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Howard’s new Tampa children overboard are our Aboriginal children.The Little Children are Sacred report does not advocate physically and psychologically invasive examinations of Aboriginal children, which could only be carried out anally and vaginally. It does not recommend scrapping the permit system to enter Aboriginal lands, nor does it recommend taking over Aboriginal ‘towns’ by enforced leases. These latter two points in the Howard scheme hide the true reason for the Federal Government’s use of the latest report for blatant political opportunism.

It has been an openly stated agenda that Howard wants to move Aboriginal people off their lands, and has made recent attempts to buy off Aboriginal people by offering them millions for agreeing to lease their lands to the Federal Government, e.g. Tiwi Islands and Tangentyere in Alice Springs. There was also the statement by the Federal Government that it could not continue (?!) to provide essential services to remote communities, which raised an uproar of responses in the press. The focus on the sexual abuse of children is guaranteed to evoke the most emotive responses, and therefore command attention, just like the manipulation of the Tampa situation. But while the attention of the media and the public is being emotionally coerced, what is being sneaked in under the covers?

Two issues specifically – mining companies have applied for more exploration permits in the Northern Territory, the Jabiluka uranium mining operations at Kakadu have already hit the media because of the mining company’s applications to the Government to significantly expand its operations, including establishing new mines at Coronation Government has already mooted that nuclear waste should be dumped in the Northern Territory, on Aboriginal lands. Aboriginal traditional owners are absolutely opposed to this. We have a long history of deaths and illness from radiation, from the atomic tests at Woomera in the 1950s to the current high incidences of carcinomas in the community at Kakadu near the Jabiluka site. The main obstacle to the Federal Government’s desired expansion of mining operations in the Northern Territory and nuclear waste dumping is, of course, the Aboriginal people who have occupancy of, and rights under the common law to, their traditional lands. Continue reading →

This is the last throw of the dice for John Howard. He is doing one big favour for the mining industry which he has faithfully served in public life for the past 30 years by rolling back Aboriginal ownership of their tribal lands.

Cynically, cruelly but utterly predictably, he’s doing it under the hypocritical colours of humanitarianism. (Very similar to the invasion and occupation of Iraq sold as “spreading democracy�). In his four terms as PM, he has starved indigenous health, education and housing of funds, abolished ATSIC and pointedly marginalised the Aboriginal Affairs portfolio. This particular pre-election pitch is aimed at Lateline viewers, readers of The Age and The SMH and ABC stalwarts, the demographic that constitutes Australian (small “l�) liberalism. These are the feeble-brained, hand-wringers who are congenitally incapable of separating the wood from the trees. They are types currently heard sobbing: “I’m no fan of Mr Howard, but at least he’s DOING SOMETHING!�

Yes, he is: he’s giving the mining giants the leg-up they need to start exploring, digging and quarrying in indigenous lands in the Northern Territory and then elsewhere. He is being aided and abetted by Kevin Rudd’s craven behaviour. Instead of falling into line with Howard’s agenda, he should have demanded complete details of the plan, the highest-level briefing, sought face-to-face meetings with Aboriginal leaders, state premiers, police and army officers and taken the lead in a national debate. Instead, he mouthed pieties such as “I’m taking Mr Howard at his word� and “I believe the Prime Minister when he says he is responding to a national crisis� etc etc. Has anyone realised that these are almost the same words used by Kim Beazley when he backed Howard during the Tampa scam? By his pusillanimous approach, Rudd has vacated leadership on the tragic issue of rescuing Aboriginal communities and given Howard the opportunity to play his sickening Father of the Nation role. Paul Keating, you were right about the Rudd team of fixers, hucksters, flyweights and spineless opportunists.

Alex Mitchell

UPDATE

And as for mr ‘it’s time us black fullahs got over ourselves and start prioritising kids (and my ego while we’re at it).  And if we have to chose between land and our kids I know what I’d chose” fuckface.

DO YOU NOT GET IT?

You are actually backing one of the most racist pieces of government action since the beginning of colonisation in Australia.

“Oh but it’s time to stop talking and have some action.”

OK so you wanna go and explain that to the women in these communities who have had absolutely no communication or consultation on this plan and all they’ve heard is that the army is coming in?  You wanna go explain to them that noone’s gonna steal their kids?  You wanna ssuggest that taking off into the bush during this time of the year is probably not too smart given how cold it’s getting in the desert?

Oh no, too late you can’t cause it’s too late.

Wake up Noel.  We all know that the situation is untenable.  We’ve been lobbying the pollies for ages on what to do.  What he’s done now is not out of compassion.  It wasn’t thought through.  It has been executed appalingly.

And yes, we will hold you responsible.  You have his ear, but you stopped listening to the people.

Bloody hell I’m pissed off.