to self-determination for Indigenous people.
 
For comments or information: e-mail:melbourne-anti-intervention-collective@google.groups.com.au