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Aboriginal deaths in custody - Royal Commission (Hon. E.F. Johnston, QC) - Reports - Regional report of inquiry into - Underlying issues in Western Australia (Commissioner P.L. Dodson) - Volume 2

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ROYAL COMMISSION INTO ABORIGINAL DEATHS IN CUSTODY

REGIONAL REPORT

OF INQUIRY INTO

UNDERLYING ISSUES IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA

VOLUME 2

Commonwealth, Western Australia

ROYAL COMMISSION INTO ABORIGINAL DEATHS IN CUSTODY

REGIONAL REPORT

OF INQUIRY INTO

UNDERLYING ISSUES IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA

VOLUME 2

BY

COMMISSIONER P.L. DODSON

Australian Government Publishing Service Canberra

©Commonwealth of Australia 1991 ISBN (Volume 2) 0 644 14180 8 ISBN (the set) 0 644 14169 7

This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission from the Australian Government Publishing Service. Requests and inquiries concerning reproduction and rights should be addressed to the Manager, AGPS Press, GPO Box 84, Canberra ACT 2601.

Printed in Australia by P. J. GRILLS, Commonwealth Government Printer, Canberra

11.1 Brief history of Aboriginal labour

Historically, Aborigines have suffered legislative restrictions and discrimination in every phase of employment, from the kind of work they could lawfully undertake, to wages, accommodation and workers compensation. Unions have offered little or no support to black workers, and employers have been aided by court decisions based on racist stereotypes. Legislation enshrined unconscionable employment practices by government and private employers alike ... 'blood' or 'colour' alone were the criteria by which discrimination at the workface was practised and maintained [McCorquodale, 1985:3].

As observed in earlier chapters and sections, one of the processes of devaluing

Aboriginality, was the externalisation of many aspects of social control among

Aboriginal people and groups. Sanctions and laws enforcing social propriety

and entrenching a commitment to social usefulness, were deliberately

undermined. This form of social usefulness could also be referred to as the

'work ethic'. What has become increasingly apparent is that while the labour of

Aboriginal men and women provided the means of many pastoral, agricultural

and marine industries today, recognition of that labour fell short of any form of

economic and social recompense. As times moved ahead and new political and

economic options have been pursued, Aboriginal people's future or participation

has been primarily left aside, or marginalised.

11.1.1 From rags and rations, to dole money and inactivity

In Chapter 2, it was stated that the only way the relationship between Aboriginal

and non-Aboriginal people, with regard to labour, can be discussed is as that of

'master/servant'. This relationship was one, established during the latter part of

the previous century and the early part of this century, where the colonial powers

exploited Aboriginal labour for their own purposes of expansion. At the tum of

the century, Aborigines were employed as shepherds, stockmen and women,

farm hands, divers and domestics. In return for their labour, Aborigines

primarily received payment in food and clothing. While some people remained

resident on pastoral and agricultural properties, others combined seasonal work

521

for the pastoralists with traditional means of subsistence. They were able to

retain access to bush food and medicine, because many of the properties (at that

time) remained uncleared.

Given the material considered above, and throughout Chapter 4, what is most

striking is that the conditions with regard to Aboriginal people and work are

significant in view of those who died in custody. That is, in Chapter 4, when

discussing the people whose lives are under direct consideration by the

RCIADIC, it was stated that, 'at the time of their last custody, not one of the

deceased had completed their secondary education ... [and] ... only five were

employed at the time of their last arrest' (p.81). It needs to be further stated that

two of those who were considered 'employed' were from Community

Development Employment Programme (CDEP) communities (see Section 11.1.4

for discussion of CDEP). Additionally, it was noted in Chapter 2, that a

Community Based Corrections officer, who gave evidence to my Commission,

advised that Aboriginal prisoners, when asked to provide information about their

employment history, nearly always said they were 'just a labourer'. He went on

to say that the answer suggested to him that they were saying, 'I am just a

nobody' (p.82). Views such as these- 'I am just a nobody'- reflect not only the

Aboriginal perspective in relation to non-Aboriginal people and their perceptions

when someone is considered 'just a labourer', or unemployed as the case so

often is, but comments such as these also deny the fact that Aboriginal people

made substantial contributions in the development of this country, often as

'slaves' to their 'masters'. This point is rarely acknowledged by non-Aboriginal

people. The following account graphically illustrates my meaning here:

Now in those days [the 1940s and 1950s], to our experience there was no such thing as money. We didn't see any money at all in the old days. All that the stockmen got as pay was perhaps two shirts and two pairs of trousers a year, while they were working. Boots, hat, canvas swag, and a couple of blankets were supplied too. That's about all. No money! The swags would usually last for two or three years. Anyone who owned a swag used to share it with those who didn't ... The government used to give the station owners or managers some sort of permit to work blackfellas such as myself and all the others here. The

522

permit gave them the status of a 'protector'. It gave them the same authority as the policemen, who were also protectors. If there was any trouble with the blackfellas, then the police used to sort it out. But, because he was the permit holder and as such a protector, the station manager could do pretty much as he liked

[Lawford in Marshall, 1988:15].

The permit system, also referred to in Chapter 2, was, in so many ways, to

continue the unequal aspects of Aboriginal/non-Aboriginal relations and work.

This was partly because the system reflected the alliance between the vested

interests of the colonisers (e .g. protectors, pastoralists, police) against

Aboriginal people. The system also served to establish the 'master/servant'

relationship and in so doing set a precedent to disallow future governments to

pay Aboriginal people 'a fair day's wage for a fair day's work'. In fact there

was not, as noted earlier, any form of equitable legislation in this regard until

1968 and introduction of the Federal Pastoral Industry Award. The permit

system was to stay largely in place in this State until the introduction of the

Award.

The influx of gold, the development of the wheat industry, railway construction,

and the pastoral and marine industries, were all ways whereby the colonial

government saw a means of sustaining economic growth, and of providing

future employment. While the pastoral areas of Western Australia were

traditionally in the northern and eastern parts of the State, it is essential to

observe that the south-west should also be considered in this regard. As

Haebich (1984) and Hodson (1989) point out, Aboriginal people in the south­

west were among those who were granted land to work for themselves.

However by 1914 almost all of their grants had been cancelled. Most of the land

occupied by Aboriginal farmers was granted under a special provision first

introduced in 1887 (under a piece of legislation termed 'Land Regulations').

However, that land could be resumed at any time by the colonial government.

Hodson (1989:79) states that, unlike non-Aboriginal people, the Aboriginal

farmers 'had no title against which to borrow the finance needed to carry out the

improvements required by the terms of occupancy. Their only option was to

523

hire themselves out as seasonal and contract workers, but since they also had to

support their families, they were able to accumulate very little capital'. The

outcome of this measure was that without assistance from the 'Aborigines

Department' (which was not forthcoming) Aboriginal people were unable to

meet the terms of their occupancy and therefore had their blocks resumed by

government authorities.

What is apparent from the preceding account are several points which can be

clearly put: Aboriginal labour was a mainstay in the development of this State;

the exploitation of that labour has never been fully recognised or compensated

for; Aboriginal people were forced into a 'master/servant' relationship by using

their own labour while development of their own resources was denied; with the

introduction of the Federal Pastoral Industry Award and increased mechanisation

into industries where Aboriginal labour had once been a solid contributor,

Aboriginal people were cast aside; in the present climate they are denied access to

employment owing to issues such as racism, lack of culturally appropriate

industries, inadequate training, and ineffective government policies. Today,

they are the most unemployed group of people in this country. The following

material explores some of the matters further.

11.1.2 Current responsibilities and practices of private and public sector interests

Figures from the 1986 Census indicate that at that time 3,804 Aboriginal people,

who were eligible for employment in this State, were unemployed. This figure

indicates that around 39% of the Aboriginal population are denied employment,

compared to the State average of 9.4% . While this is a State-wide estimate, in

areas where there have been specific studies undertaken, the seriousness of the

situation can be more particularly appreciated. For example, in Fitzroy Crossing

in 1986 it was found that only 5.7% (51 persons out of 882) of the total potential

workforce had regular full-time employment (Arthur, W.S., 1986).

524

In 1987 the Federal Government launched its Aboriginal Employment

Development Policy (AEDP). This policy was aimed at incorporating a series of

specific measures and programmes which were theoretically directed toward

'economic independence' for Aboriginal people by the year 2000. These policies

were tied into the Department of Employment, Education and Training (DEET) at

a Federal level, and the Departtnent of Employment and Training (DET) at a State

level. These departments, and the role they play in relation to their ability to

empower Aboriginal people, 'are further referred to throughout this report.

The Aboriginal Employment Action Programme (AEA) is the private sector

component of this policy, aimed, according to policy guidelines, at increasing the

numbers and status of Aboriginal people employed with national companies, on

the basis of equity and merit. The three major industry bodies - the Australian

Council of Trade Unions (ACfU), the Business Council of Australia (BCA) and

the Confederation of Australian Industry (CAl) were all involved in the

development of the programme. Notably, an Aboriginal component was not.

The degree to which Aboriginal people have been excluded from the labour

market cannot be underestimated.

11.1.2.1 Regional economic development

Of central importance to my discussion in relation to exclusion from the labour

market, is the argument that the specific concerns of Aboriginal people cannot be

separated from the concerns of regional development (cf. Howitt, 1990; Crough

et al, 1989; Howitt et al, 1990). Essentially, I am of the view that Aboriginal

participation in regional economic development is fundamental to achieving

locally sustainable economies in rural and remote Australia, not an optional extra

to be considered as a welfare issue once regional plans are in place. Aboriginal

people are an integral component of regional economies. This could be said for

this State, and, indeed, for the entire country.

525

In particular, I am informed in this matter by research findings that have been

put before me, as well as research ·conducted for my Commission, by

Dr Richard Howitt (Criminology Research Paper 5, 1990). While many of Dr

Howitt's comments directly relate to the issue of Aboriginal people and mining

in the Eastern Goldfields region of Western Australia, a number of the points he

addresses are relevant to the whole issue of economic development and

employment.

Essentially, I wish to put forward four basic issues which affect Aboriginal

participation in local economic development: local labour marlcet issues, such as

training, employment conditions, skill requirements, itinerancy and so on;

racism, particularly the structures of racism which affect Aboriginal participation

in economic, political and social activity; education, and the continued failure of

a crucial area of government policy to achieve basic goals; the region's narrow

economic base, and the virtual exclusion of Aboriginal people from participation

in it. Most of these matters are also considered elsewhere in my report (e.g. in

Chapter 12 on Education).

In raising these issues so explicitly I want to argue, in keeping with Howitt

(1990) as follows:

1. It is possible to identify the essential structural mechanisms which have disempowered many Aboriginal people and continue to marginalise them from their economic goals.

2. The existing policies and practices of the Aboriginal affairs 'industry' is as much a part of the problem as the policies and practices of private sector employers, and cannot be defended. They are certainly not contributing to ostensible goals such as self-determination and economic independence from welfarism.

3. Arguments for compensation, land rights and special programs are important, but we cannot, nor do we have to rely on policy changes to begin pursuing local changes. It is possible, and essential, for Aboriginal interests themselves to intemalise the processes of empowerment and create changes, rather than wait for changes to create justice.

526

4. Within the existing structures of the mining industry, the range of Aboriginal initiatives and government programs, there are opportunities for local diversification of the region's economic base in ways which encourage participation of Aboriginal interests in the creation of new wealth, and the independent pursuit of Aboriginal goals.

5. Aboriginal economic development strategies do not have to 'isolate themselves from the [diverse] cultural, social, political and personal goals of Aboriginal people. It is essential that the framework used to analyse and act upon local

opportunities and constraints recognises that empowerment essentially involves the simultaneous pursuit of all these concerns.

Initially, I tum to local labour market concerns and Aboriginal people. The data

presented throughout this report demonstrates that Aboriginal people have been

excluded from key sectors of the local labour market.

As Howitt notes (1990:83) it is worth observing that none of the public sector

departments involved in Aboriginal employment, development and training were

able to provide to him adequate data on the concerns of Aboriginal employment

and training. This is certainly reflected in the non-existence of any viable

strategies to address priority areas in local labour market reform. Such neglect

shows just how isolated from the 'main game' the Aboriginal affairs industry is,

and it reflects some ambivalence of Aboriginal affairs policies and practices to the

notion of Aboriginal economic issues rather than Aboriginal welfare issues. One

could be forced to conclude that the 'Aboriginal industry' might be more

interested in reproducing the need for welfare than engaging in empowerment

which will reduce welfare concerns to a reasonable component of the portfolio,

as it is in the broader society.

In particular the restructuring of the mining workforce, involving a range of

processes including multiskilling, decreased unionisation, increased levels of

contract labour and higher levels of female employment, has generally decreased

rather than increased the opportunities for direct Aboriginal employment. In this

sense, the restructuring has created yet another mechanism by which the current

527

generation of Aboriginal people are being effectively excluded from the

workforce. In the wider labour market, the need to equip workers and

unemployed people for participation in changing labour markets has been

recognised. The introduction of the industry training levy, the processes of

award restructuring and various reviews of employment, education and training,

have all been at least partly directed at this effort. Where employers'

restructuring of workplaces or work practices leads to redundancies, there has

generally been a social expectation and even requirement for employers to meet at

least some of the costs of retraining. Yet where a broader scale of restructuring,

restructuring at the regional and industry scale, intersects with the local

production of 'social' redundancies, 'nobody' is responsible. The private sector,

while largely cynical of the role of government intervention in the labour market,

nevertheless expects that responsibility for dealing with 'social' redundancies,

such as experienced by Aboriginal people in the Goldfields, will be accepted by

government. The public sector generally abdicates responsibility by pointing to

performance indicators and existing caseloads, as if to say, 'Well, what more can

we do?'. Many Aboriginal people, used to extemalising many crucial aspects of

decision-making and social control have found it difficult to effectively take

initiatives in the Eastern Goldfields, and have waited for 'someone else' to do

something (see also Howitt, 1990:85).

11.1.2.2 Racism and work

Findings contained in the report presented to me by the Aboriginal Issues Unit

(1990:21) stress that: 'Racial prejudice by employers, both Government and

private, was regarded as the primary cause of Aboriginal unemployment. It was

suggested that in country areas many employers were descended from pioneering

families and had inherited their racist attitudes. Because of their status in the

community they easily influenced newcomers to think the same. Jobs tended to

be given to white people either within the community or from elsewhere'.

528

In keeping with comments such as that made available to me by members of the

AIU and through conference material (e.g. RCIADIC Gnowangerup Transcript,

1990; RCIADIC Transcript, Geraldton, 1990), it became apparent that the

structures of racism towards Aboriginal people are endemic in Australian society

generally (see also Howitt 1990:85). Throughout this report, I have attempted to

consider aspects of racism and its ability to disempower Aboriginal people.

According to Howitt's (ibid) findings in the workplace, racism has the effect of

marginalising and isolating Aboriginal workers from the cameraderie and

solidarity of the workplace. Where it is broken down, people begin to feel

comfortable and able to perform. Such barriers are also reflected in the wider

society, where, as noted earlier, few non-Aboriginal people not working in the

'Aboriginal industry' experience social interaction with Aboriginals on an •

everyday friendship basis. It is often the case that itinerant workers have had

little previous direct experience with Aboriginal people, and that long-term

residents have views coloured by negative experiences. It is this sort of nexus

that needs to be broken. The community structures within Aboriginal and

non-Aboriginal groups need to develop opportunities to address these concerns.

Again, one is drawn back to the centrality of education and the failures of

existing policies in the current structures to meet the needs of Aboriginal people,

and to the practicalities of the processes of challenging them.

11.1.2.3 Education and work

Education is not limited to the opportunities given to school children. It is

recognised that continuing education of both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal

people is central to addressing marginalisation. On the one hand, the need for

strategically relevant programmes of skills development aimed at improving

Aboriginal direct and indirect employment outcomes, throughout the economy, is

needed. To overcome the legacy of previous decades of racism, neglect,

inappropriate poUcies, and entrenched patterns of inequity, Aboriginal people

need opportunities to access a range of skills, knowledge, values and

understandings. This concern should not be restricted to the specific skills of

529

particular occupations, but should address the broader issues of employment

such as self-confidence and management skills. However, equipping Aboriginal

people with the required skills to participate will not, on its own, achieve

equality.

11.1.2.4 An economic base

It is clear that Aboriginal people do not have available to them a sound economic

base: this is denied through dispossession; lack of compensation in relation to

land, labour, royalties, children; denial of access to employment opportunities;

and cultural and regional marginalisation and exclusion. Material contained in

Chapters 6 and 7 also informs this point. The vulnerability of Aboriginal people

who are without any form of equity, specifically affects those interests whose

future is tied into particular regions. To date, according to research provided to

me by Howitt (1990:88), few proposals to diversify the local economic base have

incorporated local Aboriginal groups in the planning and development process. It

is, therefore, essential to highlight some of the suggestions of Aboriginal groups

themselves for developing a diversified base for Aboriginal participation in local

economic development.

11.1.2.5 Aboriginal ideas for work

One set of suggestions involves use of secure land tenure over pastoral areas as a

base for training and production in the pastoral sector. In some cases, this has

also been linked to development of alcohol rehabilitation facilities and a broader

educational alternative for young Aboriginal people. This approach to economic

development integrates not only financial concerns, but also concerns of health,

education, cultural maintenance, and development of an independent capital base.

Another set of suggestions involves development of services to mining, including

contracting for small scale earthworks, land rehabilitation and labouring, etc. The

opportunities related to development of seed collection, small scale rehabilitation

530

earthworks and general service of the industry's rehabilitation needs has been

identified in this report as a major area for developing Aboriginal economic

development. It has been suggested here that development of a number oflocally

based enterprises in mining centres (such as Port Hedland, the East Kimberley,

Kalgoorlie, Leonora), in association with a resource agency based technical

service group, is worthy of detailed consideration as an area for immediate action.

A further set of suggestions involves development of a range of specifically

Aboriginal industries, including emu farming, value-added production in arts and

crafts, including integrated production of sandalwood artifacts, and a broadly­

defined cultural industry, including linking these activities to the tourist industry.

In the Goldfields region, the Kurrawang Emu Farm represents the most

advanced of these proposals, and is clearly moving towards a successful,

independent operation. As noted earlier, there is a need for consideration to be

given to support for specific economic development programmes in the arts and

crafts and tourism area, including artists in residence in settlements wishing to

develop this area, and provision of requisite infrastrucuture and facilities.

Aboriginal involvement in a range of retailing, small scale manufacturing and

other small businesses would service not only the Aboriginal population, but

would have the effect of bringing some of the wealth circulating in the wider

community into the Aboriginal sphere. In the case of Leonora Aboriginal

Movement, the Leonora Supermarket, purchased from funds provided under the

Harbour Lights Agreement, represents a significant move in this direction,

although earlier problems with management, and the need to incorporate training

for Aboriginal employment at all levels in the operation remain to be addressed in

that case (cf. Howitt, 1990:89).

A range of opportunities, involving for example Aboriginal management of

nature reserves and national parks, rangelands rehabilitation, and decentralised

settlement of Aboriginal lands as a base for cultural production, education and

land management, have only just begun to emerge for consideration. This again

531

raises the importance of government action to address the concerns of Aboriginal

people to secure recognition of their claims for land and compensation.

Perhaps a rethink of the 'trial and error' philosophy is needed. This would need

support from all levels of Government. That is, in any economic area, there is

going to be failed ventures. Mining companies tend to accept that one out of

every thousand exploration bids fails to produce a mine. The public sector needs

to reflect on why and how the mining industry takes that risk. A thoughtful

approach to this level of innovation, may have consequences for unemployment

budgets that entail DSS entitlements and CDEP (see 11.1.4 ). Any further

reviews by the Department of Education and Training (DET), and the Department

of Employment, Education and Training (DEET) should, in my Commission's

view, give these matters serious consideration.

11.1.2.6 A case study: Fitting the Eastern Goldfields into a broader context

Howitt's (1990) work makes available a detailed study in relation to the issues

mentioned above. I provide further material from his findings, and suggest that

matters for people from the Goldfields could be extrapolated to Aboriginal people

elsewhere in this State. The following material should be read in conjunction

with Chapter 15 on mining, and the matter of mining should be seen as a feature

peculiar to the region.

Howitt's report provides the first broad review of the relationship between

Aboriginal and mining interests in the Eastern Goldfields. It has revealed a

complex and difficult situation. Unlike other areas where this relationship has

been examined in detail, the Eastern Goldfields is not characterised by a small

number of relatively large and recent mines affecting a relatively small number of

Aboriginal communities. Instead, the region has a continuing tradition of mining

stretching back almost one hundred years, with many mines and mining areas

having gone through several cycles of development. Not only is the mining

532

sector characterised by a great diversity, but so is the Aboriginal population.

Local Aboriginal interests include groups committed to the maintenance of

traditional Law, strong Christian fundamentalist groups, groups with links to

mining, pastoralism and other industrial activity, and many others. This

diversity parallels the breadth of Aboriginal experience across the entire

continent. Recognition of this diversity is fundamental to any equitable strategies

for pursuing Aboriginal economic development in the region.

To date, the interests of some groups within the Aboriginal sector have been

marginalised because they have not been well-represented within the existing

Aboriginal politics. This is changing, but the rigidity of existing structures, and

the resistance of vested interests creates barriers to successfully empowering

such groups towards economic autonomy. While the Eastern Goldfields is

unique in terms of the specifics of the relationship between Aboriginal and

mining interests, it holds many valuable insights relevant to a broader context of

Aboriginal economic development.

11.1.2.7 Economic development and compensation

What is of concern to my Commission is that the processes of dipossession

continue to be effectively renewed with each generation. Various chapters

throughout my report reinforce this view (see e.g. Chapters 4 and 10). The

failure of the Western Australian Parliament, in 1984, to provide legislative

recognition in relation to secure land tenure for Aboriginal people, as well as the

ongoing consequences of colonisation and the need for compensation, means that

each new generation of Aboriginal people inherits the foundations of continuing

exclusion. In the last twenty years, for example, the continuation of this process

has been calculated to have denied Aboriginal people in the Eastern Goldfields

access to capital for economic development in the order of $78.3 million

(Howitt, 1990). In this sense the process of colonisation has been entrenched in

Western Australia as an ongoing mechanism for Aboriginal marginalisation.

533

An issue in which the Eastern Goldfields holds lessons of considerable

importance to the wider context, is in recognising the diversity of Aboriginal

goals and interests. The nature and reasons for this diversity in the Eastern

Goldfields has been emphasised partly because it is an issue which has immense

practical implications in terms of developing realistic local economic development

strategies, but it is one which has been virtually excluded from the policy context

by the acceptance of naively idealised notions of Aboriginality. Chapter 6

considers this matter in some detail. Failure to accommodate the diversity of

Aboriginal experience and aspirations has also, I believe, been fundamental in the

transformation of Aboriginal economic development issues, economic justice

issues and regional political and cultural issues into welfare issues by large parts

of Australian society. Part of that transformation could be provided through the

support of the union movement.

11.1.3 Union interests

Australian Unions have gained their current structures, policies and status

through a number of socio-political, historical and economic events. One of the

most important of these was the Depression of 100 years ago and, particularly

after Federation in 1901, where a system was established which saw the

evolution of compulsory conciliation and arbitration. The fact that the system

focussed on employment, workers conditions and wages meant one thing as far

as the Aboriginal population was concerned: that they have been primarily left

outside the Union process in Australia.

There was some potential alteration to this in 1968, following the introduction of

the Federal Pastoral Industry Award (see Chapter 2) where Aboriginal people

who had previously functioned as a convenient pool of reserve labour that

pastoralists, graziers, and agriculturalists could draw on as economic and

seasonal conditions required, were deployed from station properties. Massive

destabilisation of the Aboriginal people occurred and the resultant marginalisation

534

of Aboriginal labour as paid workers. This was contributed to by the result of

technological and structural changes at local, regional and national levels.

However Union involvement has not been entirely missing, for instance the first

Aboriginal strike in Western Australia in 1947 (see e.g. McLeod, 1987; Stuart,

1959). In more recent times, several unions came out in support of Aboriginal

people during the Noonkanbah drama in 1980 (Berndt, 1982:233-253; Vincent,

1983:327-338; Hawke and Gallagher, 1989).

At present, there is minimal Aboriginal participation in the Union movement.

Realistically speaking, given the low employment levels of Aboriginal people in

this State and elsewhere, that is not surprising. However, unions can sometimes

be large and powerful institutions, vested with recognition by governments and

the legal system. Their potential involvement in striving to achieve improved

material conditions and equity, may be one way for Aboriginal people, in

conjunction with relevant local Aboriginal organisations, to provide a base for

improved conditions and political empowerment.

An example of the struggle to obtain union coverage for Aboriginal workers, is

the attempt by the Federated Miscellaneous Workers Union (FMWU) to obtain

coverage for the employees of non-Government Aboriginal agencies. In 1984

the Union applied, after consultation with Aboriginal groups, to the Industrial

Relations Commission (Application 1079) to alter its rules to enable coverage of

all workers employed by non-Government Aboriginal organisations. The

rationale behind this was to enable ready union coverage of all workers in those

settings. There was an awareness of the difficult circumstances, and less than

ideal conditions, which many employees found themselves in due to the poor

funding the organisations were forced to accepted from the funding agencies.

The Union recognised the unique characteristics of community based Aboriginal

organisations, and felt it was important to have uniform coverage within an

organisation rather than have the competitive forces of rival unions trying for

coverage within the one organisation.

535

The FMWU already had some involvement with Aboriginal employees via their

coverage of Aboriginal Health Worker's (AHWs) employed by the Community

and Child Health Services, and enrolled nurses under a separate award, at the

time of this application. Consequently, the Union had some understanding of the

issues faced by Aboriginal people in the workforce and, combined with a

commitment to social justice principles, wished to be participants in the process

of developing improved conditions for those employed in community based

organisations.

The application to the Industrial Commission was opposed by several unions

including the Federated Clerks Union, the Hospital Salaried Officers

Association, the Association of Drafting, Supervisory and Technical Employees

and the Royal Australian Nursing Federation. The Commission found that the

objections were of substance and rejected the application for coverage. The

FMWU lodged an appeal to the Industrial Appeals Court in 1985 (Appeal

No. 6), which was disallowed. Eventually the Aboriginal Medical Services

Employees' Award was accepted by the Commission and came into effect from

8 February 1988. This award gave the FMWU coverage for Field Officers,

Environmental Health Workers, Aboriginal Health Workers (with a five level

career structure), Enrolled Nurses, Gardeners, Cooks, Domestics, Drivers,

Storepersons, Alcohol Rehabilitation Assistants, and Alcohol Rehabilitation

Supervisors.

Other workers in the AHSs, such as reception and administration staff, are not

covered by the award and no other union has actively sought to represent the

interests of these workers. The interest in them expressed by other unions

during the initial application for coverage was more a territorial dispute between

rival unions rather than a dispute centred round the interests of the employees.

These employees still have no effective representation.

536

The other awards covered by the FMWU that are of relevance to employees of

community based organisations, include the HACC Award, various child care

industry awards, and the Aged and Disabled Persons Hostels Award, 1987. In

the government sector, the FMWU covers: Aboriginal Health Workers

employed by the Health Department who are covered by the Health Workers -Community and Child Health Services Award, 1989; awards for enrolled nurses,

teacher aides and Aboriginal teacher aides.

This discussion should not be seen from just an historical perspective. It is an

on-going issue. As discussed later in the section on health, the FMWU is

continuing to ensure that Western Australian employers provide Aboriginal

Health Workers with appropriate conditions and career paths as part of the award

restructuring process currently being negotiated. On 6 July 1990 the Australian

Industrial Relations Commission endorsed a new award, the Pitjantjatjara

Council Incorporated and Associated Organisations Interim A ward 1990. This is

a joint FMWU/Municipal Officers Association award and 'is designed to force

the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders Commission (A TSIC) to release funds

based on the first Structural Efficiency Principle increase' (B. Daley, Assistant

General Secretary, Federal Council, FMWU, covering letter to the Award,

26 July 1990).

The International Labour Organisation (ILO), in response to its concern about the

exploitation of indigenous workers, adopted the Convention Concerning

Protection and Integration of Indigenous and other Tribal and Semi-Tribal

Populations in Independent Countries of 1957 (No. 107). This incorporated a

strong assimilationist position and consequently was the subject of growing

opposition which eventually lent to it being revised and the adoption by the ILO

of Convention Concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples (No. 169), in June

1989. It should be noted that the dissatisfaction with the ILO 107 led, in 1982,

to the United Nations setting up the Working Group on Indigenous Peoples

(WGIP) under the United Nations Human Rights Commission. The WGIP is

drafting a declaration of the rights of indigenous and tribal peoples and takes

537

representations from indigenous peoples/nations. This contrasts with the ILO

which only has representation from employers, unions and the ILO.

Understandably, there is dissatisfaction that indigenous people did not have

direct representation in this process.

In order for the convention to be applicable in Australia it has to be ratified by the

Australian Federal Government. This process may take many years, though the

convention must be tabled in Federal Parliament by December 1990. Ratification

entails both State and Federal approval but does not require direct consultation

and ratification by Aboriginal people. Some of the difficulties with ILO 169, as a

revision of ILO 107, include: (1) its failure to remove assimilation completely

from the convention; (2) it concerns indigenous people but does not convey them

rights; (3) and rights that are referred to are collective and not individual; (4) it

fails to address the concerns of Aboriginal people regarding self-determination,

cultural integrity, land rights and discrimination.

In the next section I consider the Community Development Employment

Programme. This programme is a matter that was raised with me at a number of

conferences, primarily in the northern and eastern parts of the State. The

programme was also the focus of extensive research within my Commission.

11.1.4 Community Development Employment Programme

As noted throughout this Chapter, the matter of employment continues to be a

complex and contentious one. Given that the Community Development

Employment Programme (CDEP) affects so many Aboriginal people in this State,

and it falls within the parameters of being both complex and contentious, in the

following section I consider both the positive and negative aspects of this

programme. Initially, I turn to a discussion of some of the concerns my

Commission has had put before it in the way the programme is implemented and

administered. At the end of this Section, I consider how the programme could be

more productively applied to Aboriginal communities in particular settings.

538

The primary policy mechanism for achieving equity according to documentation

produced through ATSIC is Aboriginal Employment Development Policy

(AEDP). In discrete communities the programme mechanism is Community

Development Employment Programme (CDEP). In Western Australian there are

49 communities on CDEP, involving at least 4,000 Aboriginal people (ATSIC

response to RCIADIC Question 15). The reality of this programme is that

Aboriginal people are required to work for their unemployment entitlements. It is

also worth noting here that people on CDEP do not show up in employment

figures regularly released by the Commonwealth Employment Service as

'unemployed': Rather, they show up as 'employed' thus serving to mask the

serious nature of Aboriginal unemployment.

The basis of CDEP is the use of unemployment entitlements as wages for the

purpose of 'developing' a community. The aggregate of entitlements in any

given CDEP community is the total wage pool. There is an additional 20%

oncost factor for administration and equipment. However that 20% is not

supposed to be used as a wages top up. The crucial factor here, is that if the

hourly rate of pay is based on award rates and some people are able or inclined to

work more hours than the equivalent of their unemployment entitlement, then

there will be a shortfall, or someone will receive less than their basic entitlement.

It is with this concept that the unemployment entitlement suddenly becomes a

wage, and the confusion regarding this scheme starts. CDEP cannot provide a

full week's 'wage' for anyone on a community without depriving someone else

of their entitlement. The reason for this is that a community receives only the

sum of the total unemployment entitlement for the number of eligible people

living in the community. There are 'on cost support' monies, however these are

only to be used for administrative expenses and the purchase of equipment.

The following commentary is based on the ATSIC Manual for Community

Development Employment Programme and Aboriginal Enterprise Incentive

539

Scheme (AEIS) March 1990. The Manual is not well numbered, therefore

references are not always available and numbers vary.

Policy objectives

The objective of CDEP is to undertake community development activities where

there are no alternative employment prospects. If Aboriginal communities were

treated in the same manner as rural Australian towns, they would receive Grants

Commission funding based on equitable formulas, to provide essential services

for community operation. These would cover Municipal Utilities, Sport and

Recreation, Social Welfare Services and Administration, and the people

providing these services would be paid award wages. The reality is that this

municipal type funding is termed for Aboriginal communities in West Australia­

'Community Infrastructure Funding' which is allocated by ATSIC.

There is a statement in Appendix 11 on p.62 of the Manual that reads: 'CDEP

communities should be able to provide normal local government services and

have sufficient award positions funded for these, without needing to rely on

CDEP funding .. .'. This is not a reality for many communities, and like a

number of hard realities for Aboriginal communities it is often by-passed in the

consciousness of policy makers by saying that it 'should' occur.

The stated goals of CDEP

(i) Ongoing employment: This raises the question of how 'employment' is

defined. To most Australians it means a thirty seven hour week for Award

wages, doing constructive and useful work.

(ii) Improvement of communities' social, cultural and economic life: Specific

planning for this improvement requires people being aware of their

options, resources and rights.

540

(iii) Cater for specific interest groups: It is difficult to assess the extent to

which this occurs successfully. In a recent project evaluation fonn, the

only comment in relation to the project catering for women's issues was

'although funds may not be allocated to specific women's projects, women

are the direct beneficiaries of the project through wage payments'. Much

therefore depends on the primary motivation of participants and

administrators. If the prime purpose of the scheme is to pretend to provide

people with wages instead of individual unemployment entitlement

cheques, then it is not an issue. However, if the scheme is run according

to a carefuiiy devised development plan then the individual and special

interest projects are of considerable importance. In the Evaluation fonns

thus far sighted by this Commission there is no substantial indication of

specific interest groups' particular advancement.

(iv) Assist overall development goals: If communities had overaii plans and

goals then the above would be acceptable. However, the reality is that few

do so according to the CDEP Review of Funding and Administration

(Table 1, 1990).

(v) Participate in community management, administration and decision

making: This aspect requires the comprehensive training component that

appears to be totally lacking (Project Evaluation fonns Port Hedland,

Kalgoorlie ).

(vi) Development of skills towards commercially viable enterprises: To

achieve this requires again a training component, and a responsiveness to

initiatives as well as level of empathy, vision and practicality on the part of

government officials and Community Advisors.

The training component is usually funded by DEET. How DEET and ATSIC

and Aboriginal people in the community interact, is crucial to the effective

running of CDEP.

541

Strategies

'CDEP is to be utilised where there are adequate infrastructure and skills for

project management.' This first premise for the operation of CDEP already

poses an almost impossible stricture on its operation. There are few CDEP

communities in Western Australia whose members have all the necessary skills

for the administration of their own finances, essential services and employment

operations. Most communities are comprised of people for whom English is a

second language. They are dependent either on unskilled or on non-Aboriginal

administrators. The latter are often of good will and intention, but not always

adequately qualified or skilled.

The employment of these administrators is designated as the Council's

responsibility and often the procedures for employment are carried out

inconsistently. References are often not checked and judgements made on

superficial contact or because someone is considered 'a good bloke'. Very few

councillors have had any real training in staff selection or interview skills, and

there is no recognised or even incidental career structure in community

administration. The reality of working conditions in communities is often not

apparent or explained to applicants for such jobs.

There is also a substantial variation between the salaries and conditions for the

non-Aboriginal workers in a community and the locals on CDEP. The average

daily rate for administrators, teachers and health workers is in the vicinity of

$100 a day, whereas on CDEP the average weekly rate is $100.

There is little cohesion or compatability of administrative systems or sharing of

resources and experience between communities or organisations except by

occasional chance personal encounters. A prime example of this is the

introduction of computer systems to Resource Agencies and organisations.

A TSIC have IBM based systems. In one region of the State two of the primary

542

resource agencies in the area have installed computers based respectively on

UNIX and MACINTOSH. This means that data cannot be shared or accessed

without expert operators. This sort of issue is crucial for communities in remote

areas who have limited resources.

Owing to the lack of administrative skills, and in many communities a dearth of

people who have little more than primary level standard of literacy, it is not

always possible for community council members to adequately supervise

employees, because they are not aware of (i) the rules in relation to finance, and

(ii) the options in terms of management and accounting structures. Therefore,

although councils are formed, the reality is that the administrators continue to

hold the power because they understand the 'system'. A significant example of

this situation was presented to my Kalgoorlie conference in relation to the

employment processes for a community in that region:

CDEP monies are divided into two sections; money, and the other is money for employment. The paid jobs vary. Most of them have very little impact upon the community. They involve driving a tractor around the community. There are dangers and generalization because in fact that doesn't happen in all communities but it certainly happens in most. In terms of decision-making I attended Ngaanatjarra Council meeting where the administrator of the council put before the council the CV s of two people for a particular job and that job was a community nurse with special responsibility. Now he said that there had been a number of people applied for the job, however he had selected the CVs of two people. One was a nurse called Sister*** who had worked in the communities and everybody knew. And the second was a nurse from Victoria. The community made the decision to employ the nurse they knew. The field officer who was with me at the time thought that was

very strange because he had been speaking to Sister*** two or three weeks beforehand and she had told him that she had been employed by the council. Now this may be a cynical view but it is my view that effectively the council selected two ends of the spectrum. The Aboriginal people made a choice but the choice

they made was based on very limited information. Now I don't suggest that there is any sort of conspiracy there but I believe that is the way the council is operated [RCIADIC Transcript in confidence, 1990: 105 -1 07] .

543

When there is mismanagement on the part of the administration it is blamed on

the Council's lack of ability to supervise. It is then the Council's lack of skill

which is acknowledged. However, it appears that little is being done by the

responsible funding bodies to increase the Council's awareness of their rights

and responsibilities. A very clear example of this lack of accountability,

supervision and inconsistent administration is the allocation of $85,000 in the

1988-89 budget to the *** Community. The money was allocated under the

Aboriginal organisations training scheme. This money was specifically allocated

for the education and training of Council Members in the five major communities

near ***. The money was designated in the 1988 financial year, an

advertisement was placed in newspapers by the administrator of*** Community

in March 1990, calling for expressions of interest from consultants to do

Community Development Plans for the five places. Consultants from Perth,

who were expected to prepare their own terms of reference, were appointed in

July 1990. The original purpose of the funds i.e. the education of Councillors

appears to be sometimes forgotten or put aside. Discussion with Council

members and individuals in these communities reveals that few people appear to

have any idea why the consultants are there and what they are actually doing.

This situation therefore raises questions which have been difficult to find

adequate answers for, such as: (i) who is supervising the work of the

consultants; (ii) will further monies be allocated for the education of Council

members when this was the original purpose of this allocation; (iii) what will be

the use of any plans drawn up by the consultants if the council and community

members are not aware of what they are doing; (iv) if the money is wasted, who

is responsible; (v) who bears the consequences of any mismanagement; (vi) what

is A TSIC or DEETS role after the allocation of these training monies to monitor

their expenditure.

The issue of individual income security does not appear to be a consideration in

the operation of this scheme. It would also seem to be presumed by the policy

makers that Aboriginal people have no need of a constant secure income. This

may be because policy makers have some inaccurate notion of kinship systems

544

that will operate to ensure everyone is treated equally. Kinship systems as noted

earlier, are often reciprocal therefore support must be returned in some way.

Additionally, it is usually essential to have access to motor transport to go fishing

or hunting to supplement resources, and hard currency is required for the use of

motor vehicles.

As indicated above there is some confusion regarding this Scheme because the

funds being used are unemployment entitlements. The first premise in operating

a CDEP should be that the individuals concerned are fully aware that they are

giving up their right to their unemployment entitlement. There are obvious

communication and clarification problems that require better explanations of the

Scheme. The lack of individual contact is aptly illustrated by an examination of

the 'Participant Schedules'. One such schedule from a major Kimberley

Community an hour's drive from a major town, has 145 participants. In the

Date of Birth column there are eleven people listed as being born in 1900. Is it

possible that eleven ninety year old people are out working for unemployment

entitlements? And why are they not on a pension?

Further, seventy nine participants have birthdays on the first of July or the first

of January. Thirty three of these have the year of birth after 1970 (Participant

Schedule DSS, July 1990). This would appear to indicate that even those born

in the last twenty years have not had their births registered, or if they have there

is difficulty accessing the correct information. The continuation of the colonial

practice of assigning birthdays to the first of January or July has overtones of

racehorses or breeding stock. If birthdates are not correctly established how are

people able to access their entitlements in terms of benefits for children, and

aged pensions. Unless the individual participants are fully cognisant of the

realities of the scheme, it does not have a rational and equitable foundation.

545

Project instructions

The first sentence in this section states project instructions are deliberately

flexible, to allow communities and groups to operate CDEP projects in a manner

best suited to their needs and aspirations. This 'flexibility' is a misleading term

as it allows for ad hoc methods of operation, but restricts the use of the funds in

a true developmental sense (see comments in the section on Project Activities). It

does not appear possible to complement CDEP funds with funding from other

sources (e.g. enterprises and other Government programmes to provide a full

wage for more workers).

The content of the Manual appears confused in this regard concerning whether

the funds are a 'wage' or a 'benefit'. If the funds were proper wages money,

the scheme would allow for a combination of funds either from other

government agencies or from the proceeds of commercial activities. (If this

occurred people would be entitled to earn a full week's pa)" or at least the

equivalent of award wages.) However because they are considered wages then

the restraints of receiving benefits are imposed. The prime example of this is the

confusion over CDEP participants eligibility to receive Family Allowance

Supplement (FAS). FAS is an income supplement for low income earners. If

CDEP is to be considered as a wage there is no question about the recipients

being entitled to the FAS supplement. This does not however appear to be a

widely utilised subsidy in Western Australian CDEP communities. The 1989

Review of CDEP shows that from a survey of Participant Schedules and DSS

computer records for twelve of the 49 communities on CDEP in this State, there

are 253 married couples. Of these, 189 are receiving Family Allowance but only

75 are receiving FAS. It would therefore appear that the take up of FAS is one

of the 'flexible' aspects of the scheme that is dependant on the knowledge and

initiative of local ATSIC officers or community administrators for utilisation. On

a percentage basis across the country, Western Australia has the lowest take up

rate- 45% for the Family Allowance Supplement.

546

The next set of points in the Project Instructions (p.4) is that the Community

Council or funded organisation is responsible for :

(a) Selecting Work Activities:

Selection of work activities cannot occur if a community is not

conversant with a variety of possible options. If people are not

aware that in mainstream society, rubbish collection, social and

recreation services are funded through other channels. If the

options in terms of at least subsistence if not commercial

production of foodstuffs, are not explored and considered then

people are not in a position to plan, utilise existing resources and

make informed decisions.

(b) Developing Policy On Wages Structure:

Wages policies and structures are matters that non-Aboriginal

Australians take for granted, they are a facet of daily life. The

union movement is an everyday part of life for sectors of

mainstream society. As noted earlier, this is not so for most

Aboriginal communities. They have come from a 'station work

for rations' system, or 'mission handout' background. As

observed earlier when award wages were introduced into the

cattle industry, Aboriginal people were forcibly moved off the

stations they had helped to build. Newspapers, television and

even radio are innovations. Most people would only see a

newspaper in passing when they come into town. They are

therefore, not informed about news of strikes, pay claims, wage

rises and conciliation and arbitration procedures. The adage that

'knowledge is power' is particularly apt when applied to the

current situation of Aboriginal people in isolated communities.

Their access to knowledge of how the 'system' works is

extremely limited and often appears to have no relation to the

reality oflife on a community.

547

(c) Planning and administering work activities and keeping

appropriate records; and (d) Maintaining an accurate schedule of

participants and keeping the Regional Office informed of

changes.

The next part of the Programme Instructions state that 'Officers and communities

must make every effort to ensure that CDEP does not provide a means by which

Governments, departments or agencies reduce or fail to provide funds or

services for which they are responsible'. This historical statement cannot

possibly be enforced because people are not always aware of their rights or how

the system works, and they are not in a position to claim or take a stand with

funding agencies or government agencies. General evidence of this is found in

an examination of funding on a regional basis throughout the State. Where there

is a high uptake of CDEP funding the Community Infrastructure (CI) funding

decreases substantially. Conversely where there is little CDEP uptake the CI

funds appear to be greater (refer Chapter 7). Again this relates to the lack of

equity and formulas in the provision of services to communities and the lack of

information services. There follows in this same section a virtual repeat of a

statement from the strategic goals relating to the Regional Office of ATSIC,

ensuring that communities seeking CDEP funding have the 'administrative and

supervisory infrastructure and skills to manage CDEP projects'.

The Annual Reviews thus far sighted by this Commission present a discouraging

picture of their usefulness. In the P3 review form of one community the

reporting officer comments:

***has been on CDEP since its inception (5 years) but has yet to really run it efficiently. There is still much work to be done in areas of: basic understanding of CDEP by Council and participants alike ...

In Section 8(b) of the same P3 form, when reporting on the quality of

administrative and supervisory resources, one of the problems which was

548

identified during the previous year (a problem still in existence) was the 'lack of

individual time sheets and pay sheets'. These sheets, often determined by the

Chairman and another Council member, sometimes revealed that various people

were 'forgotten'. It is unlikely that non-Aboriginal people or organisations

would tolerate this situation.

Another observation that is repeated several times in the same P3 fonn is that

there was no funding or input from DEET in tenns of training for that twelve

month (1988-89) period. In section 9 of this same report the writer states that

DEET 'will be approached' to fund a mobile trainer. The sentence implies that

there is no security in terms of a positive response from DEET. The point to be

emphasised again is that although this community has been on the CDEP for five

years it is deemed still not to have a good basic understanding of the scheme. If

the resources for training are not being provided, there does not appear to be

much chance of an improvement in the situation.

Operational guidelines

The programme description prefacing this section states ' ... Because a CDEP

creates employment, it has the effect of removing eligibility for unemployment

benefits'. Therefore if an individual on a community or CDEP does not want to

participate in the scheme, but does require income maintenance in the fonn of an

unemployment entitlement, it is necessary for that person to go and live

elsewhere. Reasons for not wanting to participate in the scheme are not

necessarily, in fact very rarely, related to a persons inclination to work; indeed

the more industrially sophisticated a person is, the less likely he/she would be to

accept the inequitable and insecure conditions of CDEP.

An examination of participant schedules reveals that the weekly amounts paid are

invariably less than the basic entitlement. As noted earlier there is the problem in

some places of no time sheets and people being 'forgotten'. In some areas there

is not enough work and the allocation of work can depend on an individual's

549

relationship with the supervisor. In some places there are people employed on

full wages to do a specific job and others are expected to perform the same tasks

for CDEP 'wages'. This situation appears to occur frequently in schools and

clinics. It is in this area that people's level of ignorance in relation to industrial

matters is apparent. However industrial action as a solution on the part of an

Aboriginal community has no muscle. Who is really going to care if a group of

Aboriginal CDEP workers go on strike?

Programme guidelines

The introduction again stresses the 'flexibility' of the Scheme, and the emphasis

on community participation and decision making. It does not take cognisance of

people's lack of understanding of their options. It is stated that the CDEP

scheme does not alter an individual's right to apply for and, where entitled,

receive unemployment benefits (p.6). The key word here is 'where entitled',

given that on the previous page (p.5), it states: ... Because a CDEP creates

employment, it has the effect of removing eligibility for unemployment benefits.

Therefore if individuals are unhappy with the operation of the scheme and do not

have the political power or facility with the English language to express their

concerns, they have to leave their home and live elsewhere or simply put up with

the situation.

As noted earlier, in Western Australia there are 49 communities on CDEP.

Twenty seven of these have participant numbers between one and six hundred

people. The 1989 review of CDEP found that only two of the forty nine

communities had completed a community plan. These two communities have

participant rates respectively of 17 and 27. For the community with the

participant rate of 17, 1989 was their first year on CDEP. For the other it was

their second year of participation. Six communities indicated they were in the

process of 'planning' a 'Community Plan'. In the other thirty four communities

there was no reference to such a plan. Thirteen of the communities where there

550

was no plan have been on CDEP for more than five years. Seven of these

communities have been on CDEP for more than nine years.

On page 8 of the Manual, under 'project activities', there is a reference to CDEP

resources being used to assist with income generating activities providing that

'profits created ... are only used ... to top up the wages of the activities of CDEP

employees or as payments to increase incentive'. This is the only reference in

the document to the possibility of 'topping up' wages, even though it would

appear to be the most practical way of developing projects that would, in the long

term, ensure social justice, provide industrial equity, contribute to the

development of a stable economic base and provide a just and appropriate

incentive for people to work.

The last part of the Programme Activities section indicates that the primary

responsibility for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander enterprises rests with

ATSIC and DEET. These two government departments appear to have

significant control of primary Aboriginal funding. Effective coordination of the

various programmes and development activities should not therefore be too

difficult to achieve.

The last paragraph indicates that when a 'work programme' is designed it should

fit into the immediate and long term goals of the 'Community Development

plan'. As mentioned above, only two very small communiti es out of forty five

in Western Australia have Community Development Plans.

The next section deals with pay rates, where it is observed that work must be

paid at award rates or equivalent. It does not mention the number of hours to be

worked. Generally speaking the minimum adult hourly rate is in the vicinity of

$8 per hour. The current base benefit rate is $141.40 per week. Therefore if

there is to be any equity of income in a community, people would only be

required to work for seventeen hours a week or three hours a day. This is

however a generous estimate because of the significant numbers of participants

551

under the age of twenty one and seventeen. For these age groups the base level

of benefit decreases rapidly. It is here again that the 'flexibility' of the scheme

comes to the fore in generating confusion. Whilst the manual says that work

should be paid at an award rate, an officer of DSS indicated that the converse

was the practice, viz, that people are paid at their age and status entitlement rate.

The Participant schedules sighted by this Commission, show that a married

couple at 3 July 1990 were entitled to $247.40 per week. A single person over

twenty one was entitled to $161.11 per week. Twenty one year olds were

entitled to $137 per week. Nineteen/twenty year old participants were entitled to

$112.15 and seventeen year olds to $64.60. If work is paid for at an hourly

rate, and the rates are set according to age, then for a twenty hour week, a

seventeen year old would be paid $3.23 per hour and a married man $12.37 per

hour. If award wages are paid equally across age groups a married man with

dependants would have to work four times as many hours as the single

seventeen year to attain his basic unemployment entitlement. If more hours are

worked by individuals whose entitlements are less, then some people are

receiving considerably less than their entitlement under unemployment

entitlements. In order to attempt to clarify this situation the Department of Social

Security in Broome was approached. The response is detailed as follows:

[a] married man is paid at the married mans rate i.e. higher hourly rate. If the wife does work her husband is still paid at the married rate and her earnings are extra. Ques: how does that work out in terms of equity for other workers given the total pool of money is the aggregate of entitlements--isn't someone likely to miss out? Resp: all live in extended family, no one is really depriving anyone else, it's up to the bookkeeper to see everyone is treated fairly [Broome DSS officer, 25 July 1990].

The view that Aboriginal people live in an extended family, and thus should all

support each other despite the inappropriateness of government policies and

administrations is difficult to comprehend. A some what different picture was

presented by Mrs H.E. Thomas in Kalgoorlie:

552

You see a lot of them over there at Nanny Goat Hill, most of them wouldn't get any income because a lot of them have been on that - what do you call it? The CDP or something - out at Coonana. Then when they come into town here they sort of hang around but they're still sort of on the roll out there. They can't get unemployment here until they have notified Coonana that they're finished; they don't want to be out there any more. Then they can apply for unemployment. Because of the waiting time at Social Security - going in there waiting, standing in a queue and

that they get bored very quickly and they want that attention straight away, to do their business and get out. So a lot of them don't do that and a lot of them out there will be walking around with no money in their pocket just depending on the ones that do get an income. And the feed they get - they go in and rob the Kentucky Fried bins, that's where they get thei r supper from

[RCIADIC O'Dea Commission Transcript, Kalgoorlie, 1990:185].

In part (c) of the manual (p.lO), the development of clear policies in relation to

employment practices is advocated. Here there is the first reference to 'income

maintenance'. The term is mentioned again on p.11 in a sentence describing a

community's obligations in terms of payment. Comments such as these are

worthy of substantial assessment in the context of social justice, the purpose of

the DSS and the concept of income maintenance available to the wider society.

The ultra 'flexible' regulations detailed in this manual provide and, in effect,

often encourage mechanisms to deprive Aboriginal people of the subsistence

level of income made available to all Australians who are unable to find

employment. An Aboriginal field officer summarises the situation:

'the CDEP. Now, that's the Community Development Employment Programme and it's a good idea to make Aboriginal people work, but it's slave labour. These people are working picking up rubbish and, you know, they're sick and tired of picking up rubbish. They've got to do something constructive. Now, the thing is, to keep them in their communities, it's got to be consented to be there. As far as I'm aware, you've got

Aboriginal people working out there for their dole money. Now, as far as I'm aware of that CDEP, every quarter the amount of people that live out in that community, all their dole money is sent out frorri the start of the quarter and the number of the people that are there - that's the amount of dole money they get there. Now, these people are working for it, and if they don't work they miss a day or a week - they don't get paid at all or

553

they get $40 sit down money, which means, you know, they're either starving which creates the problem of: let's go and live in Kalgoorlie- Nanny Goat Hill- and let's go and sit down and get the dole cheque and we don't have to work picking up rubbish

[RCIADIC Transcript, Kalgoorlie, June 1990:557].

A significant point to be aware of is that the use of this programme reduces

unemployment figures dramatically. In addition, the combined total of

unemployment entitlement moneys appears to be a substantial sum. The

Government does in fact claim that CDEP monies are part of the Aboriginal

Affairs budget. In Western Australia for the financial year 1988-89,

$63,657,825 was spent on Aboriginal Affairs.

In addition to the above, on p.ll of the manual it is noted that if an individual

participant chooses not to accept the work offered, or to work only a reduced

amount, then the community is only obliged to pay the individual according to

the actual work done, plus any income maintenance payment. Additionally, a

significant sub-section of section 2 is ATSIC Monitoring (p.13), where the terms

of reference for annual reviews and project evaluations are listed. In one part it

inquires whether CDEP is being used as a substitute by government agencies and

employment institutions, in order to avoid their various funding and other

responsibilities. This is a difficult aspect for ATSIC to assess, given that they

are the primary funding body to Aboriginal communities. This situation in itself

may be inappropriate. However there does not appear to be any 'court of appeal'

or mechanism for communities to tum to in order to access adequate funding to

bring their standard of living into accord with Social Justice Principles.

Communities do not have access to secure and constant sources of municipal

funding, and the very minimum of health and education services are provided by

the State in most places. Power, water and housing, in many instances, are

funded by the Commonwealth. Community support services and municipal and

recreation services and utilities are increasingly left to CDEP funded projects.

Further, on p.l3 of the Manual it is stated that corrective action will be taken in

respect of 'any criticisms and recommendations made'. In an earlier review, a

554

Pilbara CDEP community lists problems which were identified in the previous

year, and which were still in existence, as:

... no starting time or place identified .. . lack of individual time sheets and pay sheets (the Chairman and another Council determine who has worked and thus who gets paid) - this causes some problems when they forget people; - there are many who are getting paid for not working. This then is a disincentive to those who are working - the Council are trying to rectify this with the rule 'no work - no pay' but until point 2 is adhered to this will never work 100%; -lack of any identified work teams­ those that do work usually work as individuals; and - lack of any

supervisors except the Chairman - this puts stress on both the Chairman and the workers.

The above list of problems are severe from several perspectives. In general, the

terms of reference provide a comprehensive list of factors to be considered in the

evaluation of CDEP. However, such an evaluation can only be carried out by

individuals who take the task seriously, and attempt to come to terms with some

of the hard realities of the situation.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission responsibilities

The summary of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC)

responsibilities is contained in seven short points.

(a) Advice to communities on the operation of the scheme.

(b) Monitoring of participant information.

(c) Arranging timely release of funds.

(d) Liaison with DSS and AEDP agencies.

(e) Review of each CDEP.

(f) Acquittance of grants.

(g) Maintenance of the CDEP computer system including updated unemployment benefit rates.

555

The various issues discussed so far, raise serious questions about the quality of

(a) 'advice' given to the participating communities. It is this advice and its

quality on which the operation of CDEP hinges. The lack of basic understanding

of the scheme and poor quality administrative support has also been noted several

times. These issues relate specifically to (b) and (d). The AEDP agencies

referred to in (d) are DEET and the AAPA. We have been unable to find specific

evidence that there is ongoing systematic coordination with these agencies. In

one region the review forms indicate that DEET had no involvement at all over

the twelve month period. Fundamental issues have to be raised two years in

succession. The review process (e), evidence of which is contained in the P3

forms sighted by this Commission, does not appear to have any specific

usefulness. If the advice given to people is not adequate, then in my

Commission's view, the consequence is a serious miscarriage of justice against

both individuals and communities. There needs to be mechanisms put into place

whereby Aboriginal people can seek redress.

Provision of services and CDEP

The provision of services in some Aboriginal communities is supplemented by

the use of labour via the use of CDEP funds. In one northern Aboriginal

community the Health Department of Western Australia (HDW A) provides the

health services. This consists of a full time nurse and 1.5 Aboriginal Health

Workers (AHWs). There are an additional 4 AHWs employed under CDEP.

There conditions of employment are very different depending on the job

classification and the employer. The nurses are paid an availability allowance (the

equivalent of 25% of their salary) plus an on-call allowance. The AHWs

employed by the Health Department of Western Australia do not receive an on­

call allowance nor an availability allowance nor does the Department provide for

relief for when the Health Workers are on leave. Even when that leave is

extended due to accumulated leave and taking leave with out pay. The AHWs

employed under CDEP are paid $7.68 per hour and regularly work up to

30 hours a week. The Health Department, until very recently, insisted that any

556

training provided to the CDEP AHWs be paid for by the community. After some

determined and prolonged advocacy, the Department has agreed to allow this

community's CDEP health workers access to on the job, and in-service style

training available to the Health Department of Western Australia AHWs. This is

on the basis that the health workers have first option at attendance, but there will

be no cost to the community.

It should be noted that the same community has 3 CDEP Environmental Health

Workers who do not have supervision, assistance or training from the HDWA

nurse. To quote the nurse, 'We concentrate on the health side of things!'

(RCIADIC Transcript in confidence, 1990).

Summary of CDEP

It is clear from the above that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders are the only

individuals in Australia currently working for unemployment entitlements. It is

also clear that Aboriginal town communities do not enjoy the same standard of

municipal services as are available to members of the wider community. Nor do

they have the security of funding in maintaining the existing minimum of

services. In addition, there is confusion in the guidelines created by considering

CDEP funds as wages for some purposes. and as a benefit for others, and there

is little evidence of adequate planning or monitoring of the Scheme.

Additionally, owing to the lack of administrative expertise in most Aboriginal

community councils, including those whose members may have English as a first

language, power over the finances of various communities is often in the hands

of outside administrators. In my Commission's view, it is not always possible

for community council members to properly supervise employees because they

are not aware of the rules in relation to finance and the options in terms of

management and accounting structures.

While putting forward certain criticisms of CDEP which have come before my

Commission, however, it is important as noted earlier, to also be aware that in

557

certain circumstances CDEP can be of value. For instance, as noted by Altman

(1990) and Coombs (1990), wisely used CDEP has the capacity to 'place

resources within the control of the communities themselves for the support of

activities chosen by them' (eg: support for traditional ties to the land; income

support for the production of art and craft; local transport services)

(correspondence from Coombs to RCIADIC, 15 August 1990). Further, as

clearly put in a recent report from Northern Australian Decelopment Unit

(NADU) (1990:9):

CDEP is clearly not the final chapter. The discussions with communities raised three key issues ... [these are]: the nature of work and training offered under CDEP; the equity of income distribution; and administrative arrangements ... While many people felt that CDEP had been an improvement on unemployment entitlements, it is clear that aspirations have been rising and there is a frustration at the 'sameness' of work under CDEP ... and the fact that working did not give them any noticeable increase in standard ofliving ... the central point is to provide reassurance to communities that CDEP as it now stands is not seen as the final step and to continue with efforts to link work with community development goals.

Bearing the above in mind, it is interesting to note, too, that ATSIC are currently

undertaking research in relation to the 'social and economic impact of CDEP on

Aboriginal communities' (see Weekend Australian Newspaper, 15 September

1990).

Essentially, while nothing can alter the fact that a large proportion of the adult

Aborigines in this State are currently being required to work for unemployment

entitlements, there may be significant ways in which CDEP can meet the real

interests and aspirations of Aboriginal people The critical challenge is how best

that might occur in a framework which encompasses the philosophy of

self-determination and economic development and opportunity. It is clear that

Aboriginal people are not in control of this Scheme, nor does it appear to allow

for their intervention in the modification of its objectives as it meshes with the

AEDP. For that matter, the officers who implement the policy seem to have had

558

more determination over outcomes, policy change and modification than the

Aboriginal people whose lives are directly influenced by this Scheme.

Education, also a critical matter in relation to economic development and work, is

the issue to which I now tum.

559

Chapter 12

LIMITED ACCESS TO EDUCATION

There is probably nothing in the history of this country which has promised and

denied so much to Aboriginal people than the education system. No other

institution has made more attempts to assimilate, socialise and continue the

process of colonisation. As Christie (1988: 18) notes:

White education is in some way the essence of the invasive aspects of our culture.

At the same time no other institution has issued so many reports or made so

many recommendations. People have been consulted, research projects initiated

and Aboriginal people have said many times what they want, but despite the

many proposals and suggestions over a number of years, it appears little has

been heard and much is still to be done.

Schooling, which is not necessarily the same as education, is a particularly

important and powerful socialising agent for non-Aboriginal society. It is the

normative way for introducing a child into myths, values, customs, philosophy

and history of western culture, ie. into its own very specific world view.

Aboriginal people, who traditionally never had 'schools', as they never had

'hospitals' or 'churches', have their own education system. Aboriginal children

were educated in the 'school' of their relations. They learned about their world

and that of their ancestors in the context of daily living. People learned as they

lived and they learned in order to live: there was no separate department or

compartment for 'school'.

Not only do Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people sometimes educate their

children and adults differently, but their ways of teaching and learning can also

560

be culturally different. One perspective is that an Aboriginal world view is

essentially interactional while that of the Western world is transactional.

Aboriginal people are more concerned with relating to the world, non-Aboriginal

people in changing the world. Another interpretation is that western culture is

specifically oriented towards industrial technology and the economy of the

capitalist system while Aboriginal culture is aimed at the reinforcing of unity and

harmony within relationships. Some educators argue that both cultures are

incompatible in the domains of education (eg: Sayers, 1988; Christie, 1985;

Harris, 1980, 1982, 1988, 1989).

From the perspective of Aboriginal people, education has served to explain and

justify aspects of western law. The definition of crime itself, laws, criminal

behaviour, restitution, correction, rehabilitation and punishment are all reinforced

in the schooling process. Apart from legal issues this is the way in which history

has been taught. It has been clearly shown that school curricula have influenced

the stereotypes which non-Aboriginal people today have of Aboriginal people

(cf. Morrison, Chaney, Sherwood and Jackson, 1982).

One of the non-Aboriginal assumptions about education is that schooling and

education are synonomous. However much learning is done outside of school

and perhaps at times not much learning is done inside school. Hence when

people talk of 'finishing school' they often think they are completing their

learning as well. A further assumption about education is that it is considered

'child business'. Adults work, drink and play football but children go to school

to learn. This is being overcome with the provision of more adult education but

it creates a problem for non-Aboriginal people in believing that learning can occur

outside a bUilding (e.g. health outside a hospital or religion outside a church).

It is not surprising that for many Aboriginal people school, and hence education,

is seen as 'white-fella' business. In 1986 the Census showed that in Western

Australia 'only 75 of Aboriginal respondents had post-school qualifications

561

compared with 32% of the total population', and this being with a group of

people of whom more than 60% were under 25 (Education Planning, 1990).

As a system aimed at giving people knowledge, and hence the ability to have

choices and power over their lives, education has failed the Aboriginal people of

this State. Something which was denied the people for years later became an

imposed obligation. Significantly, Aboriginal people were then blamed for not

participating in a system which was foreign to them, which threatened to

assimilate them, over which they had no control nor which was seriously

prepared to adapt according to their needs. Despite all these difficulties,

Aboriginal people· have attempted over recent years to shape education into

something of value for themselves: setting up independent schools, enclaves

within tertiary institutions and courses particularly adapted to Aboriginal needs as

well as seeking a stronger say in educational decision making. It is quite clear

from RCIADIC meetings and conferences that many non-Aboriginal people do

not know how to improve the delivery of an education service to Aboriginal

people. However it is equally clear that some Aboriginal people do have very

specific ideas and proposals about how things can be improved.

What has become clear from my Commission's meetings and conferences is that

the issue and implications of education for Aboriginal people requires serious

consideration, both by Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people. Many Aboriginal

people have spoken about their desire for their children to learn traditional skills

and those necessary for living in non-Aboriginal society. However many are

also not aware of how education has changed in the past twenty years, of the

valuable initiatives in some areas, the choices they can make or the various

options available for their own education.

12.1 Historical perspective

As the Western Australian Aboriginal Education Consultative Group (W AAECG)

Report (1987) noted very little has been published about the history of education

562

as it affects Aboriginal people in Western Australia (W AAECG, 1987:8). Not

only are many people unaware of how the policies and treatment of the past affect

Aboriginal people today, but also how Aboriginal people now see education

affecting themselves. As indicated elsewhere in the report, since colonisation in

1829 the policies affecting Aboriginal people have. caused dislocation and

destabilisation and have failed to address real needs and aspirations. Education is

no exception.

For many years Aboriginal people were not considered capable of receiving

education and for some period of time were actually excluded from

government schools (WAAECG, 1987:9; RCIADIC Transcript, Kalgoorlie,

1990). Then they were only allowed to be educated up to grade 3 level

(RCIADIC Transcript, Kalgoorlie, 1990). It was not until 1949 that Aboriginal

children were first generally allowed into the schools of Western Australia

(W AAECG, 1987:8) and in the 1960s it was largely at missions that Aboriginal

people received any education.

Some important dates regarding education are:

1905 The 'Aboriginal Act' gave the responsibility of educating Aboriginal children to the 'Aborigines' department.

1911 Two systems of education existed. One centralised for non-Aborigines and the other without direction and relevancy operated for Aborigines.

1919 The Education Department was firmly committed to the policy: 'if non-Aboriginal parents objected to admission of Aboriginal students, then Aboriginal students must be excluded.'

1932 A Conference of affiliated Parents and Citizens Associations in Perth moved that the regulation 85 of the Education Act should apply throughout the State. The Education Department supported the resolution and the right of the Minister to expel Aboriginal children whose presence might be considered injurious to the 'health, welfare and morality of other children.'

1940 Aboriginal children were admitted to Government schools but only if they met the required standards of health and hygiene. The consideration that Aboriginal children were only educable to

563

the 3-5 levels were influenced by the belief that as a race they were dying out.

1945 The Teacher's Union at their annual conference moved for special schools with trained teachers for Aboriginal children and also the introduction of a special curriculum.

1950s The time when attempts were made to assimilate the Aboriginal person totally into white society [O'Brien, 1989].

In the 1960s education was seen by members of various interest groups as

offering some hope to Aboriginal children who were presented with a mixture of

the 'civilizing' virtues of non-Aboriginal values and customs with Christianity.

They were taken into homes, hostels or dormitories where they would spend the

majority of their child and adolescent years. Here they were taught the basic

'3Rs' with girls then being directed into domestic work and boys into rural

employment. No formal education was offered to Aboriginal adults, and

Aboriginal children were not considered capable of higher academic

achievements. Dormitories continued in some parts of the State into the early

1970s.

In the history of this State, schools have been used for a variety of reasons as

government and churches considered best. The legacy is that many Aboriginal

children experience and continue to experience school negatively. The

phenomena of children 'opting out', truanting or leaving school at an early age

provide a sense of 'failure' and a felt inadequacy to change the environment

which people are facing. This has the effect of both lowering their self esteem

and also preventing them from being able to deal with the pressures and values of

mainstream white society.

Within the past decade there have been a number of both State and Federal

reports concerned with Aboriginal Education. The House of Representatives

Report (1985) indicated that Aboriginal education was characterised by:

• lower levels of access;

• lower levels of achievement;

564

• lower retention rates, particularly at secondary school; and

• often inadequate or inappropriate curricula' [Aboriginal Education, 1985: 21].

This was followed by the WAAECG Report, 'The Aboriginal Voice in

Education' (1987), the first report to offer a comprehensive Aboriginal

perspective on education in Western Australia.

In October 1989 the Commonwealth launched the National Aboriginal and Torres

Strait Islander Education Policy (AEP), a policy in response to the Hughes

Report, The Report of the Aboriginal Education Policy Task Force, 1988 . In

February 1990 there was also published by DEET a discussion paper 'A Fair

Chance For All', on the issue of National and Institutional Planning for Equity in

Higher Education. The Commonwealth AEP Policy had four main purposes:

(1) to ensure Aboriginal involvement in educational decision making;

(2) to provide equality of access for Aboriginal people to education services;

(3) to raise the rates of Aboriginal participation in education to those for all Australians;

(4) to achieve equitable and appropriate educational outcomes for Aboriginal people.

The significance of this national policy is that it is 'the first policy formally

endorsed by any National Government .. . because it responds to the call of the

Aboriginal Education Policy Task Force for a concerted national effort' (Barlow,

1989), although we have yet to see whether it will be any different from the

policies of the 1960s. The principal words in this new national policy, as also

contained in the DEET discussion paper, are involvement and equitable.

Aboriginal people are to be involved more 'in educational decision making' to

ensure 'equitable and appropriate educational outcomes' (AEP, 1989). The

policy seeks more involvement of Aboriginal people in the education system, not

565

necessarily by offering more independence, authority or power over educational

issues (such as education policy, curriculum, employment of teachers etc.) but

by being more 'involved' in decision making. The equitable outcome, such as

retention rates and access to schools, will be that which non Aboriginal people

achieve. Hence Aboriginal education will, at least as defined by outcome, be no

different from non Aboriginal education. And non-Aboriginal people will

continue to control and define such outcomes.

One view of this National Policy, which has been put to this Commission, is that

education, under the guise of achieving equality for Aboriginal people, ultimately

seeks assimilation. Hence Aboriginal people are being offered what appears an

equitable solution but ultimately not an equal one (Coombs, 1990). As Barlow

(1989: 13) points out 'Aboriginal and Islander people have made it very clear that

they do not necessarily seek the same outcomes from education as do, say, the

upper middle class white Anglo-Australians in Toorak or Potts Point - though

they may'.

Hence my Commission has difficulties in reconciling this National Educational

Policy with the aspirations of Aboriginal people and their expressed education

needs. Obviously improvement in the outcome of Aboriginal people in the

education system is urgently needed. Resources available to Aboriginal people

are also urgently needed to attain these outcomes. That the final criterion of this

outcome be what non-Aboriginal people are achieving is at least questionable and

assimilationist, although this report recognises that for some Aboriginal people

that will be what they want.

Finally there is the Equal Opportunity Commission Report, Second Review of

the Provision of Public Education in Western Australia (1990), following on its

first Report in 1987. It revealed that the education situation in Western Australia

requires urgent action. It highlighted:

a considerable level of frustration with 'empty promises' ... the lack of perceptible action ... no tangible results [see also:

566

McConnochie, 1982; Sherwood, 1982; Fitzgerald, 1984; WAAECG, 1987; Equal Opportunity Commission, 1990].

12.2 Issues from deaths in custody

Whether education is referred to in its more restricted meaning, as being related

to schooling, or in its larger meaning, of being related to learning as a positive

influence in a person's life, education is largely absent from the life stories of

those who died in custody. Rather than providing a means of being socialised

into either Aboriginal or non-Aboriginal society, education seems to have been

more of a 'de-socialising' experience (cf. Capp, 1988).

A number of those who died in custody spent their earlier lives in the care of

people other than their family, in institutions, hostels and missions, and generally

suffered the experience of being dislocated from their family and community at

an early age. For example Robert Anderson spent his early years in the

dormitory at Wiluna Mission, and was then removed from his family for some

years to board at Karalundi mission school: he left school at the age of fifteen.

Bobby Bates was taken from his mother at thirteen and put into Hillston Hostel.

Nita Blankett was placed by her mother at the age of five to live at Roelands

Mission. Albert Dougal was removed from his parents and taken to Beagle Bay

at the age of nine. Paul Farmer went to Tambellup Mission at the age of ten.

Mission education was one to two hours per day and the education department

was critical about him learning traditional ways. He was given an exception

when he failed to attend school. Christine Jones was taken from her parents at

the age of two and brought up at the Church of Christ Mission at Carnarvon: no

education was provided. At the age of eleven months Wongi was admitted into

the care of the department and later to the Church of Christ Mission at Norseman,

where he attended school. Benjamin Morrison was educated at New Norcia

Catholic Mission from the age of five until twelve. Steven Michael was

committed into the care of the Child Welfare Department at the age of one and

admitted to Marribank Mission. Kim Polak came from Mount Margaret Mission

and spent much of his early life in hostels.

567

Schooling does not appear to have been a significant, valuable or lengthy

experience. Stanley Brown was illiterate and worked at De Grey Station from

the age of nine until thirty two. Daryl Garlett was educated at the local State

school but left to work as a farm labourer. Bernard McGrath attended North

Kalgoorlie Primary School where he truanted, was suspended twice and seen by

school authorities to have 'behavioural problems'. Corporal punishment was

regularly administered but had no effect. Jimmy Njanji neither spoke nor

understood English. Robert Walker, had problems at school at the age of 14

because of his involvement in Aboriginal issues, such as the Tent Embassy (see

e.g. Langton, 1983, for pictorial comment on the Tent Embassy) and land rights.

Whatever schooling those who died in custody may have had, most of it was

associated with institutionalisation. Several were brought up in dormitories on

missions where there were great variations in the amount and quality of education

offered. For some, schooling was interrupted because of family movements,

parental separations or inability of parents to care for them. In a number of cases

the person was offending at an early age and was taken into institutional care.

Very few achieved high levels at school and even fewer would seem to have

found education as something which could help their lives. For most of those

who died in custody, if not all, education was not an experience which provided

them much confidence, hope or belief in themselves or a future with meaning.

12.3 Retention rates

Retention rates, that is the rates by which Aboriginal people participate in the

various educational processes, are but one way of examining how Aboriginal

people are being affected by the present education system. However one of the

difficulties in establishing clear retention rates for Aboriginal children in Western

Australian schools is that the figures upon which such estimates are based are not

reliable. For example, in 1986, there was a significant discrepancy in the

recorded numbers of Aboriginal students in Western Australian secondary

568

schools. Statistics given by the Schools and those with Abstudy differed by

11%. The difference between Schools and ABS statistics was 38% (Educational

Planning, 1990). However in that year the lowest rates of Aboriginal students

participating in the schooling processes were in the Northern Territory and

Western Australia, with Western Australia demonstrating the lowest rate of all

states in the 16-17 year age group.

Table 12: State and Territory Differences in Aboriginal Participation Rates in School and T AFE, 1986

NSW VIC QLD SA WA TAS NT ACT AUS

SCHOOL

5-9 Years 89.1 84.5 79.4 82.7 76.4 87.8 71.8 94.2 80.9

10-15 84.5 82.8 84.8 82.5 80.2 90.6 78.4 91.5 83.1

16-17 27.9 33.2 31.8 23.7 17.1 18.2 23 .2 35.4 26.3

TAFE

16-17 6.7 6.2 2.2 8.0 4.8 16.8 1.8 6.3 4.8

18-20 6.2 6.6 2.3 6.5 2.8 6.6 2.1 10.1 4.0

21-24 3.8 3.0 1.3 4.0 3.0 3.8 1.1 8.5 2.6

Australian Bureau of Statistics, 1986 Census of Population and Housing, Quoted in the Report of the Aboriginal Education Policy Task Force, 1988.

There also do not seem to be detailed figures which indicate how many

Aboriginal children are not at school or who miss early years or substantial

periods of schooling. It has been said that nationally one in eight Aboriginal

children aged 5 to 9 years do not go to school or pre-school (quoted in Walton,

1990:3). In the Northern Territory it has been estimated that in the homelands,

up to 80% of children are without access to schooling (ibid:4) and while there are

less outstations or homelands in Western Australia, it would be reasonable to

expect that there are a significant number of Aboriginal students of compulsory

age in Western Australia who do not have access to schooling. Educational work

569

being done by Dr Nugget Coombs and Helen McCann with the Pitjantjatjara

people indicates that in Central Australia:

there were at least 88 children aged between 3 & 16 years who had no access to school programmes in the place of preferred living by their families [Submission to RCIADIC from H.C. Coombs, 1990].

In Western Australia the general participation rate of Aboriginal students in

secondary education is lower than in primary schooling:

According to data from the 1986 census, the education participation of Aboriginal children in Western Australia aged 5-9 years is only 87 per cent, and the participation of Aboriginal children aged 10 to 15 years is only 81 per cent. This compares with education participation rates of and close to 100 per cent for non-Aboriginal children in these age groups [quoted in Ministry of Education response to RCIADIC questions, 1990].

What is clear also is that the retention rates of Aboriginal students in Western

Australia to Year 12 have been extremely low for many years, even when

compared with Aboriginal retention rates in other states. In 1979 not only was

the Western Australian percentage of those who had reached Grade 12 the lowest

of all states, 5.8% (only the Northern Territory being lower with 3.9%), but

most states with the exception of Victoria, showed increases over the following

five years, 1979-84. Queensland, South Australia and the Northern Territory

showed almost 100% increases over that five year period whereas the Western

Australian rate actually decreased from 5.8% to 5.4% (WAAECG, 1987).

State Ministry figures, pointing to the retention rates in Western Australia11

government schools, indicate a growth in retention rates from 2.8% in 1982 to

9.9% in 1989 (figures provided by the Ministry to the RCIADIC, 1990). Other

figures, a combination of both government and non-government schools, reveal

a growth from 9.9% in 1986 to 10.7% in 1989 with the addition of

non-Government schools apparently increasing the percentage of those reaching

Grade 12 (figures provided by the Ministry to the RCIADIC, 1990). Whichever

570

group of statistics one takes, the retention rate of Aboriginal students to Grade 12

in Western Australia, while gradually increasing over the past decade, is still

extremely low, particularly if one compares it with the non Aboriginal retention

rate in 1989 of 56.4% (figures provided by the Ministry to the RCIADIC, 1990).

It is also significant to note that in Queensland in 1989 45% of students on

Abstudy continued into Year 12, compared with a Queensland statewide figure of

64% (AITAP, 1990). In 1979 the retention rate of Aboriginal students in Grade

12 in Queensland had been 11.4% (W AAECG, 1987). Queensland, which had a

rate in 1979 approximately twice that of Western Australia, ten years later has a

rate approximately four times.

The retention rates of Nyoongah students from the south of Western Australia

showed that, for the Southern Region in 1989, the retention rates for Aboriginal

students was just over 10%, compared with non-Aboriginal students of 40-50%

(Katijin, 1989). In 1988 only 13 students throughout the southwest reached

Year 12, in some schools the retention rate was 0% (T AFE, Great Southern

Regional College, 1989). The difference between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal

retention rates was especially noticeable for the later school years. In the

southern area only four Aboriginal students had passed Year 12 in the past seven

years (Fighting for Rights, 1990: 19).

In 1990 a Report to the Australian Research Council examined the 'participation,

retention and achievement of Aboriginal students in secondary mathematics'.

(Malone et al, 1990). Of a group of 9000 examinees in 1988 who sat the Tertiary

Entrance Examination in mathematics in Western Australia only 19 were

Aboriginal students (ibid). The findings of this report were:

(a) high absentee rates among many Aboriginal students that severely hampers continuity of conceptual development in daily lessons. Extended family contacts provide social havens and sanction absence from school.

(b) Eurocentric (Western or European) school policies which ignore Aboriginal children's needs for bicultural education. For example, non-observance of National Aboriginal Week.

571

(c) classroom teaching that socially isolates and 'batch processes' Aboriginal students with little regard for their individual abilities, learning needs and future aspirations, and which fails to recognise that social influences have a major influence on students learning.

(d) unduly critical teacher attitudes that tend to blame the Aboriginal child for failing to respond to standard teaching approaches.

(e) a 'cultural-communications' barrier between the school and home that prevents a well informed, cooperative approach to resolving student behavioural problems.

(f) a poorly resourced unit curriculum, in Western Australia, especially for non-academic classes, that results in teachers using learning materials that are unsuitable for many Aboriginal children [Malone et al, 1990].

12.4 Aboriginal perspectives

In 1979 Stephen Albert, the first Chairman of the National Aboriginal Education

Committee, said that the role of Aboriginal people in education had changed

during the 1970s from consultation to involvement and was moving towards one

of responsibility (Hughes and Wilmott, 1982). The evidence which was put

before this Commission indicates that even the stage of consultation had not been

reached in many places.

Aboriginal people are, and have been for many years, unhappy about the

education system. They do not believe it meets their needs, they want to be

consulted about it and have some control over its delivery to their children. As

one Aboriginal person said: 'For many Aboriginal people, the education system

does not fit. It was designed for European people' (RCIADIC Submission, Kerr,

1990).

Resistance by Aboriginal people to non-Aboriginal education or schooling has

often been interpreted by non-Aboriginal people as a lack of interest by

Aboriginal people in their children's welfare, as being 'lazy' or 'uncaring'.

572

However Aboriginal people have been consistently clear as to what they want

and need from education (Beazley, 1984; WAAECG, 1987; Thies, 1987; Equal

Opportunity Commission, 1990). However, as one Government department

admitted, Aboriginal people have not had access to the power or control over the

education which has been affecting them:

although they believe in the value of Education, they don't know how to influence it, or where to go to find out about it [Submission to RCIADIC from Department of Education, Employment and Training, 1990].

The 1985 and 1987 Report: 'The Aboriginal Voice in Education' involved

consultation with Aboriginal people in Western Australia on a larger scale than

ever attempted before. This report is currently the most authoritative and accurate

report on Aboriginal Education in Western Australia. The report concluded:

The picture is not bright ... We believe that the word 'crisis' is not too strong to describe the present situation [W AAECG: 13].

The W AAECG study of 1987 found that:

Nearly all Aboriginal adults express[ed] a strong desire for their children to succeed in school. On the other hand, Aboriginal people are neither willing nor able to discard their culture and language. On the contrary, they desire a situation wherein their

Aboriginality is recognised, accepted and valued by mainstream society, its schools and other institutions [WAAECG: Appendix].

It would seem that despite the recommendations which have been made for

many years there has been a failure by Commonwealth and State

Governments and of Catholic Education to adequately respond to the

aspirations and needs of Aboriginal people.

Most Aboriginal people are clear what they want from the education system.

They are insistent that their children need to be taught the 'Aboriginal way', with

their communities having their own schools, their own teachers and own

573

curriculum. They see it as necessary for teaching their children the important

things about Aboriginal life. They also see the value of non-Aboriginal education

in helping to overcome the intimidation they experience in dealing with people

who speak English, in being able to understand western law and answer back to

police, in standing up for their rights (RCIADIC Meetings, Roebourne,

11 October; Yamatji Ngura, 30 November; Eastern Goldfields, 5 December

1989; Fremantle, 27 January; Beagle Bay, 14 March; Djarindjin, 15 March; One

Arm Point, 16 March 1990).

Aboriginal adults are often conscious of the difficulties associated with being able

to say and get what they want from schools. And Aboriginal students talk of the

importance of being supported in school by their parents (RCIADIC Transcript,

Geraldton, April 1990:469). _

In 1987 the WAAECG (1987:14) saw itself as 'providing the leading advisory

role in implementing the package of policies recommended'. Today its role

needs to be strengthened and expanded, so that Aboriginal people through

regional committees can take more than an advisory role in setting the directions

of Aboriginal education in this State. The W AAECG needs to be able to

negotiate with educational authorities the priorities and principles which

Aboriginal people wish to set for the future.

12.5 Non-Aboriginal perspectives

In the past non-Aboriginal people have not acknowledged that they have much to

learn from Aboriginal people. Nor have they seen that where there are problems

with Aboriginal children in schools that it is the non-Aboriginal education system

which needs examination. Christie (1988) observes:

The major stumbling block for meaningful development has been the reluctance of white educators to critically examine the invasive .assumptions of formal education, and their refusal to acknowledge that they can learn anything important from

Aboriginal people, their refusal to pay more than lip service to the

574

aim of learning to speak and understand Aboriginal languages, and their assumption that learning about aspects of Aboriginal culture, tradition, nature, commitment, power etc. is just a fringe interest to be pursued in one's spare time. Quite simply, most white educators cannot commit themselves to the idea that they have anything really meaningful to learn from Aboriginal people.

Throughout the investigation and research of the RCIADIC non-Aboriginal

people stated that the education which is presently being offered to Aboriginal

people needs to be changed and improved. They spoke of the vast problems in

the present education system; of it 'failing' them, of being 'wrong', unable to

cope with their needs, being 'irrelevant', like a 'conveyo r belt' which provides a

final unhealthy and hopeless situation (RCIADIC Meetings, Port Hedland ,

10 October; Laverton, 4 December; Eastern Goldfields, 7 December; Leonora,

8 December; Kalgoorlie, 8 December 1989).

Many non-Aboriginal people, parents, teachers and principals have commented

about issues which relate to the failure of education to assist Aboriginal children:

the poor health, hygiene, nutrition and hearing difficulties of some children, lack

of resources for study at home, a lack of support or interest in the school by

parents, and a lack of contact between the school and parents, mixed messages

from home and at school. These factors are compounded by an often irregular

attendence at school or a mobility between schools by students. Alcohol use in

the home also affects children's ability to learn (Submissions to RCIADIC from

East Carnvaron Primary School, Carnarvon Education Support Centre,

Rangeway Primary School, O'Connell, Stella Maris College, 1990; RCIADIC

Transcript, Geraldton, April 1990:466).

A number of non-Aboriginal people commented about the inabili ty, inadequacy

and even an unwillingness by themselves and their schools to understand or deal

with present-day Aboriginal culture. In particular there was a recognition that

schools and teachers are ill-equipped in being able to communicate with

Aboriginal parents and in dealing with the experience of racism in a school.

Cases were mentioned of schools where 'we don't see too many of the

575

Aboriginal parents' but nothing was organised to try and change the situation

(RCIADIC Transcript, Geraldton, April1990:474).

It was also alleged in a submission to my Commission that 'Teachers frequently

have lower levels of expectation of Aboriginal students and students perform

accordingly' (Submission to RCIADIC from East Carnarvon Primary School,

1990). Aboriginal students often find themselves battling from an early age with

self esteem as they suffer the racism of fellow students or teachers. Not only can

anti-social behaviour develop when children have experienced being a 'failure' at

school, but a person who is unsuccessful at school can take from school a sense

of failure for life (RCIADIC Submissions from East Carnarvon Primary School,

Carnarvon Education Support Centre, Collins, Skillshare, Rangeway Primary

School, O'Connell, Kalgoorlie District Education Office, Pires, Department of

Education, Employment and Training, 1990). Group and family support is

particularly important at an early age if children are not to lose interest, and be

able to cope with living in another culture with its many accompanying problems

(RCIADIC Submission from Stella Maris College, 1990; RCIADIC Transcript

Geraldton, 1990:401).

The difficulties which underly the serious and significant differences between the

Aboriginal view of education and how the non-Aboriginal education system

largely operates, has been summarised as thus:

Timetabling and curriculum planning have established in white education a tradition that learning should be drawn out, homogenized, consistent, and long term with all the rhythms and responsiveness ironed out. We have almost got our educational planning to the stage where we can take a five year old and tell what s/he will be studying and when, every school term for the next fifteen years. To Aboriginal people, that is like

imprisonment [Christie, 1988:13].

However non-Aboriginals also often tend to perceive that many Aboriginal

people are both interested and concerned about education. This is revealed in the

following comment:

576

When the hostel was running it was because the parents wanted their children educated. They lost interest in education when they saw it as detrimental to their well being and their life style. It was the desire of the Parents that their children follow in their

footsteps [RCIADIC research notes, 1990].

However the gulf between the perceptions and expectations of education between

Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people remains significant. It is also quite

obvious that in many ways the non-Aboriginal community is largely confused

and unsure as to what to do to enable education to become a more positive and

more helpful experience for Aboriginal children.

12.6 Bicultural education

There have been a number of suggestions over recent years to promote the ways

in which Aboriginal people can maintain their own culture and ways of learning

as well as also learning the skills of the western culture. It has been described

variously as two-way learning, bilingual or bicultural education. Aboriginal

people want their children to develop the skills which numeracy and literacy

offer, and which enable a community to also have control over the direction of

the lives of its members. They also want their children taught Aboriginal values,

history and culture of their people (Harris, 1989; WAAECG, 1987).

In the opinion of the Western Australian State School Teachers Union:

Aboriginal parents want the education system to develop their children to their full potential in all areas, as well as giving them a sound basic groundwork to be successful in the increasingly technological world of today while maintaining their own

Aboriginality [State School Teacher's Union Submission].

Consultation with Aboriginal people in the Kimberley about this revealed they:

want to see a system which will achieve and maintain a 'way through' for young people ... a system of education which will enable each person to be educated to as high a level as she or he

577

desires and is capable of, in order to be a productive person in the community. They want to develop a system of education which caters for diversity with diversity [Thies, 1987:85].

In 1987 the W AAECG recommended: 'the first step towards achieving a

fundamental re-orientation of schools would be the adoption of a Bicultural

Education Policy'. This policy:

means that teachers of Aboriginal students will adopt appropriate curriculum and teaching methods. It suggests changes to programmes in all schools, whether they have Aboriginal students or not. Schools will consult their local Aboriginal communities and come to regard them as important primary resources. It implies changes of attitudes and values by teachers and education authorities ... [W AAECG Appendix: 2].

Bicultural, bi1iilgual, and two way learning are all differerent ways of describing

the right of Aboriginal education to self-determination in regard to education. In

some places it will take the form of separate 'domains' for Aboriginal and non­

-Aboriginal areas of learning. In other places there will be less clear distinctions.

The important element is that Aboriginal people have the right to choose the form

of education they wish, and to also have the various options of education

available to them.

What has been made clear is a determination by Aboriginal people 'not to 'lose'

the next generation of children as many of the last were 'lost' ... the dangers for

the young today of 'falling down in between' the two cultures, ill-equipped to

cope in either' (Thies, 1987: 91). Bicultural education is a means of ensuring

that western education is not provided at the expense of one's culture and identity

but as a support.

12.7 Aboriginal educators

The role of Aboriginal people in education is critical. The increased use of

Aboriginal Teacher Aides, Aboriginal Education Workers (AEWs), Aboriginal

Teacher or Teaching Assistants, Aboriginal Education Community Development

578

Officers (AECDOs) and Aboriginal Home-School Liason Officers, in the past

decade has made an important contribution towards Aboriginal involvement in

education.

AEWs can be crucial links of communication between teachers, the principal, the

child and the family. Truancy and discipline problems can be overcome

(RCIADIC Transcript, Esperance, April 1990:16). It was only in 1985 that

AEWs were first employed in Senior High Schools and by 1988 there was a total

of 135 AEWs employed in government schools. In 1989 they were upgraded to

AECDOs which then provided a career structure for AEWs (Ministry of

Education, 1990).

However, while important, the focus on the employment of AEWs and AECDOs

can blur the need for more Aboriginal people to take greater areas of

responsibility in schools, to be involved in guiding education policy and for

having more Aboriginal teachers. As it was expressed at one Conference:

We've tended to employ aides and not really gone beyond that [RCIADIC Transcript, Kalgoorlie, 1990:213].

In my Commission's view, there is an urgent need to go beyond the present

situation where too many Aboriginal people are employed in schools as

gardeners, cleaners or assistants of various sorts. Their skills and contributions

to that of education are often undervalued and need to be recognised and

developed. It is important that more Aboriginal adult educators, counsellors and

liaison persons in schools become accountable to the local Aboriginal community

who, through the establishment of local committees, have more authority and are

more involved in local policy making for Aboriginal students (see also AIU

'Fighting for Rights', 1990:20-21).

579

The policy within the State Ministry is to increase the numbers of:

educational administrators, teachers, curriculum advisers, teacher assistants, home-school liason officers and other education workers ... [Ministry of Education, 1990].

but the problem is not simply one of gaining more people, but in keeping people

within the education systems. In 1979 there were 14 qualified Aboriginal

teachers in Western Australia. A decade later there were approximately 95, with

20 teachers graduating between 1987 and 1989. Apart from the problem of the

numbers falling far short of a targetted 1,000 qualified teachers nationally by

1990 (143 teachers for Western Australia) (cf. Wilmot) the evidence is also that

many qualified Aboriginal teachers are not choosing teaching as a career. For

example, in 1990 there appear to be only 53 qualified Aboriginal teachers

working within the various education systems in the State (Educational Planning,

1990).

It has been agreed for many years that Aboriginal people prefer to be trained on site rather than have to live elsewhere for a lengthy period of study. In 1975 it

was recommended that courses for teacher aides be conducted with a combined

on-site training with short residential courses at Pundulmurra (Report on

Education in the Kimberleys, 1975). In 1984 the Beazley Report recommended

more flexible forms of training for Aboriginal teachers with 'some training

opportunities being available in country centres' (1984:328). In 1988 the

Ministry initiated a programme whereby AEWs could undertake teacher training

by studying part-time. This would take 5112 years to complete but it would be as

part of their work, which would be reduced to half-time. This programme,

similar to the Remote Area Teacher Education (RATE) Programme in the

Northern Territory, is only offered to 20 people every year.

It has been suggested for a number of years that school boards be instituted in all schools with large numbers of Aboriginal students. My Commission was

advised that State Ministry policy is:

580

to expand the support network and establishment of school-based decision-making groups in all schools and, wherever possible, to ensure that Aboriginal parents are represented on these bodies at a level that is commensurate with Aboriginal enrolments in each school [Ministry ofEducation, 1990:9].

However a large number of school boards or committees which do exist today

are only used when principals decide when consultation is to be used. Rarely are

they involved in the more serious levels of policy making, teacher appointment or

curriculum development. Too often they respond only to the decisions which

principals have already made. An exception would seem to be Aboriginal

Independent Schools who:

seek to maintain their Aboriginal ownership, while increasing Aboriginal decision-making capabilities with respect to education policy [Ministry ofEducation, 1990:9].

As one Aboriginal person said of being on an education advisory committee:

I get the feeling that really ... when you are put in those advisory roles, consultant roles, that you are really just token blacks ... And that has been my feeling for a number of years [RCIADIC Transcript, Broome, 1990:542].

From research findings put before me, it seems that it is not simply a matter of

involving more Aboriginal people in schools. Aboriginal people must have some

control and influence over the curriculum and the whole philosophy within a

school rather than being accountable to a Department in Perth or Canberra it

would be preferable for particular Aboriginal people to be part of a local

committee which sets policies for Aboriginal education in that particular area.

12.8 Educational discipline

The evidence from our conferences, and the many submissions given to this

Commission, lead me to the conclusion that for many Aboriginal students

schools are 'stressful institutions'. This can especially be so where a student has

581

non-Aboriginal people as teachers and principals, a non-Aboriginal curriculum

and discipline, when one changes school and finds different programmes and no

Aboriginal friends, and in general finds no Aboriginal role models to emulate

(Capp, 1988). The reinforcing of non-Aboriginal values through school

discipline can increase tension within the child. Breaking school rules, and

subsequently being sent home, has become for many children the only ways in

which some can break out of the conflict of pressures they experience between

school and home (AIU, Fighting for Rights, 1990:19).

Many reasons were offered to explain why a child might truant from school: not

being able to hear or understand what a teacher was saying, not understanding

the subject, being homesick, ill or not being able to keep up with other children

(RCIADIC, Transcripts, Esperance, April1990:15). It was also put to me that:

After a while they just give up and then the absenteeism starts and from that it is just a downhill run [RCIADIC Transcripts, Esperance, April 1990: 80-81 ].

Truancy was also mentioned by Aboriginal people as the result where

suspension and expulsion practices appeared to be aimed at Aboriginal students,

particularly low achievers (AIU, Fighting For Rights, 1990: 19).

The health of Aboriginal children at school affects more than their ability to learn.

It may influence the way they are treated by people unaware or ignorant of the

causes of their behaviour. Take the high number of Aboriginal children with

hearing difficulties such as COM (Chronic Otitis Media), a middle ear infection.

A submission in the Northern Territory Commission has said:

There are approximately 7500 Aboriginal school children enrolled at about 80 Aboriginal schools in the Northern Territory and in every classroom, in each school, it is estimated that 25% to 50% of children have a hearing loss, caused by COM (Chronic Otitis Media) in one or both ears. This means that up to half the children in any classroom cannot hear their teacher properly

[Submission to RCIADIC from Quinn, 1990].

582

Three elements associated with COM are: pain, a difficulty in processing

information and hence in being able to become part of a class or learning

environment. A further complication is that COM is intermittent and hence a

child may have it, lose it and gain it at a later stage. Hence for teachers there is

both their ability to perceive COM and accurately interpret behaviour associated

with it. Preliminary research by staff of the Broome Catholic Education Office

(CEO) suggests that the percentage of Aboriginal children with COM in the

Kimberley region is very similar to that in the Northern Territory.

Quinn's (1990) submission goes on to suggest:

A mild or moderate hearing loss in early childhood interferes with the language acquisition process and to the process of personality formation. Language deficits and personality problems possibly might project from the pre-school years into school settings, accounting in part for academic problems, slow learner labels, social and academic ostracism, juvenile delinquency, school drop out, street gang involvement, drug abuse and eventually adult criminal behaviour.

It is important that teachers learn to recognise health problems, such as COM,

and behaviour associated with it. Their own role in assisting children to cope

with such difficulties is most important. One submission to this Commission

recounted the story where a young Aboriginal man was being interviewed by the

police over a serious offence. The man was extremely deaf and, despite being

innocent of the charge, gained the impression from the police that he was to be

charged. He ran away, was eventually found after an extensive search in another

community some hundred kilometres away and only after much anxiety

experienced by himself and his community (it was feared he might harm himself

as he had shown a tendency to harm himself when very upset). It was both the

person's inability to hear and the police inability to communicate which led to a

potentially very dangerous situation (Submission to RCIADIC, Marchant, 1990).

It was also pointed out how inappropriate discipline can set children along the

track which leads to imprisonment: 'Kids are turned off school for many reasons

583

but one being the discipline procedure. 'Shame', humiliation and degradation by

the present system just leads to turning off from school. It appears that the

procedures currently in place are setting the kids up for the penal system'

(Submission: Skillshare, 1990). (See also submissions: East Carnarvon Primary

School.)

Parents can be criticised and blamed if their children do not attend school and

school authorities often bring in police where children are iruanting. Aboriginal

police aides are sometimes given this invidious task (RCIADIC Transcripts,

Roebourne, February 1990:175; Geraldton, 1990:268; Carnarvon, 1990:14).

There have been occasions when police have come into a school, their behaviour

being both insensitive and inappropriate. One case was mentioned of the police

who arrested a school employee during 'smoko' time for an offence which had

been committed the previous year. The arrest was in view of the students and

staff (Submission, CEO, Geraldton, 1990).

In terms of expulsion from Western Australian schools between 1985 and 1989,

29 out of 133 were Aboriginal students; from 1987 onwards 25 out of 67 were

Aboriginal students, an increase over five years of 15% (Equal Opportunity

Commission Report, 1990:vii). The fact that the number of Aboriginal

expulsions has increased 15% between 1985 and 1989 is of concern. Of greater

concern is the perception of the report of the Equal Opportunity Commission that

'counselling and punishment procedures were being 'short-circuited' (Equal

Opportunity Commission, 1990:vii). It would seem that those involved in a

person's behaviour in school are not communicating with parents as soon as it is

desirable or necessary.

Aboriginal parents spoke of their own difficulties with discipline and punishment

as a result of their own history:

And I know for a fact too that a lot of our ex-mission children refuse to smack our own kids for what happened to us as we

584

were little ... I can't bring myself to flog them [my own children] like I was belted [RCIADIC Transcript, Esperance, 1990:43]. And ... Nor is it easy to overcome what parents themselves experienced as education [RCIADIC Transcripts, Esperance,

1990:82].

Often schools communicate their difficulties with a particular child by sending

parents a letter, ignorant that there are parents who have difficulty with reading or

understanding what the teacher or school is saying (O'Brien, 1989). People

associated with schools acknowledged the difficulties of imposing discipline on

Aboriginal students. They referred to the devastating effects which discipline

often has on Aboriginal children because it is in conflict with the different 'child

rearing practices' between Aboriginal and non Aboriginal people (submission to

RCIADIC from Rangeway Primary School, 1990). Stories have been given to

this Commission of the use of isolation, suspension, and food deprivation as

ways in which Aboriginal students are disciplined and punished. Not only did a

number of people see that there were:

different child upbringing practices' at work but that certain school methods of punishment or discipline probably did more harm than good [Submissions to RCIADIC from Skillshare, Ryan, Willaway, 1990].

One teacher explained how decisions about discipline were made:

We have to impose a discipline system that is required by the majority of the students - or required by the majority of the parents [RCIADIC Transcript, Kalgoorlie, 1990:223]. ,

The Ministry has introduced a programme for introduction into schools in 1989,

Managing Student Behaviour:

to ensure that proper standards of discipline are maintained ... The programme was developed in response to schools' perceived needs for more effective management of some disruptive students. Allied to this were issues relating to teachers' working conditions, accountability of schools and the phasing out of corporal punishment ... The programme encourages students to

take responsibility for their own behaviour and is backed up by the use of 'time out' rooms [Ministry, 1990].

585

The use of a 'time-out' room was not perceived by some parents as helpful:

the time out room is a really small room, it is like a little cell and it's freezing cold there and the kids sit in it all day [RCIADIC Transcript, Esperance, April 1990: 19].

This programme, carried out by at least one school apparently isolates 'problem'

children in a place called 'the cottage' for some days. One parent responded to

such discipline by saying: 'I do not want my children sent to "the cottage" as

disciplinary action. "The cottage" is similar to a gaol. What does this

claustrophobic atmosphere do to rectify behaviour other than instill fear of being

enclosed. Surely an alternative to "the cottage" could be sought' (Herb Wimbus

to the Principal, 10 April1990). A further submission to my Commission also

referred to 'the cottage' as a reminder of 'the "sweat boxes" used in the Japanese

prisoner of war camps' (Submission to RCIADIC from Skillshare, 1990). My

understanding is that the 'cottage' has closed down since this submission was

provided to this Commission.

While there has been some improvement in facilities for children with learning

and/or emotional difficulties there remains the need for parents to be counselled

before problems become acute. For many years Aboriginal children were put

into special classes and separated from non-Aboriginal children. When students

are put into special classes today Aboriginal people can still remember the stigma

of such a move (O'Brien, 1989). Too often teachers can explain away a child's

behaviour as simply a consequence of one's family or community living.

Teachers need professional help in diagnosing children's difficulties at an early

age, being able to discuss them with the parents and being able to seek assistance

for the children concerned. Without sensitivity and understanding in this area

school inevitably can become a form of alienation or 'prison' for both Aboriginal

parents and children. The use of discipline and related forms of punishment are

valuable only if children experience them as helpful. And in these areas schools

586

need to be communicating better and receiving much greater input from

Aboriginal parents.

12.9 Curriculum content and teacher training

In the course of this Commission it became obvious that there is a widespread

lack of information about the history and culture of Aboriginal people in this

State. Not only were people largely uninformed about Aboriginal life in the area

where they were living, but the attitudes and impressions they had were often

poorly informed. For example in one area people did not seem to know much

about its early history and that local Aboriginal people had been massacred:

Knowledge of this massacre known as the Flying foam massacre [sic], is limited to a very few people. It is definitely a chapter of history that is deleted from several local history books [Submission to RCIADIC, Billing, 1990].

Rarely, is history presented from an Aboriginal perspective so that

non-Aboriginal people can see a valid and alternative way to see history. As one

Aboriginal description of history explains:

Basically our view of history is not a movement away from the present towards a distant future. History stays in the place where it has been made. It says and becomes the foundation of the present and the future [Marika-Mununggiritji et al , 1990].

'Much of the information which exists about Aboriginals in Australian schools is

often stereotyped, inadequate, anachronistic and even racist' (Aboriginal

Education, 1985:172). In addition Aboriginal children often stayed away from

school when the teacher said they were going to do Aboriginal studies: 'They

were worried about being stigmatised as dirty or lazy or of low intellect'

(O'Brien, 1989). This deficiency in education is directly linked to what has been

lacking in school curricula (O'Brien, 1989). Despite recommendations in favour

of Aboriginal studies programmes education authorities have still to implement

Aboriginal studies courses for all students in Western Australian schools -

587

'developments in this area are generally at an early stage' (Ministry of Education,

1990). The Beazley Report believed:

that Aboriginal Studies should form a stronger and more integrated component in the curriculum of all schools [and recommended the development of] Aboriginal studies materials for the pre-primary-to-Year 12 curriculum [1984:329].

The House of Representatives Report recommended:

State and Territory departments of education, in conjunction with their Aboriginal Education Consultative Groups, develop guidelines on the teaching of Aboriginal studies in their schools. These guidelines should include a contemporary perspective of

Aboriginal society [1985 :175] .

There is currently a Ministry of Education proposal to introduce Aboriginal

Studies Units into all schools within the coming triennium. The role of

principals and teachers in introducing such a curriculum into a school is most

important, especially in the attitudes they display towards what will be offered.

'The success of Aboriginal studies depends largely on the attitude of the school

principal and the staff (Aboriginal Education, 1985: 174).

In a survey of teachers in Western Australia in 1989 the vast majority of teachers

(90%) supported the introduction of Aboriginal Education units; 93% said that

they should be available for all students and 92% said they should be available

for all schools. However only just over half, 59%, said that such studies should

be compulsory (Gray and Pratt, 1989).

There have been a number of occasions when Aboriginal people expressed

dissatisfaction with teachers. Probably the most serious was a feeling that

non-Aboriginal teachers do not seriously 'push' Aboriginal students as hard as

non-Aborigines. There is evidence that 'the standard of performance of

Aboriginal and Islander children in schools will depend largely on the attitudes

and expectations of teachers' (Coutts, 1988). Students are easily identified as

588

low achievers with teachers finding it difficult to understand their behaviour and

too readily judge what they perceive from their own ethnocentric base.

Reports into Aboriginal education have been clear for some years about the

importance of teacher training including training in Aboriginal culture and history

and orientation programmes for new teachers of Aboriginal students. The

Beazley Report of 1984 recommended: 'that all teacher education pre-service

courses include components of Aboriginal education and Aboriginal studies'

(1984:330). This was followed by the House of Representatives Report in 1985

which said:

all teachers should be adequately prepared by pre-service training to appreciate the special needs of Aboriginal students. This should include general background in Aboriginal culture, the history of Aboriginal people and their place in modem Australian society. This presentation should aim to ensure that future teachers are trained to function sensitively and knowledgeably in cross-cultural situations [ 1985:194].

The W AAECG Report (1987) also recommended that it be:

a high priority that all student teachers be required to complete a full semester Aboriginal studies/Aboriginal education unit. This unit should be separate and distinct from multicultural studies or any other entity or discipline. In order to inform and sensitise trainee teachers about Aboriginal history, culture and contemporary issues, the emphasis of the unit should be

Aboriginal studies [p.19, Appendix].

What is of concern is the lack of support for these recommendations. In the

teacher survey referred to earlier, conducted among teachers in some Western

Australian schools in 1989,93% believed that while non-Aboriginal students do

not know enough about traditional and contemporary Aboriginal life, less than

half 47% said that it should be compulsory for teachers 'to attend and pass an

Aboriginal Education Unit as part of their teacher training course' (Gray and

Pratt, 1989).

589

What is also of concern is the high turnover of teachers of Aboriginal students,

especially those in remote areas. For example in the Kimberley in 1990 there

was a turnover of teachers in the Catholic Education system of about one in three

(Principal, personal communication); in Broome there was a turnover of teachers

at the District High School for the years 1985-1989 of between 21-34% each

year (The Broome Study, 1989:19).

The initiative of the Catholic Education System to offer annual in service training

of new teachers to Aboriginal communities and their exploring of incentives for

appropriate teachers to continue teaching after some years is to be encouraged.

However there are other teachers who have been teaching Aboriginal children for

too long and in the minds of some Aboriginal people: 'senior staff were left too

long in the one school. If their attitude happened to be poor, then Aboriginal

students were particularly disadvantaged' (AIU, Fighting for Rights, 1990:19).

Teachers must become accountable to local Aboriginal parents. A trial period for

teachers in remote areas would be of benefit to both teacher and the community.

A contract for a teaching period would also give the local community of parents a

greater sense of responsibility for their children's education (Capp, 1988).

12.10 Language

For many years Aboriginal people were prohibited from speaking their own

languages; they were forced to speak English while in school and sometimes

punished if they spoke their own language (O'Brien, 1989). This can continue

today where Aboriginal people are told to speak only 'good english' and where

the language they do speak, especially Kriol, is considered as an inferior

language (Hudson, 1984).

Kriol, the language many Aboriginal children are born into and which has

become the language of a number of Aboriginal communities in the north of

Western Australia, is a dialect of the creole spoken in the Northern Territory and

590

parts of Queensland. The language is now written and there is some support for

recognising it as a valid Aboriginal language (Hudson, 1984).

In the Northern Territory it has been found that where children have learned in a

bi-lingual environment they have achieved more educationally than children from

the same community whose only learning experience has been in English

(Aboriginal Education, 1985:109; Beazley Report, 1984:326). Apart from

helping to provide a good cognitive base for learning a second language learning

to read and write in the language one is born with provides much for a person's

confidence and self esteem (Hudson, 1984).

As noted earlier, my Commission has been informed by the Beazley Commission

which in 1984 recommended:

the encouragement of bilingual education, by offering Aboriginal languages in schools, by using Aboriginal languages as a teaching medium in conjunction with English and by teaching English as a second language to students whose first language is

Aboriginal or a Kriol [1984:328].

The W AAECG recommended the setting up of Aboriginal Language Resource

Centres in 1987 (WAAECG, 1987:8). However it was only in 1989 that

Western Australian State Education policy acknowledged that English was a

second language for a number of Aboriginal students (Whisson, 1990).

The Ministry of Education began a project, in cooperation with the Catholic

Education Office, to teach Aboriginal languages in primary schools which have a

high proportion of Aboriginal students. This programme is a small but

significant step towards the recognition of Aboriginal culture and identity in the

schooling process. However there are many advantages in making Aboriginal

languages available to all Western Australian students. Not only does it support

the cultural identity and integrity of Aboriginal students but it also enables

non-Aboriginal people to perceive the world in a quite different but enriching

cultural way (cf.Watson & Chambers, 1989).

591

12.11 Independent schools

It is significant that of all the Aboriginal Independent schools which exist in Australia the majority are in Western Australia, with the largest concentration

within the Fitzroy Crossing area. In 1990 there are nine independent schools at

Strelley; Noonkanbah; Millajidee; Warrimabah; Ngoongah Aboriginal

Community School; Christian Aboriginal Parent-Directed School Coolgardie

(CAPS); Yiyili Community School; Wangkatjungka Community School.

Pungurr, in the Pilbara Region was established in 1988. These schools have

arisen out of an Aboriginal desire to have a more community controlled school.

As schools they are distinct in that they attempt to have more Aboriginal control

and curriculum, qualities which have been lacking in Aboriginal education in

Western Australia. When examining the independent schools in Western

Australia the Beazley Report spoke of:

obvious benefits, which included higher student attendance rates, improved self-esteem and greater relevance. There was evidence of a greater number of Aboriginal groups and communities seeking to have their own schools. The factors underlying this trend are varied, but include disenchantment with European forms of education, fear of cultural destruction, irrelevance and family disintegration. These problems often manifest themselves in poor attendance of Aboriginal children, with attendance rates declining markedly in recent years [1984:327].

The right of such schools to exist and be supported has been clearly established

in Australia. Parents with religious convictions have had the right to set up their

own schools (Aboriginal Education, 1985:137). The Government, through the

Department of Aboriginal Affairs, has supported such initiatives for Aboriginal

independent schools by claiming 'that Aboriginals have the same right as other

citizens to establish their own independent schools and to create and adopt

educational programmes so that they accord with their cultural values and chosen

lifestyles' (Quoted in Aboriginal Education, 1985: 139).

592

That Aboriginal parents and communities might seek to establish their own

independent schools is an initiative to be encouraged. That Aboriginal people

seek and are given greater responsibility for the educational needs of their

children is consistent with the major thrust of my Commission's report. It is also

consistent with the recommendations of the House of Representatives Report in

1985 which said: 'as expressions of Aboriginal self-determination and

Aboriginal community control, Aboriginal independent schools should be

encouraged' (Aboriginal Education, 1985:143).

One of the difficulties associated with establishing such schools is often one of

finance. Independent Aboriginal schools do not have the economic base or

political power to support their own schools, as do other independent schools.

They are far more dependent upon government finance and resources and much

more vulnerable to the forces of non-Aboriginal people. The difficulties which

the Aboriginal people on the Carnarvon Reserve encountered in 1977 in trying to

address the educational needs of their children has been documented elsewhere

(e.g. Saggers and Gray, 1988). In attempting to resolve a number of important

issues, such as truancy, the relationship between education and their culture and

the purpose of education, the community discovered a multitude of forces which

operated overtly and covertly to prevent establishing their own independent

school (ibid).

It is important that funding and expertise be made available to support and

develop independent schools. Communities seeking to explore new possibilities

need to be supported and encouraged but also offered the range of options which

are available. With the increase of movement of Aboriginal communities to

outstations it is becoming even more critical that Aboriginal people be able to

choose the education they want for their children and for themselves. As the

Beazley Report was 'encouraged' to see the gradual development of 'outstation

schools' it noted that 'it wishes to encourage this trend, for it is based on the

strength of the group in Aboriginal life' (1984:327).

593

Independent schools are important resources for Aboriginal communities. They

enable Aboriginal people to experience more fully self-determination and

responsibility for their education needs (Beazley Report, 1984:327). In

presenting a report on their Community school to the AlA TSIS Conference in

July 1990 the Yirrkala Community School Action Group said:

We are now able to make all decisions, plan, evaluate, raise important issues and make recommendations for our school - the way we want it to be [Marika-Mununggiritj et al, 1990].

With control over their own schools Aboriginal people can set the direction they

wish to take in regard to their own learning and training. They are also important

resources for the non-Aboriginal community as they offer an alternative to the

meaning of learning and being educated in Australia.

12.12 Funding

Institutions or colleges which predominantly teach Aboriginal children or adults

complained of the problems they faced with funding. The Early Intervention

Education Programme (Roeboume), the Roeboume Education Centre, Nulungu

College (Broome), Pundulmurra (South Hedland) have all experienced financial

difficulties in recent years. For example, Pundulmurra has 82% of the 2.5% of

Aboriginal people in T AFE yet it receives a budget of less than $1 million

compared with $9.5 million for Hedland College and Karratha College. It trains

300-350 Aboriginals students from various areas in the north of the State in a

year compared with the handful at either of those colleges (RCIADIC Transcript,

Roebourne, February 1990:670). As a college, Pundulmurra is geared towards

the needs of Aboriginal students and has been successful despite its funding

limitations (RCIADIC Transcripts, Geraldton, April 1990:395).

While the proposed changes to the AEP funding will provide more security from

Federal funding in future years, as provided on a triennium basis, it is

particularly important that institutions providing appropriate educational care for

594

Aboriginal students are supported. Hence there is a need to establish Aboriginal

Boards or Committees who can oversee and monitor the standards of education

being offered.

A number of informants spoke to my Commission about difficulties experienced

with Abstudy, in particular the time it took for people to be approved or paid.

They spoke about 'children refusing to attend school because they had no

uniform or books' (submission from Department for Community Services,

1990). Stories were told of DEET approving children to go to school but not

paying the school for more than six months; of parents being paid money which

was supposed to go to a boarding school and then the school being billed for

outstanding costs; of children being approved to go to a school by one local

DEET office and another DEET office not paying for their board (submission

from Nulungu College, 1990). Not only were people forced to wait extensive

periods of time for payment but, without an avenue for appeal within the

Department, they were dependent upon bureaucratic decisions.

Research has also shown that Abstudy provided less than unemployment money

and, as a result, was not an incentive for men and others who are supporting a

family:

After their Abstudy and whatever other subsidies are given by the Commonwealth government after the living allowance - the living component is taken out of that allowance there's only $15 a fortnight left for these kids to spend. If they stayed in Gcraldton they would be far better off, they'd have a lot more money ... the majority would be dropping in the region of probably $30 a week

[RCIADIC Transcript, Geraldton, 1990:397].

The Commonwealth Government has established the Aboriginal Student Support

and Parent Awareness Programme (ASSPA), to replace the parental meetings

and school student excursion elements of Abstudy from the beginning of 1990.

The purpose of this programme is to increase student participation by developing

parent involvement and decision making. Funds which were linked previously

to Abstudy are now transferred to ASSPA with the purpose of providing

595

'financial assistance for a variety of activities which will enhance educational

opportunities for, and increase participation and attendance of, Aboriginal and

Torres Strait Islander school students' (Student Support and Parent Awareness

(SSPA) Programme, 1990:5). This development appears to have been met with

parent support and involvement. It is a significant, but small, development in

bringing parents into planning and decision making within a school. However it

is important that consultation with Aboriginal parents about education needs and

priorities goes beyond the area of government school grants to that of school

policy itself. The programme also says that 'travel costs for committee members

to attend ASSPA meetings cannot be paid out of SSAP funds' (ibid:6). It is

most important that committee members receive both financial and personal

support to be able to carry out their functions on a regular basis and that

decisions made through SSPA be considered as an essential part of broader

educational policy in a school.

12.13 Tertiary education

Some Aboriginal students find it difficult moving from school to the work place.

Factors such as a shortage of jobs, employer expectations, fellow workers'

attitudes, a lack of academic and skill support for those doing apprenticeships are

often present in the work field. There are other pressures such as peer group

pressures, lack of family support, family obligations and ceremonies. These

factors together place enormous stresses upon young Aboriginal people seeking

employment after leaving school (Nulungu 1982, Submission: Department of

Employment and Training, 1990).

In the view of my Commission, there is a need for courses to be provided which

meet the expressed needs of Aboriginal people:

If you go there with a course that they've asked for and you do it carefully and in a professional way with tremendous care and you put people in there with hearts who care about the people, who make an effort, a few will drift away, then they'll drift back again [RCIADIC Transcript, Kalgoorlie, 1990:208].

596

The Queensland Aboriginal and Islander Tertiary Aspirations Programme

(AIT AP) which aims to 'identify and assist Aboriginal and Islander students who

have the potential to achieve the standard to pursue tertiary education, particularly

in universities' (AITAP, 1990:4). Of the 17 who graduated from Year 12 in

1989, 14 went on to further tertiary studies.

There are colleges and institutions where Aboriginal students do better than

others. While T AFE is set up for mature age students they, and other tertiary

colleges, often attract younger people who have left school and who are attracted

by the less restrictive environment, being with their own people and being in a

course specifically designed for Aboriginal people. These are places where there

are other Aboriginal students, Aboriginal tutors and lecturers and where the

teaching is adapted to meet the needs of Aboriginal students (submission from

Kalgoorlie College, 1990).

Access courses (e.g. TAFE's Aboriginal Access Programme), enclaves and

bridging courses are proving valuable for Aboriginal students who wish to

develop their skills or who wish to go further in education or employment

(RCIADIC Transcript, Esperance, 1990:21). In these cases it is apparent that

there are a large number of Aboriginal students who are seeking further education

but who wish it to be in an environment which recognises and respects their

Aboriginality. Outreach courses are also proving more popular as too are some

pre-apprenticeship courses (cf. submissions from Pundulmurra, Kalgoorlie

College, Department of Employment and Training, 1990).

There is much to be said for regional colleges which can adapt and meet the

educational needs of Aboriginal people in local areas (RCIADIC Transcript,

Kalgoorlie, June 1990:206). It is well established that Aboriginal people are

reluctant and find it difficult to leave their families and communities to undertake

study in another location (Fitzgerald, 1984; RCIADIC Transcript, Geraldton,

April 1990:397). Tertiary colleges could contract through regional colleges to

597

run courses. These colleges then contract with local communities (RCIADIC

Transcript, Kalgoorlie, 1990:214).

In relation to employment in a local area tertiary colleges need not only offer

training courses for young people who might wish to work in the pastoral,

mining or tourist industries but actively seek from such industries a commitment

of employment after such training.

In this State too, the Centre for Aboriginal Studies at Curtin University of

Technology, is providing a number of courses that are especially relevant to

Aboriginal people's access to tertiary education. These courses include a

'bridging course' whereby students are provided with a year's study that assists

them to go from secondary to tertiary scholarship. Another course is one that

provides people in communities with the opportunity to undertake a 'Community

Development Course'. The aim of this course is to provide people with skills

that are of benefit at a community level, while not detracting from aspects of their

Aboriginality.

12.14 Catholic education

Of all private and public education systems within Australia it would be expected

that the Catholic Education system would be one which understands the desire

often expressed by Aboriginal people for their own education system. The

Catholic Education system has endeavoured more so in some regions than others

for more than 100 years to maintain an independent schooling system.

The Catholic Education System offers a resource in terms of Aboriginal

communities and Aboriginal education. For example, in the Kimberley region

there are 13 Catholic schools (anotherto be started in 1991) with 1 ,455 primary

and secondary students. There was also the appointment of the first Aboriginal

female principal in Western Australia which occurred at Clontarf Aboriginal

College in Perth in 1990. The Catholic Education Office (CEO) offers a system,

598

with religious content, supposedly different from that of the State system. In

terms of appreciation of Aboriginal culture and Aboriginal involvement in their

schools the Catholic school system at times appears more innovative and positive

about Aboriginal culture than often found in the State system.

One difficulty which the CEO presents is that while it is often appreciated by

Aboriginal people for the services and dedication it offers (many schools began

with few resources and in physically difficult conditions) it possesses no

different mechanism from Government schools for enabling Aboriginal people to

experience that the schools actually belong to the community. In this way

Catholic schools are not unlike Government schools. Principals and teachers are

accountable to people outside the Aboriginal community. A further difficulty of

the Catholic system is that, like the Government school system, it can build an

enclave within an Aboriginal community. Not only does the school report to

outside 'authorities' but if they do work through the community it is often

through the community advisor or project officer (cf. Capp, 1988).

In many cases the Church has sought to have its own land within Aboriginal

communities with classrooms, library, and staff housing, forming a separate

physical reality within the community. New buildings are imported and erected

and rarely, if ever, are local Aboriginal people involved. As well, the

maintenance of such buildings is often in the care of outside non-Aboriginal

people. Not only are local Aboriginal people denied opportunities for work and

maintenance, but also training to take up such work and maintenance. As a result

'education' becomes even more alien and non-Aboriginal. This obviously raises

the question as to the purpose of education in such a community where there is a

divorce between the spoken aims of education and what work people might

realistically do when they leave school. It is important, as one report has already

indicated:

Education must be related to community development as perceived by the communities themselves [Aboriginal Education, 1985:202].

599

The CEO needs to consider ways in which Aboriginal people can experience and

believe they have some power and control over the education which they are

offered. If schools do have parent or community boards they are simply

advisory or in many cases token. The Catholic Education System, being part of

the Catholic Church, has become part of mission history. As missions provided

resources and resource people to communities, they also provided institutions

which assumed power over Aboriginal people and so can the CEO system. It is

important that the CEO consider its method of handing over control of its schools

to Aboriginal people and becoming more accountable to them.

12.15 Summary of education

From findings put before the RCIADIC, 'education' has become so narrowly

defined and experienced in the history of this country that few non-Aboriginal

people appreciate what they can learn from Aboriginal people, what Aboriginal

people can teach them, and what education Aboriginal people themselves have

been doing for thousands of years.

The intentions of the Prime Minister to educate the Australian people about the

benefits of a treaty or some form of reconciliation with Aboriginal people (West

Australian, 3 February 1990) indicate again the importance of the need for true

two-way education for all Australian people. Aboriginal people themselves have

to take some initiative in this area, and not simply wait for school authorities to

do things in a way that will satisfy them.

As a system, education is failing non-Aboriginal people as well as Aboriginal

people:

The education system has a lot to answer for in relation to relevant curriculum and studies to areas of Aboriginal culture and heritage. A lot of white people see Aboriginal culture and Aboriginal people as being something totally irrelevant in contemporary times and that Aboriginal people are seen as

600

walking museums. There isn't a valid education system for Aboriginal people and there needs to be a developed, an appropriate one to ensure that they can enter into the non-Aboriginal society on their own terms [RCIADIC Meetings, Leonora, 4 December; Kalgoorlie, 7 December 1989).

All aspects of the media, school curricula and general community attitudes reflect

the heritage of racist thinking about Aboriginal people. With a more assertive

attitude towards educational curricula and programmes, community attitudes will

improve and this in tum will have an effect upon the Aboriginal community.

Funding and resource support is required for those colleges which are attempting

to meet the educational needs of Aboriginal students especially as outreach

education is important and very expensive. Long term strategies such as the

Strategic Plan for Aboriginal Education of the Great Southern Regional College

of T AFE need to be encouraged (RCIADIC Transcript, Kalgoorlie, June

1990:220). The proposal for Aboriginal Education Cultural Centres in Western

Australia (see submission to RCIADIC from Kerr, 1990) needs to be combined

with proposals for an Aboriginal university and that of other Aboriginal tertiary

institutions.

Within the past decade there have been many reports concerning Aboriginal

education in Western Australia, various recommendations have been made.

Some repeat the recommendations of previous reports. However the result is

that few such recommendations have been fully implemented. As the WAAECG

concluded:

Furthermore, our research suggests that putting bandaids on the worst wounds is not the road to follow. Rather a co-ordinated and holistic approach needs to be taken . . . further action orientated research is essential if we are to effect major improvements to the achievement rates of Aboriginal students in

Western Australia [1987:13] .

The emphasis on bicultural education needs to be established as policy for

Aboriginal education in all schools. 'Two way' learning can easily become 'one

601

way' learning: two cultures at work but learning only going one way. For

proper two way learning non-Aboriginal people, especially, have to allow

separate educational areas to exist, one where non-Aboriginal learning occurs,

but another where Aboriginal people control the learning that occurs.

The challenge upon all involved in the education process is to develop both a

curriculum and a schooling process which dignifies and empowers Aboriginal

people. Because of the history of education in this State, all students in Western

Australian schools should be offered a unit of Aboriginal history and culture as

part of their studies in both primary and secondary school. All teachers likewise

should take a course in Aboriginal culture and history as part of their training.

And professional people, such as police, prison officers, government and health

workers, whose work brings them into contact with Aboriginal people, should

also be introduced to Aboriginal life and culture as part of their initial training.

In-service training should then be regularly offered in local communities

involving Aboriginal people. Essentially what is needed is an approach to

education which transcends the parameters of non-Aboriginal society and which

allows both Aboriginal people a place for their own teaching and learning in

Australian Society, and non-Aborigines the opportunity to learn about and

appreciate Aboriginal history and culture. Non-Aborigines should no longer be

denied this opportunity.

602

Chapter 13

HOUSING

... the site that they [the local Aboriginal people] selected [for the Village] was not the site they got today .. . you have got families living in - you have got 15 people living in one house down there, no wonder you going to have your problems - juvenile problems, the drinking problems, your unemployment problems, you know, your wear and tear and damages and houses ... when it becomes wear and tear it becomes the responsibility of one - of that one particular tenant and naturally that tenant is going to - cannot coping - is going to tum to alcoholism, or whatever

[RCIADIC Transcript, Roeboume, 1990:41].

The submission of the Western Australian AIU (1990), presented to my

Commission under the title 'Fighting for Rights' sums up one of the major

concerns of Aboriginal people in this State:

Participants were unanimous in nominating housing as the major issue for Aboriginal people. Statistics were supplied, but these were not exhaustive, and much more research is needed. The areas of planning, decision making, evaluation, allocation of resources, and Aboriginal involvement in decision making were all examined as were the roles of appropriate authorities. Overcrowding, over-concentration of Aboriginal families in certain areas, and racism were among the matters discussed

[1990:23].

The provision and maintenance of housing to Aboriginal people in this State, in

urban, rural and remote settings, together with the realities of matters to do with

racism, a shortfall in housing supplies, appropriate architectural designs,

overcrowding, kin obligations, and adverse effects of contemporary Aboriginal

social life, means that housing is a significant and often contentious issue.

603

Before considering some of the evidence which has come before my

Commission, the following provides an overview concerning housing policies in

Western Australia

13.1 History of housing policies and Aboriginal people in

Western Australia

The real beginning of any sort of housing policy for Aboriginal people in

Western Australia, is to be found in the immediate post war years. The

overwhelming majority of Aborigines at this time lived away from the main

towns and cities, most residing on missions, government settlements,

agricultural properties and pastoral stations. In the south-west, an increasing

proportion lived on unoffi<;ial reserves, often sited near rubbish tips, which were

to be found on the outskirts of many small country towns. Smaller numbers

lived in metropolitan areas, discouraged from the central city by a curfew which

remained in force until 1954 (Biskup, 1973:256; Howard, 1981 :22). But in the

wake of various post-war developments, attitudes toward Aborigines were

starting to change, and within these changes came the first official recognition of

Aboriginal housing needs. Aboriginal experience as soldiers, and the change

their presence brought to some areas, also highlighted the need for a better deal.

The seeds of the changing approach were in the assimilationist thinking that had

started to emerge as an alternative to the prevailing emphasis on exclusion and

segregation. The change was further encouraged by increasing official and

public concerns at the squalor and poor hygiene of Aboriginal camps such as

those located in the metropolitan area, Moora, Kellerberrin and Narrogin (see,

for example, Haynes 1972:69). The poverty of these camps was underlined in a

submission to the Western Australian Aboriginal Land Inquiry (the 'Seaman

Inquiry'), by the Southern Aboriginal Corporation (1983:5-6) which noted that

many such camps, and reserves upon which they were situated, were either on or

near rubbish dumps and gravel quarries.

604

Consistent with assimilationist thinking, the 1950s saw the gradual appearance of

a programme of 'transitional' housing. This involved, as a first step, the

formalisation of the unofficial areas set aside for Aborigines on the outskirts of

towns, so that areas became designated reserves. Following this came

government provisions of rudimentary housing and ablution facilities, which

were meant to assist Aborigines in making the transition to 'civilised' life. Little

was said about how long the supposed transition would take, or whether it was

expected to eventually result in Aborigines living side by side with

non-Aborigines throughout the State.

These transitional houses were standardised from a prototype into three models

each corresponding to a different level of 'sophistication'. Ideally Aborigines

were to be moved up through each level as they adjusted to its use. It seems to

have been thought that Aborigines could be systematically 'processed' through

these three designs and, if they failed to live up to official expectations, they

could be relegated to a prior level. Level 1 houses were steel framed, with iron

walls and an open fire place and no ablution facilities; level 2 houses were

somewhat better provided, the design including four rooms and indoor ablution

facilities; level 3 houses were a further step toward the European conventional

model being complete with electricity, although still only galvanised walls.

During the 1950s and early 1960s, the policy of transitional housing became

entrenched government policy. It became increasingly apparent, however, that

this policy was not achieving its stated objectives. A later survey conducted by

the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Aboriginal Housing

(1975:221) documented the failure of the policy and speculated that it had not

been successful primarily due to the lack of experience by Aboriginal people who

had not lived in such houses before. The inference seems to be that Aborigines

had failed in the exercise of being able to live like 'civilised Europeans'. Makin

(1970:151) in his study of Perth's Aborigines in the 1960s, also noted that the

Department of Native Welfare could see no easy solution to the problem of

overcrowding, 'because it considers those concerned are too backward for more

605

conventional housing'. It does not seem to have occurred to the authorities that

the failure might have had something to do with Aborigines not being involved in

the decisions to do with housing design, location and administration. There

seems little doubt that the houses themselves were inadequate in design,

extremely unpleasant to live in, and unsuited to Australia's climatic extremes.

This is well illustrated by the use of unlined galvanised walls, which were totally

unsuited to either hot or cold weather conditions. The logical sequence to a

programme of transitional housing was the provision of conventional houses

within the residential areas of the main population centres. 'Town housing', as it

was called, was increasingly stressed particularly for 'urbanised' Aborigines,

eventually displacing the transitional programme altogether. The houses were

managed for Aboriginal residents by the Department of Native Welfare until1972

when control of the houses transferred to the State Housing Commission (SHC)

(which became known as Homeswest in 1984).

The town housing project was not considered a success. Again according to the

survey conducted by the House of Representatives Standing Committee on

Aboriginal Housing (1975:221), the programme failed because of lack of

Aboriginal readiness to make the transition from reserve to town, Shire

opposition to Aboriginal housing, and significantly lack of adequate funding

from the Federal Government.

Overall, the amount of town housing provided in the 1960s was low, great

enough perhaps to increase expectation, but too limited for the numbers looking

for dwellings. Under the administration of the Department of Native Welfare,

with its limited budget and its timidity in the face of non-Aboriginal

opposition/opinion, there was little prospect of the situation changing.

According to Heppell (1979:13) the conventional houses provided in Western

Australia by 1971 (329 in all) were sufficient to house only about 5% of the

State's Aboriginal population.

606

A significant change came in 1971 with the abolition of the Departtnent of Native

Welfare and the transfer of housing responsibilities to the State Housing

Commission. This was followed in late 1972 with the election of the Whitlam

Labor Government at the Federal level, with its commitment to Aboriginal

'self-determination' and vastly increased resources to Aboriginal affairs.

Aboriginal housing became a priority of the new government, its aim being to see

that 'all Aborigines should be housed in conventional houses to the same

standard as that of the European community' (House of Representatives Standing

Committee on Aboriginal Housing, 1975:221).

Later came a number of initiatives on the State level. One was the strengthening

of the Homemaker Service, a community-based welfare service funded by the

Department for Community Welfare (DCW) which had been established in 1968.

Homemakers were employed on a part-time basis to assist Aboriginal families in

areas such as home-management, child-care and social adjustment (DCW Guide

to Services, 1981 :7). This initiative was followed in 1978 with the

establishment of the Aboriginal Housing Board (AHB), under the auspices of the

State Housing Commission. The AHB was meant to play both an advisory role

to government and to administer the existing stock of Aboriginal housing. The

AHB however was not given any real power and there is little evidence to

suggest it has had any influence on SHC/Homeswest policy. For instance,

according to Gevers (1983:6), against the advice of AHB , the Commission

allocated 75% of the Federal Assistance Aboriginal Housing Grant to village

programmes in the north-west of the state in 1982-83. This left approximately

$600,000 from the total allocation of $7,000,000 for rental housing construction

in the rest of Western Australia.

The shift in philosophy implied by the talk of 'self-determination' and the

commitment to Aboriginal equality in the area of housing, were not matched by

official practice. For its part, Homeswest continues to operate in terms of

assimilationist ideas. One manifestation of this is the approach colloquially

referred to as the 'salt and pepper' or 'social mix' policy. This policy authorises

the 'sprinkling' of Aboriginal families throughout the metropolitan area. South­

west Aboriginal, Ken Colbung, an early critic of this approach, described the

logic behind the 'salt and pepper' or 'social mix' policy:

The white people come along and say, 'look, we want to put you into our society, but we are not going to take you as one big group because you might bash us up so we will put you here, one you there, and another there, here and all around' ... The white people were mad ... [Colbung, 1975:29].

Within the 'salt and pepper' policy, the Commission said it expected Aborigines

to:

.. . maintain an accepted standard of domestic hygiene, social behaviour and credit worthiness, and to these ends assistance will be given by the officers of the Commission with the co-operation of the Department for Community Welfare, the Community Health Service and the Homemaker Service [House of Representatives Standing Committee on Aboriginal Housing,

1975:223].

Again, a response from Ken Colbung:

Sure you say 'we put them in good houses and they don't even know how to look after them'. If you had been living for years on the rubbish tips and nothing else you wouldn't know how to look after a house either ... [1974:29].

The State Housing Commission soon adopted, and Homeswest continues to

follow the so called 'saturation point' policy, which involves a limit established

by housing authorities on the number of families of Aboriginal descent who can

be accommodated in particular areas. Once the 'saturation point' is reached,

further Aboriginal people cannot be housed in that area. This means that even

though a house may be vacant, and an Aboriginal family in need of a home, it

will remain vacant or be allocated to a non-Aboriginal family regardless of time

spent on waiting lists.

608

13.2 Aboriginal housing needs

The number of houses provided by public housing authorities has also proved to

be far short of Aboriginal requirements, despite the large increase in funds

allotted in the 1970s. Various estimates have been made of the size of the

shortfall. For example in 1977 Henderson (1979:452) calculated that the

housing backlog for the State as a whole was 3,000 units. She further indicated

that the rate of new construction and acquisition was not keeping pace with the

rate of new family formation (225-250 families per year). Perhaps indicating that

some progress had been made, the Aboriginal Affairs Planning Authority

reported a backlog of 2,500 units in 1981 (AAPA Annual Report, 1981:3).

Gevers (1983:6) reported two years later that:

there are currently 905 Aboriginal families listed with the SHC for rental accommodation. If these families are only allowed access to the SHC ... they will experience lengthy waits before being housed ... families deemed to be in 'emergent' need of housing must wait at least 15 months for housing whereas other families (placed on a wait tum basis) must wait up to five years.

In response to a request from my Commission, Homeswest provided the

following details regarding current 'Aboriginal Rental Applicants'.

609

Table 13: Aboriginal Rental Application,Western Australia, 1990

BRANCH OFFICE TOTAL

Mirrabooka Region 207

Fremantle Region 81

Cannington Region 113

Albany Region 52

Bunbll_IY Region 77

Merredin Re_gjon 132

Gerald ton Region 186

North West 358

STATE TOTAL 1206

(Source: Homeswest, Perth, 31 May 1990.)

Given that, as observed earlier, Aboriginal people constitute only 2.7% of the

population in this state, the backlog of 1,206 units is alarming. What is even

more alarming, is that evidence gathered by my Commission, demonstrated that

the figures collected by Homeswest may not always reflect the reality. For

instance, in Kalgoorlie I heard that:

there are 80-90 people homeless who are living at Nannygoat Hill [RCIADIC Transcript, Kalgoorlie, June 1990:553].

And in Carnarvon, it was reported that 'there is a 12 month waiting list'

(RCIADIC Transcript, Carnarvon, 1990: 178). A further example is that in

Northam, there were 21 Aboriginal families currently listed for housing. One of

these was for a large family needing a five bedroom home (RCIADIC Transcript,

Northam, 1990:201-203).

Some of the major concerns put before me in relation to housing were

homelessness and waiting to be accommodated. Significantly most of those who

died in custody were described as 'homeless'. Overall, two of the major

610

concerns expressed throughout various meetings and conferences were racism

and powerlessness. As an example of this view, in Carnarvon, Homeswest

representatives stated:

I do have a tendency to speak down to people, but it is not just the black community in Carnarvon [RCIADIC Transcript, Carnarvon, 1990:175].

A lot of vandalism goes on after people leave the property [RCIADIC Transcript, Carnarvon, 1990: 177].

Views such as these are, unfortunately, common place. (See also Equal

Opportunity Commission Report on The State Housing Commission', yet to be

released by State Government, which provides detailed di scussion concerning

matters raised here). What makes these views especially alarming is that they

have the direct and indirect capacity to affect Aboriginal people's approach to

housing authorities. Given that, as noted elsewhere, Aboriginal people primarily

have to exist on some form of DSS entitlement they are, as a consequence, only

in the position of seeking access to accommodation through government

instrumentalities. Difficulties associated with access, and manifestations of

powerlessness, are reflected in the following accounts:

• People living in the Geraldton hostel are often people who have been put out of Homeswest housing [RCIADIC Transcript, Geraldton, 1990:492].

• they have to pay off rent arrears and repairs to the last place before they can get another one [RCIADIC Transcript, Geraldton, 1990:492].

• Some of the 'fringe dwellers' in Kalgoorlie have been living there since 1972 [RCIADIC Transcript, Kalgoorlie, 1990:72].

• People's priorities are everything except paying the rent, and it's like, 'well I had to bu food this week', or 'gotta buy my kids some clothes', or 'school costs' [RCIADIC Transcript, Carnarvon, 1990:460].

611

The judgements fonned by the housing officer do two things: (i) reveal attitudes

toward Aboriginal people who are struggling to survive, and (ii) reveal the

Aboriginal struggle.

The Aboriginal struggle to survive is also manifest in what can be cited as fonns

of resistance. The following points demonstrate my meaning here:

I have never struck such anti-feeling towards me as white personnel ... it all happens on pension day ... I myself have been subjected to well, not physical abuse, but in a car trying to get at me ... [we have] instructions not to go near, [the] village on pension day [RCIADIC Transcript, Carnarvon, 1990:174-175].

According to an AHB official, there are some improvements in relation to

housing in the goldfields regions. Given that this region is one where the

material conditions of Aboriginal people struck me as among some of the worst I

have ever witnessed, the following comment is, perhaps, somewhat misleading

and symptomatic of where policies and practice differ:

In Kalgoorlie I seem to be very pleased with the way things are going with Aboriginal housing at present because we have a programme where we are constantly building houses with building programme for each year. We also have other aspects that we are very pleased with in the fonn of funds made available for the relining of the older type houses where they are tin-lined.

[There] maybe one or two white people that are occupying Aboriginal Housing Board homes. That is where perhaps we have not had any applications for the houses at that time and there has been an overflow of white people so we have housed them [RCIADICTranscript, Kalgoorlie, 1990:149-151].

Of interest also is that 38% of public housing in Kalgoorlie is occupied by

Aboriginal people, as the following table indicates:

612

Aboriginal Non-Aboriginal

Coolgardie 28 13

Leonora 35 42

Menzies 5 3

Kalgoorlie/Boulder 76 850

With regard to Aboriginal housing in the State, the following graph, compiled

from ABS data, reveals how peoples housing needs are distributed:

Graph 5: Aboriginal housing, Western Australia, 1986

3000 2500 2000 1500

1000 500 0

Ownd. Purchsd. H/Wst .Other/Govt. Other L/Lord. Inad. Despn.

Overall, there continues to be an obvious and urgent need to address the housing

requirements of Aboriginal people in this State. While there are signs that there

are measures in place to consider the views and experiences of Aboriginal

people, such as the establishment of an independent Appeals Tribunal to hear

complaints against Homeswest by tenants, and Aboriginal people are now being

involved in the construction and design of housing in some areas (see response

to RCIADIC questions to Homeswest, 6 and 7 July 1990), there still exist major

613

discrepancies between government policy and practice with regard to Aboriginal

people and their housing demands.

Complaints about housing from Aboriginal people in this State are not rare, nor

are they new, and again we find an area that has been well researched and

documented, but where government has failed to act.

The sorts of concerns reflected throughout my report which impinge on matters

to do with housing, can also be found in the following reports and publications:

Equal Opportunity Report on the State Housing Commission (1990, yet to be

released); AIU Submission to RCIADIC (1990); AAPA Inquiry into services to

remote Aboriginal Communities (1990); Equal Opportunity Commission into

Essential Services to remote Aboriginal Communities (1990); Submission to my

Commission from Brewer Street Rights and Advocacy Service (May 1990).

These are just a few of the most recent documents that have been produced on

this crucial matter.

614

Chapter 14

THE STRUGGLE FOR HEALTH

At the outset, it is essential to recognise that traditional and contemporary

aspects of Aboriginal health care can often be contrasted in both practice and

philosophy to present day western medicine.

Traditionally, health care was embedded in beliefs and practices about life and

death, and relationships to kin. Health care was not viewed separately from

other aspects of Aboriginal life, and knowledge about health was generalised,

except for the particular role played by traditional healers, or 'mabam', and

certain rituals performed by women and men when occasion called for collective

care. From a non-Aboriginal perspective, the essential difference in health care

perceptions and remedies, lies with the cause of illness. This is because

Aboriginal people broadly believed, and in many areas continue to believe, that

mortality and morbidity are brought about by influences largely outside their

own control. These are sometimes referred to as 'supernatural' forces, and

Aboriginal people, within particular language groups, have their own

terminologies to describe these 'supernatural' forces. Overall, preserving health

and curing illness were, and are in many instances, important features of

Aboriginal life. The combination of health being viewed as a shared, public and

collective responsibility for all members of a group, becomes manifest in beliefs

and practices that range from performing a certain ritual, to the collection and

use of bush food and medicine to engender wellbeing. This approach differs

markedly from western medicine with its emphasis on an impersonal,

technological and disease-specific approach. Some of these complex matters

and the need to appreciate Aboriginal perspectives of health care, combined with

the lack of appropriate delivery care and resources, and the marginalised material

615

conditions still experienced by many Aboriginal people in this State in relation to

health, are reflected throughout the following material.

Health is a crucial factor in the present day quality of life of Aboriginal people.

More importantly the quality of life of Aboriginal people is the crucial factor in

detennining the health of the Aboriginal community. If we consider the people

who come within the Tenns of Reference of the Commission, it is immediately

obvious that ill-health is a common link. In this section the broader perspectives

of health and the Aboriginal community are considered. It is intended to discuss

the deaths in custody in relation to the poor health status within the Aboriginal

community, and the consequent high incidence of Aboriginal deaths outside

custody so that a clear connection can be made between them. Establishing the

deaths in this context is essential if the structural detenninants of ill-health, and

hence premature death, are to be addressed. These include the socio-cultural,

political and economic factors which detennine the lack or denial of access to

services, material resources, and empowennent.

At the time of colonisation the health of Aboriginal people was high when

compared with that of the British colonisers (National Aboriginal Health

Strategy, 1989; Swan, 1988; Kamien, 1980). This is in stark contrast to the

current health status within the Aboriginal community which has been described

as worse than any other world population for whom records exist (Health

Targets and Implementation Health For All Committee, 1988:2).

It is appropriate to consider what definition of health is being used, as there is

some diversity within the Aboriginal community regarding what is the

appropriate definition of health for their community or group. The World Health

Organisation (WHO) defines health as not just the absence of disease but a state

of complete physical, mental and social well being. The National Aboriginal

Health Strategy (NAHS) 1989, discusses the concept of health used by

Aboriginal people and concludes that an appropriate definition of health is:

616

Not just the physical well-being of the individual but the social, emotional, and cultural well-being of the whole community. This is a whole-of-life view and it also includes the cyclical concept of life-death-life [p. x].

The NAHS Working Party (NAHSWP) document goes on to comment, when

examining primary health care, that Aboriginal people should exercise

self-determination, and hence responsibility, 'with respect and regard for all'.

They contrast this with the specific agency style approach adopted by the wider

community and the way this has led to 'a pre-occupation with diseases and

organisations rather than with the underlying, often non-medical, causes of ill

health' (p.xi). This definition of health and approach to service provision is in

accord with the direction of the WHO over recent years with the Alma Ata

Declaration of 1977, the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion (1986) and the

conference on Healthy Public Policy held in Adelaide (1988). Though some

governments and service providers are starting to use these broader definitions of

health to guide their approach to health care issues, the majority of health care is

still provided in the context of the curative/medical model of health.

14.1 Historical perspective

The current poor health status within the Aboriginal community can largely be

attributed to the extreme poverty and social and cultural deprivation resulting

from the oppression and dispossession which has occurred in Western Australia

since 1829. The failure of the non-Aboriginals to allow Aboriginal people to

continue maintenance of their own life style; the exposure to new introduced

diseases; the disruption of communities by forced relocation (Bassett-Scarfe,

RCIADIC Transcript, Albany, May 1990; Haebich, 1988:67,85,113,208-211);

and of family groups by the forced removal of children, resulted in marked

changes in health. This was compounded by the denial of access to basic

requirements for a healthy life namely: sustainable income, shelter, education,

basic resources (clean water, food) and services such as health care and waste

disposal (Swan, 1988). What is so often forgotten or overlooked in terms of

Aboriginal health is the importance of land for spiritual as well as material

617

welfare. If Aboriginal people did require health care there was no guarantee that

they would receive it, owing to the absence of health services near them, the

inability to pay for services, and the reluctance to treat Aboriginal people.

Haebich (1988:143-144) records the increasing denial of access to hospital

facilities from 1911 on with some hospitals providing only tent accommodation,

some providing 'out patient' services only, and some requiring seriously ill

Aboriginal people to be accommodated in the local gaol. This led to the

development of poorly resourced health care facilities solely for the Aboriginal

community. By 1935 there were only three local hospitals which Aboriginal

people had sure access to in Western Australia: Wyndham, Broome and the

leprosarium at Derby (Haebich, 1988; Saggers and Gray, 1990).

Despite government's early attempts at imposing assimilation policies on the

Aboriginal community as early as 1939, it was not until 1951 that this was

accepted as official government policy. With the substitution of assimilation for

segregation, access to health services was more at the 'whim' (or prejudice) of

the provider or institution. In the 1960s it was not uncommon for Aboriginal

people to wait in separate segregated waiting rooms before seeing the doctor, or

to be refused service (Saggers and Gray, 1990). Even in the 1980s there were

stories of Aboriginal people in the south-west having to wait in separate areas if

they wished to see the local doctor. In some isolated country towns, up until

1990, Aboriginal people were required to travel some 75kms to the next town in

order to see a doctor (RCIADIC Transcript, Gnowangerup, May 1990). People

living in remote communities today are still reliant on fortnightly visits provided

by the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) (RCIADIC Transcript, Kalgoorlie,

1990).

In 1973 the Commonwealth Department of Health and the Department of

Aboriginal Affairs (DAA) proposed a National Plan for Aboriginal Health which

aimed to remove the inequities in health between the Aboriginal community and

the wider community by 1983. Despite this and the recommendations of the

House of Representatives Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs, prioritising

618

strategies to address some of the health inequalities, communities and groups still

do not have access to clean water, let alone other basic services important to

ensure health is maintained (NAHSWP 1989, Lord St camp, RCIADIC

Transcript, Kalgoorlie, 1990).

14.2 Current health status

There has been a significant improvement in some of the markers used to

measure health status. However, infant mortality is still up to three times that of

the wider community, life expectancy at birth remains twenty years less than that

of the wider community (the average age at death of the people whom the Royal

Commission is primarily investigating in Western Australia is 32 .5 years), death

rates are up to four times greater and the incidence of nearly every disease is

greater than in the wider community (NAHS, 1989; Health Department of

Western Australia, 1990).

Information supplied by the Health Department of Western Australia includes the

view that Aboriginal health has not improved during the 1980s. However, an

indication of the inaccuracies in the current state of Aboriginal health statistics,

can be seen in the variation of the infonnation supplied to the Commission by

Health Department of Western Australia regarding the incidence of suicide in the

Aboriginal community. On 20 March 1990, the Health Department of Western

Australia's Director of Epidemiology wrote to the Commission stating that eleven

Aboriginal people had committed suicide in the period 1983-1988. The

Department's later response to specific questions in July 1990, included the

statement that there had been twenty-one suicides in the Kimberley alone during

the 1980s. It is significant to note that seventeen of these suicides occurred

before 1988, and eight after 1988.

A recent report by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC)

states that the rate of tuberculosis in some Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander

communities is up to 20 to 50 times the rate of the wider population (The Age

619

Newspaper, 12 July 1990:6). Some health problems may not be immediately

obvious but have a significant impact on the person affected. Recently the State

Wide Ear Health Advisory Committee (SWEHAC) conducted a survey of ear

problems in two Aboriginal communities. They found that 45% of children and

36% of adults in Wiluna, and 40% of children and 45% of adults in La Grange,

had significant ear health problems (perforation or hearing loss) in at least one ear

(SWEHAC, 1989). The consequences of hearing loss and access to education

are obvious.

It is important to observe that the data collected to date does not address the issue

of well-being as a marker for ill-health. Current data collection is oriented

around defined diseases, and tends to be based on health service/client contact.

Consequently, it has limitations as far as accuracy is concerned. The readily

available data regarding health status consists of hospital separation (discharge)

data, death certificates, data from other health agency/client contact or

occasionally from population surveys. The latter give the most accurate

information but are expensive and time consuming and are usually performed in

small 'representative' sample populations and then extrapolated, rather than in

the whole population, which can often prove to be unreliable (see

e.g. Streatfield, 1990).

Hospital or other health agency/client contact data only provides information on

the client population that they actually have contact with and depends on what the

health care worker records. These tend to result in underestimations of illness

patterns due to the failure of the providers to access all those in need within a

community and also because only the major health problems dealt with at the time

of contact are usually recorded. Death certificates again underestimate the true

ill-health patterns in the population, as they usually only include the major health

problems suffered by a person around the time of death, at best, or an inaccurate

cause of death at worst. There are also problems with the date that death

certificates are actually lodged and recorded. There can be up to a 20% error in

the date of registration of a death compared with the actual date of death. For

620

example in a current mortality survey being conducted in Western Australia one

death, which occurred in 1984, was not registered until1989.

Another difficulty with Aboriginal health statistics is who defines a person's

Aboriginality. With both health agency/client contact data and death certificates,

this person is usually the health care worker, and is often based on skin colour

rather than the person's own identification as Aboriginal. A significant point is

that Aboriginality has only been recorded on death certificates since 1983.

In keeping with the definition of health used by the NAHSWP, it is appropriate

to monitor health outcomes in a manner consistent with that definition. Namely,

it is inappropriate to say there is less of a certain disease or group of diseases and

hence conclude that health is improving if the social or cultural well-being of the

community is deteriorating and not being monitored, or commented on.

There is substantial evidence in the lives of Aboriginal people to support the

correlation between socio-economic status and health status. The difficulties of

trying to maintain one's health, when the basic necessities of life are not readily

accessible, and are often denied, has been a recurrent theme in the community

consultations conducted by the Commission. Issues such as poverty,

overcrowding, unemployment, lack of access to mainstream services, as well as

poor resourcing of existing Aboriginal and some mainstream services were

frequently raised.

The Black Report (1980) concludes that unequal health status can only be

understood in relation to social factors such as poverty and poor working

conditions. This report supports the notion that just the provision of seiVices and

the removal of the economic constraints on access to health care, via the free

National Health Service, is not enough to remove the inequities in health. Whilst

there continues to be a relative deprivation there will continue to be inequalities in

health. McMichael (1987) comments on the same trends existing in Australia,

with social factors being the strongest determinants of health. His analysis of

621

Australian mortality figures shows a consistent correlation between poverty and

almost all cause of death categories. When considering morbidity (illness)

figures, poor health again correlates with social class. In particular there is a very

strong connection between unemployment and mental health. Employment does

more than merely provide the material resources for existence. It also impacts on

self-esteem and social identity. Consequently unemployment may cause anxiety,

depression, loss of self-esteem and increased suicide rates. It has been shown

that even short term unemployment can have long term negative impacts on

health, let alone the effects of chronic unemployment which is common in the

Aboriginal community.

The issues concerning denial of employment should be clear from the earlier

section. However figures from 'Health for all Australians' (1988), show that

53% of the Aboriginal community in Australia are dependent on income from the

Department of Social Security (DSS), compared with only 11% of the

non-Aboriginal community. Of the people who are central to this Commission,

those who died in custody in Western Australia, most were in receipt of some

form of income from DSS. The preceding discussion should not be interpreted

in a simplistic manner. The provision of employment alone, as with the

provision of health services alone, will not address the poor health status and

must always be considered in that context. Any consideration of employment

opportunities for Aboriginal people needs to include, what is appropriate

employment in an Aboriginal context. The ability to be able to meet ones social

and cultural obligations must be accommodated.

There has been much comment recently about the increasing incidence of

'lifestyle' diseases within the Aboriginal community. These include such things

as cardiovascular disease, diabetes (up to eight times more common in the

Aboriginal community) and high blood pressure (more than twice as common).

There has not been sufficient comment as to the reasons for this increase. It is

important to place this change in health patterns in terms of increasing social

622

inequalities. Then an understanding of the structural economic detenninants of

this are more readily recognised. Otherwise it is too easy for commentators to

blame the victims of these changing health patterns and ignore the unequal power

relations which exist between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal society.

14.3 Service delivery

Many Aboriginal people don't feel that they can access mainstream services and indeed they've been made to feel that way [RCIADIC Transcript, Albany, 1990:291].

Nyoongars tend not to approach hospitals unless they are very sick. There is a psychological distance, which is as great in its effect as the geographical distance experienced by Aborigines in the north of the State [Wilkes in Choo, 1990:64].

Community based, community controlled Aboriginal Health Services (AHSs)

have largely developed in response to the inequality in health status of Aboriginal

people, when compared with the rest of the Australian population, and the

inequity in access to mainstream services.

In 1971 the first community controlled Aboriginal Health Service commenced

operation in Redfern, Sydney. In Western Australia the Perth Aboriginal

Medical Service was the first and commenced operations in East Perth in 1973.

Currently there are 64 AHSs funded via the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander

Commission (ATSIC) (formerly Department of Aboriginal Affairs (DAA)). The

overriding role of these Services is to provide broad-based culturally appropriate

services which enable the local community to be in control of the Service. AHSs

attempt to approach health care issues at the curative, educative and preventative

level as well as advocating for social change. It was the conclusion of the

NAHSWP that the variation in political and philosophical approaches to health

between the Federal and State governments and the Aboriginal communities had

led to the uneven development and promotion of programmes in Aboriginal

health and well-being. Consequently there have developed inequalities in access

to community based services depending on where people live. It has also led to

623

the ongoing battle the AHSs engage in for continued or increased funding to meet

their perceived needs.

The demands made by DAA for AHSs to justify ongoing funding by

performance indicators which relate to changes in disease patterns and numbers

of client-service contacts, rather than in community development terms, means

that there is a continuing ideological division between the service providers and

the principal funding body. The recent history of the AHS in Roebourne reflects

this. The need for appropriate and acceptable health services for the Roebourne

Aboriginal community was accepted by DAA when they agreed to fund the

Marwankarra Health Service from 1983. However, as a result of a review, the

Marwankarra Health Service had its funding cut in 1989 by DAA who told them

which staff to sack and what services they could no longer provide, including

ceasing to fund the doctor's salary. The staff positions following the sackings

were not filled in order to make savings to cover the budget over run. They now

have to rely on Medicare rebates for the doctor's position which is staffed for six

hours a week by a doctor from Wickham, some 30 kms away. They have had to

cut back on maintenance for vehicles (all five of which are 5 years old and can

not be replaced, due to DAA's refusal to fund capital costs). DAA also split the

funding into a health centre and an alcohol centre without informing the Service

(E. Tierney, Mawarnkarra Health Service, RCIADIC Transcript, Roeboume,

1990:313-16). DAA's justification for ceasing the funding for the doctor's

salary, following the review, included that the position represented duplication of

existing mainstream services (RCIADIC Transcript, Roebourne, 1990:409).

A further example of the failure of funding bodies to understand the broader

issues involved in the value of community controlled services is the comment at

the RCIADIC Roebourne conference, by an ATSIC employee, that the

community should try to encourage the Health Department of Western Australia

to get its doctor to work in with the AHS more (RCIADIC Transcript,

1990:428-9). It should be noted that mainstream services do not usually equal

community controlled services in their ability to empower workers or consumers,

624

nor in their ability to provide an appropriate service which is flexible and more

readily responsive to community demand. It would seem more appropriate that if

the funding body has difficulty with the way a community organisation utilises

its funds, they should provide support to enable a community to initiate more

appropriate utilisation, or fund the agency adequately so that the community's

needs may be more readily met. This would be consistent with the WHO's

philosophy on appropriate methods for effective primary health care service

delivery. Another difficulty AHSs have is the time it can take to convince

funding bodies of the need for their service. For example, the Geraldton

Regional Aboriginal Medical Service (GRAMS) operated for two years with

voluntary workers before funding was approved (RCIADIC Transcript,

Gerald ton, 1990:21 ). The staff from AHSs commented on the need for

additional resources so that they could more adequately service their

communities. Discussion provided in the next Section (14.4) regarding NAHS

funding needs to be considered in light of these comments.

The difficulty in obtaining adequate resources to operate community based health

services is not restricted to Aboriginal groups, as highlighted by the battle of the

Multi-Cultural Women's Health Centre in Fremantle. It took three and a half

years of voluntary work before they received any funding (for one full time

worker, a half time receptionist and a nurse for three days a week). They have

been lobbying for some time to get funding for an Aboriginal worker with no

success (RCIADIC Transcript, 1990:208-1 0).

The Aboriginal Health Services incorporate Aboriginal belief systems and

concepts of health and illness into their style of operation, and hence achieve a

much greater degree of success in acceptance by members of the Aboriginal

community with whom they work. They aim to be multipurpose resource

centres, with health rather than medicine as the focus , which are community

controlled via participation of the local community. They tend to approach health

in a broad perspective and in community development terms (RCIADIC

Transcript, Carnarvon, 1990). Some of the benefits are: a service which is

625

acceptable and accessible to the community it serves; the holistic approach to

health which means more of a person's issues are dealt with, rather than just the

presenting complaint; some prevention of overt or covert racism by staff;

prevention of unethical behaviour; a social and cultural awareness of the people

they serve; avoidance of inaccurate diagnoses due to erroneous presumptions

about ways of living; provision of cultural support to its community; having as a

priority the raising of the community's health status; provision of education,

employment and training to the Aboriginal community; flexibility to

accommodate changing needs (RCIADIC Transcript, Roe bourne, 1990: 313;

RCIADIC Transcript, Carnarvon, 1990:369).

Some simple examples of how AHSs remove some of the barriers to access to

health services are: not using an appointment system for most of their services;

employing a majority of Aboriginal staff; and not charging clients or, if they are

required to as part of their funding requirement, bulkbilling for all their clients.

Most AHSs use and respect traditional Aboriginal health practices. There is a

great variation between the individual AHSs depending on the community which

runs it. One of the advantages of having local community based services is that

they can provide services in a manner which is desired by the community, and

hence they are more likely to be utilised by them. However one of the biggest

restrictions on the type of services offered by AHSs is what the funding agency

will fund. For example, the inability of the Marwankarra AHS to employ a

doctor; the ten year battle by the Perth Aboriginal Medical Service (PAMS) to

obtain funding for a dental clinic despite the precedent in some AHSs in other

states; and the difficulty experienced by most Services obtaining funds to employ

sufficient Aboriginal Health Workers (AHWs) to meet the communities' needs.

Sorrie AHSs in Western Australia call themselves Medical rather than Health

Services. This could be interpreted to reflect the style of service provided

i.e. more of a medical model style vs the broader approach favoured by those

who use a broad definition of health. However it seems to be an historical

artifact which individual health services have not seen as a priority to change. It

is important to be aware of the role that doctors and other non-Aboriginal staff

626

play in the AHSs. In some services the doctor/s exert their influence and tend to

control the direction of the service and its interaction with the community. This

power may be given to, or assumed by, the non-Aboriginal professionals in

AHSs. O'Connor (1988) comments on this occurring with the Wiluna AHS.

During the Commission's Broome conference the following comments were

made:

Our medical director said that the job was getting too big for the individual services so we should have a body that would administrate the secretarial and all the financial side of the AMSs for looking after money and writing letters and submissions and this sort of thing [RCIADIC Transcript, Broome, 1990: 13]; And, we usually get our directions from the medical director which is our leading light [RCIADIC Transcript, Broome,

1990:14 ].

This may be acceptable if the doctor is using a social model of health. However

if a more narrow approach is being followed (such as the medical model) then

the most likely consequence is the community being less able to maintain control

of the direction of the service. Certainly at the least there is a reinforcement of

the powerlessness within the service and the community and the much greater

chance of developing conflicts between the doctor and the AHS administration.

It is vital for the community to maintain effective power within the AHS. This is

one of the tenets of the reorientation of health services as outlined in the Ottawa

Charter for Health Promotion, the WHO Health For All programme and the

NAHSWP report.

There are also criticisms of the Aboriginal Health Services within the State.

Some of these arise from basic ideological conflicts with the notion of the need

for so called 'separate' services for the Aboriginal community. The word

'duplication' was frequently used by critics of the AHSs. The reality is, as stated

in the transcripts of the Carnarvon Conference, if mainstream services were

meeting Aboriginal health needs, then why is the health status of Aboriginal

people so poor and why do all AHSs report the inability to meet the demand

placed on their services? Another issue is, if mainstream services meet the needs

627

of the wider community so well, why do so many non-Aboriginal people utilise

the services of AHSs, in particular, Broome Regional Aboriginal Medical Service

(BRAMS) and GRAMS (RCIADIC Transcripts, Broome and Geraldton, 1990).

Certainly the AHSs need to acknowledge that there is room for improvement in

the quality of the service they provide. The absence of 'in-service' style training;

the absence of orientation programmes for new staff (especially for non­

Aboriginal staff); the inability to meet community demands due to insufficient

resourcing; the need to ensure that clients have ready access to health care

workers of the sex of their choosing; and the occasional refusal to comply with

clients' requests regarding medico-legal matters, are some of the issues

mentioned during the Commission's consultation process (RCIADIC Broome,

Geraldton, Roeboume and Perth Transcripts, 1990).

The use of AHSs by non-Aboriginal people can create a potential problem of

Aboriginal people having to compete with non-Aboriginal people for service at an

AHS. Despite the claims of ATSIC (1989), there are still significant numbers in

the Aboriginal community in Western Australia who do not have ready access to

a community controlled health service (e.g. the south-west, central desert,

Fitzroy Crossing, Wiluna). Considering the poverty that exists in these areas it

is unrealistic to expect people in need of health care to travel any distance to

available health care (see e.g. Toussaint, 1989:30-35, regarding socio-economic

indicators for Fitzroy Crossing). It is also against the Alma Ata Declaration

(1978) which states that for primary health services to be effective, they should

not only be affordable, appropriate and acceptable, but also accessible, as well as

having community input.

The need for a National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health organisation as

stated in the NAHS and supported by the Aboriginal Health Development Group

Report is an important structural step to enable AHSs to support each other,

share information, prioritise needs and directions. This will need to be resourced

as it would have a separate role to the proposed Council of Aboriginal Health

(CAH) and Office of Aboriginal Health (OAH). Similarly, there is a need for the

628

State community controlled Aboriginal health services organisations to be

adequately resourced. The consequent support, information sharing and

identification of priority need and directions would not be fulfilled by the

proposed State Triparite Forum. The role of the forum should be broader and be

more involved in promoting and resolving issues related to intersectoral

co-operation (NAHS, p.40).

14.4 Aboriginal Health Workers and employment

There are two Aboriginal Health Worker Education schemes in the State. One is

run by the Health Department of Western Australia (HOW A) and the other is run

by the AHSs in the state. They follow different ideologies and educational

processes. The Health Department of Western Australia scheme is an in-service

style education programme for people employed as AHWs. The Aboriginal

Health Worker Education Programmes (AHWEPs) run by the AHSs tend to be

more oriented around skills and information sharing, to increase the level of

health awareness and, in some cases, advocacy skills, in the Aboriginal

community. The lack of resources in the AHSs, and in the Aboriginal

community in general, means that a lot of the graduates from the AHS AHWEPs

tend not to be employed in the AHSs nor in the Aboriginal community.

However many do go on to employment or further study following successful

completion of their courses (personal communication between Joan Winch and

Liz Gray, Perth Aboriginal Medical Service, 1989).

The Health Department of Western Australia employs AHWs throughout the

State. However, there are only 84 in the State, some of whom are part-time.

The career structure for AHWs employed by the Health Department is extremely

limited. They are covered by a separate award (Health Workers- Community

and Child Health Services Award, 1980) and may be employed as an AHW, an

AHW Special or a Regional Aboriginal Health Liaison Officer (RAHLO). There

are only 7 RAHLO positions in the State. They have no real supervisory role,

just a liaising one with the AHWs in their region (The AHW Review, 1986).

629

AHWs employed by AHSs are covered by a different Award (Aboriginal

Medical Services Employees' Award (Award No. A.26 of 1987)) which

provides for seven different levels of employment: 'Field Officer',

'Environmental Health Worker', 'Conditionally Registered Health Worker', 'A

Fully Certificated Health Worker', 'A Fully Certificated Health Worker -Medication Certificate Grade 1 ', 'A Fully Certificated Health Worker -Medication Certificate Grade 2' and 'Regional Health Co-ordinator'. The wages

for these jobs are incremented at five levels from year one to year eight and this

represents an income range from $361.80 to $662.00 per week. These wages

are the minimum under the award and do not include district allowance, outpost

availability allowance nor a supervisory allowance, all of which are included

under the A ward.

The Federated Miscellaneous Workers' Union of Australia (Western Australian

Branch) is the union responsible for the workers covered by both awards. In the

past the AHSs have adopted a rather loose approach to both employing people at

certain levels under the Award and ensuring that people are able to progress

along the career path available to their employees. Currently negotiations are

being conducted under the second stage of the award restructuring process to

ensure that there will be a commitment by the respective employers to enable

workers to proceed along the career path laid out in the A ward. The creation of a

career path under the Community and Child Health Services A ward is the aim of

the union (M. Nolan, Organisor, FMWU).

In considering the relative merits of the State AHW scheme vs the community

controlled AHW programmes, the different selection criteria for acceptance and

selection must be considered. The community controlled programme tends to

accept people who are nominated by their community and accept people with a

wide range of educational experience. They also concentrate on advocacy skills

as well as health education and service provision skills. This reflects their

understanding and commitment to the broader aspects of health. In comparison

the State programme has higher entrance requirements regarding educational

630

experience and there is little consultation with the local community re

acceptability of the AHW. In many centres there are only young women

employed as AHWs which has meant that some of the needs of men in the

community are not well served by the health worker. Similarly, in other areas

where there is a male health worker employed, women's needs are not

necessarily met by the AHW. Nathan and Japanangka (1983: 185) raise the same

issue of the perceived need by communities to have access to AHWs of both

sexes. Again the WHO Alma Ata Declaration must be considered. For a

primary health service to be effective it must be acceptable, affordable,

appropriate and accessible, as well as have community input.

The current situation regarding AHW education is another example of the

inability of state and community based programmes to reach mutual agreement.

The Centre for Aboriginal Studies at Curtin University, with the support and

co-operation of the Aboriginal Health Services has developed and had accredited

an Aboriginal Health Programme. The Centre has not been able to obtain the

resources to fund it and hence cannot run it (RCIADIC Transcript, Perth,

1990:151,162; RCIADIC Transcript, Carnarvon, 1990:380). The support from

the AHSs is based on the level of Aboriginal control within the Centre and the

links it has with Curtin University, which will enable Aboriginal people to have

greater access to tertiary level education. The HDWA's preferred option is that

T AFE should provide AHW training (RCIADIC Transcript, Perth, 1990:317).

The view of the Aboriginal Health Policy Review Team is that there should not

be a debate about who provides the education, rather there should be

accreditation of the courses which meet the required standard of education, and

Aboriginal people should decide which course they prefer to enrol in. This

debate is another example of the power of the State to determine what is 'right'

for Aboriginal people and hence, potentially, disempower access to a preferred

option.

In February 1990 the Health Department of Western Australia released a report

on the Aboriginal Environmental Health Programme with particular reference to

631

future directions for the employment of Aboriginal Environmental Health

Workers (AEHWs). This contained some recommendations encouraging

delineation of who is responsible for establishing the infrastructure necessary: a

patronising statement regarding educating the community management and the

AEHW on the operation and safe use of 'hygiene, cooking, heating, cooling and

water supply systems' (p.i); and recommendations regarding the education,

location, payment and career structure for AEHWs.

The report states that the single most important limiting factor in the inability of

the Aboriginal environmental health programme to achieve its goals in some

communities has been the inability of the communities to pay the AEHWs a

living wage (p.4). Perhaps more relevant is the Department's lack of

understanding of the true causes of the poor environmental health Aboriginal

people are confronted with. This is demonstrated in the introduction of the

report which includes the following:

Many Aboriginal people have not yet been taught the necessary skills and understandings to maintain a healthy dwelling or community settlement. Nor have many been able to acquire the necessary attitudes and beliefs that motivate people to make their homes and communities healthy places in which to live. Their parents did not have these skills, attitudes, and beliefs and so could not pass them on [p.l].

The issue of appropriate education and awareness of health care workers who

interact with Aboriginal people is crucial for the delivery of health services and

increases the likelihood of positive outcomes from interaction between the people

and the health care provider. As Toussaint (1989) has observed, the failure of

the health care system to meet the needs of Aboriginal people, primarily rests

with its cultural inappropriateness and inability to be sensitive to the

socio-economic constraints which daily impinge on Aboriginal people.

Community controlled health services address some of the issues related to this.

However, as noted earlier, the failure to ensure non-Aboriginal workers receive

appropriate education and orientation prior to commencing work with the AHSs,

or any other health care service, requires urgent action.

632

It is essential to ensure that each interaction between Aboriginal people and health

care services, is as free of paternalism and personal agendas as possible. This is

encapsulated in the WHO's Ottawa Charter on Health Promotion which states

that health services need to be reoriented toward the needs of the community, be

provided in a manner which fosters empowerment within the community, as well

as becoming accountable to the communities they serve. This reorientation needs

to occur so that the services provided are determined by the community and not

the providers. Such a reorientation would enable greater effectiveness and

acceptability of the health care service.

14.5 Aboriginal health and the Federal Government

Federal Government after Federal Government has been more concerned about its political relationship with states and territory rather than justice for Aboriginal people, and their moral rights [NAHS 1989:30].

It was observed earlier that following the 1967 Referendum the Federal Government has had the power to intervene in the states in the area of Aboriginal

health. Since the early 1970s the Federal Government has been providing

financial resources to the States and territories to community controlled

organisations. Currently this is via grants from ATSIC and the Department of

Community Services and Health (DCSH) to State Government departments

(either for direct health activities or for health related services such as housing,

water, waste disposal, power), to community controlled organisations, and via

Medicare directly to providers if they bulkbill, or to the consumer if not. Since

1984-85 there has been a decrease in the amount of money granted directly by

DANATSIC to the states for specifically Aboriginal hea!th service provision.

The HDWA received approximately $10 million which has progressively

decreased down to $2.4 million in 1989-90 and zero in 1990-91 (RCIADIC

Transcripts, Health Department of Western Australia response to questions,

1990). The money no longer provided direct to the Health Department was

supposed to be redirected to community based services or health-related

633

infrastructure. Only a small proportion was reallocated to Aboriginal community

controlled organisations.

The 1988-89 Annual Report ofDAA states that its objectives in health are:

To raise the standard of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health to that of the Australian community generally.

To ensure that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women's needs are reflected in, and that they have equitable access to, programmes as clients, staff and decision makers [p.84].

It goes on to say that the Department's strategy to achieve these objectives is to

promote:

- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participation in the identification of health needs and of services;

- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander access to, and acceptance of normal community health services;

- satisfactory environmental conditions, especially safe and adequate water supplies and waste disposal in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities; and

- the establishment, where the community desires, of community controlled health services that emphasise -Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander responsibility for, and -involvement in, the improvement of their own health [p.85].

These objectives and strategies seem sound on the surface but lack the basic

understanding of the economic inequalities that have led to the current state of

Aboriginal health. Consultation and enabling community control are laudable,

however the realities of implementation portrays a different picture.

The commitment of $49 million over 1989-90 and 1990-91 under the Priority

Communities Development Strategy to 'address the total infrastructure needs in

targetted communities in some of the most disadvantaged areas' (p.85), implies

imposition not consultation. Especially as $15.9 million was designated for

Thursday Island alone and the NAHSWP stated that in 1988 DAA estimated that

634

$112 million was required, just to provide adequate water supplies and waste

disposal to communities. The Aboriginal Health Development Group's (AHDG) ·

estimate for the amount needed, in November 1989, to address the current

shortfall in basic essential services (e.g. adequate housing and infrastructure

needs) within the Aboriginal community was $2.5 billion (AHDG, 1989:26).

Another example comes from the 1988-89 Annual Report of the Department of

Aboriginal Affairs:

As part of developing a national approach to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health needs, in 1988-89 the Government announced that $13.5m would be spent over two years on special Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander initiatives. The original

allocation was for $6m in 1988-89 and $7.5m in 1989-90. This has been altered in order to meet the interim recommendations of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody. The figures are now $4.3m in 1988-89 and $9.2m in 1989-90 [p.86].

Though the total amount is the same there is no detailed explanation as to why

the change in allocation. The need to consider power relations re-occurs here:

the question of who decides which services are provided, where, when and by

whom needs to be answered because, on the face of it, Aboriginal people seem

to have very little.

From the discussion above, and my Commission's research and investigation

process, it is obvious that many Aboriginal communities in the State still have

poor/unsafe/minimal water supplies. Indeed this is not just an issue relevant to

remote areas. It also applies in 'suburban' Perth. The Lord Street camp in

Lockridge did not have basic services (water and electricity) connected to the new

'accommodation', provided at the site in mid-1990 by the State Government.

Within a week of the transportable unit being located on site a person died in a

fire thought to have started from a candle used for lighting ('Police Probe Fatal

Blaze', The West Australian Newspaper, 23 May 1990).

The Equal Opportunity Commission in Western Australia released a report in

July 1990, commenting on the discrimination by various organisations in the

635

provision of essential services to Aboriginal communities, citing that this could

be exacerbating the health problems experienced within the Aboriginal

community. The report mentioned the State Energy Commission of Western

Australia (SECWA), the Health Department, the Water Authority, Local

Government, and the Main Roads Department. The Human Rights and Equal

Opportunity Commission is currently conducting a national survey of the current

water resources available to Aboriginal groups and the needs which have yet to

be met. The results of this will be available toward the end of 1990.

In December 1987 the Commonwealth, State and Territory Ministers for

Aboriginal Affairs and Health responded to the lack of an agreed national

Aboriginal health strategy by establishing the National Aboriginal Health Strategy

Working Party. The terms of reference included:

• Report on Commonwealth/State and community funding arrangements, including financing of primary health care services and social health programmes in Aboriginal communities.

• Develop strategies to achieve improvements in the short and long term, taking into account specific health problems, health service provision, administrative and funding arrangements, Aboriginal participation, research and data collection, and ongoing monitoring.

• Develop strategies to maximise the involvement of Aboriginal people in their own health care. Consider intersectoral co-ordination including Commonwealth, State, local and health service agency responsibilities.

• Develop a mechanism to monitor progress towards achieving targets, taking into account performance indicators developed as part of the policy.

In preparing the report the working party undertook an extensive consultation

with Aboriginal communities and groups throughout Australia and recommended

a detailed strategy to address Aboriginal health issues in Australia. Some of the

recommendations included strategies to ensure co-ordination of and community

input into policy determination, implementation and evaluation; an emphasis on

636

the need to address the structural causes of ill-health within the Aboriginal

community; mechanisms to ensure Aboriginal service delivery is appropriate,

adequately resourced and preferably provided by community controlled

organisations; and some specific recommendations regarding approaches to

specific health problems.

The Federal Government's response to the Report of the NAHSWP, at the

March 1989 meeting of the Commonwealth, State and Territory Minsters of

Health and Aboriginal Affairs, was to empower the AHDG to advise on

structural arrangements for dealing with matters raised in the report; prioritise the

areas for early action; develop funding guidelines; and to report by November

1989.

There are several points of concern with the establishment and recommendations

of the Development Group. The membership of the AHDG was comprised

mainly by senior officials of government departments (from the Department of

Community Services and Health, DAA and each of the states/territories) with

only one Aboriginal community representative. This is in direct conflict with

WHO ideology, regarding community input and control in effective health care

systems, and the whole thrust of the NAHS Report. The stated recognition of

the 'community disquiet' (AHDG, 1989:14) at this situation, and the supposed

consideration taken of any comments and suggestions from the community

representatives during the preparation of the AHDG Report, is far from

satisfactory. Its Report contained only 21 recommendations compared with the

much more detailed recommendations contained in the NAHS Report. The

AHDG recognises that it:

in no way is presenting a comprehensive plan of action to implement the NAHS [p.14].

It was thought more appropriate for the proposed Council of Aboriginal Health

(CAH) to address that task. Eight draft resolutions were presented to the

Brisbane Joint Ministers Forum in June 1990 and incorporated all of the AHDGs

637

recommendations, some for immediate implementation (Recommendations 1 ,2,

14,18,19,21) and referred others for either the proposed CAH (Recommendation

13), ATSIC (Recommendations 3,4,6 (modified),?) or the State!ferritory

Tripartite Forums (Recommendations 7,8,9,10,11,12,15,16,17,20) to address.

The proposed structure of the CAH with a majority of Aboriginal members (17

out of 29) is an important issue. The resolution at the Brisbane meeting only

stated that the Aboriginal representatives should come from each of the ATSIC

zones. The Aboriginal Advisory Group's view that they should come from

Aboriginal community controlled organisations with a health service delivery

function needs addressing. Also the representation of the Department of

Community Services and Health, A TSIC, Department of Employment Education

and Training, State and Terfitory governments does not incorporate a mechanism

to ensure that co-operation by other departments or groups (e.g. Defence,

Mining, Industry, Immigration, Environment, Pastoral Industry) via an

intersectoral approach will occur. If an overall social health model was adopted

by governments then it would be easier to ensure this cooperation if particular

groups or departments were reluctant to assume responsibility for the health

consequences of their actions.

The proposed State!ferritory Tripartite Forums provide a mechanism to ensure

that consultation, cooperation and co-ordination occurs at a State!ferritory level

and that a true intersectoral approach to the issues occurs. The suggested role of

the Forums to oversee the implementation of the Strategy, ensure intersectoral

collaboration regarding policy and impact, and to complement the role of the

CAH, is accepted and essential. However, as implied by the Aboriginal

Advisory Group (AAG), the failure to state the proposed composition of these

forums, except to say that it should include Federal, State!ferritory and

Aboriginal representation, could lead to inequity in representation of Aboriginal

groups between states. It is essential that, like the CAH, the forums provide the

opportunity for major Aboriginal representation, and again that representation

should be from community controlled organisations involved in health service

638

delivery, so that the communities' health needs are fully recognised. The

importance of Local Government in service delivery, or the lack of service

delivery, needs to be addressed, and inclusion of them in the 'Tripartite forum'

may be a mechanism to ensure this occurs.

The need for adequate resourcing of existing AHSs and the establishment of

new, community controlled Aboriginal Health Services as highlighted in the

NAHS, the AHDG report, and the resolutions of the Brisbane meeting, should

be implemented as a matter of urgency. This is a key issue, as it is not only the

provision of health services that needs to be addressed, but the provision of

adequately resourced, accessible and appropriate health services (WHO, 1978;

Atkinson and Gray, 1990). Indeed the Western Australian Aboriginal Health

Policy Review Team is of the opinion that inadequate resourcing is a significant

cause of wastage of funds. The modification of the AHDG Recommendation 6

from consultation with existing AHSs concerning their immediate needs, to

consultation with the Tripartite Forums, seems to be a filtering mechanism to

enable the decision of relative needs to be imposed, which may result in some

AHSs not being adequately resourced. The cost of $14 million for 1990-91 and

$5 million 1991-92 and thereafter implies that the need is there, and recognises

that any delay tactics must be viewed with scepticism. The AAG notes that it

was not the intention of the NAHS that the Tripartite Forums vet community

initiatives, rather they should be promoting and resolving issues related to

intersectoral cooperation (NAHS, p.40).

The stated intention to enable greater community input into developing and

implementing appropriate strategies to address the ill-health problems in

Aboriginal communities, seems at odds with the apparent reluctance to consult

directly with the community based organisations who have an intimate

understanding of the needs. It could be assumed that this is a paternalistic

attempt by decision makers to ensure that some control is kept in the decision

making process.

639

The proposal to establish an Office of Aboriginal Health (OAH) within ATSIC is

a recommendation of the NAHSWP (p.39), which included the condition that it

be appropriately resourced, and include health expertise, and that it be created by

amending the ATSIC Act (1989). The decision not to follow the NAHS

recommendation that there be an amendment to the A TSIC Act 1989 to include

this, means that the continuity of the OAH rests with the ATSIC Commissioners

and with the government of the day. This is rather tenuous and could lead to

health no longer being a priority, depending on political vagaries. The question

of who determines what is appropriate resourcing or health expertise is not

addressed by the resolutions.

There has been a delay in the implementation of the recommendation of both the

NAHS (p.206) and recommendations from the RCIADIC Interim Report (p.31),

that a national task force be set up to address the broad issues related to alcohol

use, and how to address those issues in both the long and short term. The

reason for this cited in recommendation 13 of the AHDG, restated in the

Resolutions of the Brisbane Meeting, is to await the presentation of this report of

my Commission. No definite reasons for the delay in implementation of this

recommendation have been forthcoming.

The recommendations of the AHDG regarding data collection and research are a

somewhat diluted version of the NAHS recommendations. The NAHS

emphasises a broad approach to monitoring and evaluation. The argument for

qualitative information and not just quantitative data is strong. The importance of

appropriate information collection is stressed (e.g. DAA tried to impose

'Performance Indicators' on AHSs, which were thought to place excessive

demands on the Services, and not provide useful information for improving the

service delivered). As the NAHS definition of health incorporates well-being,

equity and social justice, so should any mechanism which monitors the quality

and outcomes of a service. The simple monitoring of disease incidence only

provides part of the story. Unfortunately the resolutions adopted at the Brisbane

Forum, opt for the simplistic approach of health statistics only and ignore the

640

wider issues mentioned above. The proposal is to provide more resources to the

Australian Institute of Health (AIH) to enable them to fulfil this role.

The research and data collection recommendations contained in the Resolutions

adopted at the Brisbane Joint Ministers meeting again represent a watering down

of the original NAHS intention. The NHMRC recommendation indicates an

intention to give Aboriginal health research a higher priority, however they do

not address the issues of ethical approval for research to proceed; consultation

with communities prior to, during and after the research; consent; participation of

the community in the research; social, gender and cultural issues; ownership of

the product of the research; and exploitation of the communities' resources, all of

which are addressed in the NAHS Report. The NHMRC proposes to 'earmark a

sum of money for Aboriginal health research'. The NAHS recommendation is

more equitable, with a fixed proportion of NHMRC research funds being

committed to Aboriginal health research plus a certain amount to be given to

Community Controlled Aboriginal Health Services to participate in research.

Overall the resolutions as put to the Joint Ministers Forum represent a

progressive step in the Aboriginal health arena but they fail to uniformly address

the issues of equity and consultation as outlined above. The inconsistencies

could be a reflection of the entrenched positions of some of the players in the area

such as health statisticians, researchers and bureaucrats. There is still some way

to go before community input into policy formulation, implementation and

monitoring, as espoused by the WHO in its policies on effective primary health

care, can be said to be a reality in Aboriginal health.

A review of the Objects of the ATSIC Act 1989 (Section 3) shows that the Act

recognises the dispossession that Aboriginal people have suffered, and that the

present position of Aboriginal people in Australia is one of disadvantage. The

Act refers to furthering the economic, social and cultural development of

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders (Section 3). However, despite the Federal

Government's Social Justice Strategy, neither social justice nor health service

641

provision or strategy is addressed as a topic in the Act. Considering that the

Department of Aboriginal Affairs has had sole responsibility for funding

Aboriginal health initiatives, except for Medicare payments, since 1984, this

would seem to be a major deficiency in the legislation.

Section 18(1) allows for loans or grants for 'the purpose of furthering the social,

economic or cultural development of Aboriginal persons or Torres Strait

Islanders'. This is the only Section which enables on-going funding to AHSs,

though there are provisions under Section 14 and Section 15 for granting of

property or funds for the acquisition of property to Aboriginal or Torres Strait

Islander corporations. As noted earlier, the NAHSWP recommended that the

A TSIC Act be amended to include an Office of Aboriginal Health (p.39). The

current wording of Section 18 of the Act allows for ATSIC to determine, in its

judgement, what is appropriate for furthering 'social, economic or cultural

development'. If health is not perceived to be fundamental to this development

then, in my Commission's view, the continuation of the past under-resourcing of

Aboriginal Health initiatives is possible.

The views put by the Department of Community Services and Health to this

Commission, at the July Heads of Government Department meetings, provide an

excellent example of the disparity between the perceptions of Government

Departments of the level of service provided by them and the reality experienced

by Aboriginal people. The DCSH is involved in a wide range of activities which

have a potential impact on Aboriginal people, including: hostel care for those

who are 'elderly' or disabled; Home and Community Care (funding only,

scheme is managed by the State); research funding (Research and Development

Grants Advisory Committee (RADGAC) and the AIH); housing via the Joint

State Commonwealth Housing Agreement and the Supported Accommodation

Assistance Plan; hearing services via the National Acoustic Laboratory;

emergency relief grants; provision of Commonwealth Medical Officers (now the

Australian Government Medical Service) who conduct medical examinations for

the Department of Social Security to help determine 'benefit' eligibility; and child

642

care ($15 million to Western Australia of which $1.9 million is allocated for

Aboriginal child care).

Despite the Department's relatively small direct client contact, most of its work is

through funding other agencies. They are attempting to address the issue of lack

of understanding amongst their workers by developing some courses in

Aboriginal cultural awareness for non-Aboriginal employees; increasing the

number of Aboriginal employees; running workshops to develop better

mechanisms for community consultation (three to date); and trying to broaden

workers' perspectives so that an entire community's needs are recognised rather

than being specifically focussed on single issues. The impression the DCSH

representatives portrayed to the Commission was that, in general, the services

they were providing met the needs of most of the Aboriginal community in

Western Australia. Their example that the five new hostels in Roebourne,

Turkey Creek, Fitzroy Crossing, Broome and Wyndham, meant that the north of

the State was well covered for hostel style accommodation for the aged, revealed

a considerable divergence from the reality.

Finally, a recent media release from current ATSIC Chairperson advised that:

unfortunately the 1990-91 Federal Budget does not allow any funds for the implementation of the National Aboriginal Health Services [O'Donoghue, Challenge for ATSIC, 22 August 1990].

As noted earlier, these sorts of delays and obstructions in relation to Aboriginal

health can be considered with some scepticism and concern by Aboriginal

people. If there are other policy alternatives or options, I was not aware of them.

643

14.6 Aboriginal health and the State Government

In May 1990 the Health Department of Western Australia released its first

strategic plan covering 1989-1990. This 315 page document defines the purpose

of the Health Department of Western Australia as being:

To protect, promote and restore health, and to provide care for the sick and disabled through the delivery of high-quality health care and efficient health services to the people of Western Australia [HDWA Report, 1990:3].

These objectives espouse the promotion of health and the prevention and

treatment of ill health, the provision of obstetric services, rehabilitation for those

who are disabled, and to provide continuing care for those with chronic ill health

or disability. The principles for achieving the stated objectives include equity of

access to services; highest quality service; understanding and responsiveness to

community needs; consultation with the 'public' re policy and programmes; co­

operation with other agencies in planning, maintaining and improving services;

and support of education of health care providers.

The Commissioner of Health's inaugural address quotes the WHO definition of

health as:

Not just the absence of disease but a state of complete physical, mental and social well being [Extract included in HDW A, A Plan For Health, 1990:10].

The Commissioner goes on to recognise the important role that other sectors play

in the determination of health within the community. However, he then proceeds

to justify the limiting of the Health Department's role to the reduction of disease

because it is easy to measure the changes in incidence and hence monitor

programme effectiveness; 'positive health is, by contrast, a concept the

measurement of which has proved elusive' (ibid).

644

In my Commission's view, it is difficult to understand why the opportunity to set

the agenda in health in Western Australia by strongly adopting the social model

of health and making it a much larger underlying premise of the strategic plan

was not taken. This reinforces the conclusions of the NAHSWP that the common

assumption in the non-Aboriginal community is that health 'is the domain of the

specific agencies established to provide care' (p.x). For example the GP, the

specialist, the Health Department or the hospital are the main places people

should access health care and they are 'expected to do what was required to make

people healthy' (p.x). This has led sectors of government instrumentalities to

have 'a pre-occupation with diseases and organisations rather than the underlying

non-medical causes of ill-health' (NAHS, p.xi).

Though Aboriginal health status is well recognised as being the worst of any

sector of the community, the Health Department of Western Australia appears not

to address it as the priority issue that others in the community consider it to be.

The response of the Cabinet Aboriginal Affairs Sub-Committee to the release of

the report of the NAHSWP and a Health Department of Western Australia

submission to the SubCommittee that 'Aboriginal health was under control' was

to establish yet another review of Aboriginal health (Dennis Gray, Evidence to

the Commission, 18 July 1990). The Western Australian Aboriginal Health

Policy Review is currently being conducted by David Atkinson and Dennis

Gray. It is significant that this review was prompted by the government rather

than the Health Department of Western Australia. Considering the great

emphasis placed on co-ordination of services and approaches in the NAHS,

1989 and the increased emphasis on community consultation, participation and

intersectoral approaches by the Health Department of Western Australia in its

Strategic Plan, it is hard not to interpret the Department's atti tude as a lack of

resolve to appropriately address the Aboriginal health inequalities in Western

Australia.

In the Health Department of Western Australia Strategic Plan Aboriginal health

seems to be far from a priority. Some attempt at raising the profile of Aboriginal

645

health has been made by establishing the Aboriginal Health Policy Unit in

January 1990. However, rather than this unit reporting direct to the

Commissioner or the Minister, it is placed under the Assistant Commissioner of

Policy and Planning. There has been considerable discussion about the size of

the unit (four people) and the people appointed to the positions. In the

programme classification Aboriginal health initiatives appear last in three of the

four programmes.

The role of the Aboriginal Health Policy Unit is: To develop strategies and to

develop policies that are State wide and also provide plans of delivery for

appropriate and accessible and acceptable health programmes for Aboriginal

people across the diversity of cultures that exist within this state'. Programme

401 and programme corporate services 1108 of 'A Plan For Health' are referred

to as specific examples of HDW A Aboriginal health programmes. The aim is to

have greater Aboriginal employment in the department; greater community

consultation; greater communication between the Health Department and

Aboriginal Health Services and other agencies involved in health care delivery in

the Aboriginal community; improve service delivery via better co-ordination of

Health Department of Western Australia activities; greater support for the

environmental health worker programme; and encourage the acceptance of

Aboriginal medical students via special entry provisions into the University of

Western Australia; looking at Aboriginal youth health needs and services; and

commitment to the tripartite forums which flow from the June Joint Ministers

Forum (RCIADIC Transcript, Perth, 1990:304-7). These aims sound

impressive but the realities of policy and ideals versus the implementation and

attitudes of those who actually have contact with Aboriginal people in the

community is quite different. The possibility of a small policy unit to influence

attitudes in the whole of a large bureaucracy is remote (Atkinson and Gray,

Evidence to the RCIADIC, 1990). On making these remarks, I realise this may

be a long term strategy that has yet to really prove its value.

646

The Commissioner of Health acknowledged that in the past the attitude of

departmental staff towards Aboriginal people had been less than ideal but that it

had improved considerably recently. The consultation process undertaken by the

Commission revealed a less than satisfactory situation. Indeed the Regional

Director of the Geraldton Mid-West Region refused to allow Community and

Child Health Service staff to attend the regional conferences in Carnarvon and

Geraldton. At the Conferences a number of comments made by Departmental

staff revealed some significant misconceptions regarding Aboriginal people and

frequently a victim blaming attitude. For example:

1. The perception, of the hospital Administrator, that there is no need for an Aboriginal Liaison Officer (ALO) at Albany Regional Hospital due to the small number of Aboriginal people who have contact with the hospital as either inpatients or in the outpatient clinics. Yet the issue had been raised to the Administrator of ARH in a phone call from Minister Pam

Buchanan's office a few days earlier in which it was stated there was a perception in the local Aboriginal community of being poorly treated at the hospital [Transcript, Albany, May 1990:119].

2. A Community Health Nurse in commenting on hygiene being a problem within the Aboriginal community stated: 'We do an ongoing education programme in Aboriginal families - washing hands after the toilet, washing hands before preparing food - this kind of thing ... the programmes we run here are just really on a one to one basis which we feel is the best way of getting things across'. Later she

admitted to be talking about 3 or 4 families out of a population of about 500 [RCIADIC Albany Transcript, 1990:121-122]. This is an example of 'describe one and colour them all' and the single issue approach alluded to earlier. The orientation for the rest of the Aboriginal community who were not members of these particular families was not stated. Where is the combined educative, preventive, curative and empowering process recognised as being the most effective?

3. . .. those three families would be the focus of three-quarters of government agency funds in this area [L. Bassett-Scarfe, RCIADIC Albany Transcript, 1990: 137] .

4. Some Departmental staff acknowledged that band-aid care is inadequate in addressing the causes of ill-health but lacked an understanding of those causes. 'We do not. add:ess. the really deep psychological reasons for why the situatiOn IS as

647

it is' [Community Health nurse, Transcript, Roeboume, 1990:267].

5. A lot of them are not even intelligent enough to look at health the way we look at health ... [Senior regional employee, HOW A. Comment to The Western Australian Aboriginal Health Policy Review Team about Aboriginal people].

Some of the non-Aboriginal health care workers attitudes reflect the lack of

understanding in the wider community. Comments made during the regional

conferences included:

The Aborigines occupies a privileged position in his relationship to law and order [RCIADIC Transcript, Geraldton, 1990:110].

In response to a question about the lack of self esteem: The fundamental difficulty lies in the understanding of the social background say, of Aboriginal people. I can't imagine that thousands of years living under a certain social system, if I can use a .. . apply to it, that the genes that have been generated, the tendencies, the attitudes, the traditions and everything else that go with Aboriginal living are embedded and ingrained to such a degree that you're not going to breed this thing out of people in a matter of a generation or two [RCIADIC Transcript, Geraldton,

1990:113].

They're alcoholics in the main, the fringe dwelling Aborigines ... [RCIADIC Transcript, Kalgoorlie, 1990:28].

Native Welfare mentality's still stuck in their gluey minds [RCIADIC Transcript, Perth, I 990:287].

The failure of educators and employers to recognise the importance of providing

adequate learning opportunities to enable health care workers to develop an

understanding of Aboriginal culture, and the reality of the situation many

Aboriginal people are in, is another key factor. For example the Health

Department of Western Australia orientation programme for newly appointed

Community Health Nurses is a 105 hour course which includes a 4.3%

allocation for 'Aboriginal culture'. Aboriginal lifestyle is referred to in the

general health issues and forms 6% of the total programme. This orientation

programme occurs once a year so it may be between one to eleven months since

the Community Health Nurse commenced work with the Department.

648

The University of Western Australia Medical Faculty was approached by the

Commission regarding its teaching in the area of Aboriginal health to ensure that

socio-cultural factors are addressed adequately by its graduates. The rather

global response was that 'Clinicians ... always take into account the

socio-cultural and economic situation of all patients be they aboriginal [sic] or

caucasian. This is part of the general training in medicine' (correspondence from

Faculty of Medicine, University of Western Australia, to RCIADIC, dated

4 July 1990). This conflicts with the reality conveyed by Aboriginal people

during the term of the Commission. The formal teaching in Aboriginal health in

1990 in the whole medical course consisted of one lecture to the third year

medical students. Further ad hoc learning may occur during the rural attachment

in the sixth year and the two opportunities which exist for students to write an

essay, from a range of topics one of which is related to Aboriginal health, during

the first and sixth years of the course. In fact teaching in Aboriginal health has

actually decreased in the past two years according to some commentators

(Copeman, 1990). One hopeful step is that the Medical Faculty at UWA is

planning to admit three Aboriginal students in 1991 with less rigorous entrance

qualifications and funding permitting.

The 1989-90 Health budget in Western Australia was, according to a

departmental spokesperson, approximately $1.2 billion with around

$100 million being spent on services to Aboriginal people. It needs to be

recorded here, however, that that amount of money is not specified for

Aboriginal health. It also needs to be recorded that the figure provided to this

Commission appears to be somewhat exaggerated. The style of accounting used

by the HDW A means that there has been no mechanism to ensure that the Federal

funds provided in the past were spent on Aboriginal health. The rationale used

was that they spent much more than they were given so that would be sufficient

accountability for utilisation of those funds. Currently the Department is trying

to change to a programme planning, budgeting, and management system which

649

will allow for easier documentation of the way money is spent, and hence

accountability will improve (RCIADIC Perth Transcripts, July 1990).

The Western Australian Aboriginal Health Policy Review Team is strongly of the

opinion that the Health Department of Western Australia should remove itself

from the area of health service delivery and provide adequate resources to

community controlled Aboriginal organisations to enable them to provide the

health service delivery required in their own communities. Their reasons include:

1. The belief that some of the antagonism that exists between AHSs and Health Department workers arises from a perceived competition in the area of service delivery and hence territoriality and jealousy develops. If the HOW A was no longer involved in service delivery then that antagonism would lose its momentum. Then the HOW A could assume a more effective role as a support base for those community based organisations.

2. The community controlled organisations could provide a more effective service as outlined earlier in the discussion about the WHOs view of the necessary requirements for effective primary health care structures.

3. It would enable greater accountability of resource utilisation.

A further reason which emerged from the community consultation undertaken is

co-dependency of the Department and the client community. The view that

Community Health has fostered a dependency on its services within the

community it served was raised several times (RCIADIC Transcript, Albany,

1990: 122). This is certainly an issue which needs addressing, particularly

concerning the self interest of the Department in maintaining its client base. It

was also noted that Community Health has tended to assume responsibility for

people's health, rather than participate in an empowering process to enable

Aboriginal people to be in control of their own health. This has changed,

according to some, over the past six months and now greater emphasis is being

placed by Community and Child Health Service (CCHS) staff to decrease the

650

tendency to assume responsibility for people's health. No details of how this is

happening were provided (RCIADIC Transcript, Roeboume, 1990:260).

14.7 Mental health

It is the Aboriginal contention that the current situation of their people is the product of European colonialism and racism, not of some theoretical prehistoric social, technological or psychological retardedness [Allen, 1988:84, quoted in Taking Control,

1990:34].

It is well recognised that mental health is a significant factor amongst sectors of

Aboriginal society. In 1979 the National Aboriginal Mental Health Association

was fonned and issued a Declaration of Mental Health which stated:

We declare that the mental health problems in Aboriginal society are at least as common and as serious as in any other society in Australia.

We declare that Aboriginal society does not enjoy the services for the relief and care of mental illness enjoyed by other groups.

We hold that psychiatric services planned to assist people of European descent are not suited to relieve the distress of Aboriginal people.

We express the need to develop, with all urgency, Aboriginal services to meet the needs of Aboriginal people suffering from mental distress.

We maintain that these services should be conducted by and for Aboriginal people, with proper links with other health services.

We recognise that services are provided for Aboriginal problems of the body, but that mental health problems go overlooked and ignored.

We pledge ourselves to the National Aboriginal Mental Health movement, designed to promote professional and vocational development in this field [The Aboriginal Health Worker, 1980:4].

The reasons for the degree of mental ill-health among Aboriginal people are

related to the legal, social and cultural dislocation that has occurred since

651

colonisation. Swan (1988) quotes the results of a survey conducted by the

Victorian Aboriginal Health Service (V AHS) in 1987 which found that of those

surveyed:

65% had been separated from a parent during childhood (cf. 29% in the wider population);

47% had been separated from both parents (cf. 7%);

21% had lived in an institution during childhood.

That the impact of such cultural genocide has been devastating is well

documented throughout this report. The reasons for this disruption to families

was enshrined in the 1905-63 legislation under the ethnocentric policies of the

time. Though this policy has officially been revoked as has the legislation, ,.

Aboriginal families can still be separated owing to a lack of material resources.

At the 1990 annual conference of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College

of Psychiatrists, a paper was presented which strongly linked poverty with

mental health consequences (Western Australian Newspaper, 17 May 1990). As

noted earlier McMichael (1987) has also commented on this. It is a continuing

reinforcing cycle of oppression/poverty/ill-health/dispossession. As Swan

(1988:32) notes, the State, via the institutionalisation of the Aboriginal

community, has created a 'soul-destroying dependency' which needs to be

addressed. This has resulted from the multitude of losses that the Aboriginal

community has experienced, and continues to experience, since colonisation.

Indeed she comments that 'many have seen their brothers and sisters labelled as

mentally ill (and hospitalised and incarcerated as a result) when they know the

problem to be a social and political one. The diagnoses are always 'white'

non-Aboriginal ones, and the solutions are seen as another form of oppression'

(ibid:33), namely, medication, hospitalisation and incarceration.

652

The solutions for maintaining good mental health lie in access to material

resources and conditions and in the following principles:

• high self esteem and confidence;

• freedom to communicate needs and feelings;

• ability to love and be loved;

• sense of belonging to family and community;

• the ability to cope with stress;

• ability to relate, create and assert oneself;

• options for change which help develop a problem-solving approach;

• comfort with your environment; and

• believing in something (family, community, culture, religion) [ibid:356].

It is also essential that Aboriginal society is not perceived as a homogenous

culture. There are many different language groups, a fact which needs to be

appreciated by those in policy, planning and service delivery roles in all areas not

just in mental health. A cross-cultural education institution, as well as

incorporating cross-cultural approaches in existing institutions, would help this

process of recognition.

There is a need for appropriate mental health education and training for both

health care workers, and the general community. This should be aimed at

developing the appropriate skills and understanding required to enable effective

work among Aboriginal people. It should also be aimed at attempting to

understand some of the stresses Aboriginal people endure. This need is

highlighted when some of the material, both evidence and submissions, before

my Commission is examined.

653

It should be noted that there is currently only one Aboriginal person employed by

Mental Health Services in Western Australia, Richard Wilkes. He is employed

as a welfare officer at the Multi-Cultural Psychiatric Centre. It is his view that

many country localities, towns and isolated communities, tend to use Graylands

Mental Hospital in Perth as a place to send their 'problem people rather than take

the trouble to look after them' (R. Wilkes, 1989:5). He goes on to comment that

there are significant mental health problems amongst Aboriginal people, and that

most of these stem from the 'culture being swallowed by the system and the

cultural collision in living a different lifestyle than they are used to' (ibid:6). In

order to address the Aboriginal mental health needs in the State, he sees the need

for several small regional centres which could respond to local needs and cater

for the diversity of Aboriginal people living in Western Australia. The centres

should be run by local groups, similar to the Aboriginal Health

Services. These centres should be properly resourced and staffed. Such

considered resourcing would help avoid the alienation and cultural collision

caused by being 'tossed into the European settings that we have now' (ibid:7).

An examination of the statements and evidence presented to the Commission in

relation to the death of Paul Farmer provide a useful insight into the availability

of psychiatric services in the State, psychiatric practitioners understanding, or

lack of, of Aboriginal culture and the cross-cultural conflicts they experience.

Dr G. Smith, Director of Psychiatric Services, Health Department of Western

Australia, confirms that there are no specific psychiatric services available for

Aboriginal prisoners and that the services available to anyone 'in custody are

limited' (W/5/59, p.l). The only psychiatric services available outside Perth are

in the Kimberley (Derby), Geraldton (part-time) and Bunbury (private) plus

visiting specialists are available periodically in Albany, Kalgoorlie, Port Hedland

and Karratha.

It should be noted that the presence of a psychiatrist does not guarantee the availability of full psychiatric care, nor appropriate care as will become obvious

later. The demand for psychiatric services versus the relative scarcity of service

654

providers means that all of the residents of Western Australia are poorly provided

for, those in country regions particularly. Dr Smith goes further: 'Aboriginal

people in both country and metropolitan areas do have special needs which are

poorly met by current services. It would be fair to say that the psychiatric needs

of the Aboriginal population are basically little understood at present' (W/5/59,

p.4).

An example of this lack of understanding is provided by Dr P. Skerritt in his

commentary on the psychiatric care provided to Paul Farmer (W/5/48). He

acknowledges the presence of 'phenomenon' (hearing the death bird and seeing

faces of dead relatives) which had a 'cultural bias' and the expression of these

were 'shaped by cultural factors' (p.l ). He then proceeds to place a western

psychiatric interpretation on the presence of these 'phenomenon', in association

with the perceived lowered mood of Mr Farmer when he had contact with the

psychiatrists. His interpretation differs from the treating practitioners, but he still

manages to find a psychiatric label to apply. Namely, 'psychotic depression'

rather than 'schizo-affective disorder' (p.2). His justification for the psychiatric

disorder theory rather than an entirely culturally based belief, is that the

'phenomenon' resolved upon the commencement of anti-psychotic medication,

Thioridazine. On a superficial level this may seem logically consistent. A more

accurate interpretation and course of action would be to look at the reaction of

Mr Farmer to the situation he was faced with, and try to develop a mechanism to

address those important cultural elements in his overall management. This may

incorporate some psychiatric tools but would, more importantly, also incorporate

appropriate cultural responses to Mr Farmer's situation.

I believe it is important to establish here that I do not, for one second, pretend to

be an expert in psychiatry, nor would I find it easy to rely upon what such

experts say. My point here is simply to highlight the need for knowledge of

cultural beliefs when dealing with Aboriginal people. In fact the whole matter of

professional assistance in relation to Aboriginal people is of grave concern to my

Commission. While it is sometimes necessary to rely on the advice and services

655

of practitioners, such as those cited above, no matter how well intentioned that

advice and service may be, unless they are infonned from a perspective which

takes into account Aboriginal socio-cultural beliefs and practices, the task of

interpreting what they say is made that much more difficult. My comments do

not only refer to the psychiatric profession, as infonnation throughout this report

refers to a number of instances where misinfonnation regarding Aboriginal social

life can generate misunderstandings of various degrees and influences (see

e.g. Chapters 5 and 12). Some of the complexities and dilemmas of

cross-cultural interpreting are highlighted in the following example. They are

considered more from an ideal perspective, rather than from my having to make

judgements based upon the advice of the psychiatrists involved in the particular

case.

The example concerns the view given by Dr Lister in response to Dr Skerritt's

comments about Paul Fanner. 'I doubt he was developing a significant

depressive disorder as he successfully lived in the bush for 7 months without any

known suicide attempts' (RCIADIC report on Paul Fanner, W/5/47, p.4). This

comment refers to a period of time following Fanner's escape from Graylands

Hospital. An alternative explanation could be that he was no longer confined in

prison or a psychiatric hospital.

Another example, is the assumption of Paul Fanner's low intelligence by the

psychiatrist Dr Stubley, quoted in the submission for the family. It contrasts

with the reality of his participation in TAFE courses on psychology, high speed

diesel engines, animal husbandry and other assessments of his above average

intelligence, as detailed in the submission. Other reports, submissions and

evidence presented to the Commission reflect the picture portrayed above.

Namely, a persistent lack of understanding, on the part of psychiatrists, when

confronted with the mental health problems suffered by Aboriginal people.

Hunter's (1988) interpretation is that the increase in the rate of suicide amongst

Aboriginal people in the Kimberley reflects the rapidity of change over the past

656

twenty years, plus an inability to achieve access to the potential political and

economic means that are constantly being portrayed via many channels, including

the media. What is of relevance in this context too is the fact that the rates of

suicide of males in the non-Aboriginal community have increased markedly as

well (Kosky, 1990; Reser, 1989).

In relation to Hunter's work, his recurrent use of the terms 'partial descent' and

'full descent' throughout various publications is, in my Commission's view,

unfortunate and in marked contrast with Aboriginal peoples way of expressing

Aboriginality (see e.g. Chapter 6). Additionally, to explain the high levels of

Aboriginal suicide in the Kimberley region, Hunter (1988, 1989) appears to

concentrate on establishing alcohol and the label 'alcoholic' as seemingly the

important issue. Comprehensive and detailed analyses of the causes of

alcoholism, as well as describing the symptoms, should never be

under-estimated.

As observed earlier, psychiatrists are not the only authors to offer simplistic

analyses of the causes and solutions to the poverty faced by Aboriginal people.

Sullivan, Gracey and Vernon (1987:336), in an article on the cost of food and

nutrition in remote areas, propose the introduction of food vouchers to address

the issue of undernutrition and poverty within the Kimberley region. This sort of

paternalism is of great concern to my Commission, as it extends to suggesting

this would ensure that at least some 'welfare payments' were not spent on

'nutritionally unsound and/or unnecessarily expensive items or non-essential,

and non-food purchases'.

Another psychiatric informant to the RCIADIC (in confidence) raised the issue of

family background as a factor regarding deaths in custody in terms of parenting

and 'chaotic family backgrounds'. This informant claimed that the receipt of

Social Security entitlements by many Aboriginal people places them in a 'highly

advantaged' position in society in contrast to the well accepted notion of

Aboriginal people occupying the most disadvantaged position. These basic

657

misconceptions from psychiatric influences in this State are cause for great

concern if these attitudes are translated into their clinical and advisory work

(RCIADIC Transcript, 1990:241-243).

The above views highlight the need for greater involvement of Aboriginal people

in the field of mental health in order to diminish the dangers of superiority and

perpetration of cultural oppression which has influenced the relationship between

Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people since colonisation (see e.g. Langton in

Radford et al, 1990: 13-16).

Lorimer's (1990) work contains a useful analysis of psychiatric evidence and

submissions made to the RCIADIC. Her paper addresses the issues of the

definition of normal and abnormal behaviour in Aboriginal communities, and the

assumptions made in the psychiatric opinion under consideration. The bulk of

the material presented by Lorimer stresses that some opinions are misinformed

and judgemental, and reflect an ignorance of Aboriginal reality on the part of the

psychiatrists. Lorimer offers a perspective to enable the readers to conclude that

these 'authoritative' statements presented to the Commission, need to be

considered from a different perspective.

While it appears that the psychiatric profession is aware of some of its

shortcomings and via its representative body, the Royal Australian and New

Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) is trying to address this, it is worth

looking in a little more detail and making some comparisons. The Social and

Cultural Section of the Western Australian branch of the RANZCP has produced

a draft position paper on psychiatric services for Aboriginal people. It contains a

mixture of awareness of the issue and the perpetuation of misinformation and

cultural stereotypes. It includes a statement recognising the tendency in Western

Australia for Aboriginal people to be diagnosed as having major psychiatric

disorders, such as affective illnesses and schizophrenia, 'with fewer symptoms

being noted and taken into consideration' (RANZCP, 1990:1). (See also Mowry

(n.d.) for further discussion.) This view acknowledges the non-Aboriginal

658

orientation of psychiatric services in Australia, and the lack of culturally

appropriate services, few workers with the necessary skills and no particular

policies regarding appropriate diagnosis and management of Aboriginal people

with mental health problems. In contrast, is the inclusion of the less informed

statement about Aboriginal people: 'they appear to suffer the ravages of alcohol

misuse more rapidly than Caucasians' (p.l).

An example of the relative ease of diagnosis with less symptoms being identified

can be found in an unpublished paper by Mowry (n.d.) as mentioned above.

Dr Mowry compared the symptoms presented against the diagnostic criteria for

schizophrenia in twelve Aboriginal and twelve non-Aboriginal clients discharged

from Graylands Mental Hospital in 1983 with the diagnosis of schizophrenia.

He found that none of the Aboriginal clients satisfied all of the diagnostic criteria,

whereas eight of the non-Aboriginal clients did.

There is passing reference in the RANZCP document to liaison with traditional

healers in order to decrease the alienation and mistrust felt by Aboriginal people

when confronted by the psychiatric system. Of more relevance would be an

increased determined reorientation of the services so that Aboriginal people have

input in the planning, implementation and monitoring of them. There needs to

be a move away from the small changes to make it look like change is

happening, but still maintaining the power base in the hands of western

psychiatry as evidenced by the desire to be more involved in the teaching and

administration as outlined above.

14.8 'Too many worries': self-inflicted harm

Of the 32 deaths under consideration by the Commission in Western Australia 9

have been by alleged suicide, or self-inflicted harm. Of those, only four were

considered intentional acts by the Coroner. Commissioner O'Dea was later to

conclude that he was unable to say conclusively that one of those four had

actually sought to take their own life.

659

A significant number of the deaths have been within three hours of coming into

custody. The submission by Spencer (G/14/S) comments on the role of alcohol

and depressant effects as well as the consequences of withdrawal. This has been

covered in Chapter 19 on alcohol. Both he, Smith (1989), Lister (1989) and

Skerritt (1989), are of the view that isolation is the least favoured course of

action for someone who is suicidal or affected by alcohol. Spencer goes so far

as to say that any one affected by excessive alcohol locked in a small cell for a

few minutes is at risk of developing an acute withdrawal state and hence being at

risk of suicide.

An understanding of the current extent of suicide as a means of death in the

Aboriginal population in Western Australia is difficult due to the lack of accurate

information regarding its incidence, as stated earlier. Suicide is reported as the

second most common cause of death in the prison system in Western Australia,

after heart disease, according to Mr E. Stevens (Assistant Superintendent,

Albany Regional Prison, in the report into the death of Paul Farmer). The rapid

increase in the incidence of suicide in recent times is not only happening in the

young Aboriginal male population but is also occurring to a significant extent in

the wider community (Kosky, 1990; Reser, 1989; Radford et al, 1990). Low

self esteem, lack of opportunities, and lack of resources are strong negative

factors impacting on Aboriginal people, and especially contributing to the higher

rate of suicide in young Aboriginal males.

In contemporary terms, suicide is seen as an intentional response to inescapable

and unbearable circumstances. These circumstances often, but not always, occur

in association with a significant loss, be that cultural, spiritual, material or

personal, and often all four. There is difficulty in reaching valid conclusions

about the true causes of suicide in Aboriginal communities due to divergence of

ideology used by researchers and the failure to separate fact from judgement and

supposition. To quote Radford et al (1990:34):

660

Many research 'conclusions' with their 'authoritative' style and context, have, in effect, transformed that which has often comprised little more than speculation, into 'findings' for the world to behold.

The debate is turning so that the view of Aboriginal society as the primitive 'sick'

society is diminishing, and a greater awareness that the wider society has been

the controlling force, and hence major contributor, to the consequent

disadvantage and stresses which exist in Aboriginal communities, is growing.

The level of self-hann in the custodial setting reflects the level of hann which

occurs out of custody. According to Wilson (1982) it reflects the stress

experienced by Aboriginal people and stems from low self esteem and a sense of

futility. Radford (1990:3) chooses to describe this as the outcome of a 'failure to

adapt to and live in harmony with the new and constant setting of urban life,

initiated and sustained by the dominant European cultures'. The authors go on to

say that this 'mal-adaption' results from 'persisting and pervading poverty and

powerlessness, itself a result of disregard and, to some extent, exploitation'

(ibid).

Suicide should be considered as part of a range of self-harming actions. It tends

to receive more attention because ofthe finality of its outcome and because it is

somewhat easier to obtain statistics to reflect its frequency compared with the

frequency of self-inflicted hann.

14.9 Self-inflicted harm and the media: 'copycat syndrome'

In their submission to the RCIADIC, the Western Australian Prison Officers

Union of Workers put forward a theory that some of the deaths of Aboriginal

people in custody in this State that were presumed to have been suicides, can be

associated with media reporting of other such deaths. This theory, for which

there are some related research findings, has been dubbed the 'copycat

syndrome', and asserts that some Aboriginal people in custody are influenced by

the media reporting of the presumed suicide of others, precipitating their own

661

decision to kill themselves. In short, that they 'copy' the action of fellow

Aboriginal suicides (Mason, 1990: 133).

The Prison Officers' Union submission (1990:9) asserts that studies by Hunter

'and the experience of the Royal Commission itself show that these suicides

occur in a 'cluster', that is, can be grouped together in a short space of time. In

support of this theory the submission also notes that media clippings about the

death of Edward Cameron in Geraldton in July 1988 were found in the

possession of Graham Walley, who was found hanged in Greenough Prison a

short time later. It is also contended that there is a possible link between both of

these deaths and prominent media coverage of the RCIADIC inquiry into the

death of Charles Michael at Barton's Mill.

The submission asks the RCIADIC to recommend that the media 'wholly refrain

from reporting the deaths by suicide of prisoners' as a means of countering the

alleged syndrome. However, it also appears to suggest that simply by not stating

the dead prisoner's name and race, and not specifying presumed suicide is

sufficient to achieve this. There is some reference to the notion that the 'public

interest' is served by the media reporting of such deaths, but that the above

'protocols' if adopted, would not 'subjugate' that interest.

While none of the available research conclusively demonstrates that media

coverage of Aboriginal deaths in custody can be seen as the cause of these

deaths, there is sufficient evidence of an association between media coverage and

suicide by youth in general to warrant some consideration of the Prison Officers'

Union assertion.

A survey of previous research by Mason (1990) showed that the majority of

studies support the existence of an association between media reporting of

suicide, and an increase in actual suicide rates by youth. Mason examines some

of the arguments against the the 'imitation effect' of the media reporting of

suicide, including an hypothesis that copycat suicides are merely precipitated by

662

reporting and would have been committed in any case. Statistical analysis of

suicide trends following suicide publicity have tended to refute this hypothesis.

Another opposing argument is that copy cat suicides merely imitate the method of

suicide publicised, having already resolved to kill themselves.

Another area that requires consideration is that if it is to be accepted that media

reporting of suicide does create a copycat or imitative effect, then perhaps the

style of the original reporting, as opposed to the mere reporting itself, is a factor

that can either decrease or increase the likelihood of imitation. Mason notes that

news reports of suicides are 'often criticised for being sensational with graphic

disclosure of the details and method of death', and that suicide can be portrayed

in the media as a 'romantic, heroic and alluring or normal act'. Equally, the

impression that suicide is the sole 'rational solution' to problems can be implied

in media reports.

Research in Western Australia has suggested that there is an association between

youth suicide and increased media coverage of suicides. Silbum (1990)

examined youth suicides and media coverage of suicides in Western Australia

from August 1987 to December 1988. It was noted that from the years 1986 to

1988 a substantial increase in the overall youth suicide rate occurred, from

10.4 per 100,000 to 17.9 per 100,000. Within this, it was found that youth

suicide by hanging in 198 8 was 200 per cent higher than the preceding seven

years.

Most significantly, Silbum found that the increasing rates of hanging as a method

of suicide by youth from 1986 to 1988 was preceded by an increase in the frequency of media reports specifically mentioning hanging. Of a total of

166 reports of suicide in The West Australian newspaper for this period,

96 mentioned death by hanging and 53 made reference to the Royal Commission

into Aboriginal Deaths In Custody.

663

Silburn concluded that although there was evidence to suggest an association

between the increased media coverage and an increase in youth suicide during

1988, the number of Aboriginal youth suicides (3) was too small to 'pennit any

meaningful conclusion to be drawn' about that specific group. Silburn did

conclude that an increase in Aboriginal youth suicide in 1988 suggested that a

clustering effect was operating.

Equally, Hunter, whose research the Prison Officers' Union cite in support of

their assertion that presumed suicides by Aboriginal people in custody in Western

Australia are precipitated by media coverage, stops short of conclusively stating

such an association. As well as noting the previous international research

supporting this theory, Hunter (1989) points out that indeed a clustering of

custodial suicides seem apparent in both Queensland and Western Australia:

Is there any evidence of clustering among the Aboriginal suicides in custody? The initial major media coverage followed the suicides of two Aborigines in Yarrabah in December 1986. In the following six months, four more hangings occurred in police custody in Queensland. For 1987, seven (53%) of 13 Aboriginal hangings in custody in Australia occurred in that State. In 1988, Western Australia became the focus of media attention, as a result of both having the largest number of deaths in custody, and the attempt by the Police Officers Union to halt the Muirhead Royal Commission. From January 1980 until November 1987 only three Aboriginal hangings in custody (one being in June 1987) had occurred in Western Australia; however, in the following year there were four more [Hunter,

1989:218].

Hunter (1989:222-223) does not offer any direct evidence of a cause and effect

relationship between the media and the clusters of suicides by time and region,

and he places more importance on a need to consider and take action on alcohol

use, and some of the 'social foundations' of ill-health.

Indeed, as the Prison Officers' Union points out, newspaper clippings of reports

of Aboriginal deaths in custody and related Aboriginal rights issues were found

in Graham Walley's possession, in fact, they totalled nearly fifty in number. The

664

clippings mainly concern the protests and political controversy surrounding the

death of Edward Cameron, but others relate to wider issues of racism and the

struggle for justice for Aboriginal people. While the Union might consider these

significant factors in Walley's suicide, it could be equally suggested, by the

choice and quantity of news clippings, that Walley had or was developing a

higher level of political consciousness concerning the position of Aboriginal

people, and had learned to collect and draw upon media texts as part of a useful

information-knowledge base. Viewed as such it is virtually impossible to

separate out media reporting from the whole web of inter-connected social and

political issues that bear upon both Walley's imprisonment and ultimately his

death.

Having said this does not completely exonerate the media from any responsibility

for the way deaths in custody are treated in reports. The emphasis Mason placed

on the style of reporting of suicide, its often sensational and romantic character,

could be a significant consideration in relation to some of the Aboriginal deaths in

custody in Western Australia. For example, the death of Edward Cameron in

Geraldton Police Lockup on 8 July 1988 was followed by dramatic media

coverage, not only of the suspicions and allegations surrounding the

circumstances of his presumed suicide by hanging, but the protests and disorder

that accompanied his funeral in Geraldton. Some months later two further

deaths, presumed to be suicide by hanging, occurred, one at nearby Greenough

Regional Prison (Graham Walley, 23 October 1988) and again at Geraldton

Police Lockup (Wongi 31 December 1988). In the thirteen months prior to

Cameron's death, three Aboriginal people died, presumed suicide by hanging, in

Western Australian police cells (Stanley Brown, Broome, 27 June 1987; Bernard

McGrath, Kalgoorlie, 15 November 1987; and Ben Morrison, Fremantle,

6 April 1988). These earlier deaths, like those that followed, were surrounded

not only by their own attendant media reporting but also by the wider national

coverage of the issue of Aboriginal deaths in custody which had reached high

levels of public prominence by the time of the commencement of the RCIADIC in

mid 1987.

665

If it is to be accepted that media generated publicity surrounding Aboriginal

deaths in custody influenced the decision of others to take their own lives, then

we must also consider both the personal circumstances of those who died and the

prevailing political context in which the deaths took place. To isolate the media

as a primary cause of the deaths is to overlook the environmental factors that

predisposed certain people to die in particular ways in State custody. After all,

the mere reporting of Aboriginal deaths in custody, while possibly impacting on

the overall suicide rate, does not cause mass suicide by Aboriginal or non­

Aboriginal people, either in or out of custody.

Essentially, if the assertion that the 'copycat suicide' is an act of despair and

severe depression, as a last resort escape from an unbearable existence, then it is

doubtful that the media reporting of such suicides can be conclusively stated to

precipitate others. Taking the example of the three deaths in the Geraldton region

in 1988, the ability of local Aboriginal social networks to communicate such

tragedies to a large number of Aboriginal people within the region, irrespective of

media reports, must be taken into account. Equally, the distressing effect of

these on the Aboriginal community, and to the point, others who are potentially

suicidal when in custody under certain conditions, again irrespective of media

reporting, is perhaps a significant factor. In other words, perhaps the salient

point about the 'cluster' of three deaths in the Geraldton region is not so much

that they were prominently reported in the media, but that they all occurred in the

same locality. It is necessary to consider whether local social environmental

factors in the Geraldton/Murchison region could have led to a higher potential for

suicide by young Aboriginal men in custody.

If, alternatively, the above 'copycat' suicide 'cluster' relies on an assumption that

these young Aboriginal men committed suicide in custody as an act of revenge or

resistance against their perceived oppressors, in other words, of 'martyrdom',

then it follows that a powerful argument can be made that the more media

666

publicity, the greater the martyr effect as the success of the effect depends upon

its intended impact on public opinion.

Finally, there is a problem in that, in a sense, the theory of the 'copycat

syndrome' assumes something extraordinary in the possibility that human

beings, under any conditions, behave in similar ways, and that the actions of one

influences the actions of others. It individualises suicide in custody and suggests

its cause in the simple copying of one individual's action by another, denying

perllaps the far more important underlying social issues that may have given rise

to all the deaths.

667

Chapter 15

THE IMPACT OF MINING: 'ALL WE GET IS THE DUST'

Social impact and social change processes related to mining and Aboriginal

interests reflect the complex interaction of local, regional and State wide issues.

In sum, the effect of the mining industry on Aboriginal people cannot be

separated from the effects of changing government policies and social changes

internal to Aboriginal people themselves. With all these factors in mind, the

RCIADIC commissioned Dr Richard Howitt to undertake field research in the

Eastern Goldfields region of Western Australia. The results of that research are ,. contained in RCIADIC Broome, Research Paper 5, August 1990. The

Goldfields was identified partly because of the high incarceration rates in the

area, as well as the number of deaths in custody. What follows is drawn from

some of Dr Howitt's findings, as well as other material that has been provided to

my Commission. It is important to observe here that while these findings

primarily refer to the goldfields, a great deal of the discussion can be

extrapolated to the rest of the State and, indeed, to other parts of the country.

The situation for Aboriginal people in the goldfields is complicated by the

complex history of the region regarding claims and interests in, and control over,

specific lands, reserves, resources and issues. Several cases are dealt with in

more detail in RCIADIC Broome, Research Paper 5, but the general issue is that

competing interests have been produced during different periods of occupation.

The 'traditional' totemic landscape, in which control over, and responsibility for,

specific areas was self-contained within Aboriginal societies, has had

superimposed upon it various non-Aboriginal patterns of land tenure (pastoral

leases, mining tenements, local government boundaries, state boundaries,

electoral boundaries, administrative districts and so on). There has also been a

development of various historical associations between Aboriginal groups and

668

particular areas not only through Aboriginal tradition, but, as noted in earlier

sections (e.g. Chapter 2), through government policies which have often served

to re-locate Aboriginal people into different areas where they have also developed

ties of association.

One of the fundamental issues is the extent to which Aboriginal individuals and

groups, empowered in the present policy context, can be considered

'representative' of broader Aboriginal interests. This issue also arises in the case

of the mining industry, where industry lobby groups such as the Chamber of

Mines of Western Australia and the Australian Mining Industry Council have

sought to present the vested interests of the mining industry in general, and the

private interests of individual corporations, as representative of the 'national'

interest. In the following section, the local implications of this issue are

considered, and discussions concerning empowerment of currently marginalised

people explored.

15.1 Vested interests: the mining lobby

The mining industry is made up of a large number of individual companies. In a

market economy, while some of these companies may operate together in joint

ventures or other arrangements, and some may have common shareholders,

managers or owners, they are fundamentally in competition with each other. The

industry lobby groups, such as the Chamber of Mines and the Australian Mining

Industry Council, therefore seek to represent a range of often conflicting specific

corporate interests. The political strategy of the mining lobby has generally been

to present itself not as representing a narrow vested interest, but as representing

the best interests of all Australians.

In its presentations and submissions to various inquiries concerning Aboriginal

land rights, for example, the mining lobby has sought to protect its vested

interest by presenting its concerns in terms of the national good. For example,

669

The Chamber of Mines of Western Australia (CMWA) submitted to the Western

Australian Aboriginal Land Inquiry that:

The ownership of all minerals must ... rest with the Crown which must ensure equality of access thereto for the bettennent of the entire community.

The Mining Industry believes that the natural resources of the State must be accessible to the entire community if the community is to maintain an acceptable standard of living and be able to provide social services for all its members .

.. . [and] strongly advocates the continued principle of Crown ownership of minerals so as to enable the natural wealth of the State to be available to the benefit of the entire community [CMWA, 1983:1-2].

The Australian Mining Industry Council (AMIC), in its submission to the same

inquiry, sought to establish the importance of the mining industry to the welfare

of every Australian with the claim that:

The mining industry's ... contribution to Gross National Product ... accounted for more than 28 per cent of the basic wealth production in 1980/81 [AMIC, 1983:8].

Such a contribution is indeed fundamental to the health of the national economy,

but what this argument fails to acknowledge is that it is not the production of

wealth, but its distribution which determines the extent to which a nation's

citizens benefit from the production of wealth inside its national borders. AMIC,

however, goes as far as to suggest that:

In the common good ... reasonable restraints should ... be imposed on Aboriginal landowners in relation to the wider community's need to maintain access to those community-owned resources [AMIC, 1983:18].

What the industry lobby's arguments systematically refuse to acknowledge is that

it may also be in the national interest to address the outstanding claims of

Aboriginal people resulting from the compulsory acquisition of all their property

as a result of colonial conquest and occupation. In fact, in direct contradiction of

670

the facts of history in the Eastern Goldfields, the CMW A goes as far as to say the

following:

the history of dispossession and dispersion (with which the Mining Industry had little or no involvement) will be reflected in ways not immediately obvious to or realised by non-Aboriginals [CMWA, 1983:28].

As discussed in detail in RCIADIC Broome, Research Paper 5, the industry was

one of the primary vehicles of dispossession and occupation in the Eastern

Goldfields, and has continued to act largely as an antagonist of Aboriginal

interests on many occasions even in recent history. Through such submissions,

and reinforced in advertising campaigns such as that launched in 1984 by the

CMW A (see e.g. Libby, 1989), the industry lobby has attempted not only to

establish their vested interest as fundamental to the 'betterment of the entire

community' and even the nation's ability to 'provide social services for all

members of our society', but has also sought to establish a popular perception of

antagonism between the just and equitable settlement of outstanding Aboriginal

claims and the national interest.

In discussing the industry's role in regional development, the mining lobby has

similarly attempted to develop a popular perception of the automatic transfer of

wealth from mining activity to the common good. For example:

The Mining Industry also strongly submits that adequate recognition must be given to the positive social, cultural and economic benefits that flow to local communities, both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal, in regions where mining operations are established.

These benefits include, amongst others, better medical, communication, transport and education facilities as well as greater access to food, fuel and other supplies in remote areas [CMWA, 1983:32].

The question of distribution of the benefits to the Eastern Goldfields communities

from mining is raised in RCIADIC Broome, Research Paper 5. The point to be

671

made here is that the conventional mechanisms for the distribution of wealth in

Australia, have generally proved inadequate in meeting the needs of remote

communities. In this sense, the nation has still not come to terms with the

'tyranny of distance', nor found an appropriate policy framework to address

'locational disadvantage'. In the case of remote Aboriginal communities, the

mechanisms to ensure benefits flow to the community have been flawed by

racism, paternalism and an inability to design and implement appropriate policies.

The principal benefit identified by the industry lobby has generally been direct

employment:

The mining industry is one of the few which has the potential to provide employment for Aborigines in remote areas ...

Where employment opportunities are sought (by Aboriginals), however, the industry is aware of the need for special efforts on the part of mining companies to accommodate their working procedures in order to allow for Aboriginal cultural differences. It is also recognised that the industry has an important role to play in the fields of education and training to enable those Aborigines, who so elect, to become involved in the wider · Australian community [AMIC, 1983:3-4].

Again, the issues of direct employment and specialised industry training are

detailed in RCIADIC Broome, Research Paper 5, but the point which needs to be

particularly raised here is that the experience of many Aboriginal people in the

Eastern Goldfields, and elsewhere in Western Australia, has been that prospects

for direct employment in the mining industry have continued to be poor, despite

the intentions of various company and government policies (see also Arthur 1986

for discussion on this matter in the Kimberley region of Western Australia).

In criticising the industry's submissions and political activity, it is important not

to suggest that they should not act to protect their position of entrenched vested

interest and privilege. However, it is equally important to unmask some of the

means by which the mining lobby's self interest is disguised as a representative

regional or national interest. The development of genuinely effective policies,

672

and in the case of this Commission, genuinely effective recommendations for

action, depends upon identifying and challenging the mechanisms by which

Aboriginal people are disempowered and marginalised. The purpose is not one

of political point scoring, but one of genuine social and ethical imperatives.

Given that the research detailed in RCIADIC Broome, Research Paper 5 has

revealed the lack of mechanisms to ensure adequate transfers of wealth and flows

of benefits to Aboriginal or non-Aboriginal interests in the Eastern Goldfields

generally, it is essential that the Commission is not swayed from tackling the core

issues by the misguided arguments of self-serving vested interests.

15.2 Aboriginal interests

The mining lobby by no means has a monopoly on misguided arguments or

self-serving vested interest. Starry-eyed idealism and what the mining lobby

typically calls 'do-gooders' have no place in the Commission's crucial role in

providing a framework for action to address the underlying issues involved in the

deaths in custody issue. The failure of existing policies to overcome the social

processes which have dispossessed and marginalised many Aboriginal people is

clearly part of the problem to be addressed. In evidence put before the

Commission by Howitt (1990) it would appear that many Aboriginal people and

mining company representatives state that they share common ground in their

criticism of many aspects of the Aboriginal 'industry'.

There are two aspects of this question to be addressed. The first is that of the

largely non-Aboriginal· sector which derives a direct benefit from the existence

and reproduction of disempowered Aboriginal groups, either in the form of jobs

(e.g. public servants in specialist Aboriginal affairs positions, consultants, etc) or

other benefits (e.g. church and other missionary groups). While it is not

intended to denigrate the dedicated and worthwhile contribution of many of the

individuals involved, it is essential to raise some serious questions about vested

interests and structural problems involved in this area, and the failure of the

'industry' to put in place mechanisms to overcome them.

673

The second aspect of the question, is the difficult one of Aboriginal vested

interests. Oearly, some Aboriginal people have been able to 'do quite well' out

of the existing system, and have no interest in genuinely challenging the broader

issues of social justice. It is widely accepted that conflicts of interest in

Aboriginal affairs are tolerated and ignored which would not be accepted in other

areas. Community advisors, public servants, anthropologists and other workers

in the Aboriginal affairs sector come in for considerable criticism from the

mining sector. One recent commentator, for example, gave the following advice

to mining companies dealing with Aboriginal communities to stay with the

following rules:

2) Find out who the traditional owners are by persistent enquiry of community members, double checking all the time. When they are identified DEAL DIRECI'L Y WITH THEM A VOID ANTHROPOLOGISTS -they dance to a different drummer ...

8) Have the negotiator constantly liaise with State Government bureaucrats and politicians. In the author's experience they are mostly pragmatic, level headed and even handed. Try and avoid Federal government officials like the plague ...

9) Do whatever is feasible to by-pass the community advisers. Use them but don't fall into the trap of dealing with them because they speak English ... [White, 1990:5].

Some of the structural problems in this area include the practice of placing the

least experienced, least qualified public servant (police, teachers, nurses) in some

of the most difficult and demanding positions in the State and then 'promoting

them out', if they survive. Howitt (1989) argues that locally incorporated bodies

have been established by DAA in ways which guarantee their failure, because

they bring together mutually antagonistic Aboriginal interests into a single

corporate structure. There seems to exist an element within the Aboriginal sector

of the public service which actively and deliberately pursues the continued

disempowerment of Aboriginal people in order to protect and promote their own

employment interests (see also Chapter 11).

674

Similarly, there is a group of Aboriginal people within the system who have

become symbols of a representative Aboriginality, who are consulted about

everything from sacred sites to the distribution of jobs, money and infrastructure.

While it is not intended to suggest impropriety of any particular person or

persons in the Eastern Goldfields, it is important to make the general point that

many of the most influential positions in Aboriginal organisations carry

considerable power, and people occupying them have a responsibility to carry

out their duties 'without fear or favour'. To do less is to overlook a crucial

underlying issue, and is a betrayal of the struggle for survival and advancement

that Aboriginal groups have waged against awesome odds for many many years.

In my Commission's view, a means of challenging vested Aboriginal interests is

also fundamental to the task.

15.3 The victims

Many Aboriginal people whose personal, cultural, social and economic needs are

not addressed in the current setting have no way of representing their interests to

the wider community. It is they whose exclusion has produced marginalisation,

and who are unable to articulate their needs and aspirations. In many ways, it is

their concerns that are the focus of the practical outcomes of this Commission.

There have been several Royal Commissions and other inquiries which have

recommended appropriate legislative, policy, guidelines and practices in Western

Australia, including the Warburton Ranges inquiries, the Laverton Royal

Commission and the Aboriginal Land Inquiry. None have fully addressed the

actual mechanisms and processes of disempowerment. What is necessary is a

practical agenda, and practical process of empowerment and participation which

reach these people. In my view, anything less will reinforce the processes which

produced this Royal Commission in the first place.

675

1 5. 4 Policies, practices and consequences

In seeking to address practicalities, and address them in the context of

opportunities and constraints for Aboriginal economic development in the mining

sector, three basic areas of opportunity seem to exist: direct employment; indirect

employment and enterprise development; and negotiated arrangements between

Aboriginal landowners and mining interests, based on land rights. In each area,

existing policies and implementation guidelines create unnecessary barriers to

equitable results for Aboriginal people. The attempts by the mining industry to

respond to these issues in the current policy context have also generally produced

disappointing (and disempowering) results. It is, perhaps, worth beginning with

the setting of the Laverton Royal Commission in 1975-76 (see also Chapter 2 for

comment regarding this Commission).

The Report of that Commission noted:

In about 1962 the Aboriginal population of Laverton was approximately 400 including those residing at the mission at Mt Margaret ... while the white population was approximately 55. As a result of the recent mining development, the white population has increased to approximately 1200, while the Aboriginal population has remained static.

The present layout of Laverton has largely been influenced by decisions that the town site of Laverton itself should be redeveloped rather than a new mining town at Windarra, and that Aboriginal and white communities should be integrated in the new town. In late 1974, the white population of Laverton consisted largely of mine employees and their families, few of whom had had extensive experience in isolated centres in Australia or much contact with the Aboriginal inhabitants .. .

The evidence suggests that the rapid development of Laverton left many of the Aborigines confused and in varying degrees disappointed that the rate of improvement in their conditions did not match that of the town development [Laverton Royal Commission, 1976:4,5].

That Commission's observations raise a serious issue which affects the

relationship between Aboriginal and mining interests throughout the Goldfields,

676

and indeed, around Australia, and that is the issue of the timing of project

development

The current! y prevailing circumstances of poor profitability in the gold sector and

generally 'difficult' economic circumstances for companies in the region (see

Table 14), ensures that they will continue to argue that the need to generate

profitable growth from any local opportunity is absolutely paramount in the

context of their own corporate priorities. According to Howitt (1990) this will

tend to reduce the opportunities for direct employment growth in the short term

for Aboriginal people without experience.

Table 14: Retrenchments and redundancies in the Eastern Goldfields Mining Sector, announced July-August, 1990

COMPANY JOBS LOST

Kalgoorlie Consol Gold Mines 199

AURLtd 64

Central Norseman Gold 150

Valbrook Mining (WMC Kambalda) 35

TOTAL 448

Cited in Howitt (1990) Kalgoorlie Miner, various dates, 1990.

In hindsight, it can be seen that the 'windows of opportunity' for nickel projects

such as Agnew and Windarra, were quite narrow, and profitable development

did depend on rapid progress. In this context integration of Aboriginal and

corporate priorities was probably impossible at the time. The imposition of the

company's solution of introducing a large, mainly non-Aboriginal workforce into

a previously predominantly Aboriginal community inevitably led to local

juxtaposition of social anomalies which contributed to the Skull Creek incident

investigated by the Laverton Royal Commission.

677

In the case of Laverton, where the initial 'discovery' of the Mt Windarra nickel

deposit was made by an Aboriginal prospector, Aboriginal people continue to be

resentful that there was no avenue for securing some direct benefit from the

project for their communities. The use of such projects to secure a stable

position within an expanded local private sector economy requires a substantially

different approach to planning and development. The saying that 'time is money'

is a fundamental tenet of capitalism, and the use of a 10-15 year time frame for

project development to incorporate Aboriginal education and training is simply

not rational within the constraints of the corporate sector. Yet this is an important

aspect of the agenda being raised by Aboriginal groups around Australia.

Without a coherent and consistent strategy directed at this sort of empowerment

of local Aboriginal people, government policies are failing to address the key

issues in securing a more equitable outcome for the long term processes of

economic development.

Since the mid-1970s there have been a number of attempts to address the

structures of inequality through legislation and policy formulation. Most

recently, and perhaps most relevantly here is the major Federal initiative in

Aboriginal employment, education, training and enterprise development,

including the Aboriginal Employment Development Policy (AEDP). As noted

earlier in Chapter 11, the AEDP, developed in response to the Miller Report

(1986), established a range of programmes and funding avenues aimed at

overcoming welfare dependence. Development of local Aboriginal enterprises

was encouraged, with substantial funds committed to both private and

community enterprise development. As with all such policies, implementation

guidelines control the distribution and application of funds under these

programmes. These guidelines are developed and reviewed by senior Federal

public servants, and, except in the hands of dedicated, determined and skilled

local staff, generally fail to address the particular concerns of local people and

groups. The general feeling is that people and their proposals should fit the

guidelines rather than the other way around. As one Aboriginal man put it:

678

It's always the guidelines that get us ... I decided to do something for myself based here, clearing gridlines and drill pads and so on ... Although I had both a bulldozer and a grader lined up and I knew the machines and knew I could keep them going [I was] ...

required to get three quotes ... [and] to do a five day business course. My motivation was to get something going that related to the main industry in town, which is exactly what DAA and ADC haven't got going. I wanted to help young Aboriginal kids learn the skills ... to help them get jobs in the industry. When the mines close, the whitefellers move on to greener pastures.

Aboriginal people are not the itinerant ones. They need to get jobs locally. I had contracts lined up that would have just about paid back the money I wanted to borrow ... (but the government departments) never really checked it all out properly. And then it just got too big [Richard Howitt, Fieldnotes Book, 7:72-75].

According to advice provided to me by Dr Howitt, this man's request for a: loan

to purchase second hand equipment for a small scale project was unsuccessful

because he was unable to provide the 20% equity required under programme

guidelines for private loans, and because competitive quotes were required, the

non-warranted second-hand equipment he had lined up was not considered

appropriate, again under the guidelines. As an alternative, it was proposed that a

much larger loan to an incorporated community organisation be funded.

When discussing the above situation with ATSIC regional office staff, the

problems created by locally inappropriate guidelines restricting support to local

initiative was acknowledged:

Rules, regulations and guidelines were all made in Canberra, and although that's changing, we are not sure of how the amendments to the ATSIC arrangements will affect the process of decentralisation. Guidelines are supposed to apply to all sorts of proposals, but we face problems because A TSIC staff numbers have been cut and the workload increased ... Even the dollars that have been around (under various funding programmes) haven't reached the Goldfields [ATSIC Regional Office staff interview, 25 July 1990, Richard Howitt, Fieldnotes Book, 8:23-26].

Oearly, the incentives for well-motivated, well-qualified Aboriginal people to set

up initiatives such as that proposed above are limited. As many people

recognise, they are better off on the dole than trying to fit into these guidelines.

679

Another example of people being disempowered by inappropriate guidelines, this

time at the community organisation level, can be found in the experience of the

Eastern Goldfields Aboriginal Resource Agency (EGARA) in the building

industry:

... in the building game, EGARA built houses at Leonora and other places using Aboriginal workers, but the bureaucracy increasingly said that we had to win competitive tenders against large contractors from Perth who could come in and do jobs quickly and cheaply, but leave no skills or other benefits behind. The bureaucracy seems intent on catching us out with technicalities. They say they want to create employment, but the reality is just not there. They offer us $100,000 to create jobs, but then tie our hands, our legs and heads up and put on a blindfold and say 'Yes - you can do what you want with the money'. The ATSIC guidelines always put in a catch about how you can spend the money. When we put in a tender it isn't really possible for us to include the social and cultural objectives as part of the tender, because that's outside what's being tendered for, but because that is also what we are on about, it makes it impossible for us to come in as the lowest tenderers [Manager, EGARA interview, 6 July 1990, Richard Howitt, Fieldnotes Book, 6:43-44].

While appropriate monitoring of funds, training and support for Aboriginal

people and review structures are essential to ensure that policy goals are being

met locally, the fate of EGARA's building business, which had accumulated

substantial assets and expertise as well as supplying a large number of houses in

communities in the Eastern Goldfields, demonstrates the continuing importance

of patronage and the maintenance of Aboriginal people's 'client' status in

successfully negotiating 'the guidelines'. As one insider observed to Dr Howitt:

... Problems really started to emerge when relations between EGARA and DAA began to deteriorate. This coincided with the division between DAA, which had up to 15 regional managers in the last eight years, and sometimes only one person in the office, and ADC - the split between the social and the economic ... We became alienated from DAA who threatened to stop funding us, but never did .. . At the time of the ADC review we had accumulated assets worth half a million dollars. To do this we were breaking the rules, but this was in a period when breaking the rules was the accepted, and expected, way of doing things.

680

EGARA was strangled by ADC when they demanded that all housing projects go out to public tender with no preference to Aboriginal tenderers ... Our biggest problem was that we had a DAA that was thoroughly frustrated because it had no idea of what was going on. EGARA was extraordinarily successful.

Our wages bill was about half a million dollars a year, and every employee was gainfully employed. We picked up Kalgoorlie Glass for only $6,000 ... [and it] has grown to be the largest non-metropolitan glass company in the state. One could be forgiven [for having] a cynical view of the bureaucracy and for thinking that they put the screws on EGARA because we were successful ... EGARA became a pain in the neck to a long tradition of handling and directing everything in Perth [Richard Howitt, Fieldnotes Book, 6:55-58].

The same set of problems, the problems of overburdened staff, inappropriate

guidelines, lack of support and back-up, restrictive and selective application of

review procedures and the problems of patronage and power, broking is repeated

in every sphere of social and economic endeavour affecting Aboriginal people.

In education, health, employment, enterprise development, and other areas,

policies seem destined to constrain rather than support Aboriginal initiatives.

Of particular importance is the continued and widespread practice of sending

young, inexperienced and unconfident professionals into some of the most

difficult and demanding positions in their vocations (teaching, nursing, policing,

community advising, etc), and failing to support, train or develop them . The

impact on and burn out rate of potentially valuable staff is immense. But more

important is the effect on the communities involved. As noted in Chapter 7,

basic services taken for granted by most citizens in metropolitan Australia

become problematic.

In the case of health services, there appear to be a number of specific and serious

issues to be addressed in the Eastern Goldfields. There are certainly unresolved

concerns about environmental health issues for many Aboriginal people. There

has been a concerted campaign to address environmental dust arising directly

from mining operations in the region, but there is no research or data to allow

any reasonable assessment of the health consequences of prolonged exposure to

681

environmental dust and other pollutants including sulphur dioxide, and small

amounts of heavy metals including arsenic released from the ores, and cyanide

from the processing of gold. There has been a small amount of work done on

occupational exposures, but Aboriginal people, particularly fringe dwellers face

an entirely different regime of environmental exposure.

Similarly in education, the existing structures have created significant barriers to

the achievement of equitable and culturally relevant outcomes for Aboriginal

people. As has been the case throughout Australia, education professionals have

failed to develop and deliver appropriate policies and practices to the Aboriginal

students of the Eastern Goldfields. Education, at all levels, is fundamental to the

process of engaging in the necessary social transformation. The failure of the

mainstream to meet even the basic educational goals of Aboriginal children and

their parents, and the restriction of the alternatives available to Aboriginal parents

to CAPS, the Christian Aboriginal Parent-controlled School at Coolgardie, which

emphasises Christian education, has the potential to reinforce certain processes in

yet another generation.

When health and education are undermined, poverty, alienation and

marginalisation, the processes of exclusion from the mainstream economy, and

the mechanisms of local disempowerment continue and reproduce the

co-dependence of communities and bureaucracies, without ever challenging the

structures which entrench the problems. In my view, Aboriginalising

bureaucracies will not address the problems, because professional competence,

adequate resources and appropriate service delivery structures cannot be created

simply because Aboriginal people are put into positions. Further, pouring

money into flawed policy frameworks and community organisations which

reflect bureaucratic rather t:pan internal community priorities, will not provide

empowerment.

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15.5 Getting the scale right: local empowerment

RCIADIC Broome, Research Paper 5 documents the nature and mechanisms of

Aboriginal marginalisation in the Eastern Goldfields. It also identifies potential

avenues for challenging these mechanisms and pursuing alternative outcomes.

The specific focus is on the relationship between Aborigines and the mining

industry, and the opportunities and constraints on Aborigines securing a more

equitable participation in the mining industry, as part of a broader strategy for

more equitable participation in, and benefit from, the regional economy.

Therefore, in the view of my Commission, it is important to shape an agenda for

change at the local scale, rather than pursuing the 'big ideas' in isolation from the

local contexts in which they must ultimately be applied. Local economic

strategies cannot afford to be limited by parochialism, lest we simply reproduce

locally tolerated injustices which disguise the underlying concerns of this

inquiry. It is crucial that we pursue the development of processes which allow a

range of local Aboriginal interests to participate at all geographical scales in

meaningful and accountable ways. Just as it is necessary for mining companies

to set in train processes which facilitate local production of minerals and

participation in wider forums for profitable operations, Aboriginal economic

processes cannot be constrained by local parameters.

It is apparent from the above discussion, that in a State which is as rich in minerals such as Western Australia, there is a great deal to be done in relation to

setting things on a more equitable basis in relation to Aboriginal people and their

rights and aspirations in relation to involvement in, and negotiation about,

mining. This is especially critical in areas with which Aboriginal people have

ties of a socio-economic, cultural and historical kind. The same can be said for

tourism, as tourism is another area where it is crucial that Aboriginal interests are

recognised and sustained in meaningful and accountable ways.

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Chapter 16

TOURISM ENCROACHING ON ABORIGINAL PEOPLE,

ABORIGINAL LAND

There is little doubt that tourism in Western Australia is on the increase. There is

also little doubt that that increase has had a massive impact on Aboriginal people,

particularly in northern parts of Western Australia. That impact is continuing to

gain momentum. In 1989 Federal Government reported that the greatest growth

industry was Tourism. Reasons for that increase were cited as:

(i) The increasing attractiveness of Western Australia as an international tourist destination owing to the comparative devaluation of the Australian dollar, and increasing awareness of 'remote' areas such as those defined through the Australian film industry and various sporting events;

(ii) The sealing of the Great Northern Highway between Fitzroy Crossing and Halls Creek in 1986, which was the last stretch of the Highway to be completed, and which enabled movement within the area and greater access for local and eastern states visitors;

(iii) State and Federal encouragement of tourism as a means of earning foreign exchange and development, and reducing dependence on agricultural and mineral products which are subject to global conditions.

This sort of touristic increase has massive implications for Aboriginal people,

because of the intrusion of non-Aboriginal people into country which was, until

recently, areas with which non-Aboriginal people held little interest (e.g. 'Bungle

Bungles', the Dampier Land Peninsula). Somewhat ironically, however, the

tourist industry is one area where there may be employment for Aboriginal

people: e.g. the sale of artefacts, or as rangers in National Parks (see

.e.g. Williams, N., East Kimberley Working Paper No. 34 and Senior 1985).

Significantly a survey conducted by the Australia Council in 1989/1990 found

684

that tourists spent $30 million per year on Aboriginal art and artefacts. While it is

not within the scope of my investigations, it is necessary for there to be some

analysis done concerning what proportion of this amount was distributed back to

the Aboriginal people who had crafted particular paintings and items (see also

Section 6.13 Aboriginality in the context of art and craft).

16.1 Contemporary responses to tourism

What is, however, significant with regard to contemporary Aboriginal responses

to tourism, must be seen in the context of how they are shaped by previous

contact with non-Aboriginal people. While history shows that such contact has

often found brutal expression, the situation with regard to some matters is

showing signs of change. One such change is the involvement of Aboriginal

people in National Parks. The AIU submission (1990:51) informs me in this

regard, that at a recent conference held in the State's Pilbara region at Millstream

on 6-8 August 1990, and attended by representatives from Aboriginal

organisations and government bodies (e.g. ATSIC and Conservation and Land

Management (CALM)) throughout Western Australia, where the following

matters were raised and recommended: joint management between representative

Aboriginal people and the relevant State agency; Aboriginal people to be involved

in management plans; land within national parks to be set aside for excisions for

Aboriginal people; Aboriginal people to have access to national parks for

hunting, fishing and the collection of material for cultural purposes; Aboriginal

people to be in control of information concerning their cultural heritage;

Aboriginal people to be given preference with regard to employment

opportunities (e.g. administrators and rangers); Aboriginal people to be involved

in lease-back arrangements, and the rental fee to be paid to the appropriate

Aboriginal group; payment to enter the park should be paid for by tourists;

Aboriginal people should retain access to particular areas for ceremonial

purposes; the relevant Aboriginal custodians to be in charge of site protection and

access; there is to be no mining in national parks, or near local Aboriginal

685

communities; and training and development enterprises should be encouraged in

relation to Aboriginal people and national parks.

Despite my attempts to obtain a copy of the minutes of the Millstream meeting

through AAP A, I was unable to do so. I have, however, been informed by the

AIU submission (1990) as noted above. As observed by Aboriginal

participants at the meeting, 'The land is the basis of our Aboriginal culture. It is

the history and the basis of our identity. The land, the sites, the areas, hunting

and food gathering is the basis of our learning and the development of our

children ... The Government through CALM has taken this away from us and

has broken this structure which gives Aboriginal people their identity,

self-esteem, pride, responsibility and future for our children' (ibid:54 ).

Since that promising meeting at Millstream, however, I have been made aware

that the State Government has decided to permit mining in three big national

parks in Western Australia (West Australian Newspaper, 28 September 1990),

and that Aboriginal groups from Rudall River and elsewhere are protesting over

this decision (ibid).

I have not been able to pursue a response from State Government as to the fate

of the matters raised in the AIU submission. However, in my view, the

principles of joint management are working well in the Northern Territory (in

relation to land held in agreements with the Commonwealth, State and

Territory). In sum, joint management of national parks is just one of the ways to

address some of the significant matters in relation to land that were discussed

earlier in Chapter 6, and matters of Aboriginal equity that have been raised

throughout my report.

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16.2 Museums, tourism and the representation of

Aboriginal people

As noted elsehwere, in 1984 the Federal Government commissioned Australian

National Opinion Polls (ANOP) to research community attitudes to'ward

Aboriginal people and issues. ANOP's report delivered in January 1985, entitled

Land Rights, Winning Middle Australia painted a bleak picture of a nation with

scant understanding of the position of its indigenous citizens. The report

presented evidence that the views and understanding of average non-Aboriginal

Australians about Aboriginal affairs issues were characterised by the following:

no widespread understanding of the special significance of the land and 'only a rudimentary knowledge of sacred sites [p.l7];

a lack of sympathy for Aboriginal people and lack of appreciation of their social problems [p.l7];

• no depth of understanding of Aboriginal culture [p.18];

• 'real' Aboriginal people 'ere considered to be those full-bloods living a traditional tribal lifestyle [p.13];

'positive' views about Aboriginal people that do exist largely 'stem from the traditional stereotype of the noble savage' [p.19];

alcohol abuse is seen as the main problem confronting Aboriginal people before other perceived problems such as chronic unemployment, poor education and lack of self-respect [p.l6];

• Aboriginal people are perceived as a 'privileged group' and as 'suffering from a hand-out mentality' [p.l4 ];

a rejection of 'any historical right to land as prior owners/occupiers' and 'compensation deriving from guilt over white settlement and subsequent mistreatment' [p.22].

Museums, heritage sites and tourism attractions are key places at which history

and culture are represented, and as such they are powerful educational institutions

that help to shape the world view and ideology of those who visit them. Bennett

687

(1986) outlined how museums evolved historically from collections of curios

held by the wealthy and for private viewing only in the late middle ages into large

educational institutions designed specifically for mass public patronage by the

middle of the 19th century. This shift from private to public coincided with

changes in the structure of society whereby the maintenance of order came to rely

on citizens regulating themselves through belonging to a democratic public rather

than ruled over by monarchies or dictatorship. Thus the museum came to be seen

as a means of educating the masses to both behave in an ordered marmer as well

as instruct them in the achievements of the imperial power, in areas such as

industry, science and the domination of other nations and peoples. Clifford

(1988:21) contends that 'collecting and display' are 'crucial processes of Western

identity formation':

The value of exotic objects was their ability to testify to the concrete reality of an earlier stage of human culture, a common past confirming Europe's triumphant present ...

It seems clear that the limiting of museum displays to traditional artifacts

expresses not only an avoidance of the history and politics of colonialism, but

also power relations and cultural domination.

16.3 Heritage sites and tourist information

Interconnected with museums are heritage sites and tourist literature and

promotional information, which also play a significant role in producing

knowledge about Aboriginal people and issues. Such knowledge is produced

even when Aboriginal people are not referred to, or rather, the non-reference to

Aboriginal issues, their exclusion from messages about history and colonial

'settlement' is a central problem.

For example Greenough pioneer hamlet near Geraldton and Cossack townsite

near Roeboume are in the process of, or have already, been restored to an image

of their past in order to present messages about the origins of European Australia,

688

and to celebrate and commemorate British colonisation. Yet these sites contain

little or no information about the relationship of these former communities with

the Aboriginal people on whose land they were built, and who were displaced

because of them. They have become monuments to colonies of the collective

imagination. Pleasant places peopled by upstanding, hardworking pioneers. The

real dark underside of colonial expansion, incarceration, terror and death for

indigenous people has been effaced (Mickler, 1990:88).

At least in respect of Cossack, that town played a direct and decisive part in the

dispossession, incarceration and enslavement (in the early pearling industry) of

Aboriginal people in that region. Yet the visitor to the restoration project today is

presented with little or no information about this.

Tourist information and literature about places like Cossack and Roeboume

basically extend the practice of museums in failing to include the implications of

colonisation in their otherwise extremely detailed information about these towns

and their environments. For instance the Western Australian Tourism

Commission (W ATC) brochure 'Area Guide: Roeboume and Districts' (W ATC,

1989) presents the reader with copious facts and figures about the geology,

climate, flora and fauna, industry, recreation, and historic buildings and colonial

milestones about the region, but nothing (save for one reference to Aboriginal

rock-art) about the existence of Aboriginal people, their past, or contemporary

affairs. In my Commission's view, this is an extraordinary position to take

considering that approximately 1,500 Aboriginal people live in Roebourne alone,

or 85 per cent of the town's population. For all intents and purposes Roe bourne

is an Aboriginal community constructed for the public by tourism, as primarily a

site of colonial heritage and architecture.

If European Australia is generally uninformed and unsympathetic toward Aboriginal aspirations, then it is in large measure due to the colonialist

perspectives of history which continue to pervade. While the demands of tourists

and touristic enterprises can take precedence over local needs and aspirations, the

689

rights of access to essential services in relation to Aboriginal people as

indigenous citizens of this country require urgent attention. This matter is

examined in the following chapter.

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Chapter 17

ESSENTIAL SERVICES

The issue of essential services is one which impinges most directly on

Commonwealth/State/Local government relations and responsibilities, which is

examined in Chapter 14, some comment needs to be made here in order to

further stress the circumstances under which Aboriginal people are so readily

marginalised.

1 7.1 Denial of access to services

Most Aboriginal initiatives in Western Australia since the early 1970s, have been

funded by the Commonwealth. However, the State clearly has a responsibility

to provide essential services to its Aboriginal citizens. The Aboriginal Affairs

Planning Authority (AAPA) has not had the funding nor the authority necessary

to make available essential services to Aboriginal people on communities, or to

enforce its statutory responsibilities. Additionally, as noted elsewhere in this

report, notably in the chapters on health, housing and the economy, other State

agencies have largely avoided meeting their obligations to Aboriginal people.

The development of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission

(ATSIC) in March 1990, represents a body which is potentially able to develop a

reappraisal of Commonwealth/State/Local government approaches and

responsibilities.

In relation to essential services, I am primarily discussing matters such as the

development and maintenance of access roads to Aboriginal communities (see

e.g. Fletcher 1989, Lawrence 1990), municipal services, access to water

(e.g. bores, tanks), power, housing construction and maintenance, and

accessible transport facilities. In most of these matters, from evidence put before

691

my Commission, I have found that Aboriginal people experience discrimination

with regard to these services, services which most people in Australia today take

for granted, a point highlighted by the following quote from the Equal

Opportunity Commission's recent report on Essential Service Delivery to

Aboriginal Communities in Western Australia:

In carrying out this review, there was potential for identification of both direct and indirect discrimination in the practices and policies of agencies delivering services to Aboriginal communities. The research has identified both [1990:5].

The report content goes on to demonstrate that this discrimination largely occurs

as a result of: a lack of coordination between State and Commonwealth

agencies; a lack of formal authority for the AAPA; and a lack of legal subdivision

status in Aboriginal housing estates disallowing Aboriginal people to be treated

as 'credible individual consumer units' (cf. Equal Opportunity Report on

Essential Services, 1990:22; Inquiry into service and resource provision to

remote Aboriginal communities in Western Australia, 1990).

It is not my aim in this Section to go over issues that have been raised and

detailed throughout my report on this crucial matter as noted above. I wish,

however, to commend and support the findings of the Equal Opportunity

Commission's 1990 report, as well as the findings of the report prepared by

Alexander and Associates (1990) for the Aboriginal Affairs Planning Authority.

Both these reports, as well as numerous others explored through the Human

Rights Commission, reveal that it is not through a lack of well documented

research and thoughtful recommendations that Aboriginal people continue to be

denied access to essential services.

The following section on the 'taxi economy', describes an issue which is not so

well documented in the above-mentioned reports, but it is one which was

brought before my Commission on a number of occasions. The following

Section describes two things. The first demonstrates how Aboriginal people are

discriminated against when they do not have ready access to transport facilities,

692

and hence become reliant on local taxi operators and services. The second

demonstrates one of the issues that was raised earlier in Chapter 7 on the

Aboriginal Economy. This issue concerns how Aboriginal people can contribute

an economic base into a particular area (in this instance, through the extensive

use oftaxis), yet be marginalised from that economy when their own income is

so readily diverted away from their resources into the pockets of others. (The

report of Crough, Howitt and Pritchard [ 1989] in relation to Alice Springs is of

particular interest in this regard.)

17.2 The 'taxi economy'

The first region in which the issue of taxis was raised with my Commission was

Roeboume, then subsequently in Carnarvon and other rural areas. Where ever

there were transport difficulties the taxi companies were in evidence. Taxi

companies, in areas where the issue was raised, were invited by letter to attend

Royal Commission conferences but failed to do so.

In Roeboume there is no public transport and I was informed that:

if they want to travel they travel by taxi [RCIADIC Transcript, Roeboume, 1990:15].

The assertion was made that where two or three people use a taxi they are all

charged the same price for the trip. People use the taxis to get from the 'village'

to the town or the 'village' to the Regional Prison. A non-Aboriginal participant

at the Roeboume Conference said:

If we white people were getting in that taxi, they would charge us one fare for the ride and each person would put in for that ride [RCIADIC Transcript, Roeboume, 1990:15].

It is notoriously difficult for Aboriginal people to speak out about the taxi situation as the taxi drivers allegedly control the pensions and:

693

the money goes to them and they lend money ... [RCIADIC Transcript, Roe bourne, 1990: 15].

A person who formerly drove a taxi cab told my Commission that taxis would

not put the meter on; the drivers charged everyone who travelled in the cab with

the fare; some people had a 'book up' system with the cabs. The same witness

stated:

By the time they get their cheque from Social Security whether it be sole parent or a single person money - they go to pay their bill they find that they do not have any money because they still owe this guy more money ... they are still in that system where they have got to book up again to him until the next time they get money and the next time they get money, they do not have any money because they have still got them in that system. And it is on and on and on. And I used to work for him so I know

[RCIADIC Transcript, Roeboume, 1990: 17].

Others who gave evidence to this Commission advised they had heard similar

stories. One witness stated:

it was suggested that not only did [taxi drivers] go to the local liquor outlets and get the booze for them, they are also taking their pension cheques and changing them for the rides here and there - and at the end of pension week - or at the beginning of pension week - they front up to the post with them, and as the guy gets his cheque, he said, right you owe me, you know, so much of that pension cheque [RCIADIC Transcript, Roeboume, 1990:24].

Some general criticisms which were made were that:

(1) people were overcharged;

(2) people were charged multiple fares when a number of people travelled together;

(3) meters were not used;

(4) people did not know whether they were being charged a fair rate;

(5) people did not know how they were being charged;

694

(6) a number of people do not have the literacy skills to check the figures;

(7) there was no evidence that people were shown any accounts or that they understood them;

(8) people were not assertive enough to challenge the assertions of the taxi drivers;

(9) people were dependent upon the taxi drivers and consequently did not wish to alienate them.

It would seem that police officers are not acting as 'authorised officers' as they

are entitled to do under the Transport (Country Taxi-Car) Regulations 1982

(Section 4 definitional Section; Section 40 Power's of 'authorised officers').

Efforts to involve the Aboriginal community in action to deal with the problem

have been unsuccessful. It seems that people are loath to come forward and give

evidence as they allegedly fear that a total withdrawal of services will result.

Community Health Nurses have tried in one town to get the community

motivated about the need to address the taxi issue. Their efforts have been

unsuccessful as the following account reveals:

We actually went down to the park early one morning, before the people got drunk and individually went to the people and explained what we were trying to do, and read out to them what the piece of paper said for those who could not read, and explained that, you know the police need this - need you to say something if you want something done. And to not be scared, and you know, explained that they would not be victimized or anything. And then we felt, well we have done what we can and waited for the people then ... we do not know how to motivate the people. Perhaps we are going about it in the wrong way'

[RCIADIC Transcript, Roebourne, 1990:275].

Community Health personnel indicated that they see the issue as a social and

economic problem which directly impacts upon health. If the pension money is

being used to pay taxi fare it is not being spent on food and other resources. In

another region, when the issue of 'free money' (i.e. Social Security entitlements)

to Aboriginal people was raised one person commented:

695

not free money, easy money - where I notice that a lot of free money has been coming from taxi drivers and I know for a fact that various numbers of taxi drivers do hold certain individuals bank books and they've got access to their money at all times -especially pension weeks ... they control the money [RCIADIC Transcript, Carnarvon, 1990].

This concern was reiterated by others at that same conference. One participant

said:

seems to be a very poor situation where the taxi drivers have got hold of these peoples cheques - pension cheques or bank books or whatever they have now - and they just go in and get money and what they do with it, I don't know whether they buy them booze. Mostly I think they buy 'em booze, but that's a very bad situation [ibid].

There had reportedly been some tightening up of the situation in that area so that

cheques were not given anymore and the money was paid into a bank account.

People were reportedly signing withdrawal forms for undeclared amounts.

It was asserted that the arrangements with taxi drivers were 'common knowledge' and that taxi drivers 'started charging fairly hectic percentages for the

loan of that money' (RCIADIC Transcript, Carnarvon, 1990: 131 ), and that 'taxis

and booze would represent a fair proportion of [Aboriginal] income' (RCIADIC

Transcript, Carnarvon, 1990: 131 ).

One Shire Councillor made the point that he was hopeful the taxi drivers would

attend a Conference and put their of point of view as:

in their defence they provide a service. If they weren't providing that service ... what would occur in regards to transportation [RCIADIC Transcript, Carnarvon, 1990:143].

One participant told my Commission that Mungullah Village in Carnarvon had

tried to put a stop to taxis being able to bring alcohol into the community:

but the bureaucracy seemed to be able to just not let that happen ... they tried hard to say: look, we want to try and stop the

696

alcohol coming to our Village. But they couldn't control it [RCIADIC Transcript, Carnatvon, 1990:160].

One Aboriginal participant at the Mary River Bush meeting commented:

... they don't know how to stop them bringing the grog. Spoke to the policeman but nothing can happen ... [RCIADIC Transcript, Mary River, 1990:79].

The Acting Director General of Transport and the Chairman of the Taxi Control

board met with this Royal Commission to discuss transport and associated

matters. At that meeting, they indicated that they would seek to address some of

my Commission's concerns.

The Department of Transport has administered country taxis since 1981-82

before which time country taxis were administered by the Police Department.

However, as such, the taxi industry is a 'free wheeling owner occupied' industry

(RCIADIC Transcript, Perth, 1990:686). The Department undertakes six patrols

per year through the State. These field trips are used to address complaints and

assess the standard of setvice which latter includes presentation of the car, the

driver and his/her response to demand. Meters have been fitted to all cabs and in

Port Hedland a Departmental Officer went around to explain the use of meters to

people (RCIADIC Transcript, Perth, 1990:688).

Government officers have informed me that there was only the 'odd complaint'

about overcharging and that in many cases it was difficult to get the evidence

necessary to take action (ibid).

In one area where, my Commission was barraged with complaints about a

particular taxi driver, the Depanment advised that:

we tend to watch that ... fairly closely. And we're not aware of any specific complaints that we haven't dealt with [RCIADIC Transcript, Perth, 1990:688].

697

The diversion of pension cheques to pay for taxi services seems regarded as an

intractable problem as the following reveals:

WITNESS: One of the things that we identified fairly quickly was this question of where the pension cheques were going and the fact that too many people were actually booking up their taxi fares and the pension cheque was virtually disappearing against taxi fares and other matters as well. And it's been a long standing practice in some of these areas for the taxi driver to provide an all-embracing service: collecting the groceries and other things as well as providing the fare. ·

THE COMMISSIONER: The grog from the bottle department or where ever it might be?

WI1NESS: Yes, yes, cigarettes and the like, yes.

THE COMMISSIONER: Yes.

WI1NESS: ... we were trying to get the taxi drivers to pull back on the question of credit and to try to encourage the users to pay for their fares up front. But we were told repeatedly that really it's the right of the user to choose. All we could do was try to ensure the taxi driver had in place a reasonable book system that recorded all the charges ... in [one area] we enforced it quite vigorously for a while until the operator became educated to it ... there's been claims made that pension cheques are going into post office boxes ... We've never been able to identify a case where a taxi operator is abusing the person's pension cheque by whatever means, whether it be through a post-box number or whether it be through a bank account or what [RCIADIC Transcript, Perth, 1990:690].

It is interesting to observe that this issue is regarded as being 'outside' the

control of the Department.

The Acting Director General raised the issue of whether legislation should be

enacted to prevent the taking of credit by taxi-operators however, communities in

Port Hedland did not want that action taken (RCIADIC Transcript, 1990:691).

The Department of Transport also advised that it has never been able to

substantiate allegations about passengers all being charged the same fare

(RCIADIC Transcript, 1990:691). Additionally, it is not an offence under the

Act to carry alcohol, but Departmental officers indicated that:

698

we've always supported the communities who have tried to keep their area dry, and we've called on the taxi industry and we've called on the police department to help us as much as they can to ensure the taxi industry does not get involved in trying to walk around these rules [RCIADIC Transcript, Perth, 1990:695].

Such efforts have met with conspicuous failure so far as Aboriginal participants

to the conference of this Royal Commission are concerned. The Department also

advised that there was an over supply of taxi cabs in some areas. One such area

was Carnarvon .

... it was difficult for us to establish why so many cabs were issued in the first place. But it is evident to us that there is an over supply now - there has been since we've been

administering the country taxis [RCIADIC Transcript, Perth, 1990:698].

The issue of licences previously would have been effected by the Police

Department. The Department of Transport was unable to give this Royal

Commission any idea of the criteria for issue of licences when same was

controlled by the Police Department except to say that they thought:

they relied very heavily on the local authorities ... [RCIADIC Transcript, Carnarvon, 1990:698].

In sum, it is apparent that in areas where Aborignal people are dependent on

modes of transport, other than those which they can provide themselves, that

dependency is exploited, and Aboriginal people are socially and economically

marginalised while others (in this instance, certain taxi drivers) seek to gain.

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Chapter 18

REINFORCEMENT OF MARGINALISA TION

THROUGH THE PRESS

The electronic and print media plays a critical role in how Aboriginal people are

presented to members of the wider society. The following material addresses

this issue in detail. Initially, some background to inform the present.

18.1 Shifts in press treatment of Aboriginal issues 1960 to

1990

Research conducted by RCIADIC staff indicates that the way the media in

Western Australia treats Aboriginal issues has changed considerably since 1960.

Broadly speaking, the change is one from a form reflecting a benevolent (on the

surface) paternalism throughout the 1960s and early 1970s toward a

representation of Aboriginal people as a threat or challenge to public order and

State or National prosperity beginning in the late 1970s and increasingly in

intensity through the 1980s.

Reports concerning Aboriginal people in The West Australian and the Daily

News in the early 1960s were typically short and infrequent (i.e. not appearing

on a daily basis), from 4 to 7 paragraphs, referred to 'natives', and dealt with

concerns, sometimes seriously stressed, about the health and welfare of people

on reserves, government funding, alcohol problems and some criminal matters.

Typically these articles quote non-Aboriginal sources and authorities such as

Native Welfare Department officials, politicians, mission and reserve

administrators, doctors and clergymen. Only very rarely were Aboriginal people

quoted, that is they were 'spoken for' in matters that concerned them.

Photographs occasionally complemented articles, usually depicting Aboriginal

700

people being assisted by non-Aboriginal people in some manner. They

characteristically conveyed assimilationist themes such as the acquiring of

Western industrial skills, social values, behaviours and lifestyles. Aboriginal

culture was contextualised as exemplary of a primitive stage in the 'history of

man', interpreted as 'witchcraft' and occasionally being of mild aesthetic interest

to non-Aboriginal readers in tenns of exotic art and craft. Aboriginal land issues

are not on the news agenda in this period. The relatively sympathetic treatment

contained in the considerable coverage of anti-colonial and independence

movements in Africa and American Negro civil rights is not transposed on to

Aboriginal affairs. The coverage overall indicates an assumed general lack of

interest in Aboriginal affairs by the readers of these papers, and very much

conveys an impression that although Aboriginal welfare is of some concern, State

and church systems of regulation, surveillance and paternal care are finnly in

place. Feature articles are very rare.

By 1965-68 issues such as equal pay for Aboriginal pastoral workers and

equality of services for Aboriginal people are appearing at least once a week.

There is an apparent shift occurring that reflects a realisation, though still

essentially assimilationist, that non-Aboriginal attitudes toward racial and cultural

difference need changing (if assimilation is to be successful). Stories begin to

treat issues of racial equality and report Aboriginal concerns to maintain their

culture and identity. Generally, non-Aboriginal people continue to be quoted as

authoritative sources. In the period 1965 to 1970 media reports begin to reflect

issues associated with the diminishing of the rigid reserve and mission system

whereby Aboriginal people are moving more and more into towns and suburban

settings, requiring State housing, welfare payments and mainstream employment.

'Integration' themes begin to supersede the formal assimilationist perspective.

Feature articles are still very rare.

By 1970, the Aboriginal rights movement has begun to attract coverage in tenns

of protest marches. Although paternalistic and assimilationist themes and images

are still dominant, issues of Aboriginal cultural rights, economic and social

701

deprivation and racial prejudice are increasingly on the news agenda, and appear

to coincide with the late 1960s rise in civil rights and anti-war movements.

Feature articles are infrequent and editorial comment not yet expressive of

opposition or anxiety toward Aboriginal demands. Reports of the crisis of

Aboriginal life in towns and suburban settings appear in this period, including

brawls and public disorder involving police intervention. Clearly, the increasing

movement of Aboriginal people off the reserves and into State housing in the

southwest, and off the pastoral stations and into country towns in the north has

brought closer contact with non-Aboriginal people and is changing community

relations and attitudes. Throughout the 1970s this trend increases with reports

shifting away from 'benevolent' paternalism toward two main themes that

combine to contextualise the 'Aboriginal problem' as a growing imposition on

non-Aboriginal life. Aspirations for land, cultural rights and social equality, and

increasingly visible crime and disorder associated with marginal and deprived

existences become the primary themes. Reports on Aboriginal issues appeared

more frequently and covered a broader range of issues including housing,

education, art, employment, and relations with police. Aboriginal people are

more frequently quoted and spokespersons emerged from what was previously

an amorphous entity called 'natives'.

1979-80 marked a watershed in news agendas about Aboriginal issues in

Western Australia, primarily because of the Noonkanbah dispute. From here on,

the question of Aboriginal rights is no longer one to which simple paternalistic or

assimilationist reasoning can be applied. The 'Aboriginal problem' is now

contextualised as directly impacting on the State's economic future. National

Aboriginal funding and policy issues became a key part of the news agenda,

punctuated by intense and sustained treatment of events such as the protests at the

Brisbane Commonwealth Games, the World Council of Churches visit and

increasing demonstrations in support of land rights.

With the election of the Labor governments in 1983, the issue of Aboriginal land

rights became a major media preoccupation from 1983 to 1986, and was

7rJ2

followed by similar attention paid to Aboriginal deaths in custody. However, the

1980s also produced a media explosion in treatment of Aboriginal cultural issues,

focussing on art and craft, dance, theatre, film and 'Dreamtime' mythology. To a

certain extent the conditions for this were created by a combination of the rising

visibility and cultural assertiveness of Aboriginal people coupled with the

enormous transformation of Australian public culture to forms of multi-cultural

expression in the 1980s.

In a number of ways, media treatment of Aboriginal people in the 1980s was

characterised by contradiction, whereas in the early 1960s such treaunent was

uniformly paternal and colonial. In the past decade a media consumer has been

able to read a highly paternalistic or even racially derogatory and sensationalised

report in the morning newspaper while viewing a sensitive and politically radical

television documentary in the evening which exposes the injustice of colonisation

and presents Aboriginal perspectives on strategies for achieving social justice. In

fact, a major newspaper can on the one hand maintain an atmosphere of public

hysteria over alleged Aboriginal juvenile crime without any reference to wider

underlying historic and social issues and in the next week run a feature article on

precisely the latter. The effect of this is not, however, to cancel out the negative

imaging of Aboriginal people. Research made available to the RCIADIC has

shown that it is the negative imagery of the so-called 'hard news' reports

appearing in the main front sections of newspapers and early parts of the

electronic media news bulletins that are most lasting in the memories of

non-Aboriginal people, rather than the relative in-depth and sympathetic feature

material that less frequently appears.

In my view, by the mid-1980s, incidents of crime and disorder involving

Aboriginal people had become extremely 'newsworthy' warranting sensational

treaunent, almost as though the perceived political and economic threat of

Aboriginal land rights had enabled a corresponding media agenda presenting

Aboriginal people as a threat to law and order. From 1985 to 1989 the

combination of the accumulated failures of governments to fulfill expectations of

703

major reform and the socio-economic difficulties of marginalised country towns,

exploded into protests in Mt Magnet, Nullagine, Kellerberrin, Geraldton, Halls

Creek, and Cue, with echoes in Perth suburbs. These events seemed to have

dramatically escalated the news value of any incident involving Aboriginal people

such that a few car thefts and assaults in 1990 can be splashed across front pages

as a major 'crime wave' or uncontrolled 'gang terror'.

1988 marked another perceptible shift in media treatment. Statements by then

Premier Dowding made after the July 'riot' in Geraldton to the effect that

Aboriginal people themselves were to blame for their predicament, that

Aboriginal leaders had to come up with 'solutions' (this came after years of

struggle by Aboriginal leaders and organisations to achieve recognition of their

demands) punctuated a newly articulated attitude that government had done all it

could do. This symbolic washing of the hands by the government suited its

failure to fulfill promises made to Aboriginal people in exchange for their

electoral support in February 1983. From here on, Aboriginal juvenile crime and

delinquency could be more easily couched in terms of both the failure of

Aboriginal parents, leaders and the laxity of court penalties rather than a

responsibility of society to address underlying issues.

Another characteristic of the 1980s shift in the public debate, is that, whereas two

decades previously State dependency, institutionalisation and regulation were

strongly endorsed as the appropriate means of dealing with Aboriginal people,

the perception that this is still occurring is now seen as the cause of Aboriginal

problems. While the destructive effect of past policy is rarely criticised or pointed

to as having led to the contemporary crisis of Aboriginal life, continued

government funding, special laws to protect Aboriginal cultural interests and

make some land available, and quasi-independent political structures (NAC,

ALS, ATSIC, Land Councils, etc) are often presented as undesirable State

interventions which set Aboriginal people apart from the rest of society and treat

them in a privileged manner.

704

Broadly speaking then, the shift in media representation of Aboriginal people

from 1960 to 1990 is one from an image of unfortunate 'stone age' people for

which non-Aboriginal Australia had an obligation to help 'assimilate' into

Western culture, to a contradictory one comprising dominant images of

Aboriginal people as a threat to law and order and political and economic

stability.

In light of the above, it needs to be understood that there is probably no other

distinct cultural group so spoken about, observed, filmed , photographed,

recorded, or interpreted in Western Australia as Aboriginal people. Since 1829,

they have been the objects of European gazes. Explorers, ethnographers, Native

Welfare Officers, writers, artists, film makers, and of course, the news media

have all inscribed their visions of Aboriginal people into their various artistic,

scientific and official means of communication.

From the very beginnings of non-Aboriginal Australia, through the periods of

dispossession, and imprisonment, the media has mainly been owned by the same

groups of people who served to gain most from the colonisation of Australia.

This is not to say that the media has never taken up the cause of Aboriginal

people, but this has generally been at times and places and under circumstances

convenient for, and at the discretion of, those who control it. Green (1981)

notes that a Nyoongah leader, Yagan, 'became a legend through a series of

articles' in the Perth Gazette in 1832-33 written by a relatively sympathetic, or

pernaps apologetic colonist (Green, 1981:82). The Perth Gazette and the Swan

River Guardian in the mid-1830s served as public forums for bitter disputes

between colonists over the appropriate way to treat Aboriginal people (Green,

1981:86-87), which is pernaps not unlike the debates on Aboriginal funding,

land rights, and welfare witnessed in todays news media.

In sum, as noted above, the media has historically served the interests of the

colonising nation. At least in terms of the social make-up of the majority of

media ownership and management, little has changed since the beginning of the

705

colony. Along with other institutions that have grown up with the colony over

more than one and a half centuries - the police force, prisons, courts, government

welfare and so on, the media encounters Aboriginal people from a position of far

greater social powers, and one of these is the power to present its image of

Aboriginal people to the rest of the community, a process over which those being

portrayed have no control or equivalent means of communication. As Jennett

(1983:28) comments:

Media images of and messages about Australian Aborigines are constructed by non-Aborigines operating within the dominant Anglo-European cultural framework for consumption principally by those who share this framework. The reasons for this are located within the history of colonisation of Aborigines by Anglo-Europeans, whose powerful members retain cultural hegemony in Australian society; because they own the means of production, distribution and exchange they also control the dissemination of information about and images of minority groups. Nowhere has this been so all encompassing as in the case of the Aboriginal national minority.

18.2 Manufacture of news

The term 'manufacture of news' entails a recognition that the news media is an

industry much like any other. Its business is to produce something of value to a

society of consumers. 'News' is still largely regarded as the reporting of events

that take place in the world, events that have their own intrinsic meanings

independent of how they are represented in the news media. The role of news

producers such as journalists and editors is seen as presenting this already

existing meaning of events fully and accurately, using tradecraft codes such as

'balance', 'impartiality' and 'objectivity'.

Perhaps the most convincing evidence of the power of the media to influence

public opinions about Aboriginal issues was to be found here in Western

Australia in 1984-85 surrounding the Western Australian government's

Aboriginal Land Inquiry and proposed land rights legislation (see Chapter 6 for

details concerning the Aboriginal Land Inquiry). The Western Australian

706

Chamber of Mines, the Australian Mining Industry Council and opposition

political parties waged a sustained high-profile campaign in the press and

electronic media alleging numerous dire consequences for the well-being of

Western Australians if Aboriginal lands rights were granted. The Chamber of

Mines commissioned a particularly controversial television advert depicting the

hands of a black-skinned person building a brick wall across a map of the State.

Another political party-sponsored television advert portrayed happy white

children bushwalking, who turn despondent after coming across a notice

warning to keep off Aboriginal land. This highly emotive and divisive campaign

was credited by some to have turned an apprehensive or ambivalent public into

hardened opposition to Aboriginal rights and aspirations in relation to land.

Findings from the ANOP (1985:36) clearly indicate what occurred:

The results of our research so far have indicated quite clearly that substantial attitude change (against land rights) has occurred in Western Australia purely because of the Chamber of Mines campaign and the associated misinformation peddlers that such a campaign unearths.

18.3 Media and knowledge about Aboriginal people

Many Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people, journalists, Aboriginal affairs

workers, officials and others identified the media, particularly the news media, as

a major source of knowledge and information about Aboriginal people, and a

major influence on public opinion and attitudes (RCIADIC Transcript, Perth,

1990). A widely held belief was that negative stories and images about

Aboriginal people in the news media, that is ones which involved criminal

offences, civil disturbances and alcohol use, reinforce existing negative views.

This was seen as contributing to ignorance about, and prejudice toward,

Aboriginal people in general, and providing fuel for hard-core racist ideas and

activities. Others pointed to what they saw as the broader role of the media in

reproducing ways of making sense of the world at large from an ethnocentric

perspective. Few talked about the intemalisation of the negative stereotyping by

Aboriginal people themselves.

7(Jl

Research conducted for my Commission (RCIADIC Broome, Research Paper 2)

indicates that many Western Australians obtain much of their understanding of

Aboriginal people and issues from images and information provided by the

media, and specifically news and current affairs programmes and articles.

Findings from the study showed that 48 per cent of a sample of Perth suburban

dwellers say they obtain information about Aboriginal issues from the media,

while 37 per cent obtained most of their knowledge about these issues from the

media (Trigger and Waddell, 1990:3). This is not to overlook that other sources

of information about Aborigines, such as peer group, parents, direct contact,

literature and school, combine to create certain knowledges and assumptions

about things Aboriginal in the consciousness of non-Aboriginal Western

Australians. However, as influential as these other sources may be, it is the

media which has been identified as the single most influential source for people

living in the State capital, where the majority of the population reside both

Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal. It is therefore important to examine how the the

media is treating Aboriginal issues, what sort of knowledge it is imparting to

consumers. Most of the research findings made available to the RCIADIC

concerned newspaper treatment of Aboriginal issues.

18.4 Frequency of Aboriginal news items

Newspapers in Western Australia in the 1980s contained an over-representation

of items dealing with Aboriginal issues compared with other ethnic group issues.

There was about 10 times as much coverage of Aboriginal items, as there was of

many of the other ethnic groups. There were also substantially greater numbers

of editorials and adjacent topical cartoons concerning Aboriginal people than the

other groups (RCIADIC Transcript, Perth, May 1990, evidence of Dr David

Trigger). Over-representation is not necessarily detrimental to the image of

Aboriginal people in itself, for instance, it could be seen as redressing a lack of

information circulating in other public spheres. However, the content of these

items is cause for serious concern as the RCIADIC heard a considerable amount

708

of opinion about the perceived 'positive' or 'negative' images of Aboriginal

people in the news media. Most of this opinion, and certainly that of the majority

of Aboriginal people from around the State in urban and remote settings, was that

the news reports and articles about Aboriginal issues in Western Australian media

were overwhelmingly 'negative' in content, that is, they tended to depict

Aboriginal people in situations concerning crime, civil disturbance, alcohol use,

anti-social behaviour or at the centre of political debates over alleged funding

wastages or so-called 'special treatment' by social services (RCIADIC

Transcript, Kalgoorlie, 1990).

Research findings made available to the RCIADIC regarding the content of

newspapers in Western Australia certainly confirmed the above views, that items

about Aboriginal people were mostly negative in content (RCIADIC Transcript,

Perth, 1990). In fact, a survey of the The West Australian for the years 1984

and 1988, found that over twice as many items dealing with Aboriginal issues

presented 'negative content' as compared with 'positive content'. This

disproportionate negative treatment of Aboriginal issues was also clear in the

rural papers, that was most striking for the Kalgoorlie Miner, which presented

negative Aboriginal items nearly seven times the proportion of positive items,

and also in the Kimberley Echo - where the negative items were nearly four times

the proportion of positive coverage (Trigger, 1990).

Similarly in the rural papers, an extremely high proportion of items about ethnic

issues which concerned alcohol, almost exclusively concerned Aboriginal

people. A further aspect of this research identifies the representation of conflict

between a particular ethnic group and the wider society, particularly when

compared with the proportion of items that present co-operation between that

group and the wider society. Overall rural papers were more than 23 times as

likely to present conflict between Aboriginal people and others than it is to

present co-operation between Aboriginal people and others. Many of these

stories once again concern criminal matters. Other common themes which

indicated conflict between Aboriginal people and the wider society were political

709

issues such as Aboriginal land rights (Trigger and Waddell, 1990). The effect

that this predominantly negative presentation of Aboriginal people might have in

shaping the views and attitudes of the general community is an issue of great

concern by many Aboriginal people who spoke to the RCIADIC throughout the

State. The Chairperson of the Western Australian Aboriginal Media Association

told the RCIADIC:

The power of the media in terms of presenting information about Aboriginal people very much tends to reinforce the general negativity that the broader community has about Aboriginal people and the whole nature of Aboriginal affairs [RCIADIC, Transcript, Perth, 1990].

The majority of Perth suburban dwellers remember negative stories as the last

stories they saw in the media about Aboriginal people; according to survey

findings 75% of a sample responded that the last thing they read in the

newspaper, heard on the radio or watched on the television concerning

Aborigines was a crime or violence item. Only 15.2% mentioned a positive

portrayal as the last thing they remembered about Aboriginal people in the media

(Trigger and Waddell, 1990:13).

The research also suggested that items dealing with crime/violence are likely to

displace other positive portrayals of Aboriginal peopie which may be presented in

the media. The effect of this on views of Aboriginal people was also commented

on by Dr Trigger at one of my conferences:

Those that remembered crime/violence from the media disproportionately responded that 'most Aborigines strongly dislike white people ... [this] 'trend suggests a relationship between media consumption and an attitude arguably quite critical in the reproduction of poor race relations [RCIADIC Transcript, Perth, 1990].

Other comment the RCIADIC received on the treatment of Aboriginal people by

the media concerned the way which peoples such as Aborigines tended to be

represented as existing outside the realms of the community which the media

710

addresses in its news stories. A fonn of symbolic apartheid operates with the

result that media consumers are presented with an Australia divided into simply

'we' and 'them' with 'we' being nonnal, stable, rational and peaceful and 'them'

being abnonnal, chaotic, irrational and threatening. This was seen as a habitual

and largely unconscious practice within the news media, a part of the 'routine

common sense' of devising a news story. A senior lecturer in communication

and cultural studies at Murdoch University, Dr J. Hartley, told the RCIADIC:

Aborigines who are stereotyped as outsiders or as tribal cannot be seen as citizens with rights. More often they are treated as subjects of welfare, or in connection with crime stories. Groups like Aborigines who are routinely covered in news stories where the emphasis is on welfare or correction, are rarely asked to speak for themselves. As outsiders with a 'they' identity, they are newsworthy for their economic, security or welfare impact on 'our' community. So routine has the strategy of inclusion and exclusion become, that it is now natural, a part of common sense. One serious result is that it's hard for an Aboriginal spokesperson or eyewitness, or a story told from an Aboriginal perspective, to be seen as true. In other words, truth is not an absolute value in the news media; it is, as it were, what 'we' know to be true[RCIADIC, Transcript, Perth, 1990].

John Watson, a Walmajarri/Nygina speaker from the Kimberley region,

explained the way the defence of sacred land at Noonkanbah in 1980 was

covered showed that media represented the interests of non-Aboriginal people:

A lot of Aboriginal people and a lot of our European supporters got chucked in gaol, when the police got them people and put them in gaol and the other media hasn't told the truth. This is our time (to present the truth to the RCIADIC). I'm putting

forward to Commissioner Dodson today that should your commission into the media people, that we should have equal rights, that in our country the Aboriginal people speak for their rights that hasn't been put through to the media and through the newspapers. I mean, if they don't tell the truth - they are there only for their own purpose, the European people and the white people here in our country [RCIADIC, Transcript, Mary River,

1990].

A survey of Western Australian newspapers for the years 1984 and 1988 showed

that expressions of opposition to Aboriginal land rights significantly

711

out-numbered expressions of support. In The West Australian, for those two

years, 222 items containing opposition to Aboriginal lands rights appeared

compared with 183 items containing expressions of support. The figures for the

country press are far more dramatic with 119 oppositional expressions as against

53 supportive (Trigger and Waddell, 1990:7). Similarly, the results of the crisis

of Aboriginal life such as high crime rates, youth delinquency, alcohol use and

civil disturbances are apt to be seen as outside the responsibility of 'our'

community and unconnected with 'our' history and hence 'their problem'. Thus

misguided views that Aboriginal people are solely to blame for their situation,

tend to be reinforced.

18.5 Media visions of crime and disorder

Perhaps the most controversial area of media coverage of issues involving

Aboriginal people are those which also concern matters of crime, violence and

civil disturbances. Aboriginal people in Western Australia have submitted to the

RCIADIC that the news media sensationalise incidents involving Aborigines, that

they reflect mainly the views of the police, courts and others, that they often

distort events, neglect to obtain Aboriginal comments, are highly selective in the

choice of facts to present as relevant to their stories, and unfairly highlight

Aboriginality in criminal issues (RCIADIC, Transcripts, Perth, 30 May 1990).

The media on the other hand usually respond to such accusations by defending

the professional integrity of journalistic staff, by citing the 'public's right to

know' about who is committing serious crimes and unrest.

Undoubtedly, for news producers, crime and violence form an essential part of

the daily staple of dramatic events, which are seen to make the news exciting and

saleable to consumers and to be things the public is interested in knowing all

about. However, Aboriginal people rightly object to being used as the fodder for

'a good read'. As research noted earlier has shown, the news frequently

contains material about criminal matters that involve Aborigines. This ranges

from coverage of juvenile delinquency, alcohol related violence, thefts and

712

assaults to bigger, more sensational events such as riots and disorder. These

latter provided dramatic spectacles for media's news hungry gaze at Mt Magnet in

1983, Mullewa in 1985 and Geraldton to name just a few (see Appendix 9).

There is a particularly controversial example of this kind of media treatment that

occurred during the term of this inquiry. It bears examination in detail. On

28 February 1990 The West Australian newspaper carried a page one lead story

with the headline 'Aboriginal gangs terrorise suburbs' by Helen Winterton, in

thick type across the page (see Appendix 10). This edition of the paper was

promoted at most of Perth's suburban news agencies and along city's major

streets, with bill-board posters consisting of the words 'Aboriginal gangs

terrorise suburbs' in thick type. The article reported on alleged Aboriginal child

and juvenile crime in the Bayswater-Maylands area.

On 2 March 1990, ABC Radio journalist Mr Doug Spencer and 45 other

journalists wrote to the Editor of The West Australian to complain about the

'gangs' story and the way other Aboriginal issues had been treated by the paper

in the preceding 4 or 5 days. The journalists deplored the 'sensationalism,

patronising attitudes and outright racism' evident in some of the reporting. The

letter states:

The story proper contained no hard news link to any event or alleged event of the preceding 24 hours. The 'suburbs' turned out to be just three adjoining ones. Nobody identified as Aboriginal was quoted on the front page. The story reported allegations by police officers, and hoteliers and their staff. Their

was just one allegation detailed which involved a serious attack on a suburbanite in a street. Otherwise the article comprised general remarks by police officers and more specific allegations by persons involved in selling liquor. Alleged crimes at liquor outlets do not amount to terrorise[d] suburbs.

Inquiries to the police in the Bayswater area revealed that the alleged Aboriginal

gang terror amounted to the theft of a cash register from the Ashfield Tavern, by

three Aboriginal youths who had subsequently been arrested by police from

another station, the assault on a young woman and her male partner at the

713

Bayswater railway station by Aboriginal youths, and a brawl at the Maylands

Tavern which involved Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal adult drinkers. These

incidents were seen to be isolated from each other.

The crime figures from the Bayswater Police Station support these claims. For

instance, in February 1990, at the height of the alleged Aboriginal 'gang terror'

not a single charge was laid against an Aboriginal juvenile while

3 non-Aboriginal juveniles were arrested for offences including break and enter,

and stealing. No Aboriginal juveniles had been sent before the Children's Court

Panel or taken into any form of custody. In the same month 5 Aboriginal and

17 non-Aboriginal adults had been arrested.

Police at neighbouring Maylands presented a very similar picture. A police

officer who had been stationed at Maylands a year by the time of the article

described the most serious of the incidents involving Aboriginal people as

'isolated' and stated that the police had more trouble with 'white street kids' than

Aboriginal youths. The officer said there had been 'a bit of a problem in

February' from one Aboriginal family, who had since left the area:

This thing certainly did not deserve this sort of headline. Maylands certainly does not have the problem some people think it has. we don't get really serious offences here. Ninety per cent of complaints relate to NPPs (No Particular Persons) and most people eventually charged are white. We have a high rate of petty crime, stealing, but the majority of those involved are white. Aboriginal crime has remained pretty standard for the past 18 months with no rise in incidents [RCIADIC research notes, 19 July 1990].

The officer strongly refuted claims that 'racial tensions were rising' and that the

'situation was getting out of control' in May lands.

The only people we've been arresting for multiple house break-ins are white people such as drug addicts and street kids. If they [reporters] had looked at the Maylands figures [police arrest book] they would prove that. We've never had a call from the Western Australian.

714

The officer's reaction when first reading the 'Aboriginal gangs' story:

I thought ... you've got to be joking! They're [The West

Australian] in it for a headline.

The Maylands police records, like those at Bayswater, simply do not support the

28 February headline. In February 1990 only 7 Aboriginal people were

arrested, 5 adults and 2 juveniles out of a total of 35 arrests. In the previous

month, January, 5 Aboriginal adults were arrested and one Aboriginal juvenile

within a total of 27 arrests.

At meetings with Aboriginal people in Bunbury, Katanning, Gnowangerup,

Wagin and Albany in March the Aboriginal Issues Unit (AIU) was infonned that

this article was used by a local radio 'talk-back' presenter to solicit a flood of

misguided and prejudiced calls from listeners. A similar exercise was carried out

by a well known Perth radio 'talk-back' identity. Aboriginal people spoken to in

these towns, as well as in the Perth area told members of the AIU the headline

and story were distressing to them and had seriously misinformed the non­

Aboriginal community. It was felt that the already negative community attitudes

toward Aboriginal people in this State were made worse by the story and the bill­

boards advertising it.

It is my Commission's belief that no reasonable case can be made for justifying

such a headline, with its connotations of civil emergency and race riots, on the

basis of both the 'facts' offered in the accompanying article, and infonnation

relating to the circumstances of the writing of the article. In the view of my

Commission, to claim that gangs of Aborigines have terrorised suburbs in the

past, have done so since the appearance of this article, or will do soin the future

does not detract from the fundamental untruth of this headline and article at the

time they appeared.

715

Differences in the way non-Aboriginal and Aboriginal youth delinquency are

treated by Perth press can be observed when comparing the front page

construction of the 'Aboriginal gangs' story with a later story about

non-Aboriginal gang terror. On 15 June 1990 The West Australian ran a page 3

story entitled 'Gang turns train trip into terror' about a 'wild gang of 50 youths'

who 'took over' a suburban commuter train and 'terrorised its occupants with

spray cans and abusive language'. The youths apparently threatened to 'bash an

off duty police officer who had tried to step in' and 'threatened to throw off

anyone who interfered'. This page 3 single column story, without a bold

headline, no photographs or interviews with terrorised passengers and Westrail

employees (see Appendix 11) is markedly subdued compared with the

'Aboriginal gangs' story of 28 February 1990.

Newspapers in Western Australia can and do, on occasion, publish lengthy

feature articles on aspects of Aboriginal affairs. The amount of feature articles on

Aboriginal issues in The West Australian has observably increased over the past

few months, and these are found mainly in the Big Weekend supplement. For

instance, in three consecutive Saturday editions The West Australian contained

features on Aboriginal issues; Big Weekend of Saturday, 2 June there were two

features on Aboriginal issues, 'Black world, white words', a review of a book

by Mudrooroo Narogin, and Testimonial to the 'real' Mr Neville', a review of a

book on A.O. Neville, the 'Protector of Aborigines' from the 1910s to 1930s.

The 9 June edition contained another more lengthy review of the same book,

with large photographs, and a page 59 feature on 'A race to map ancient tribes of

Australia'. The 18 June edition of Big Weekend continued this trend with a

major feature on Nyoongah author Graeme Dixon 'Jail a catalyst for Literary

Success' and another full page article on the success of Aboriginal art at an

exhibition in Venice 'Art Among the Gondolas and the Glitterati, Australia makes

an original impact'.

716

Without commenting on the choice or treatment of those topics, it would appear

that efforts had been made by the editorial staff of the paper to include substantial

in-depth material on Aboriginal affairs, and this in itself is praiseworthy.

18.6 Country newspapers and Aboriginal people

The treatment of Aboriginal issues in the country press exhibited the same

problems as city based newspapers, that is:

a tendency to sensationalise crime and civil disturbances involving Aboriginal people. A strong emphasis on reporting court proceedings, in which the Aboriginality of offenders tends to be made known unnecessarily;

a reliance on police sources for much of their stories, and a general failure to canvass Aboriginal opinion or cross-check police accounts of incidents;

• a failure to include Aboriginal people within the

community of readers that is addressed by the paper. That is, Aboriginal people tend to be treated as outside the normal business of mainstream society, which is perceived as Anglo-Saxon, and represented mainly when perceived as presenting a challenge or threat to that society;

a tendency to reproduce colonial and race stereotypes about Aboriginal people both by invoking Eurocentric notions of savagery, timelessness and primitivism and by superficially treating Aboriginal social problems so as to leave readers with the impression that they are caused by something innate to Aboriginal people themselves, this includes ... ;

• a failure to background readers in the historical and social issues which, stemming from the fact of colonisation, mean that superficial or 'common sense' ways of trying to understand Aboriginal affairs are inadequate.

The influence of the media on relations between Aboriginal people and

non-Aboriginal people in country areas of Western Australia has been a focus of

recent research. The Human Rights Commission National Inquiry Into Racist

Violence received two submissions in 1990 that identified the crucial role of the

717

media in reinforcing negative attitudes about Aboriginal people, and heightening

fear and tensions in country towns.

The Pilbara study, focussing on the towns of Port Hedland and Roebourne

presented evidence by Aboriginal people of alleged acts of violence and brutality

against them by police officers during the 1980s. It also examined the tensions

that arose in the town following an increase in the number of Aboriginal people

moving in from outlying areas in the late 1980s:

In May 1988 tension within the town came to a head at a dramatic public meeting of about 500 people. The local newspaper, the North West Telegraph, announced the issues in a dramatic front page story headlined, 'Headland Crime Wave Shock: Vigilantes Threat To Hit Back'. The story told of reports of the existence of a vigilante group which was ready to patrol the streets armed with baseball bats to combat alleged vandalism and car thefts. The prime suspects in the public mind were Aboriginal juveniles [Gallagher, 1990: 2].

A Geraldton study found the media, both local and the Perth daily papers to have

had a similar role in contributing to racial tension and discrimination in that town.

Gerald ton has featured prominently within the general coverage of race relations

in Western Australia over the past few years. The deaths of three Aboriginal

people in police and prison custody in 1988 and that of a Maori man who was

part of the Aboriginal community in 1986 have, as noted by Allbrook and

Cattalini (1990: 15), contributed to deteriorating community relations. The

funeral of one of these, Edward Cameron, on 25 July 1988 was followed by a

riot in the town's main street, allegedly provoked by the racist jeers of a

publican, which attracted nationwide media coverage (see Appendix 12).

The researchers found widespread criticism of the way in which the media

emphasised and dramatised criminal and civil disturbances that involved

Aboriginal people:

Recently, the race relations situation in Geraldton has received close scrutiny from the 'Geraldton Guardian' and the 'Daily News'. All respondents [people surveyed by the researchers]

718

were of the opinion that the level of biased, negative journalism in the 'Geraldton Guardian' and the 'Daily News' had led to racial stereotyping of Aboriginal people as drunken, unruly criminals. Opportunities to promote the positive contribution of Aboriginals to the Geraldton community had been neglected

[ibid:17].

It was also found that television news coverage of Aboriginal issues in Geraldton

was criticised for maintaining an image of crisis by repeatedly using file footage

of the riot of 25 July 1988 to illustrate unrelated stories.

The following approach to Aboriginal issues is fortunately not representative of

the majority of the country press in Western Australia:

Wages now [are] pretty good but the hours are long and hard. It [is] difficult to get the natives on the job now because of the amount of morons who were employed by the taxpayer to go around and tell the natives that the world owed them a living ... [Editorial Kimberley Echo, 2 August 1984].

It does however provide a representative sample of the editorial line of what was,

for many years, until recently, the only regional newspaper for the whole of the

Kimberley. The Kimberley Echo has been the subject of considerable criticism

regarding its treatment of Aboriginal issues throughout out the 1980s. In 1982

the ABC TV current affairs programme Nationwide examined the fortnightly

paper and the impact it was having on race relations in Kununurra (Stafford,

1988:140). In 1988 Ansett Airlines of Western Australia refused to continue

providing passengers with copies of the paper (Stafford, 1988:146).

Aboriginal people were very critical of the paper's habit of highlighting reports of

court appearances which named offenders and detailed offences. One, an

Aboriginal radio journalist, said this practice had a 'very negative impact in a

small community where everyone knows everyone else' [Wayne Binder,

Aboriginal Broadcasters Conference, Cockatoo Springs 28 June 1990].

719

Stafford (1988:143) found that:

While this practice may not be unique to Kununurra it could well be argued that, considering the number of occasions on which Aboriginal defendants comprise 100 per cent of any one court sitting, the publication of such 'facts' does little to reduce tension or reduce already firmly entrenched beliefs about the innate criminality of Aborigines.

As has been mentioned before, isolating the effects of this kind of treatment of

Aboriginal people on the attitudes of the general community is difficult. Like in

many outback areas of Western Australia, attitudes toward Aboriginal people in

many ways still reflect the economic relations of the past where Aboriginal

people were forced to provide cheap and, at one stage, virtual slave labour for

non-Aboriginals, mainly on the pastoral stations.

Clearly, The Kimberley Echo is the product of a view of Aboriginal people that is

profoundly colonialistic. Part of this view is that Aboriginal people are outside

the community of readers addressed by this paper (Appendix 13 provides just

one example of this). The fundamental economic reality of the commercial media

industry, appears to be that regardless of stated defences of freedom of

expression, to serving the whole community, to reporting the news without fear

or favour, the requirement to make a profit is likely to be the over-riding

consideration of the proprietors.

Proprietors of regional newspapers need to seriously consider editorial policies

that will include Aboriginal people within the community of readers and as a

result, their perceived marketplace. This means more thoughtful and sensitive

treatment of Aboriginal affairs, coverage of Aboriginal issues and events as

though they are an important part of community rather than of marginal interest,

and including Aboriginal views within the category of 'public opinion' rather

than assuming the public to be non-Aboriginal.

720

18.7 Radio and 'Talk-Back'

Of great concern to Aboriginal people is the way issues concerning them are

handled during public access programmes on radio, which are commonly

referred to as 'talk-back' programmes. 'Talk-back' programmes are heard

mainly in the morning on commercial, public and ABC radio stations. During

the 1980s they became high-rating programmes, their popular appeal based on

permitting ordinary people to comment publicly on controversial news and issues

of the day. The daily discussion topics of these programmes are drawn together

by the 'host' who usually follows up social and political issues that have

circulated prominently within the rest of the media in the previous days.

A comparative analysis of two different radio talk-back programmes in Perth

conducted by anthropologists at the University of Western Australia revealed

how the radio presenter's style can profoundly influence the outcome of

discussion on Aboriginal issues (Taylor et al, 1990). The study examined

segments of programmes presented on ABC 6WF and commercial radio station

6KY dealing with Aboriginal land rights, at the height of the land rights debate in

Western Australia in 1984. It showed that the ABC presenter's style was

characterised by leading callers to think through their arguments, avoidance of

promoting his own points of view, reservation in providing positive or negative

feedback to callers, the challenging or ignoring of mis-informative comments.

On the other hand, the 6KY presenter made frequent use of colloquialisms and

cliches, for example 'I'm no expert but .. .', 'we're all in this together', 'what's

good for the goose is good for the gander', 'thin end of the wedge', 'stop the

rot', 'the chooks are coming home to roost', all phrases designed to invoke

home-spun 'common-sense' attitudes toward the issue, and emotionally

incorporate listeners into an imaginary community of like-minded 'battlers'. The

6KY presenter also tended to promote his own views and opinions, and

implicitly endorse or promote callers negative generalisations, opinion and

stereotypes about Aboriginal people, a list of which is worth quoting in full:

721

Aborigines get too many hand-outs.

Aborigines get more than the whites.

• Land rights are just one more handout.

• Aborigines are like spoilt children.

• Aborigines don't use the land.

Drinking rights are to blame.

• Aborigines drink their money.

Aborigines were immigrants like the rest of us and thus don't deseJVe land rights.

Equal opportunity - equal treatment.

We are not responsible for the past.

We don't owe them anything.

Aboriginal families are like leeches and drain away each others resources.

• Real Aborigines- full -bloods.

Full bloods are gentle people/part Aboriginals are grizzlers.

Part Aborigines have bad blood and are whingers and stirrers.

Do gooders are to blame, Aborigines are being manipulated by communists.

• Aborigines are problems and Aborigines have problems.

The answer to the problem is to round them up and variations on this theme [Taylor et al, 1990].

Significantly, it was found that the 6KY presenter tended to treat Aboriginal

callers with sarcasm while the ABC presenter used such opportunities to gain

more information for the benefit oflisteners. The study showed that in spite of

claims by commercial radio talk-back presenters that their aggressive and

provocative styles reflect their fervent quest to 'keep the public informed', it was

722

unquestionably the reasoned, inquiring, even-handed approach of the ABC

presenter that achieved an infonned debate for the benefit of listeners.

The long-standing anger of the Aboriginal community in Perth over one

particular talk-back host came to a head in April 1990. Commenting on the

deaths of three children who died in a car crash during a high speed police chase,

on 5 April 1990, the commentator said during a preview of his programme:

Well I say good riddance to bad rubbish. That's three less car thieves. I think, they're dead and I think that's good

[Transcripted from audio-tape held by the RCIADIC].

A meeting of over 100 Aboriginal people at the Western Australian Aboriginal

Media Association (WAAMA) on 6 April 1990 called on the Australian

Broadcasting Tribunal (ABT) to suspend the commentator from broadcasting and

to carry out an inquiry into the comments. In a fonnalletter of complaint to the

Tribunal, endorsed with 85 signatures, W AAMA's Director, wrote:

These comments have distressed and outraged a great many Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people in our community. Some have commented that it is the worst breach of journalistic ethics ever, not to mention the callous absence of common decency.

Apart from the enonnous pain these sort of statements cause family and friends of the children that died, they also have the effect of inciting racial hatred given that people in Perth were becoming aware that those who died were Aboriginal. The reference to people as 'bad rubbish' is strikingly similar to language used by racists to describe the ethnic minorities that are the objects of their hatred, for example the Nazis called the Jews 'vermin'.

The ABT received a total of 11 complaints over the same comments. The

commentator claims he did not know those killed were Aborigines when he made

the comments, and that Aborigines were out to 'gag' him (The West Australian,

30 May 1990, p.15). Indeed, theW AAMA Director has not hidden the intention

to have the commentator removed from the airwaves. An Aboriginal woman also

723

conveyed the outrage and anguish of the Aboriginal community at these

comments when she told my Commission:

... one of the concerns that I did have as a result of the police­ journalists link is the issue of the recent car chase that led to the death of three Aboriginal youths.

One of those young people that died is the child of my husband's cousin. And the family was, like the rest of the Aboriginal community - were very concerned about the statements made in the media as to reference to the deceased being considered as bad rubbish. I attended a meeting at an Aboriginal organization to discuss the issue of the media comments on the comments -sorry, I'm just very - I'm very angry because I've known that kid for so long and also as a part of my family network that those sorts of comments are being made about a human life. And I know that the rest of the Aboriginal community themselves are

also very angry about it. And something definitely needs to be done in terms of those particular comments ... [RCIADIC Transcript, Perth, 1990].

In the view of my Commission, it would be unfair, however, to radio journalists

not to refer to the relatively good work some of them do. More sensitive and

thoughtful treatment of Aboriginal issues is evidenced in some radio talk-back

programmes on ABC Radio, which, together with other locally produced radio

programmes such as Drive Time, also reflect the ABC's lesser concern with

ratings-boosting sensationalism than intelligent and informative broadcasting.

Public Radio stations generally are also observed to have an approach that avoids

the cheap harvesting of public prejudices about Aborigines, and some include

regular programmes produced by Aboriginal people themselves (see e.g. Section

6.6 where 'Aboriginal media' is discussed).

18.8 Identification of Aboriginality

An issue or recurring concern is the practice, in many sections of the media, of

identifying the race or cultural-ethnic background of alleged criminal offenders.

Journalists and editors have been known to justify this practice on the grounds

that publicly identifying the race of persons wanted by police will assist in their

apprehending. Indeed, police statements to the media will invariably state the

724

race of sought-after offenders for precisely this reason. There are, however, at

least two major incongruities between the stated reasons for this practice and the

circumstances in which it is often employed.

Firstly, this Commission has seen a number of examples of crime reports in

which the Aboriginality of sought after offenders is stated. However, more often

Aboriginality is the only descriptive attribute stated, and appears to take the place

of things such as height, build, clothing, hair colour, etc. which are otherwise

commonly used. It is difficult to understand how the mere stating of

Aboriginality is sufficient to describe wanted offenders, as if the belief that

alleged offenders are Aboriginal is all the person who may have information to

give to the police needs to know. The general effect of this however, is to make

Aboriginality synonymous with certain kinds of criminal behaviour.

The second problem is that my Commission has also seen a number of media

reports, mainly from newspapers, where the Aboriginality of alleged offenders is

stated even though they had already been arrested (Appendix 14 makes available

several examples). These reports are, in my Commission's view, open to

charges of gratuitous identification of race, and they cannot aid police in catching

anyone. What they do imply, however, is that it is significant that the crimes

were committed by Aborigines, that the reader should make sense of the story

differently because Aborigines were involved, rather than others. The crimes

become Aboriginal crimes, something one learns to recognise and comprehend in

the pages of a newspaper, and something one learns to expect is behaviour

characteristic of Aboriginal people. There are also indirect ways in which the

Aboriginality of an alleged offender is made known in some newspaper reports

which require attention. Some, like the stating of a person's place of residence,

for example an Aboriginal community, is perhaps unavoidable and fairly

standard practice regardless of race or cultural background. Equally,

recognisable Aboriginal names can identify Aboriginality, but these sorts of

practices have not been put to the RCIADIC as being of concern to Aboriginal

people. However, it was submitted to the Commission that the identification of

725

lawyers as being employed by the Aboriginal Legal Service may not be necessary

in straight forward criminal matters where wider issues of Aboriginal affairs are

not being touched upon. The following quote picks up my meaning here:

We go back to the court where I work every day: The situation is we've written to the Kalgoorlie Miner in the past where we've felt that every time it was an Aboriginal person that was highlighted in really dark ink or the big writing or it always said: Aboriginal Legal Service [RCIADIC Transcript, Kalgoorlie,

1990].

Ethically, journalists are not supposed to identify the race or cultural-ethnic

background of an alleged or proven criminal offender unless the fact is of

necessary relevance to the story. This is expressed in the Journalists' Code of

Ethics as follows:

They shall not place unnecessary emphasis on gender, race, sexual preference, religious belief, marital status or physical or mental disability [Australian Press Council, 1989:19].

Similarly, the Australian Press Council's (APC) Statement of Principles also

deals with this point:

A newspaper should not, in headlines or otherwise, state the race, nationality or religious or political views of a person suspected of a crime, or arrested charged or convicted, unless the fact is relevant [APC 1989:4].

Concern among Aboriginal people that these ethics and principles should be

adhered to, was expressed in a letter of complaint to the Editor of the Daily News

on 18 May 1990 by the Director of the Western Australian Aboriginal Media

Association over the identification of the Aboriginality of an offender in a report

the previous day:

Failure to abide by this ethic, which disturbingly, is all too often the case, leads readers to associate criminality with 'racial' or cultural background, in this case Aboriginality. The cumulative effect of such reporting practices is to increase racial prejudice in our community.

726

I request that you publish an apology for his breach of ethics and that you instruct reporters and sub-editors to be vigilant on this issue as a matter of professionalism [Eggington, 1990].

Interestingly, in publishing this letter, the Daily News omitted the last paragraph

of the above part of it (Daily News, Letters, 18 May 1990). As much as the

inclusion of these ethics was a progressive development in media policy when

adopted in 1986, they have limitations which enable media producers to attempt

to justify continued identification of Aboriginality in crime stories. Problems lie

in the interpretation of the meaning of the words 'unnecessary emphasis' in the

Code of Ethics clause and 'unless the fact is relevant' in Principle 9 of the APC

Principles.

The cumulative effect of the identification of Aboriginality in crime reporting,

whether justified or not, is that media consumers overwhelmingly retain in their

memories a negative image of Aboriginal people. Research supporting this has

been noted previously. Clearly, given that there continues to be concern at the

seemingly groundless identification of the Aboriginality of criminal offenders by

the media, there needs to be a serious rethink of the efficacy of existing

guidelines and professional codes dealing with the issue, and the methods of

policing them. Either these are inadequate and in need of further clarification and

arnendmeni, or they are simply being disregarded by some media producers, or

perhaps both.

18.9 Racial and colonial stereotypes and images

It must be stressed that the use of racial stereotypes in the media do not

necessarily reflect the conscious views of journalists, although they may in some

cases. Rather they 'speak through' individual journalists, as part of a powerful

institutional way of seeing and writing. Dr John Hartley told the Commission:

Racial stereotyping and racism in the media is institutional, not individual. That is, it results from news values, editorial .policies, from routines of news gathering that are not in

727

themselves racist or consciously prejudicial. It results from the fact that most news stories are already written before an individual journalist is assigned to them, even before the event takes place. A story featuring Aboriginals is simply more likely to be covered, or more likely to survive sub-editorial revision or spiking, if it fits existing definitions of the situation [RCIADIC Transcripts, Perth, 1990].

There are a number of stereotypes of Aborigines circulating within Australian

society and popular culture, for example, that they are primitive and lack complex

laws and social organisation, are all alike, that they are racially more prone to

alcoholism, violent, ancient, emotional, criminal, mindlessly cruel, lazy, simple,

mystical, live in a timelessness state or on the so-called 'positive' side, are

childishly innocent, noble savage, 'beautiful people' and so on.

A major government commissioned report into attitudes toward Aboriginal

people in 1985, mentioned earlier, supports this assessment:

The predominant stereotype is of a primitive, nomadic people who are passive and lazy, and have become virtual alcoholics under the influence of white society [ANOP, 1985:13].

Most of these kinds of racial stereotypes have been observed by the Commission

in media treatment of Aboriginal issues over the past decade. An instructive

example follows. A page one caption to a photograph of a former Gallipoli

veteran, and his great-grandson clearly states their names and ages ('John

McCleery, 103; two-year-old great-grandson Benjamin'). However, a page 14

caption to photograph of an Aboriginal woman and her grandchild does not

include names or ages. The assumption behind this last photo and caption is that

all the reader needs to know is that the people depicted are Aboriginal, not who

they are as individual people, that Aboriginal-ness is the determining meaning of

the article.

As noted in earlier sections of my report (especially in Chapters 6 and 8) race

relations of an Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal kind need to be critically

examined. Contrasting representations express the view that the image of any

728

Aborigines stand for all Aboriginal people, that Aboriginal persons first and

foremost represent not themselves as individuals or a group engaged in a

particular activity at a particular time in a particular context, but a race and a

culture that is different/outside the dominant anglo-celtic realm. The two white

people are accorded the status of identifiable individuals, citizens with names,

whereas the two Aboriginal people are nameless, non-citizens, representing a

group that is other than the 'us' or 'we' that the articles construct as the collective

readership. Only rarely are newspaper photos of non-Aboriginals in similar

circumstances captioned without identifying the subjects. It is almost a question

of journalistic propriety and certainly courtesy that published close-up photographs identify the individuals depicted.

The patent inadequacy of common sense and common knowledge as means to

make sense of the historically produced situation of Aboriginal people and its

political implications for all Australians cannot be seen as the sole responsibility

of the media. That is, as considered in Chapter 12, the failure of the education

system to create an awareness and understanding of Aboriginal history, culture

and the implications of colonisation within children is likely to pave the way for

uncritical acceptance of media reports and images. The absence of any

comprehensive long-term government-initiated public education campaign about

Aboriginal affairs aimed at lifting European Australia out of its ethnocentric

indifference is of equal seriousness. The ANOP study of 1985 commissioned by

the Federal Government, which examined community attitudes to Aboriginal

issues stated that 'a campaign is desperately needed' and is worth quoting at

length:

It would be easy to despair at the extent of the ignorance, intolerance and misunderstanding uncovered by our research towards Aborigines generally and land rights more specifically. And much of the opposition to land rights in middle Australia is founded on lack of knowledge and understanding, compounded by underlying fears and prejudice. A campaign is definitely if not desperately, needed and ANOP re commends that to have lasting impact, the campaign should be like no government has ever attempted. Black rights generally, and land rights in particular, represent the most divisive and potentially explosive

729

issues we have ever dealt with - and we suspect that this country has faced in the post war period ... Continued silence by government means that those with vested interests in opposing land rights will retain the initiative and community attitudes will harden and divide further [ANOP, 1985:5].

On a broader scale however, the continued lack of recognition of indigenous

rights and reconciliation manifests aspects of the ongoing processes of

colonisation.

It was noted earlier, that one of the most consistent representations of Aboriginal

people made through the media was in association with alcohol. In the next

chapter, I consider the critical issue of alcohol and substance use.

730

Chapter 19

ALCOHOL AND SUBSTANCE USE

Similarly to the findings of Langton (1990:23) when reporting to the National

RCIADIC concerning underlying issues in the Northern Territory, this

Commission has also found that much of the content of discussions related

directly to problems arising from alcohol use and how to solve them. The

following material reflects some of the major concerns and issues regarding

alcohol use.

19.1 Historical aspects of alcohol

As noted by Brady (1990:195) 'it is often assumed that the Aboriginal

populations of Australia had no access to alcoholic beverages before the arrival

of the First Fleet from England in 1788'. This assumption denies that 'mood

altering fermented beverages derived from indigenous natural flora' (ibid) were

sought after and used by Aboriginal people prior to and following contact (see

e.g. Basedow, 1929 and Duncan-Kemp, 1934, as cited in Brady, 1990). It is

also a commonly held misconception that the granting of drinking rights, in

itself, in 1971led to the currently perceived high level of alcohol consumption by

Aboriginal people. The following points give a more accurate portrayal of the

real situation.

Firstly, as discussed elsewhere, recent suiVeys have shown there to be a similar

proportion of non-drinkers in the Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal communities.

Secondly, as recorded by Haynes et al (1972), the prohibition laws began to be

relaxed some seven years earlier with the south-west region being proclaimed a

non-restricted area in 1964. In 1966 this was extended to cover the land south of

Port Hedland excluding the northern and eastern divisions and the Wiluna area of

731

the North Eastern division. In July 1971 the remaining restrictions on

Aboriginal drinking rights were lifted in the Kimberley and Eastern Goldfields

regions. Thirdly, as noted above, a brief look at history shows that alcohol has

been a significant part of some Aboriginal peoples lives both prior to and since

soon after colonisation.

Hasluck (1970) records some of the early comments about Aboriginal alcohol

consumption:

1. 1834 - the 'Perth Gazette' reported on complaints of natives [sic] being made drunk.

2 . 1849 - the Protector at York warned two 'very well known settlers-cum-publicans of that district against supplying liquor to natives [sic]'.

3. 1850 - the Perth Protector of Aborigines reported on the 'growing vice of drunkenness'.

4 . 1857 -the annual report of the Protector of Aborigines, Symmons, blamed the 'convict class' for the increasing level of drunkenness among Aborigines.

Hasluck (1970) goes on to document the concern of the colonialists to control

Aboriginal access to alcohol. Their subsequent legislative attempts at this date

from 1836-37 when the Select Committee produced two reports which included

the comment that 'the sale of ardent spirits to natives [sic] be prevented' (p.55).

The Publicans Act of 1843 attempted to prohibit the supply of spirit and

fermented liquor to Aborigines. Hasluck's (1970) comments reflect the

inefficiency of these attempts: 'The text of the legislation and the frequent

complaints of drunkenness of natives [sic] do not suggest that this was a very

thorough-going protective measure' (p.l58).

The Wines, Beer and Spirit Sale Act of 1880 again prohibited the sale of alcohol

to Aborigines. In 1902 this was amended to ensure 'part-Aborigines' (sic) were

similarly prohibited and hence bound by the Act. The Licensing Act of 1911

(Sections 118-120) continued this prohibition on the sale or gift of alcohol to

732

Aboriginal people and also banned the loitering on licensed premises, unless

gainfully employed by the licensee. The Aborigines Act of 1905, which later

became the Native Administration Act 1905-1936, enabled exemption, as

outlined elsewhere, from the various constraints placed on Aboriginal people by

the legislature. However, as noted by Neville (1947), the courts were quite strict

in the administration of the law. He relates the story of a non-Aboriginal man

being sentenced to three months imprisonment for supplying his Aboriginal

wife, who did not have an exemption certificate, with a glass of beer. The

Native Administration Act 1905-1940 saw the strengthening of Section 48 of the

1936 Act to include the prohibition of not only the supply or sale of alcohol or

opium but also the request to be supplied or given these substances, by

Aboriginal people.

The repeated attempts by the legislature to restrict Aboriginal peoples access to

and consumption of alcohol was a failure. This has been noted by Hasluck

(1970) and Neville (1974). Indeed Neville even comments that 'if we are to

pursue the matter logically we must in time grant these [sic] all the privileges we

ourselves enjoy' (p.252). The 1958 Report of the Special Committee on Native

Matters (With Particular Reference to Adequate Finance) considered the issue of

alcohol in the context of possible objections to the granting of Citizenship. FAE

Bateman's response to their questioning on this matter was: Those natives [sic]

who want to drink already get it, so many of the problems associated with drink

are already with us' (p.lO).

This point is developed further in the Annual Report of the Commissioner of

Native Welfare for the year ending 30 June 1968 in which the increase in the

number of Aboriginal people convicted for alcohol related offences is discussed.

The reason put forward is that this probably reflects the fact that drinking was

becoming more open, as it was no longer illegal, and hence police contact was

more likely.

733

19.2 'Why' alcohol and substance use?

Despite many efforts by Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people to deal with the

devastating effects of alcohol, the numbers of people drinking to excess are on

the increase. However, while many people maintain 'binge' drinking, and there

are a variety of social mechanisms that are often associated with drinking patterns

and partners, it also needs to be pointed out that there are also many Aboriginal

people who do not drink at all. While this is a complex matter, overall, evidence

received through the RCIADIC conferences throughout the State,

overwhelmingly reveal that alcohol related matters in the Aboriginal community

are recognised as a major issue of concern (see RCIADIC Transcripts from

Roebourne, Broome, Geraldton, Carnarvon, Esperance, Albany and Perth,

1990). This concern is seen not only in terms of the conflict alcohol related

difficulties present to Aboriginal people with regard to family dislocation, illness,

violence and low self esteem, but also in terms of the way alcohol is linked to

arrest and custody. As noted above, with regard to the Deaths in Custody cases

within Western Australia, all were in some way associated with alcohol.

From the findings put before me, it continues to be significant that

non-Aboriginal people, and the structures of which they are a part, must be better

informed about the 'why' of alcohol. They must be informed that alcoholism is

an introduced illness, which carries with it social and physiological

consequences, that has emerged among Aboriginal people largely because of

their political, social, legal, economic and cultural marginalisation in this State.

Further, until non-Aboriginal people and institutions accept and acknowledge this

fact, the need to address the very serious consequences presented by the over-use

of alcohol, there will be no lasting resolution. In sum, over-use of alcohol is

simultaneously a health problem, a cause of other health problems, and a

symptom of socio-political related problems.

734

19.3 Some consequences of alcohol

Alcohol was identified by both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people as one of

the most common problems confronting Aboriginal people in this State. Some of

the reasons put forward to explain why alcohol is such an important factor in the

lives of Aboriginal people (whether someone actually drank or not was not

important) included:

It is just that we are downtrodden and that is where we are stuck ... we are classified all the same. You are no better than the one that drinks and lays around in the bush. We are no better [RCIADIC, Esperance Transcript in confidence, 1990:1 06].

Land displacement and being forced to live without sufficient resources for

alcohol rehabilitation services, not enough Aboriginal people involved in alcohol

rehabilitation, ease of access to alcohol and credit for alcohol, peer pressure,

powerlessness, fear and family breakup, and unemployment were all given as

reasons why people drink (RCIADIC Transcript, Mary River, 1990:14-17).

You're not a man if you don't drink [RCIADIC Transcript, Mary River 1990:17];

... Because nobody like them ... They has not got the power of their own to support themself because they class themself as a nobody [RCIADIC Transcript, Mary River, 1990:18);

The Aboriginal person never brought it on himself [RCIADIC Transcript, Roeboume, 1990:39];

Loss of our land [RCIADIC Transcript, Perth, 1990:324];

Social causes of inequality and lack of opportunity [RCIADIC Transcript, Carnarvon, 1990];

People drink because of pressure and stress [RCIADIC, Transcript, One Arm Point, 1990].

Alcohol use, and its consequences, was identified by the NAHSWP as one of the

major health problems during its consultation process. It must be considered as a

health problem in its own right, as a cause of other health problems and as a

735

consequence of the social, political, economic and cultural deprivation impacting

on Aboriginal people. It is important to acknowledge that drug use, including

alcohol, is a significant problem in the wider Australian community and the target

of the National Drug Offensive. It is inappropriate to label alcohol as a uniform

Aboriginal problem, as there is a wide range of drinking behaviours both within

and between communities.

Of the 32 deaths under consideration by this Royal Commission, ten (31.25%)

had some alcohol detected in their bodies at autopsy. Nineteen (59.4%) were in

custody on an alleged alcohol related matter (assumed drunk, disorderly, driving

under the influence, or for non-payment of a fine for an alcohol related matter).

The widely held assumption that all Aboriginal people are large consumers of

alcohol, was frequently reported to the Commission. This myth can be easily

dismissed by consideration of some of the surveys conducted in Western

Australia in recent times:

(i) In 1986, a survey of the general population, by

Blaze-Temple et al (1986), showed that 30.1% of all those surveyed were non-drinkers (38.5% women and 17.9% men);

(ii) In 1986, a survey of homeless Aboriginal people in Hedland by Smith et al (1986), showed that 28% were non-drinkers (28.6% women and 28.2% men);

(iii) In 1986, a survey of Aboriginal people in Wiluna by Smith et al (1987), showed that 23.1% were non-drinkers (32. 7% women and 13% men);

(iv) In 1984, a survey of Aboriginal people in Roeboume by the Alcohol Advisory Committee (1984), showed that 39.7% were non-drinkers (55.6% women and 29.3% men);

(v) In 1981, a survey of Aboriginal people in Collie by Willoway et al (1981 ), showed that 25% were non-drinkers (40% women and 16.7% men).

736

Alcohol impacts upon the health of the drinker in many ways. If the drinker is

able to maintain a balanced diet then some of the consequences will be less

marked than in someone who is unable to maintain an adequate diet. This is

compounded by the high incidence of other causes of ill-health:

e.g. cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hepatitis. The social disruption which is

often associated with alcohol consumption not only impacts upon the health of

the consumer, but also on the health of those in the community of which the

consumer is a part. Despite this, alcohol also has a positive role in Aboriginal

communities according to the NAHSWP. Drinking is beginning to be seen as a

group activity in which the sharing 'promotes sociability and solidarity' (NAHS,

p.l93).

Despite the lack of evidence, and the almost universal discrediting of the notion,

there are still those who promote the simplistic and victim blaming theory that

there is a genetic basis to Aboriginal alcohol consumption. As recently as May

1990 Professor Norman Palmer, the recently appointed Head of the

Biochemistry Department at the University of Western Australia, proposed

conducting research to see if genetic factors influence the drinking behaviour of

Aboriginal people in remote communities (Uniview, 1990, p.ll). As the

NAHSWP records show, it is time for people to recognise the 'complex and

dynamic situation in which many historical, legislative, political and social

factors interact to produce a social milieu in some Aboriginal communities in

which alcohol figures prominently' (p.194). Alcohol must be seen as a symptom

of dispossession, alienation and discrimination resulting in a loss of self esteem,

and not the cause of that loss. An instance of this was stressed by John

Williams, the Community Medical Officer in Carnarvon for 12 years, who is

quoted in Commissioner O'Dea's Report on the death of Wayne Dooler:

' ... drinking was a symptom of a deep, underlying stress in the community'

(p.2).

737

19.3.1 Sobering up shelters and other initiatives

While Commissioner O'Dea addresses the issue of sobering up shelters in some

detail, the following provides an overview of some of my concerns in this

regard.

In order to address excess drinking effectively it must be approached on a

community basis and not with an individual disease ideology in mind. Stop gap

measures which appease the police and take the pressure off them, such as

sobering up shelters, need to be linked to a broader approach which deals with

the structural determinants, as outlined above, of drinking. Otherwise the

pressures which force people to drink heavily will not decrease, and hence more

people will be drinking heavily and more shelters will be required, and so on.

Commenting on the proposed sobering up shelters, Commissioner O'Dea, in his

report on the death of Wayne Dooler, commented:

For these centres to be successful in aiding Aboriginals, they must be operated by Aboriginal people (p.22].

The Western Australian Alcohol and Drug Authority (WAADA) is only

proposing that four sobering up shelters be established at present. They will be

located at Halls Creek, Fitzroy Crossing, South Hedland and Perth. They will

be run strictly as sobering up shelters with no formal integration with educative

or rehabilitative initiatives (R. Midford, Project Co-ordinator, W AADA, May

1990). This is in conflict with the report to the Western Australian Aboriginal

Health Policy Review (AHPR) Team which stated that they would be:

complemented by education and training initiatives, and research and evaluation programs [p.7].

The Perth and Port Hedland shelters have been awarded to the Salvation Anny.

The Peoples Church has been selected to manage the shelter in Halls Creek and a

local Aboriginal group will manage the one in Fitzroy Crossing. Despite

738

decriminalisation of drunkenness, the options for the rest of Western Australia

remain the lockup or being transported home at the discretion of the police.

The role of the W AADA report (1990) needs to be evaluated further. This report

acknowledges that it has been difficult for Aboriginal people to access the

services offered by the W AADA. In order to address this the W AADA has

recently reviewed its admission criteria to Carrellis, the detoxification centre in

Perth, and advertised to employ an Aboriginal receptionist and nurse there.

Though this is a step towards ensuring Aboriginal people feel a little more

comfortable when accessing the service of the centre, it by no means guarantees

that access. The report to the AHPR Team tends to deal with alcohol as an

individual pathology rather than as a response to the social, economic or political

forces which impact on a person's self esteem, power and position in society.

Indeed it is a descriptive report of activity rather than a statement of philosophy

and direction and the actions which should flow from that. If significant and

effective strategies are to be implemented, then clear statements regarding

'causation', aims and objectives need to be stated. The report to the Commission

from the Alcohol and Drug Authority, July 1990, describes some of the

underlying causes of alcohol use in the Aboriginal community but do not convey

a clear understanding of real underlying causes and the factors which stem from

them. There is just a restating of the list of factors put forward by the 1977

House of Representatives Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs along with

the views of some Aboriginal agencies with no prioritising of the cause or effeci

of drinking behaviour.

The Alcohol and Drug Authority commissioned an independent review of

Aboriginal alcohol rehabilitation or treatment programmes in 1988, the O'Connor

Report. It is of note that this review only looked at programmes run by

Aboriginal organisations and did not look at the services provided by the

W AADA itself. This lengthy report contained some detailed descriptions of the

history of many of the services. It included some rather paternalistic

recommendations such as the power of the proposed Area Training Officers

739

regarding monitoring and accountability compliance. These seem at odds with

the advocacy of 'self-management' (albeit with strings attached). Despite the

deficiencies and criticisms contained in the report about most of the existing

services, it concluded that 'we do not believe that radical closure of existing

facilities will improve this situation; instead we suggest that they be worked with

to develop their full potential' (O'Connor, 1988: 193). If the review team felt

strongly about this then a more positive orientation regarding the empowerment

and self-determination aspects of existing initiatives rather than the shortcomings

would seem more appropriate. The provision of adequate material resources and

assistance with developing managerial skills are necessary requirements for the

success of such programmes.

The actual clinical contact provided by the Alcohol and Drug Authority to

Aboriginal people in 1988-89 was minimal. This ranged from 2% (i.e. 41

people) undergoing some form of Detoxification at Carrellis, to an impressive

sounding 47% of the clinical services provided by the Derby Regional Office to

Aboriginal people. This is no where near so impressive when the actual number

of people this represents is stated; Sixteen (16) (WAADA, July 1990). This

highlights the inadequacy of the services Aboriginal people have access to

throughout the State. Though the W AADA supports four alcohol rehabilitation

services run by Aboriginal people (Ngurawaana, Milliya Rummura, Walgo

Wydgee and Yamatji Ngura) there are no such centres readily accessible to the

people of the south west. Between 1 to 10% of clients of metropolitan based

non-government (and non-Aboriginal) agencies were Aboriginal. This

represents only 1 to 47 people per agency (W AADA, July 1990).

The inadequacy of the resources provided by the W AADA around the State was a

common comment at the regional conferences conducted by the Commission

(RCIADIC Transcripts, Broome, Geraldton, Esperance, 1990). There are only

two positions for each of the six country regions. In two of those regions there

was only one worker at the time of the conference (Kalgoorlie and Albany).

740

The Alcohol and Drug Authority's stated future initiatives include: in-service

education on Aboriginal socio-cultural and economic issues for non-Aboriginal

staff; developing more Aboriginal-focussed programmes; improving Health

Department of Western Australia AHW skills in substance use problems;

employment of an Aboriginal Education Officer; attempting to improve the

accessibility of the Authority's detoxification facility; and support for the

metropolitan based Nyoongar Alcohol and Substance Use Service (W AADA,

July 1990). These seem useful initiatives, but this must be contrasted with

limited financial resources being provided to the community organisations, and

tokenistic staffing.in the regions. It is difficult to envisage the true desire of the

Authority to provide a meaningful service to Aboriginal people.

19.4 'Alcohol kills something in your body'

European professionals are absorbed in the concept of alcoholism as individual pathology and this obscures the real issues. A move must be made (away) from the disease concept of alcoholism if change and solutions are to be forthcoming [Fagan &Swan, 1989:195].

Grog kills the cells in the body but it also kills the traditions and the culture - everything [RCIADIC Transcript, One Arm Point, 1990].

Alcohol has many effects on a person. It affects a person's judgement and is a

significant factor in traffic accidents. It acts as an agent to decrease inhibitions

so that people may be more likely to participate in risk behaviour. Many people

commented during the Commission's conferences and meetings, that alcohol

allowed people to say things they were too oppressed, or 'shy', to say when

they were not under the influence of alcohol. It acts as a depressant and hence is

a key factor in suicide and self-inflicted harm attempts. In a recent review of

reported incidents of self-harm 47% of the Aboriginal people involved were

reportedly under the influence of alcohol (RCIADIC Criminology Research Unit

Paper 16, 1990). Spencer's submission to the Commission supports this

(G/14/S/p.3).

741

Alcohol can create a chemical dependency with regular daily consumption,

which can cause a withdrawal state, on ceasing consumption, which includes

anxiety, tremor, visual or auditory hallucinations that are particularly disturbing.

Spencer in his submission comments that it is not hard to see why people in

seclusion may become very frightened in a short period of time and may decide

that the only means of escape is to kill themselves. He goes as far as to say that

'All people for whom a history of excessive alcohol input is a possibility and

who are to be locked in a small cell for any longer than a few minutes should be

regarded as potential candidates for the acute alcohol withdrawal syndrome

known as Delirium Tremens and should be rendered the appropriate medical

treatment and management' (p.4). Hunter (1988) also comments than an

'alcoholic psychosis', may occur in steady drinkers without actually stopping

drinking and it may persist for months.

Other effects of alcohol include the rapid consumption of limited financial

resources. The tendency to eat poorly, due either to drinking or the lack of

money, increases the chances of malnutrition, which increases the chances of

illness due to decreased immune status. Fits are more common because of the

possibility of withdrawal fits or the lowering of the fit threshold in people who

suffer from epilepsy. Trauma is more likely as are specific diseases such as

gastritis and intestinal bleedings, liver disease, renal disease, heart disease, high

blood pressure, anaemia, and mental conditions, such as Korsakoffs psychosis.

Given the massive impact that alcohol has had on the lives of Aboriginal people

in this State - either directly or indirectly - the following section considers an

aspect of relevant legislation in relation to this critical issue.

19.5 Liquor Licensing Act (1988), Western Australia

As noted at the commencement of this chapter, alcohol use and drinking rights

was a matter frequently raised with this Commission, by members of the

742

Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal community. The inception of 'Drinking Rights'

were often the subject of critical comment.

Aboriginal people were said to have been introduced to their right to drink by:

officers [who] were sent around mission stations where people knew nothing about drink at all. And they were told to go down to the nearest pub to Laverton, for example, and places like that and go and ask for it, take your money in and get it. And if they refuse you come and tell us because it's your right.

They didn't tell them there were any wrongs about it, or any possibilities of addiction and so on. Although a little booklet was prepared in the south-west for the Nyoongah people telling 'em how to dress and then to go into a hotel and ask for a drink and so on and to be properly respectable-looking when they went into a hotel [RCIADIC Transcript, Kalgoorlie, 1990:407].

It is not proposed to deal with the history and granting of 'drinking rights' here

as that was referred to earlier. This Section deals with the present Liquor

Licensing Act (1988) and the need for enforcement of its provisions.

The problem of alcohol use in communities is addressed in the Committee to

Defend Black Rights (CDBR) submission on underlying issues (see p.90 for

community comment). The CDBR submission to this Commission raises thow

and by whom a person is defined as 'drunken' as a threshold issue. This

definition is contained in Section 115(3) and is said to be inadequate (see

p.126-128, CDBR Submission). The perception of what constitutes a 'drunken

person' is a continuing problem and a matter about which there is a need to

further educate police officers.

19.5.1 The sale of alcohol to drunken persons

While referring extensively to alcohol use throughout the State, the ALS in its

submission made the point that in the Kimberley, the Pilbara and the

Murchison/Gascoyne Aboriginal people are served alcohol by publicans even

after they are clearly drunk. This situation would also appear to prevail in the

743

Eastern Goldfields although specific reference is not made to that area in the ALS

submission.

I understand that under Section 44 of the Police Act it is an offence for a

publican to have drunken or disorderly people on the premises. Under the

previous legislation of the Liquor Act, the complaint was made to the Hedges

Review that at Roeboume and Mowanjum (Derby), juveniles freely obtained

liquor and were prosecuted for under-age drinking intennittently. No-one could

remember a licensee being prosecuted. Hedges also received recurrent

complaints about extremely drunk people being supplied with alcohol (Hedges,

1986:23-29).

The present Liquor Licensing Act 1988 specifically prohibits the sale of alcohol

to a 'drunken person' (Section 115(2), Liquor Licensing Act). The provision in

the Act is mandatory. A publican 'shall not' sell or supply liquor to a drunken

person. The penalties for doing so are:

In the case of the licensee or manager $5,000, in the case of an employee or agent $2,000, and in any other case $1,000.

Obviously, if licensees or their employees or agents were being charged and

penalized according to the Act, there would be some deterrent to the continuance

of the practice. The practice continues and it would appear that licensees are

rarely if ever charged with the offence.

The ALS submission suggests that in the Pilbara:

There is also a significant problem of Aboriginals being served until they are drunk and when their money has run out the licensees ring the police and have the Aboriginal person arrested [p.44 and see also CDBR submission on underlying issues p.124].

The Police Union Submission to my Commission, while not actually addressing

this issue, made the following comment:

744

The Royal Commission must, in the Union's view, implore Aboriginals to accept responsibility for health, education and respect for the rules of the society in which they live and from which they expect to benefit [p.18].

Nobody would dispute the extent of the problem of alcohol use and its

secondary effects- disturbance, disruption, violence, poverty, disease, hunger.

Aboriginal people are struggling to address the extent of the problem (CDBR

Submission, 1990:98 et seq). The struggle of Aboriginal people must, to have

any success, be supported by the law enforcement agencies.

My Commission was told in Kalgoorlie that there was a two member Liquor and

Gaming Branch to police the whole area. There was an acknowledged need to

provide new police with education about their duties with respect to the Liquor

Licensing Act. Superintendent Webb told the Commission that:

we do have prosecutions being launched against publicans ... as a deterrent for whatever breaches they commit [RCIADIC Transcript, Kalgoorlie, 1990:314].

Superintendent Davies from Geraldton, told this Royal Commission that the

police are to 'let the licensee know he will be charged if he serves people affected

by liquor'. He had himself:

spoken to the two joint owners of the [a hotel] and ... informed them that, if they permit drunkenness on their premises, namely that front verandah area, we'd be looking at having them charged [RCIADIC Transcript, Geraldton, 1990:264].

My Commission, after being apprised of the situation in Wiluna through perusal

of the transcripts in the Anderson case and the submission of the ALS, is of the

view that it would be apparent that the police, in arresting Aboriginal people for

'drunk' or associated offences are exercising their discretion in favour of the

licensees of that hotel in a discriminatory fashion. It is also apparent that this use

of discretion is to some extent sanctioned by some superior officers, which I

745

regard as unsatisfactory. When questioned about the numbers of charges

brought against licensees, one Magistrate in a large country town told this

Commission in confidence that there had been 'very, very, very few indeed'.

The law in this area is quite clear. The Police Force of Western Australia has

Liquor Branch officers. All other members of the Force have the power to

charge offenders under the Liquor Licensing Act 1988 yet 'very, very, very few'

prosecutions are launched against licensees (see also CDBR Submission,

1990:135).

19.5.2 Government advice on Liquor Licensing

The Government in its advices as to implementation of the Vincent Report

recommendations commends the new Liquor Licensing Act to this Royal

Commission as providing an 'increased range' of penalties which include:

• suspension of license;

• cancellation oflicense;

• variation of license;

• disqualification of licensees;

• fines of up to $5 ,000;

• security bonds for future conduct.

The relevant disciplinary sections of the Liquor Licensing Act 1988 are

Section 95 and Section 96. Disciplinary action may be taken where the

continuation of the license is not in the public interest or when the safety, health

or welfare of persons resorting to the hotel may be placed in jeopardy,

Section 95(4) (j) & (k).

746

Superintendent Davies commented about the Wiluna Hotel:

At one stage the police were just leaving the drunken people laying on the verandah of the hotel. And I've told them they've got to address the problem, they could be at risk as far as their health goes ... [p.264].

It would appear that if that situation has continued since December 1988,

Section 95(4) (j) & (k) of the Liquor Licensing Act 1988 are arguably

applicable. The police response is to 'talk' to the licensees about the problem.

The Government further assured me that Section 155 of the Liquor Licensing

Act 1988 requires the Commissioner of Police to issue orders and directions to

police officers to prevent breaches of the Act. That would allow for pro-active

responses. In evidence put before my Commission it would appear to me that

that is not happening.

The Government has not addressed the suggestion of the Vincent Report that the

'Liquor Act' be reviewed. It is the view of this Commission that the application

of the Liquor Licensing Act 1988 needs to be examined in the light of the

comments contained infra, but that the problem is essentially one of

enforcement.

19.5.3 The Police Union view

The Police Union in its submission in response to Recommendation 23 of the

Vincent Report refers to the 'Liquor Act' which is the title of the old Act and an

incorrect appellation. The Union is of the opinion that the penalties in the

'Liquor Act' are adequate. Presumably the Union means the penalties of the

'Liquor Licensing Act 1988'. It is the view of the Union that the problem with

penalties capable of imposition is that courts 'may' impose penalties which 'fall

far short of the maximum'. The Union in its submission went on to comment

that alcohol is 'often' purchased by the friends of 'the drunken Aboriginal'.

This Commission takes the view that this may well be the case in some instances

747

but this would not be the nonn, in spite of police assertions to the contrary (see

for instance p.42 Chatunalgi Transcript, Halls Creek).

In addition the Union submission stated:

Blatant abuse of the law by publicans has always brought some response by police which in many cases is by way of counselling and encouragement [p.28]

Oearly, the Union cannot mean that its members are giving 'encouragement' to

sell alcohol to intoxicated persons. In any event, given the fact that police

throughout this State have constantly expressed grave concerns about alcohol

use by Aboriginals, it is this Commission's view that the present police policy of

providing 'counselling and, encouragement' to publicans in 'blatant' conflict with

the law, is not in the public interest, cannot be seen to be an appropriate use of

the police discretion, is not in the spirit of 'community policing', and is certainly

not 'law enforcement'.

Whatever the guidelines the Commissioner of Police has provided to the

members of the Force they are apparently either inadequate or ignored. The

problem of alcohol use is a national problem of considerable dimensions

requiring urgent action by all parties. It gravely concerns this Royal

Commission that legislation which has been enacted to provide sanctions for

offenders in the liquor trade is not being adequately or appropriately enforced by

the police. Publicans in the trade of selling or supplying alcohol to intoxicated

persons should not in the view of this Commission, be 'counselled', they should

be prosecuted.

My Commission recommends that the Commissioner of Police review the

guidelines provided to members of the Police Force so that they more fully

reflect the Vincent Report Recommendation that:

The Commissioner of Police urge police officers to make every effort to detect, prosecute and take other relevant action in respect

748

of the supply of liquor to intoxicated persons and juveniles and in respect of illicit dealing in liquor as a means of reducing the rate of crime [23(b) Vincent Recommendation].

The Police Union in its submission to this Commission further calls for a review

of the 'Liquor Act' which review was recommended by Vincent in January 1988

prior to the proclamation of the Liquor Licensing Act in December 1988. This

Commission does not feel that a review of the sections of the Liquor Licensing

Act 1988 mentioned in this section is warranted. What is required is the simple

enforcement of the legislation.

19.5.4 Park and street drinking

Section 119(1) of the Liquor Licensing Act 1988 prohibits park drinking.

Section 119(4) of the Liquor Licensing Act 1988 prohibits street drinking.

Aboriginal people have in the past, been arrested for these offences to a lesser

degree than for the offence of 'drunk'. With the decriminalization of 'drunk'

and the failure of the Government to immediately provide funding for the

establishment of sobering up shelters, it is becoming apparent that the use of the

offences of 'park and street drinking' is coming into vogue. Arrests are taking

place for street drinking instead of disorderly conduct (p.17, Chatunalgi

Transcript) and the offence of park drinking has increased (p.62, ibid). At

conferences held by this Royal Comission, park and street drinking were matters

of major concern in Carnarvon, Gerald ton and Kalgoorlie. Comments passed

were generally in respect of the untidiness of people drinking in public.

Commissioner Bull in his evidence to this Commission stated that:

Street drinking is a matter that [the Police] try and enforce, you know, with a certain amount of discretion ... I know certainly a number of towns, I've had complaints from people within the town and local government areas have, because police, they say, have not taken action against Aboriginals for street drinking ... If

Aboriginal people have a certain place they want to drink, if it's out of the way, well, you know, my officers won't take any action [RCIADICTranscript, Perth, 1990:630-631].

749

The Ombudsman has in his 1989 Annual Report made reference to a street

drinking matter, where he sustained the complaint of a non-Aboriginal person

who was arrested for the offence of drinking out of a can of beer when driving

(a preliminary breath test proved negative). The officer who arrested the

complainant was regarded by the Police Department as having 'acted lawfully

and .. . not abused the powers conferred by legislation' (p.27, Ombudsman's

Annual Report, 1989). The Acting Commissioner of Police, in justifying the

police officer's arrest of the complainant for what is clearly a minor matter,

which would equally clearly be adequately dealt with by a summons (pursuant to

Police Routine Order 1-12.2 and 1-12.3) said:

I believe a subjective interpretation of instructions is unavoidable in an environment encompassing officers deployed in an operational sphere where, at times, circwnstances demand rapid decisions [Ombudsman's Annual Report, 1989:29].

Commissioner Bull has told this Commission that:

... of course an arrest is necessary if it is to stop the continuation of the offence which largely ... is the reason for the arrest occurring in the first place, and for other reasons, but largely to stop the continuation of the offence ... the main [indicator] being to stop the continuation ... for disorderly conduct or whatever ...

[RCIADIC Transcript, Perth, 1990:596-597].

It is acknowledged that the preparation of summonses is time conswning and not

resorted to as often in the country as it could be (ibid:598). Hence, a situation

may well develop whereby the offences of 'park and street drinking' supplant

the abolished offence of 'drunk'.

Certainly, in Carnarvon the Shire President (who is also a JP) made the

observation in evidence that:

street drinking, which we consider anti-social behaviour ... leads to very untidy behaviour within the streets, lolling around or

750

lying around the footpaths, fighting, brawling, foul language and so forth [RCIADIC Transcript, Carnarvon, 1990:136-137].

That Shire Council had discussed the matter with the police. There was talk of

setting aside a special drinking place but this had not occurred at the time of my

Commission's conferences. Park and street drinking may well replace the

offence of 'drunk' as the single most significant contribution to Aboriginal

prisoner statistics in the coming years. The Police Union through the agency of

one of its officials, in conference with my Commission advised:

One of the things that decriminalization will do of course, is will ensure that police officers now charge the people within the streets perhaps with the offences that they ought to have in the past have been charged with which were of a more serious or greater nature than that which they had originally been subjected to; That the offences they will now be charged with are more likely to end in imprisonment, fine or some other means of determination [RCIADIC Transcript, Perth, 1990:758].

It would seem that now that the offence of 'drunk' has been abolished, people

will be charged with the 'proper' offence, and they will be penalised with

imprisonment or fines as in the old days prior to decriminalisation.

There has been some concern expressed amongst Aboriginal communities that

the replacement offence would be disorderly conduct. It would appear to this

Royal Commission that 'park and street drinking' is an offence which is

objectively capable of easy proof. Fines for offences against the Liquor

Licensing Act will, in all probability, not attract the application of the Fine

Default Scheme which has been implemented in this State since the establishment

of this Royal Commission. The reason for this is that the fines currently being

imposed are small enough for it not to be attractive to convert payment to a

'Work and Development Order' even though the maximum fine for street

drinking is $500.

From research and investigation carried out through my Commission into the use

of alternative charges since the decriminalisation of 'drunk' it would appear that

751

street drinking and disorderly conduct have in fact increased. Recently the

Broome Court of Petty Session, convening on the Monday after the Shinju

Festival (21 August 1990) heard five cases of park drinking on the Male Oval,

each defendant was fined $35.00 plus $20.00 costs in default 3 days in custody;

and three cases of street drinking, same penalty. A further charge of drinking

rum on Dampier Terrace was adjourned for a not guilty plea. A study of the

statistics returned from the ALS for their July court hearings indicate a marked

increase in the use of the offence of 'street drinking'.

It is often stated that Aboriginal people do not drink in hotels for a number of

reasons, these being:

(1) they are not welcome in hotels;

(2) they suffer discrimination in hotels;

(3) the prices in Hotels are out of their reach;

(4) they do not dress appropriately to go into hotels.

This being the case, it is clear that in towns like Geraldton on the foreshore;

Broome on Male Oval and Dampier Terrace; Carnarvon at the old Civic Centre;

Roebourne at the park; Kalgoorlie at 'Skinny Park' nature strip; Aboriginal

people will become increasingly vulnerable to arrest for 'park and street

drinking'.

Commissioner O'Dea in his Reports on Kim Polak and Misel Wiagana

comments on the issue of 'street drinking'. Kim Polak was in custody serving

time in default of non-payment of a fine imposed for street drinking.

Commissioner O'Dea observes:

... the street drinking for which Polak was initially arrested remains an offence. There would appear to be little justification for this in the light of the decriminalisation .... [RCIADIC Report on Polak, p.50].

752

Misel Wiagana had seven prior convictions for the offence of street or park

drinking. In the Polak Report Commissioner O'Dea posits alternatives to arrest

for these offences, namely:

1. ignore the offence;

2 . continue to arrest people;

3. provide areas where people can drink without running the risk of being arrested.

In my view, Option 2 seems unacceptable and I concur with the comments of

Commissioner O'Dea that it is:

... undoubtedly a very expensive way to deal with the relatively minor problem posed by Aboriginal fringe dwellers who have nowhere to drink in Kalgoorlie and not only in monetary terms. It is extremely wasteful of police and Court time, and in social terms aggravates tensions between police and Aboriginals. Effectively it persecutes some of the most unfortunate members of our society [RCIADIC Report on Polak, p.51 ].

The first option is not a solution to the problem at all as it clearly just fails to

address the issues. As long as the offences remain on the Statute Books the

'most unfortunate members of our society' may be subject to the imperative to

'police' them. What is necessary is an injection of funds to provide alcohol

rehabilitation centres, that are run along guidelines which are culturally and

socially appropriate to the needs and aspirations of Aboriginal people.

Aboriginal organisations should be provided with resources and funds to

respond to the social and cultural needs that give rise to these problems.

19.5.5 Applications for extended trading hours

My Commission was told of the unannounced extension of trading hours of

alcohol outlets in Eastern Goldfields towns. The ostensible reason for the

extension of trading hours was to provide mine workers with access to alcohol

when their shifts concluded. In some country towns (i.e. Leonora - 6.00 am

753

opening) alcohol is available for sale before Supennarkets open. Section 76 of

the Liquor Licensing Act allows for an application for extension of trading hours

to be made without the requirement it be advertised. The application may be

determined by discretion of the Director. Essentially, I suggest that this section

of the Act be amended so that no such extension of hours can take place without

advertisement, notice and a proper hearing allowing for objections.

One of the most important pieces of legislation in relation to this whole issue, is

that of the Decriminalisation of Drunkenness, which is canvassed below.

19.6 Decriminalisation Of Drunkenness

State and Territory Governments throughout Australia have progressively

decriminalised public drunkenness. This trend has been spurred in recent years

through the recommendations made by the Muirhead Interim Report into

Aboriginal Deaths in Custody and other reports, e.g.: 'In jurisdictions where

drunkenness has not been decriminalised, Governments should legislate to

abolish the offence of public drunkenness' (Muirhead Report: 4.3 and 5.2) and

'Governments which have not already done so should legislate to enforce the

principle that imprisonment should be utilised only as a sanction as a last resort'

(Vincent Report: 4.2 and 4.4). Both reports also suggested that facilities be

established to care for drunk persons.

In June 1989, State Cabinet approved the development and implementation of

alternative procedures and facilities to minimise the use of police cells to detain

drunk persons, and legislation decriminalising public drunkenness was passed

by State Parliament in December of that year, and proclaimed, through the

Amendment (Detention of Drunken Persons) Act 1989 on 24 April 1990. The

Act amends the Police Act 1892 through the alteration of Section 53 and

Section 54. However, there are difficulties with amending these sections as

demonstrated below:

754

Section 53 has been amended so that police can no longer arrest a person for the

offence of 'drunk' with or without a warrant. The expression 'drunk or

disorderly' has been replaced with 'conducting himself [sic] in a disorderly

manner'. One of the complex matters that arises with the introduction of this

amendment, is that a person can still be arrested for disorderly conduct, but not

for drunkenness. The section remains otherwise the same. Hence it could be

argued that the police can use the offence of 'disorderly' where they previously

used the lesser offence of 'drunk'.

As observed, Section 54 has also been amended to provide the police the power

to apprehend people for disturbing the peace on 'ships, vessels and in houses

licensed for the sale of alcohol'. The amendment to this Section, can result in the

power of arrest being limited so that the police can no longer arrest a person for

'drunk' in those places, but can, on the other hand, arrest them for 'disorderly

conduct'.

The Police Act 1892 provisions in respect of drunkenness offences including

habitual drunk Section 65(6), recently repealed, was the subject of criticism in

this State over a number of years.

In the case of Wicker v Taylor (No. 210 of 1974, unreponed) Section 65(6) of

the Act was referred to as being 'antiquated'. Similar sentiments were expressed

in the case Doyle v Higgins (No. 195 of 1974, unreponed) when the bench

called for a 'modem version [of the Act] more attuned to present methods'.

In 1985 John Hedges recommended that Section 53 of the Act be amended so

that an offender be released 'without incurring a penalty or liability to pay costs'

(Review on Aboriginal Communities Act 1979, 1985:58).

Decriminalisation of drunkenness does not mean that people are no longer dealt

with by the police when they are presumed to be intoxicated. Such a person can

be 'detained' by police. Police can take the person to a hospital but that would

755

appear to be an unlikely option in that in some areas at least the policy of the

hospital is that it will not accept intoxicated persons per se. Such a person can

also be released to another individual after having been detained but police are

not directed to take the intoxicated person to any location as a matter of policy or

right.

The stated aim of Decriminalisation of Drunkenness is to reduce the numbers of

people in custody yet what is of concern is that the Criminology Research Unit

Paper on 'Public Drunkenness - Australian Law and Practice' shows that where

decriminalisation has been the subject of legislation and comes into operation the

number of people detained does not fall but, in fact, rises. This is obviously

problematical, but is not incapable of resolution. What is urgently required in

tandem with decriminalisation is the establishment of socially and culturally

appropriate sobering up centres. The Western Australian Amendment to the

Police Act retains police involvement in the 'detention' of intoxicated persons

thereby allowing past policy to operate as enacted.

The new Act is not supported by sobering up shelters; there is no 'duty' imposed

on police to utilise such shelters when they are constructed and it allows police

the discretion to 'defer' release of a person detained between midnight and

7.00 am if release is not in a person's 'best interests'. Aboriginal people will

arguably again be exposed to the unfavourable exercise of police discretion.

As to the use of alternative charges since the decriminalisation of drunkenness, a

Oerk of Courts in a Western Australian town (date and place indeterminate) is

quoted by Greta Bird as having told her; prior to the passing of decriminalisation

legislation:

We were told not to gaol Aborigines for 'drunk' so the police laid a 'begging alms' charge and we put him away for a month [cited in Hazelhurst, 1987:71].

756

The Police Union response to decriminalisation Recommendation 5, RCIADIC

Interim Report, was opposed to the 'rule of priority' of taking Aboriginal people

home as police 'should not become taxi drivers' (p.33, Submission). In the

body of its submission, the Police Union suggests:

... the legislation has merely thrown a blanket over the cesspool of alcohol addiction simply hiding the problem from view. In the Union's view it is most probable the problems of alcohol will become progressively worse, for with the drastic reduction in ability to recognise the extent of drunkenness evident in society, so the ability to respond decreases proportionately. Those in need of help will not be recognised [p.ll, Submission].

The connection between failing to prosecute people for the offence and the

alleged ensuing increase in problems associated with alcohol is tenuous. Further,

it is apparent to my Commission that 'those in need of help' have rarely been the

recipients of the 'help' they need after being charged with the offence of drunk,

because they have never had access to the sobering up centres that should be

established.

In Answers to Questions, the Commissioner of Police stated that the Police

Department does not endorse the imposition of a statutory duty on police to

consider alternatives to detention (3 .1). He agrees that police cells are

inappropriate for the detention of intoxicated persons (3.3(a)) . No doubt most

serving police would agree with that statement. The Commissioner of Police was

unable to advise whether there had been an increase in the use of alternative

charges (3.7(a)) since the decriminalisation of drunk. The Commissioner of

Police also holds the view that the 'significant benefit of decriminalisation is

breaking the chain' even though Aboriginal people are still largely going to the

police lockup.

The Superintendent of Police at Kalgoorlie advised my Commission that his

'troops' were instructed that if a person was drunk and was playing up and the

situation could not be defused, then they should arrest for the 'alternative

charge'- the 'proper one'. He stated that in the past the charge of drunk had

757

been substituted for the proper charge (RCIADIC Transcript, Kalgoorlie,

1990:308).

There was a concern at Leonora that people were coming to the cells for a bed as

they knew they wouldn't be charged (RCIADIC Transcript, Kalgoorlie,

1990:313). The hospital at Leonora would not take 'drunks' unless they were

injured. The police could not leave people at other places either (RCIADIC

Transcript, Kalgoorlie, 1990:312). And at Geraldton comment was made by the

Superintendent of Police that in about 1987:

they were going to decriminalise drunkenness, there was a tendency for people to be charged probably with disorderly conduct, when they committed disorderly conduct, rather than when they were drunk [RCIADIC Transcript, Geraldton,

1990:263].

In addition to the above, another matter of increasing concern to Aboriginal

people in this State, especially in the Eastern Goldfields and Central Reserves

regions, is that of substance use. The following section considers some of these

concerns.

19.7 Other substances

The use of volatile substances is an issue which was raised with my Commission

by members of various communities. There are a number of reasons for this

occurring. They are similar to the reasons outlined above for alcohol

consumption. Powerlessness combined with a sense of frustration and boredom

are frequently proposed reasons. The former Co-ordinator of the Western

Australian State Working Party on Petrol Sniffing (SWPPS) informed the

Commission that: the age range of people participating in this activity is 4 to 25

years; in 1989 seven children under the age of 15 years died from inhaling

volatile substances; and the SWPPS is working on a community model to

approach this problem (that is, they are working with the communities and

758

families rather than the individual sniffers). However, they are concentrating

mostly on the Central Reserves region.

During the Kalgoorlie conference the RFDS acknowledged the difficulty with

evacuating sniffers and commented that they tended to sedate them with an

injection prior to the flight (RCIADIC Transcript, Kalgoorlie, 1990:8). When

questioned about night flights they stated that the only airstrip that presented a

problem at night was Wingelina which even with flares they would prefer not to

use at night due to the surrounding hills (RCIADIC Transcript, Kalgoorlie,

1990:10). Evidence provided to the Commission in confidence alleged RFDS's

refusal to evacuate sniffers in the past (RCIADIC Transcript, Kalgoorlie,

1990:108). The Kalgoorlie Police stated that the Royal Aying Doctor Service

'basically refuse to bring them in' when they are badly affected (RCIADIC

Transcript, Kalgoorlie, 1990:327). Indeed six badly affected by inhalant use

(out of a bus load of 32) were recently transported by the police from Warburton

to Kalgoorlie, then Perth by road. They were checked by the nurse at Laverton,

en route, and at the Kalgoorlie Hospital on arrival as the police were concerned

about the condition of the six (RCIADIC Transcript, Kalgoorlie, 1990:328).

Aboriginal people at my Commission's Kiwikurra Conference, expressed

concern that some of the people sniffing petrol were being arrested and sentenced

to periods of detention. They felt that this was an inappropriate way to deal with

these people and they considered that 'they should be cared for properly'

(RCIADIC Transcript, Kiwikurra, 1990:13). In sum, they expressed the view

that detention was not the answer.

The current concentration on petrol inhalation in the Central Desert region does

not mean that there are no problems in other areas in the state. During the

community consultation process undertaken by the Commission, concern was

expressed about the level of inhalant use in other areas, in particular, Perth and

Albany. In order to address this the Carers Group in Albany has set-up a

'grandparent' programme to try and re-establish some stronger

759

cross-generational links within the community (RCIADIC briefing notes and

Transcript, Albany, 1990). They are also establishing drug-free activities at the

Community Centre with the aim of providing youth with some positive options.

An Aboriginal youth worker estimates that the extent of inhalant use in Perth is

much higher than anyone cares to recognise (RCIADIC Transcript, Perth,

1990:697). My understanding is that the youth worker has proposed a number

of possible activities to try and decrease the incidence of this activity. Namely,

an Aboriginal youth sporting facility and country trips to highlight Aboriginal

history andto show that somebody cares.

The circumstances that have created the extensive need for alcohol and substance

use can only be considered as having been set and based on the ongoing violence

of colonisation. But, as noted in earlier chapters, alcohol and violence are often

associated, mostly with distressing consequences. In the next chapter, I address

some of the underlying issues that impinge on the devastation of violence.

760

Chapter 20

VIOLENCE

Throughout this report, violence has been mentioned on a number of occasions

(e.g. Chapters 5 and 6). From the outset, it needs to be stated that alcohol cannot

be seen as the absolute or, indeed, the only cause of violent behaviour. Alcohol

can, however, be seen to exacerbate violent behaviour among Aboriginal people

(see e.g. Hunter, 1987; Reser, 1990).

As Langton observes (1990:29) 'new styles of violence have developed from

grog'. These 'styles of violence' are markedly different from those described

below where Aboriginal people drew on certain types of physical force to

maintain aspects of law and order. However, from evidence put before me, it

became clear that in some areas violence is endemic among those who make

extensive use of alcohol. The circumstances often created by heavy drinking can

undennine respect for Aboriginal Law, and social relationships and practices that

seek to maintain Aboriginal societies.

Violent fighting, drunken driving, and funerals have, in many places, become

part of day by day life. Heavy drinking can serve as a catalyst for violence in

remote, urban and rural settings (cf. Daylight and Johnstone, 1986;

M. Tonkinson, 1987; Bolger, 1990). For instance, Daylight and Johnstone

(1986:67), paying particular reference to women, but with obvious and similar

consequences for men, observe that:

Some look to alcohol to blot out their own burdens, and others are victims of the drinking habits of family members ... Violence is often the result when people drink alcohol because of stress, strain, hopelessness and frustration.

761

In addition to the distressing effect of the results of violence on adult women and

men, it is also important to note that overcrowded living conditions mean that in

some households, where there exist children from a number of individual family

units, the potential for conflict is likely to increase because of the tendency of

children to become embroiled in particular conflicts.

Violence in the context of male/female relationships should not be undermined,

together with the influence of institutionalisation referred to in earlier sections.

Consideration needs to be given to how the effect of institutionalisation has

introduced agendas that manifest conflict between Aboriginal men and women.

Conflicts regarding status, upward mobility, jealousy, child care, educational and

work opportunities are just some of the matters that can lead to conflict. These

conflicts are often generated because of a number of adverse effects on

contemporary social life which were referred to in Chapter 6.

2 0.1 Cultural aspects of violence

In my Commission's view, it is also necessary to discuss some of the cultural

aspects of violence. Traditionally, violence was not the only sanction against

misdemeanours, but it was one of the ways in which wrong doing could be dealt

with. In contemporary circumstances, disputes can, and often are, resolved by

punishments imposed through the use of physical force, and many people see

that system as one which can best serve to stabilise the breakdown of law and

order in various settings. For instance, at a bush meeting in the Kimberley, it

was observed by senior Aboriginal men that:

... the old men ... they mentioned a few things. The main thing they said was people need to return to their own traditional country to do a number of things, the first one being to show the young who they are. That is, like their skin groups. To show how the relationships work between all people, kids, woman, man. To put back or reinforce old laws. If need be give hidings and spearings when people do wrong but no killing [RCIADIC Transcript, Mary River, 1990].

762

The resolution of conflict can be institutionalised to the degree that it is carried

out in a highly controlled manner, and usually in public, with various people

participating in defined ways according to their associations with the 'wrong

doer' or those who have been wronged.

From published and unpublished works, and from further evidence put before

my Commission, I can only conclude that violence has increased among

Aboriginal society, both in the amount of violence inflicted, and in how, and to

whom, that violence is inflicted. What appears to be true, is that whereas in

previous times, members of Aboriginal society often used what may be described

as violence or physical force to enforce certain aspects of law and order, today

physical force has, in many areas, where excess alcohol use occurs, become

almost uncontrollable and mindlessly violent. This is especially so not only with

regard to the violence directed toward women and children but also among men

themselves.

What is of most concern, is that which I refer to now as the 'ongoing violence of

colonisation'.

20.2 The ongoing violence of colonisation

A lot of old people have something to say .. . on the Canning stock route when white people shot everyone, at Well37, a long time ago ... one called Joe William who took a woman away and someone from that camp come up and killed him and then he was taken away down south to prison .. . [RCIADIC Transcript, Mary River, 1990].

One old man said police got people who are sleeping, and grabbed them for no reason and put them into gaol. They do not grab white people for the same thing. He said that is how people get sick when they are going into gaol too many times .. .

[RCIADIC Transcript, Mary River, 1990].

These two accounts, recorded during a bush meeting in the Kimberley, occurred

at an estimated 50 years apart. They describe the ongoing violence of

colonisation. A further, more recent, example of continuing violence is also

763

explicit in what has become known as the 'Sampi case'. That case, which

concerned the brutal killing of a young Aboriginal male in Broome in the State's

northwest in 1989 by two non-Aboriginal assailants, resulted with one of the

assailants being convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to three and a half

years imprisonment, and the other assailant being acquitted (refer West

Australian Newspaper, 12 May 1989). Such a decision needs to be contrasted

with that where another brutal killing of a young non-Aboriginal male occurred,

in Perth, in 1990. Again two non-Aboriginal assailants were involved. Both

assailants were found 'guilty' and sentenced to life imprisonment (refer West

Australian Newspaper, 16 June 1990).

While I am aware that there are a number of legal and social complexities in

relation to both these cases that should be explored, a task which is outside my

jurisdiction, it is difficult not to see that popular constrasts such as these can, and

do, still occur in this State. Aboriginal aspirations for natural justice, while

getting closer, still seem too far away. I now tum more directly to some of those

aspirations and forms of natural justice.

764

Chapter 21

ABORIGINAL ASPIRATIONS AND NATURAL JUSTICE

In this fmal chapter, I attempt to bring together some of the major themes that

have been examined throughout my report. This is not meant to be a

comprehensive exercise, as the report, in so many ways, speaks for itself

through the discussion and detail which has been provided throughout the

preceding pages. What this final chapter actually intends, is to convey an

overview of some of the concerns which emerged throughout my inquiries in

this State, and to put forward some considerations for the future of Aboriginal

and non-Aboriginal relations. As noted at the commencement of this report,

recommendations from my Commission's inquiries, have been provided direct

to the National Commissioner, the Honourable Elliott Johnston, Q.C..

21.1 A need for social and economic change and the

recognition of indigenous rights

In concluding my report I would like to re-state some of the major themes that

have arisen throughout my Commission in considering the 'underlying issues'

that lead to the high levels of custody for Aboriginal people, and, all too often, to

the tragic death of Aboriginal people in custody in Western Australia. In doing

so, I wish to pay tribute to the thirty two persons whose lives and deaths should

not end with this inquiry. They offer to us the beginning of a new and better

chapter in our relationship.

It is important to realise that the history of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal relations in this State has its own non-exclusive distinctiveness, although that

history also has many elements that are in common with other States and the

765

Territory. Whatever the positive or negative outcomes have been these, in part,

constitute the quality of relationships today.

The life and death of the individuals who died in Western Australia have been

looked at within the requirements that were imposed on me by the Letters Patent

(see Appendix 1 ). 'Why' people died, and 'why' the levels of custodies for

Aboriginal people in this State are extremely high, cannot be easily explained.

My report touches upon some of the matters that are most relevant to those

questions. Commissioner O'Dea and other relevant Commissioners have

provided reports of their inquiries into the individual deaths. These

Commissioners have made findings about how people died in custody. In a

sense, the other Commissioners have examined the people who died in custody

from the case itself looking out to 'underlying issues', whereas my Commission

has primarily examined 'underlying issues' looking back into the cases. In some

instances, these examinations have overlapped, or are complementary in a variety

of explicit and implicit forms.

Considering the circumstances that constitute the individuality of each person

who died either in the police lockup, hospital or prison while in custody, it is

clear that the quality of their relations with those who had a duty of care toward

them required re-assessment (see, for instance, Chapters 4, 5 and 14).

It seems to me that Aboriginal people, on the whole, experience the world very much with humanity and the importance of relationships uppermost in their

considerations. In assessing whether someone is to be trusted, confided in,

truthful and honest, it is easy to arrive at an answer if the conduct of the relations

under consideration have manifested themselves in a discourteous and inhuman

way. Constantly, as discussed throughout my report (especially in Chapters 5,

8, 10, 12 and 18), Aboriginal people have described their relationship with those

in authority roles as not satisfactory, racist or inhuman.

766

From the Commission's overall findings, it is apparent that the lives of all those

who died in custody were punctuated by the ups and downs of people who were

in their chain of relationships. Their relationship to everyone, Aboriginal and

non-Aboriginal, to institutions, regulations, heart-break and happiness, custody

and freedom. Where there are good relationships between Aboriginal people and

police, prison officers, medical officers or public servants, it is normally based

upon individual charisma, common sense, openness, and respect for the space of

the other. Structures, orders, regulations and guide-lines tend not to be what

produces good relationships of their own accord. They, of course, need to be

designed to bring about the good of the relationship, but it is the quality of the

interpersonal contact that is paramount for the Aboriginal person. People who

take a meticulous statutory notion to their role and responsibilities, find their

relationships with Aboriginal people are often going to be perceived as

insensitive and uncaring, which leads to an impaired basis for a quality

relationship. Friction, conflict, fear and anger build up quickly on both sides in

these types of situations.

The excessive use of alcohol (which is discussed in a number of ways in

Chapters 4, 5, 14 and 19), makes it far too easy for Aboriginal people to feel

affronted when the police arrive on the scene. Police often find it imperative to

be assertive and authoritarian. From evidence put before me, it appears that the

human relationship skills of young officers seem to emerge later, rather than

earlier, in their careers. Younger police officers seem to find it easier to dominate

their peer group among members of Aboriginal society, because they have

invested in them authority that sometimes exceeds the maturity of their years.

Enmeshed in a police culture that has many demands outside of the law to

socially control Aboriginal people, this task can be seen as something natural and

good to do. This is particularly so if Aboriginal youth, especially young

Aboriginal men, are portrayed by sectors of the media as some type of criminal

predator who are placing at risk the social fabric of non-Aboriginal society.

767

For most Aboriginal people, the memory of the past on reserves and missions,

ruled over by non-Aboriginal people and all they were seen to represent, is not

easily forgotten. Nor are the 'protector' and 'welfare' roles played by police as

instruments of government policies, as detailed in my report, forgotten. There

continues to be a deep sense of loss, injustice and denial of recognition that still

pervades the societies of Aboriginal people. This is probably more pronounced

in regional and metropolitan areas, than in the remote discrete communities,

which is primarily because some Aboriginal people have basically been able to

maintain aspects of their space from the non-Aboriginal world.

However, that space from the non-Aboriginal world is rapidly changing as

material contained throughout my report details. Some instances of the possible

catalysts for change could be seen in the fact that police stations at Warburton and

Balgo in the eastern and northern parts of Western Australia will soon diminish

that space, and create new challenges to the quality of relationships between

police and Aboriginal people. Significantly, where only a few years ago Pintubi

people walked into Kintore and Kiwikurra carrying their Law, they now need to

bow to the laws of a Queen they never knew existed. Those Aboriginal groups

currently living there, left missions and government settlements to move back to

their traditional lands. In part, this was to put distance between them and what

non-Aboriginal society had to offer. This has little to do with the material goods

of the non-Aboriginal world, but it has much to do with being secure and in a

position where decisions about cultural, social, economic and legal matters can

be effective. Aboriginal people in these situations have a sense of being able to

get on with the priorities of their lives without too much interference from

non-Aboriginal imperatives. There is a sense of being able to control the

processes of westernisation and assimilation. However, the signs are there that

aspirations such as these, are still subordinated and subjugated to non-Aboriginal

imperatives, and there is no real regard being shown to indigenous rights.

People who do not constantly rely upon the service of others in the public sector

fields, probably find Aboriginal aspirations and demands quite difficult to

768

understand. In fact it has become quite clear to me that there are many things

non-Aboriginal people do not understand about Aboriginal society (Chapters 6,

8, 9 and 18 make available some discussion on this issue). It is even a difficult

matter for those who provide public services to Aboriginal people, to see how

their relationship to those people determines whether Aboriginal people are going

to access the intended good of government policies and programmes or not.

Aboriginal people have, for far too long, been at the receiving end of acts of

largess, channelled through bureaucratic functionaries whose loyalties have been

primarily to government policies of assimilation, integration, self-determination

and self-management than to the people themselves. These public servants have

neither been contracted by Aboriginal people nor can they be fired by Aboriginal

people. As ATSIC is currently enacted, it does not really provide that avenue for

Aboriginal people (see especially Chapter 9).

In my Commission's view, Aboriginal people often find themselves in a non­

contractual relationship with non-Aboriginal society. They are expected to be

responsible and accountable for every cent of public money, but they do not

determine who has positions in the bureaucracy and who is meant to be

responsive to their needs, plans and aspirations. The Public Service Union has

successfully ensured members jobs in Aboriginal Affairs. The extemalising of

responsibilities for all aspects of Aboriginal people's lives continues even

though, on the surface, it appears to have changed. The legacy of the welfare

attitude and the persistence of the 'policing imperative' makes it difficult for

Aboriginal people not to be cynical about incremental change that may contain

some benefit for themselves. Policies and their implementation, administration,

plus reviews, are more the domain of the public servants than of Aboriginal

people. Aboriginal people stand outside of the real control and decision making

arenas, but are abused and condemned as guilty when outcomes from the

perspective of public expenditure are not what is expected.

Aboriginal people share the commonality of their oppression by non-Aboriginal

systems, policies and values. Non-Aboriginal people often stay as individuals

769

and most do not share the experiences of being the oppressed. They consider

themselves not accountable for what went before or, indeed, for what is taking

place today. Aboriginal people grieve and hold themselves accountable and

responsible for what has happened to their people. Experiencing a constant

powerless relationship with non-Aboriginal people and their societal structures,

has bred hopelessness and resignation. How to stimulate motivation out of this

type of social and cultural malaise, requires experiencing a win in some arena or

other. In my view, it does not necessarily matter how minor to begin with. Its

ability to spark action and hope for change and improvement should not be

under-estimated.

Often, I believe, this sort of change and improvement has more to do with

processes and respect, rather than questions of absolute principle. At the local or

regional level, it is usually a matter of how best to deliver the service in a way

that will involve and respond to Aboriginal sensitivities. Material recorded in

Chapters 11 and 15 evidences the necessity of considering local and regional

levels, especially in relation to the socio-cultural and economic empowerment of

Aboriginal people. When structures and organisational formats are imposed and

thrust upon Aboriginal people, there is no sense of ownership developed. Such

things tend to come from outside Aboriginal considerations and initiatives.

When there is no sense of ownership, there is no pride. For pride to be

advanced, there needs to be control and sensitivity to enable delivery and

participation. Without these dynamics being put in train, there will be repetition

of past patterns of rejection, failure and resistance.

Contracting, involving, supporting and resourcing Aboriginal controlled

organisations, offer the best opportunity to get some of the crucial matters about

progress and achievement right. In my Commission's view, they offer the best

mirror images of Aboriginal people doing and achieving things for themselves.

They also provide a focus for non-Aboriginal interests to transmit to Aboriginal

aspirations and concerns.

770

Relationships with custodial officers, like police and prison personnel, are crucial

ones as infonnation detailed throughout Chapters 2, 4 and 5 illustrates. Firstly,

because the Aboriginal person in the custody position is at the most powerless

point in a life which has had more than equal amounts of despair, insult, shame,

and hopelessness associated with it prior to arrest. Socio-economic factors and

relationships can be so bad in the outside world that some Aboriginal people see

prison as a type of refuge. I cannot say whether some would prefer to be in

prison rather than out in the broad society. It has been put to me that Aboriginal

people outside of custodial settings still experience life as though they were

actually in custody. This may have more to do with the policing imperative

engaged in by most of non-Aboriginal society, and not just the indiscretions of

insensitive police officers. It is probably also related to Aboriginal people's lack

of trust and faith in non-Aboriginal people, as evidenced throughout my report.

Police often tend to be singled out and focussed upon, because they are

combative about the need for the policing imperative.

However the practice of putting prisoners into isolation cells as a way of dealing

with disciplinary or other problems, requires some comment. It may be practical

for the system of prison justice, but I am not convinced it is a useful means for

dealing with depression, fear, stress and trauma brought about by unclear causes

at the time of placement. In my Commission's view, the world of interconnected

relationships with human beings and spirit beings cannot be under-estimated

when dealing with Aboriginal people who are stressed, depressed and exhibiting

signs of withdrawing into themselves. This, of course, is more seriously

complicated when linked to fears or anxieties about repercussions within

Aboriginal Law. To talk about the contents of Aboriginal Law outside of the

circle of responsible Law people, is a serious breach and can involve harsh

penalties. If someone fears they have transgressed, or are held accountable to

some aspect of Aboriginal Law, then they will be unable to talk to anyone about

it. The availability of psychiatrists well trained, but lacking knowledge of

Aboriginal cultural beliefs and practices, may help in a crisis, but will not heal

anxiety about transgressions against Aboriginal Law, societal values or

771

customary practices (see, in particular, Sections 5.11 and 14.7-14.8). That

requires an Aboriginal resolution. There are mechanisms for dealing with such

matters in Aboriginal societies. The format may vary, but basically it will usually

involve appropriate relatives from both sides coming together to represent the

interest of their families and expressing their obligations. The outcome may be

physical punishment or compensation in some form. Usually the matter is settled

over time but not necessarily forgotten, depending upon the seriousness of the

breach of Customary Law, so the weight of its penalties will be feared. If there

is no resolution found and no arrangements made to reconcile the parties through

a process as outlined above, then the one who is accused can easily become what

might be termed psychotic and manic. Sentencing and punishment by

non-Aboriginal courts are not taken into account by Aboriginal Law people. A

non-Aboriginal person may think there is nothing to make an Aboriginal person

go this way, which can be an extremely distressing and disconcerting experience

for prison officers, particularly if an individual, in this type of state, attempts

some self-inflicted injury and may be successful in ending their life. There are

many other cultural and social obligations and responsibilities that may not fall

within the ambit of what is referred to as 'Traditional Law', but that does not

diminish their imperative nature for particular Aboriginal groups. It is for

reasons of these cultural and social realities of Aboriginal peoples lives that

schemes like the Aboriginal Visitors Scheme are so crucial. Aboriginal

organisations such as the medical and legal services, and child care agency, are

essentially well placed to respond sensitively to matters as well.

A point which became critically clear to me, is that police tend to encounter

Aboriginal people when they are possibly at their worst, especially if intoxicated.

They usually approach each other out of a sense of distrust, fear, retaliation.

This is especially true when the police officer has not had any other form of

contact with Aboriginal people. The stereotypical views conjured up through

media representation of past confrontations is possibly all the officer has to go

on. As stated in Chapter 5, two and a half hours on Aboriginal matters in the

Police Academy training period, would only confirm all that was worst about

772

Aboriginal people. If there is no broader exposure to Aboriginality apart from

associations with alcohol, drugs and aspects of criminality, then the police

officers are destined to remain ignorant and entrenched in stereotypical views

about Aboriginal people. Additionally, the police will continue to be

misunderstood and perceived by Aboriginal people as not having an ability to

transcend the imperatives of the police culture. Having a large section of the

police on duty while still on probation has to, in my view, be of great concern.

Professional training in human relationship skills, cultural sensitivity, and

appreciation of socio-economic difference, are essential if custodies for

Aboriginal people are going to be reduced.

What may appear as mutual efforts to improve understanding, treatment and

behaviour are so quickly countered by actions underlined with insensitivities or

insulting language. There is simply not enough presentation of the practical

working together between Aboriginal people and police. The Aboriginal Visitors

Scheme has been encouraged by senior officers where the Scheme operates, but

on occasions a visitor may not receive all the co-operation they need. This may

be because their indentification cards are not signed by the Police Commissioner

but by the Commissioner for the Aboriginal Affairs Planning Authority. It could

also be many other things, such as police feeling that a visitor is interfering with

their work, over-stepping their role, or creating a situation where police officers

seem to be accountable in a small way to the Aboriginal society. In a State where

32 out of the 99 deaths inquired into occurred, and where Aboriginal people are

2.7% of the population, but are 43 times more likely to be taken into custody,

there may be resentment to the Aboriginal Visitors Scheme as something which

appears to offend what ordinary decency should automatically generate.

When custody in police lockups is contrasted with custody in prisons, it can

generally be said that prison officers encounter Aboriginal people when they are

sober and potentially at their best. Often they get to see another side of the same

person the police arrest. Prisons have a routine and, by and large, some certainty

associated with it. Police lockups are usually meant for people who have not yet

773

been convicted by a court of an offence. They tend to be places of uncertainty,

no-one seems to know any of the answers to the questions an arrested person

may have and, at times, it seems there is little interest in finding the answers as

well. It can appear to an Aboriginal person that they are doing their punishment

prior to the consideration of the court. The court, however, decides whether a

person is to go to prison, not the police, although how a person comes before the

court is a matter associated with the police. Too often police are perceived as the

ones who relieve, or do not relieve, people of their freedom. While in some

instances this may be true, if one takes into account police discretion, as with so

many other issues, it is essential to see the complexity of the matter as a whole.

Often these neat distinctions get further confused for Aboriginal people because

lockups, police stations and the court house, are all together on the one block or

the one building. Where police act as court orderlies, prosecutors and clerk of

courts, the judiciary does not appear to be independent of police influence, and

justice does not appear to dwell where it might or should. It is this type of

association, interaction, and coalescing of functions, duties and responsibilities

that generates the greatest lack of faith and disbelief in the criminal justice system

for Aboriginal people. This is further reinforced when, on occasion at the court

room, lawyers, prosecutors and departmental personnel, appear to openly

discuss matters concerning an Aboriginal person who witnesses this going on

over the top of them. The person just sits there feeling irrelevant and confused,

and grows angry because his/her representative appears to be doing 'deals' with

the prosecutor. This may well be acceptable court procedure, but it is not what

an accused Aboriginal person understands or appreciates. For those who are

sentenced, it can amount to a crisis of faith in the Aboriginal Legal Service or

representative. Anxieties and doubt arise as to whether they were properly

represented, or whether their instructions were followed. While in some

instances this may be true, there are often various reasons for this as I have

demonstrated throughout Chapters 4 and 5.

774

In Chapter 5, it was also discussed that police lockups tend to be places where

everything seems to resonate with racism and accusations. Cells are not motel

rooms, and there is none of the privacies that most citizens take for granted. The

trauma and experience of being incarcerated in the lockup goes beyond just

physical confinement. A person is stripped of any power or freedom they may

have held. They are completely in the care of someone else who more often than

not does not share their interest. It is not what the majority of Australians know

or would want to experience. Basically, the officers are there to do their duty

and carry out their jobs. No-one is there to help, comfort or provide automatic

support. Such things have to be requested. While there is a 'duty of care', it

does not equate with the care of affection. As noted earlier, officers can be caught

unaware of the depth of emotional stress and trauma a person has when they are

taken into custody. They can be fixated with the view that odd behaviour does

not reflect different things (such as severe illness or extreme despair as some of

the individual reports show) but only drunkenness. At other times, however,

certain police officers have read the signs correctly and prevented tragedies in the

lockup, and that should not be forgotten. In my view, the police officers

involved in such matters, should be given the opportunity to share that

experience with other officers. It is the cross-cultural understanding that has to

be attempted if certain lessons are going to be learnt from deaths in custody.

There is a lot of practical experience amongst particular police and prison officers

in dealing with Aboriginal people in a positive way. Work shops between

police, prison officers and Aboriginal people at the local or regional level, should

be considered as a practical vehicle to exchange experiences, and recount and

consider how positive results have been arrived at. There should be a

concentration on human responses to the situation, as well as those that are

technical and procedural.

An Aboriginal person's sensitivity to further acts of inhumanity and callousness

meted out while in custody easily conjures up the culmination of hurtful,

shameful, unhappy, regretful events and memories where things have not been

right for them. No one explanation can satisfy why and how life no longer has

775

any value or worth, except that others see a value in its preciousness. If that

goes, there does not appear to be much left. It may be the cold and legal

rendition of care that does not abide human warmth and feeling that crushes a

person's spirit. Fears arise that may have no clear logical or rational base, but

are associated with anxieties that someone may take your life or further violate

your already disregarded rights. It was dicussed in Chapters 4 and 14 and

Section 6.8, that some self-inflicted injuries may be part of an act seeking

attention. And such an act may be undertaken because of the conviction that

there is no-one who really does care. The sense of despair in these situations

transcends the cells and the particular officers, and goes to what meaning and

purpose can be derived from reflecting upon the experiences of a particular life.

Officers and cells are not, however, the only causes of this. The level of

inhumanity may not be intended but it cannot be avoided when the rights of

others mean nothing, and their race becomes a source of derision and abuse.

Spartan physical conditions, odours of stench, dampness, dim light, poor

ventilation and extremes of hot and cold do not help a depressed and sad human

spirit.

Peoples lives are quite radically and suddenly disrupted when they are taken into

custody. Whatever plans, obligations or responsibilities they may have had are

terminated. It is only when contact is made by family members, friends, or those

from Aboriginal organisations visit, that some of the anxieties associated with

these external matters to being in custody can be raised and hopefully taken up

and resolved. It is very important for those in custody to be aware that family

and friends know they are there. It will be the rare Aboriginal individual who

will want to hide this fact. Similarly it is very important for family and friends to

see and talk to those in custody as soon as possible. Suspicion and allegations of

brutality arise very quickly when Aboriginal people experience being shut out or

obstructed in their request to see those in custody. Proper reasons need to be

given. Too often, it appears, officers are hiding behind someone or something

else. It could be the Coroner, or the Special Investigation Branch, or it may

simply be that the officer in charge has not yet made a decision about something

776

like bail. This type of encounter simply leads to heightened anxiety that matters

are not right and suspicion can easily get a grip on the imagination, which

encourages the belief that foul play is going on and will not necessarily be

detected. In my view, consideration needs to be paid to these sorts of needs,

especially when a sentenced Aboriginal person is transported out of society and

into prison. If anxieties, worries and fears about immediate family or personal

concerns are not resolved, they can become overwhelming in the early period of

cell custody in relation to that person's overall outlook on life.

In addition to the above, it has also become clear to me that there is simply not

enough presentation and recognition in the wider world of what Aboriginal

people do for themselves. For instance, many Aboriginal people work with

non-Aboriginal people. This is often a collective effort that is required to meet

some of the needs that face Aboriginal people. It is not just the police and prison

officers who have to become aware of Aboriginal people. Members of other

cultural groups within non-Aboriginal society have also to become aware of this

policing imperative role, and how adversely that affects access to services as well

as entry into relationships which could have mutual benefits. It is especially

important to come to grips with this at the cross-cultural interface, involving

interpersonal relationships as well as systems and institutions. Where Aboriginal

and non-Aboriginal people talk and work together, there are usually positive

community responses to addressing the needs. This does not mean they have to

always agree. It is the interaction and interfacing that is helpful. At times this

may be combative, but if there is an appreciation developed for the effort and

assistance being provided, then that type of behaviour can be accommodated

without distracting from achieving the goals.

It has also become evident to me that there is little, if any, understanding about

how Aboriginal people have transmitted through various interactions and

involvement with non-Aboriginal enterprises or industries to where they find

themselves today. There is little appreciation of the fact that it was through these

exposures to what non-Aboriginal people's life represented, that Aboriginal

777

people became aware of what non-Aboriginal society and its values were about.

There appears to be little appreciation about the correlation of this interaction and

involvement with non-Aboriginal enterprise and industries and the extensive

contribution and sacrifice made by Aboriginal people towards them. There are

many points of contribution that Aboriginal people have made to support and

build up what non-Aboriginal people's objectives have been. Aboriginal people

have participated with non-Aboriginal people, particularly as workers, but often

have not benefited commensurate with their contribution or sacrifice. Chapters

2, 7 and 11 explore this inequitable situation in some detail. Aboriginal people's

exposure and participation has been through the pastoral, farming, pearling,

mining and the war effort. These have been times of interaction and contribution

for what would be considered the 'common good' despite, on the whole,

rewards going to other than Aboriginal people. Any objective consideration of

the foundation of most primary industries in this State will show how, initially,

Aboriginal people participated. Currently Aboriginal people are largely

marginalised and tied to a welfare basis which does little for economic

independence to break out of the poverty and powerlessness cycles (see, for

instance, Chapters 7, 10, 15 and 17). What we are faced with is how to find

ways where Aboriginal people can contribute on their terms. We are faced with

trying to identify the positive examples and extending those for others to

consider. It should be patently clear from my report that Aboriginal people

cannot achieve equality and participation in the nation without some positive

response from non-Aboriginal society. There is need for specific Aboriginal

organisations to advocate and service the particular needs of Aboriginal people.

These should not be feared, but promoted, contracted and resourced to carry out

responsibilities as Aboriginal people and to negotiate, liaise and help

non-Aboriginal society improve their understanding and interaction with

Aboriginal people.

Aboriginal people have had to live through various structures and policies

imposed on them by successive forms of government, as material contained in

chapters throughout my report illustrates. It has been through the exercise of

778

authority and power aimed at fitting Aboriginal people into something non­

Aboriginals have invented, that has been most problematic. Despite being

colonised, culturally and economically marginalised and incarcerated throughout

the brief history of this nation, Aboriginal people still do not respond the way

non-Aboriginal people would always like them to. Gradually government

instrumentalities have made attempts to allow 'advisory' roles for Aboriginal

representation. This has taken place through consultative mechanisms, and all

suffer from an obvious lack of power to effect and implement advices. There

was also little or no control over the procedure and practices that accompanied

implementation of what-ever government made of the advice or consultation. In

my view, processes of consultation should become processes of negotiation.

In direct relation to government, as stated in this report, the Aboriginal Affairs

Planning Authority evolved from the State Native Welfare Department. Similarly

the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission has come from the Federal

Department of Aboriginal Affairs, as well as a number of other Aboriginal

agencies. There are numerous differences between both statutory bodies that I

will not dwell on here. However I wish to focus on change and its impact on, or

accommodation for, Aboriginal people and their rights and aspirations. Both

ATSIC and the AAPA are at some distance from those they are meant to service.

Both are associated despite their distinct jurisdictions, functions and powers,

with holding immediate responsibility and decision making in Aboriginal Affairs.

There is little consideration of their limited mandates by Aboriginal people.

Mechanisms endowed on ATSIC and AAPA have been perceived as the avenues

for achieving action concerning the needs and aspirations of Aboriginal people.

When failure is experienced in addressing these needs, so too does confidence in

them wax and wane. State versus Commonwealth arguments only help to create

confusion and division, loyalties and alliances, depending on the popularity of

the particular government agent in recent or past performance. Aboriginal people

can be lulled into an artificial sense of achievement and acceptance on the basis of

token recognition and patronage of their cultural and societal values. Western

legal approaches as to who has standing or jurisdiction are not always the

779

primary considerations, and rarely are those arguments presented to Aboriginal

people. This can restrict choice and understanding about ways that Aboriginal

people may wish to be self-governing. Often Aboriginal people are faced with

balancing trust and deception in assessing governments as well as political

parties. This game has been played with monotonous regularity and

sophistication for many years now, and key people are often the least affected by

the outcomes. Aboriginal people have been caught up as either the patronised

and exploited, or as outsiders and stirrers.

The importance of all this for custodies, for deaths in custody, and for premature

death outside custodial settings, is that it contributes to an environment of

powerlessness, resentment and spiral hopelessness. Those who have been

responsible for externalising responsibilities and denying ownership to

Aboriginal people are held accountable. Aboriginal people expect there to be

morality, justice, and some return of what has been taken. This responsibility is

usually associated with the representatives of non-Aboriginal people. That is, of

governments and their various instrumentalities. It was governments who took

away the land, the children, aspects of the Aboriginal life-style, culture and

inheritance. Aboriginal people, without a great deal of western education, often

raise two very simple questions in this regard. Why did government need to do

these things? When will they take up their responsibilities and honestly address

these matters with us?

From my inquiries, it is clear that what has happened has happened. That should

be acknowledged, and Aboriginal people now expect to be dealt a new deal.

Mind you, there is much that has been undertaken over the years by

Government, some of which has been positive. I have not been able to look at

that fully in my report because of the matters I am required to focus upon.

The major impact of this history can be divided into two broad areas. Firstly

where some advisory participation is offered, Aboriginal people may engage in

this on the basis that something is better than nothing. This may manifest itself

780

in roles of assistants, aides, or in an advisory role on policy and strategy, but not

really have any effective decision making power. The questions of autonomy

and control are more geared toward advice and modifying and shaping policy and

programmes, than actually exercising responsibility for formulation, evaluation,

monitoring, funding and promotion. This may be all that is seen as possible or

indeed permissible. A sense of achievement and importance can attach itself to

those who become effective and skilled in what the government policy sets out to

achieve. This may, in fact, have little to do with the upholding of Aboriginal

cultural or societal values. Participation in this type of process may be

undertaken at great personal sacrifice and cost to individual Aboriginal people,

and may be motivated by a sense of acculturation and assimilation. Despite the

amount of training, exposure and cadjouling that has gone on to achieve this type

of participation from Aboriginal people, it still produces crises of identity, self

esteem and self worth for Aboriginal people, especially if it lacks group or family

endorsement. It also generates forms of resistance.

The second area has more to do with having no confidence in the morality of

non-Aboriginal society. It is based upon an Aboriginal perspective of history

and knowledge of broken promises and failed programmes. There has been no

reciprocation by non-Aboriginal people to the accommodation that Aboriginal

people have provided them. Aboriginal people do not wish further piece-meal

solutions, but a major overhaul and restructure of the relationship with

governments, and not just their various departments.

In this situation, control and participation is directed toward power, autonomy

and responsibility, which severs links with many mechanisms that currently

determine and decide matters for Aboriginal people. Negotiati on needs to replace

consultation and advisory postures, and local or regional priorities and cultural

sensitivities should be upper most in consideration. However, rhetoric and

ideologies can become more important than achievement through compromise.

Compromise can be seen as prejudicial to principles of indigenous rights. The

argument should, in my view, centre more around Aboriginal governance

781

without a clear distinction between notions of sovereignty and Aboriginal rights

under various legislation. At times there may be consideration of Aboriginal

powers under various government constitutions. In my view, there is little hope

to be perceived in the domestic political arena and many Aboriginal people have

more confidence in international forums. The persistence of the doctrine of 'terra

nullius' makes it easy to avoid complex questions of Aboriginal indigenous

rights. This, in tum, makes for little or no confidence that Aboriginal unceded

rights to land, culture, society and economy are able to be made out in any

claims. In limited and restricted ways, through the exercise of government

powers and jurisdiction, recognition needs to be made. These have not gone far

enough to be of sufficient recognition. There needs to be a strategy developed in

conjunction with Aboriginal people in the State that sets up a process to deal with

the problems that have been highlighted in this report. Clearer delineation of

State responses to Federal strategies to address Aboriginal matters needs to be

fully emphasised, and Aboriginal people must take some of the initiative

themselves instead of waiting for government to do things for them.

It is, in my view, critical to be aware that my inquiries have tended to look at situations that relate to the most unfortunate and often unpleasant side of life for

Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people. What became manifestly clear to me is

the need for change to take place at societal levels for both non-Aboriginal and

Aboriginal people. There can be no doubt that the present situation is highly

unsatisfactory, some would rightly say desperate, and that scarce resources must

be concentrated to produce quick results. Too often this type of thinking has

produced undesirable outcomes for Aboriginal people as well as financial waste.

This does not mean we are to do nothing. However 'knee jerk' reactions to

alleged 'crime waves' tend to produce 'law and order' campaigns or the planning

and building of more prisons and institutions. These priorities are rarely

measured against the need for a concentrated effort to address the social, cultural,

legal and economic needs of the materially poor and marginalised in our society

who tend to be the ones who occupy the police lockups, courts and prisons. In a

number of ways, these people are distinguished from the vote for change, and so

782

are left out and rejected from what the vested interests of the mainstream want.

This makes it difficult for those of goodwill and positive contributions to keep

going and, as noted at the beginning of this report, in many ways it can be

argued that the 'scene has been set for that what we are witnessing today'.

The short term tactics and strategies that are aimed at alleviating the conditions

and needs of systems, do not necessarily deal with what are real and persisting

problems, not only for Aboriginal people, but for non-Aboriginal people as well.

For instance, we have, one day, to come to the maturity where some of the

categories I have referred to throughout this report, no longer carry odious

inuendos and discrimination. There is a need to recognise that non-Aboriginal

law and, indeed, the criminal justice system, is a product of Europe and the

British form of justice which intruded here in 1829, made some minor

concessions to Aboriginal people, but, upon Statehood in 1890, removed even

these. There have been few concessions to Aboriginal rights since that time.

The arguments of colonisation and its consolidation over Aboriginality have

persisted to this day. The time has come for this to change. In my

Commission's view, there is considerable merit in planning now to achieve

improvement by the first century of Federation in 2001.

Western Australia is part of the Federation of Australia and both are subject to,

not only, domestic considerations, but global ones as well for the remaining

twentieth and into the twenty-first century. Concepts and practices that persist

and have more to do with colonisation, racism and assimilation, are not going to

achieve much except more of what has already not nurtured the uniqueness of the

oldest living culture on earth, and reduced their members to being the most

incarcerated people, per head of population, in the world. No-one attending my

inquiries was proud of this, and the heartening thing is that many human beings

from across sections of society want to see this changed and a new deal to occur.

This should be one where the cards are cut and dealt from the top, and where

Aboriginal groups become more innovative about overcoming confrontation and

consultation. It should also be one where governments become just and moral in

783

responding to Aboriginal aspirations for greater self-governance. Through

negotiation, much will be achieved.

784

LIST OF APPENDICES

1. Copies of Commissioner Dodson's Letters Patent from State and Federal Government (see Section 1.1)

2. Details concerning material provided to Commissioner Dodson's Commission (list of locations where meetings and conterences held, witnesses, submissions, interviews, exhibits) (see Section 1.7)

3. Historical chronology (see Chapter 2)

4 . ALS Research Paper 4 and survey form (see Section 5.3.2)

5. Mission Lands Report recommendations (see Section 6.4.1)

6. Copy of Kanpamni community's submission concerning 'living area excision' (see Section 6.4.2)

7. Raw data on Kimberley and Pilbara regions concerning consumer price survey on essential foods (see Section 7.1)

8. Juvenile justice and incarceration (see Sections 10.3.1 and 10.3.3)

9. Newspaper clippings: Mt Magnet, Gera1dton and Mullewa (see Section 18.5)

10. Newspaper clippings: 'Aboriginal gangs terrorise suburbs' (see Section 18.5)

11. Newspaper clippings: contrasting views of non-Aboriginal youth as conveyed in the media (see Section 18.5)

12. Newspaper clippings: after the funeral of Edward Cameron (see Section 18.6)

13. Newspaper clippings: The Kimberley Echo (see Section 18.6)

14. Newspaper clippings: identifying Aboriginality (see Section 18.8)

785

APPENDIX 1

Copies of Commissioner Dodson's Letters Patent

from State and Federal Government

(see Section 1.1)

787

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COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA

ELIZABETH THE" SECOND, by the Grace of God, Queen of Australia and Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth: TO:

PATRICK LIONEL DODSON

GREETING:

WE DO by these Our Letters Patent issued in Our name by Our Governor-General of the Collllllonweal th of Australia on the advice of the Federal Executive Couneil and pursuant to the Constitution of the Commonwealth of the Act 1902

and every other ling power, appoint you

with effect on and from 1 July 1989 to be a Commissioner to inquire into any underlying issues associated with deaths of Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders in the State of Western Australia in all cases where such deaths occurred during the period that commenced on 1 January 1980 and ended at the expiration of 31 Hay 1989 whilst in police custody; in prison or in any other place of detention other than such deaths occurring

in a mental institution, infirmary

or medical treatment centre unless injuries suffered while in police custody, in prison or in any other place of detention caused or contributed to them:

AND We declare that, for the purpose of reporting on any underlying issues associated with those deaths, you are authorised to take account of social, cultural and legal factors which, in your

judgement, appear to have a bearing on those deaths:

789

2.

AND We direct you:

(a) to consult generally with the Honourable Elliott Frank Johnston with regard to the methods and procedures to be followed in relation to his and your inquiries;.and

( b) to conform with any guidelines issued or recommendations made by the Honourable Elliott Frank Johnston under the relevant Commission in relation to those methods and procedures; for the purposes of establishing a uniform approach in relation to those inquiries: AND We further direct you, when so requested by the Honourable Elliott Frank Johnston under the relevant Commission, whether before or after the submission of your report but not later than 31 December 1990, to consult with him in relation to the preparation of his

report or reports and recommendations under that Commission:

AND We authorise you to have regard, in relation to the preparation of your report, to any reports of the Honourable James Henry Muirhead relating to deaths of Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders in the State of Western Australia:

AND, where a relevant Commissioner has inquired, or inquires, under the Commissioner's Commission of inquiry into a death in the State of western Australia: (c) We further authorise you to have regard to any

report of that Commissioner relating to that death; and

(d) We further direct you to consult with that Commissioner;

in relation to the preparation of your report: AND We further declare that you are further authorised to conduct your inquiry into any matters under these Our Letters Patent in combination with any inquiry into the same or related matters that you are directed or authorised to make by any Commission issued, or pursuant

to any order or appointment made, by Our Governor of the State of Western Australia:

AND We further declare that in these Our Letters Patent:

790

3.

(e) the expression •relevant Commission• means the Commission of inquiry issued on 27 April 1989 by Our Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia by Letters Patent to the Honourable

Elliott Frank Johnston: and (f) the expression •relevant Commissioner" means a person other than yourself to whom a Commission of inquiry relating to the deaths of Aboriginals and

Torres Strait Islanders has been or is issued by Our Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia, or a person administering the Government of the eo..onwealth of Australia, by Our Letters

Patent,. not being a person in relation to whom such a Commission of inquiry has been or is revoked:

AND We require you as expeditiously as practicable to make your inquiry and, not later than 30 September 1990 or such later day as We may be pleased to fix, to

furnish to the Honourable Elliott Frank Johnston for his consideration and for furnishing by him to Our Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia under the relevant COmmission a report of the results of your

inquiry. ·

Dated this 2Ith

WITNESS His Excellency the Honourable William George Hayden, Companion of the Order of Australia, Governor-General of

the Commonwealth of Australia.

day of June 19 89

By His Excellency's Command,

for and on behalf of the Prime Minister

791

Western Australia

Lieutenant-Governor and Administrator

ROYAL COMMISSION

By His Excellency the Honourable Sir Francis Theodore Page Burt, Companion of the Order of Knight Comaander of

the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George, Queen's Counsel, Lieutenant­ Governor and Administrator of

the State of Western Australia.

TO: THE HONOURABLE PATRICK LIONEL DODSON

I, the Lieutenant-Governor and Adainistrator, do by this commission issued with the advice and consent of the

Executive Council -(1) appoint you to be a Royal Coa•ission to inquire into and

report upon any underlying issues associated with deaths

of Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders· in the State

of Western Australia in all cases where such deaths

occurred during the period that coaaenced on 1 January

1980 and ended on 31 May 1989 whilst in police custody,

in prison or in any other place of detention, but not

including such a death occurring in a hospital, .. ntal

institution, infiraary or medical treataent centre unless injuries suffered while in police custody, in prison or

in any place of detention caused or contributed to the•:

and

792

2

(2) declare that for the purpose of reporting on any

underlying issues associated with such deaths, you are

authorized to take account of social, cultural and legal

factors which, in your judgment, appear to have a bearing on those deaths: and

(3) direct you -(a) to consult generally with the Honourable Elliott

Fran!( Johnston with regard to the methods and

procedures to be followed in relation to his and

your and

(b) to conform with any guideline3 issued or

reco111mendations made by t&1e Honourable Elliott Frank

Johnston under the relevant commission in relation

to those methods and procedures,

for the purpose of establishing a uniform approach in

relation to those inquiries: and r (4) direct you if so requested by the Honourable Elliott

Frank Johnston under the relevant commission, whether

before or after the submission of your report but not

later than 31 December 1990, to consult with him in relation to the preparation of his report or reports and recommendations under that commission: and

(5) direct you to have regard in relation to the preparation

of your report to the reports and recommendations (if

any) of the Honourable James Henry Muirhead relating to

the deaths of Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders in

the State of Western Australia: and

(6) direct you, where a =elevant Commissioner has inquired,

or inquires, under the Commissioner's commission of

inquiry into a death in the State of Western Australia -

793

3

(a) to have regard to any report of that Commissioner

relating to that death; and (b) to consult with that Commissioner in relation to the

preparation of your report; and

(7) declare that in this commission the expression "relevant

commission• means the commission issued this day by me to

the Honourable Elliott Frank Johnston; and

(8) declare that in this commission the expression "relevant

Commissioner• means a person other than yourself to whom

a commission of inquiry relating to the deaths of

and Torres Strait Islanders has been or is

issued by me not being a person in relation to whom such

a commission of inquiry has been or is revoked.

GIVEN under my hand and the Seal of the State

on 1989.

By His Excellency's Command,

PREMIER

GOD SAVE THE QUEEN I

794

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COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA

ELIZABETH THE SECOND, by the Gr ace of God, Queen of Australia and Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth: TO:

PATRICK LIONEL DODSON

GREETING:

WHEREAS by Letters Patent issued in Our name by Our Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia on 28 June 1989 We appointed you to be a Commissioner to inquire into and report upon certain deaths in Australia since 1 January 1980 of Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders whilst in police custody, in prison or in any other place of detention and into certain matters thereto:

AND WHEREAS it is desirable that those Letters Patent be varied in certain respects:

NOW THEREFORE We do, by these our Letters Patent issued in Our name by Our Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia on the advice of the Federal Executive council and pursuant to the constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia, the Boyal Commissions Act 1902 and every other enabling power , declare that the

Letters Patent issued on 28 June 1989 shall have effect on and from 12 o ' clock noon on 25 September 1990 as if:

795

2

(a) for the words "not later than 31 December 1990" there were substituted the words "31 March 1991"; and

(b) for the words "not later than 30 September 1990" there were substituted the words "not later than 30 November 1990".

Dated this

Prime Minister

WITNESS His Excellency the Honourable William George Hayden, Companion of the Order of Australia, Governor-General of the Coaaonwealth of Australia.

day of Jp,., 1990

796

Details concerning material provided to

Commissioner Dodson's Commission

(see Section 1.7)

797

APPENDIX 2

WITNESSES TO COMMISSIONER DODSON'S COMMISSION

WITNESSES DATE REPRESENTING PLACE

ATHERDON Graham 02.03.90 Woodside Karratha Roeboume Senior Pulic Affairs Officer

BALL Karen 02.03.90 Ieramugadu Group Roeboume

A/Manager

BARTLETf Phil 01.03.90 ADS Pt Hedland Senior Roeboume Project Officer

BILLING Julie 02.02.90 Shire Local History Roeboume

Officer

BLUM Doreen 01.03.90 Shire Councillor Roeboume

BOWIE Leslie 26.02.90 Homeswest Technical Roe bourne Officer

BOYDSgt 27.02.90 Police Roeboume

BUTLER Graham 02.03.90 Pundulmurra College Roeboume

CHEEK Pat 02.03.90 Karratha College A/Head Roeboume Department of Business

CHEVIS Hugh 01.03.90 Conservation And Land Roe bourne Management

CLIFfON Elaine 02 .03.90 DEET Pilbara Education Roe bourne Officer Sth Hedland

CONDON Adrian 02.03.90 Karratha Districkt Roeboume

Education Office ALO

CONNELL Betty 27.02.90 Justice of the Peace Roe bourne

CONNELL Betty 01.03.90 Shire Councillor Roeboume

CUNNINGHAM Jeff 02 .03.90 Karratha College Roe bourne A/Director

CURRIE Brian 02 .03.90 Australian Workers Roe bourne

Union Member

799

DANIELS David 26.02.90 Goora-Binya Culture Roe bourne Camp

DANIELS David 28.02.90 Goora-Binya Culture Roeboume Camp

DAVIS Peter 28.02.90 Community Based Roe bourne

Corrections

DUNCAN Bruce 01.03.90 Justice of the Peace Roe bourne

EARLS Danny 27.02.90 Regional Prison Life Roe bourne

Skills Instructor

FERGUSON Ann 01.03.90 Shire Councillor Roeboume

FINNERTY Richard 28.02.90 ADA West Pilbara Roe bourne

FLYNN Supt Keith 27.02.90 Regional Prison Roe bourne

GAHAN Sr Donna 28.02.90 Community Health Roe bourne

GOGGIN Dennis 02.03.90 Woodside Karratha Roe bourne

Production Division Manager

GROGAN Bill 02.03.90 Principal Roeboume Roe bourne

Primary School

HARRIS Terry 27.02.90 Justice of the Peace Roe bourne

HARRIS Terry 28.02.90 Roeboume/Wickam Roe bourne

Hospitals Administrator

HARRIS Tony 02.03.90 Manager Department of Roe bourne Employment & Training - Karratha

HART Bob 28.02.90 Department for Roe bourne

Community Services

HART Greg 26.02.90 Homeswest Branch Roeboume

Manager

HOBSON Stan 01.03.90 Community Member Roeboume

HOBSON Yvonne 01.03.90 Community Member Roe bourne

HORN J (Nick) 02.03.90 Karratha College Roeboume

800

INGRAM Geoff 02.03.90 Hammersley Iron - Roeboume Principal Personnel Adviser Operations Dampier

JACOBS Alan 28.02.90 Community Member Roeboume

JEANNE Sister 01.03.90 Daughter of Charity Roe bourne

JONES Connie 28.02.90 Department for Roe bourne

Community Setvices

JONES Sr Carole 01.03.90 Daughter of Charity Roeboume

JONES Sr Carole 26.02.90 Daughter of Charity Roeboume

KING Keith 02.03.90 Principal Pundulmurra Roeboume College

KNIGHT Rasata 28.02.90 Community Roeboume

Development Officer DCS

KNIGHT Rasata 02.03.90 Community Roeboume

Development Officer DCS

KNarr John 27.02.90 Prison Officer Roeboume

Roeboume Regional Prison

LOCKYER Carol 26.02.90 Roebourne Resident Roeboume

LOCKYER Carol 02.03.90 Chairperson Ieramugadu Roeboume Group Inc.

LOCKYER Marilyn 28.02.90 N Administrator Roeboume Murwankarra Health Setvices

LONG Denis 26.02.90 RCIADIC Liaison Roeboume

Officer

MARTINMr 27 .02.90 Justice of the Peace Roeboume

McCAUGHAN Laurain 02.03.90 Manager Department of Roeboume Social Security - Port Hedland

McCOLLGrul 28 .02.90 Community Nurse Port Roeboume Hedland

801

McGll...L Malcolm 01.03.90 Branch Manager ADC Roe bourne Port Hedland

Mll.LSFr 01.03.90 Catholic Priest Roeboume

MITCHELL Chris 02.03.90 Employee Relations Roe bourne Manager Woodside Karratha

MITCHELL Peter 27.02.90 Justice of the Peace Roe bourne

MORAN Supt Kevin 27.02.90 Officer-In-Charge Roe bourne Pilbara Police

NEWMAN Ken 01 .03 .90 Regional Manager DAA Roeboume

O'DONAGHUE Phillip 26 .02.90 Aboriginal Legal Service Roeboume

REDMAN Rev Terry 01.03.90 Anglican Rector Karratha Reo bourne

SCHOOTSTRA Penny 28.02.90 Department for Roeboume Community Services

SMITH Ann 02.03 .90 Roeboume Education Roeboume Centre

SMITH Elizabeth 02.03.90 Co-ordinator Roeboume Roe bourne Education Centre

SMITH Marshall 26.02.90 Corrective Services Roe bourne

SMITH Marshall 28 .02.90 Community Based Roeboume Corrections

SMITH Marshall 02.03.90 Community Based Roe bourne Corrections

SOLOMON Roger 26.02.90 Heritage Officer Roe bourne Aboriginal Sites Western Australian Museum

SYMMONDS David 02.03.90 Aboriginal Employment Roeboume & Training DEEr

TIERNEY Elaine 28.02.90 Bookkeeper Roe bourne

Mmwankarra Health Services

WEBBERMim 28 .02.90 Manager Department for Roeboume Community Services West Pilbara

802

WEBBERMim 02.03.90 Manager Department for Roeboume Community Services West Pilbara

WILKINSON Jane 26.02.90 Karratha Roeboume

WILLIAMS Ian 02.03 .90 General Manager - Roeboume

Operations Dampier-Hammersley Iron

WISSONLee 02 .03.90 Karratha District Roeboume

Education Office

WOODLEY Bruce 01.03.90 Conservation And Land Roeboume Management

WOOSNAM Michael 01.03.90 Roe bourne Shire Roe bourne Councillor

WY A TI Sr Julie 28.02.90 Murwankarra Health Roeboume Services

AH SAM Beverley 20.03.90 Liaison Officer Broome Broome Primary School

ARMSfRONG Maxine 23.03.90 Ngunga Women's Broome Aboriginal Group Derby

BARR Kelvin 22.03.90 Manager Aboriginal Broome

Programmes DEET

BESSARUB Dawn 19.03.90 Department for Broome

Community Services -Deroy

BEVAN Esther 22.03.90 Spirituality Centre Broome

BEVAN Esther 23 .03.90 W AAECG- WK and Broome

Chairperson CEAAC Kimberley

BUCKLAND 22 .03.90 Bishop Anglican Church Broome Bernard R

BUTCHER Vicki 19.03.90 Department for Community Services Broome

CARNARI Warren 20.03.90 Branch Manager Broome

Homeswest

CORNOCH Richard 19.03.90 Department for Community Services Broome

803

COUNCILLOR 22.03.90 Manager Aboriginal Broome Maitland Programmes DEET

Derby

CULLENDER Anne 20.03.90 Teacher St Mary's Broome School

DARCY Sandra 19.03.90 Department for Broome

Community Setvices

DOUfRE Peter 22.03.90 ManagerDeparttnentof Broome Social Security

FONG Kevin 20.03.90 Regional Manager Broome

Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Commission

FONG Kevin 22.03.90 Regional Manager Broome

Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Commission

GARROW Dr Stuart C 19.03.90 Medical Officer Broome Broome Regional Aboriginal Medical Service

GROPE Michael 22.03.90 Co-Regional Manager Broome ATSICDerby

HAGUE Fiona 20.03.90 Snr Educator Broome

KEMESCHS

HARKIN Supt Francis 21.03.90 Broome Regional Prison Broome

HARPER Supt Roy 21.03.90 Relieving Supt. Broome Broome Regional Police Office

HEATH Dr Richard 19.03.90 Snr Medical Officer Broome Broome District Hospital

HENDERSON Dianne 20.03 .90 Health Educator, Milliya Broome Rummura

HENDERSON Sharon 23 .03.90 Ngunga Women's Broome Aboriginal Group Derby

HILL Margaret 22.03.90 Pastoral Worker Catholic Broome Church

HOLMES Michael 19.03.90 Regional Office W AADA Broome

804

HOWARD James 20.03.90 Student Nulungu Broome

Catholic College

HUNTER Dorothy 20.03.90 Community Member Broome

INALLDavid 21.03.90 Prison Officer Broome

Department of Corrective Services

INALLDavid 22.03.90 Prison Officer Broome Broome

Regional Prison

KESISCH Steve 20.03.90 Architect Broome

LAMBIE Rodman 21.03.90. Visiting Justice of the Broome Prison

MAN ADO Gerrard 23.03.90 Field Officer Broome Broome Regional Aboriginal Medical Service

MAN ADO Gerrard 19.03.90 Field Officer Broome Broome Regional Aboriginal Medical Service

MATfHEWS Doris 20.03.90 Teacher's Assistant Broome St Mary's School

MATSUMOTO Phillip 23.03.90 Co-ordinator Milliya Broome Rummura Alcohol Rehabilitation Centre

McKENZIE Michael 20.03.90 Liaison Officer Nulungu Broome Catholic College

McKENZIE Michael 20.03.90 Liaison Officer St Broome

Mary's School

McMAHONFrM 22 .03.90 Director Spirituality Broome

Centre

McNAUGHT Geoffrey 22.03.90 Managerl)epartmentof Broome Employment & Traning

MIDDLETON Louise 21.03.90 Education Tutor Broome Broome Regional Prison

NEGUS Br Peter 20.03.90 Principal Nulungu Broome

Catholic College

OADES Richard 19.03.90 Social Worl<. Supervisor Broome DCS West Kimberley

805

P ARRIMAN Elizabeth 19.03.90 Community Based Broome Corrections Broome

PA YNfER Mark 20.03.90 Snr Mathematics Teacher Broome Broome District High School

PUERTO LLANO 23.03.90 Home And Community Broome Elizabeth Care

PUERTOLLANO John 20.03.90 Aboriginal Education Broome Worker Broome, District High School

READ Vanessa 20.03.90 Health Educator Milli ya Broome Rummura Broome

READ Vanessa 19.03.90 Regional Health Broome

Education Officer Health Promotions Services Branch

RIVERS Noel 19.03.90 Community Based Broome

Corrections Broome

ROBERTS Jean 23.03.90 Ngunga Women's Broome

Aboriginal Group Derby

SAHANNA Rosie 19.03.90 Department for Broome

Community Services

SCOTT Kerry 23.03.90 Ngunga Women's Broome

Aboriginal Group Derby

SEARLE Murray 20.03.90 Principal Broome Broome Primary School

SLATTERY Mary 23.03.90 District Nurse Broome

Supervisor Community Health

SMYTHE Alison 20.03 .90 KEMESCHS Broome

STONE Snr Sgt 21.03.90 Broome Regional Police Broome Lesley J

TONKINS John 22.03.90 Community Broome

Development Worker Uniting Church Broome

TURNER Ivan 19.03.90 Department for Broome

Community Services

806

WATSON John 23.03.90 Community Member Broome

WATSON Peter 20.03.90 Principal Cable Beach \ roome Primary School

WEBSTER Donald 19.03.90 Community Based Broome Corrections Broome

wn...cox Richard G 21.03.90 Prison Officer Broome Broome Regional Prison

WRONSKI Dr Ian 19.03.90 Health Services Director Broome forKAMSC

YU Sarah 20.03 .90 Aboriginal Studies Broome

Curriculum Nu1ungu Catholic College Broome

AUSTIN Jane 02 .04.90 Nurse Aboriginal Gerald ton

Medical Service

BENNELLivy 04.04.90 Prison Officer Gerald ton

Greenough Prison

BODDINGTON David 04 .04.90 Justice of the Peace Gerald ton

BOELENBart 05.04.90 Regional Manager Gerald ton

Western Australian Tourism Commission

BOGLE Geoffrey 04 .04.90 Prison Officer Gerald ton

Greenough Prison

BROCKMAN Julie 05.04.90 Aboriginal Visitor Gerald ton Scheme

BROOK Charles 04.04.90 Justice of the Peace Gerald ton

CICCHINI Giuseppe 04.04.90 Magistrate Gerald ton

CLARKE Garry 05.04.90 Senior Regional Officer Gerald ton Ministry for Sport & Recreation

COURTLAND Peter 05.04.90 Project Manager Geraldton Skill Care Gerald ton

DAVIES Arnold 04.04 .90 Superintendent Geraldton Police Region Gerald ton

DAWSON John 04.04.90 Justice of the Peace Gerald ton

807

DEAN John 02.04.90 Department of Geraldton

Community Services, Murchison Division

DERSCH OW 04.04.90 Police Region Geraldton

Edward C

DffiDENian 04.04.90 Prison Officer Gerald ton

Greenough Prison

EVERSHED Gary 03.04.90 Director Community Gerald ton Education Centre

FINDLAY Audrey 04.04.90 Justice of the Peace Gerald ton

FLETCHER Allan 03.04.90 Regional Manager Gerald ton Homeswest

FORSYfH William 03.04.90 Regional Co-ordinator Gerald ton Geraldton Regional College T AFE

GALLAHER Ken 03.04.90 Councillor Shire of Gerald ton Greenough

GALLUP Douglas 04.04.90 Justice of the Peace Gerald ton

GARRATT Gordon 03.04.90 Shire President Shire of Geraldton Greenough

GREEN Noel 03.04.90 Trainee Executive Officer Gerald ton Murchison Regional Aboriginal Corporation

GREEN Susan 03.04.90 Resident Geraldton

JONES Gordon 03.04.90 Captain Salvation Anny Gerald ton

KEARNEY Joseph 03.04.90 Catholic Aboriginal Gerald ton Ministry

KICKETT Gloria A 04.04.90 Geraldton Police Region Gerald ton

KICKETT Graham 05.04.90 Consultant Ministry for Geraldton Sport & Recreation

KICKETT Hilda 05.04.90 Regional Rep. Western Geraldton Australian Aboriginal Education Consultative Group

808

KNIGHTivor 04.04.90 Superintendent Gerald ton

Greenough Prison

LAUDHER Maxine 03.04.90 Aboriginal Liaison Gerald ton Officer Education Department

LEE James 03.04.90 Principal Rangeway Gerald ton

Primary School

McDONALD Wayre 02.04.90 Drug & Alcohol Gerald ton CoWlSellor AMS

McNEAIR Helen 05.04.90 Senior Project Officer Gerald ton ATSIC

MERCERMr 05.04.90 Regional Manager Gerald ton

Department of Conservation & Land Management

MUSTON Gerald 03.04.90 Anglican Bishop West Gerald ton Diocese

MYER.David 02.04.90 Alcohol & Drug Gerald ton

Authority Murchison Regional Office

O'MEARA Lynette 05.04.90 Boarder Stella Maris Gerald ton College

PERRY William 03.04.90 Shire Oerk Shire of Gerald ton Greenough

REID Anne 05.04.90 Regional Manager Gerald ton

Department for Planning & Urban Development

RHATIGAN Neil John 04.04.90 Geraldton Police Region Gerald ton

ROHAN Margaret 02.04.90 Department of Corrective Gerald ton Services

ROLFE Phillip 05.04.90 Department of Gerald ton

Employment & Training

ROLSTON Donald 03.04.90 Director Geraldton Gerald ton Regional College T AFE

RONAN Elvie 05.04.90 Assistant Manager Gerald ton

Aboriginal Hostel Gerald ton

800

RONAN Robert 05.04.90 MemberofThe Street Gerald ton Work Committee

RYAN Mamie 03.04.90 Catholic Aboriginal Geraldton

Ministry

SCHULTZ 02.04.90 St John Ambulance Gerald ton

Raymond G

SIMPSON Graham 03.04.90 Town Oerk Geraldton Geraldton City Council

STOKES Kim 05.04.90 Manager Commonwealth Geraldton Employment Setvice

TAYLOR Ashley 04.04.90 Justice of the Peace Geraldton

TENNANT Peter 03.04.90 Principal John Wilcox Geraldton Senior High School

VAN KESSEL Lucy 05.04.90 Principal Stella Maris Geraldton College

VINEY Ross 05.04.90 Regional Employment Gerald ton

Development Officer Dept of Employment & Traning

VON KEHLER Elgin 03.04.90 City Council Gerald ton

WARD Joan 02.04.90 Education Officer Gerald ton

Department of Community Setvices

WATSON David 02.04.90 Department of Corrective Geraldton Setvices

WHEELAN Edward 03.04.90 City Council Geraldton

WILLA WAY Nonna 03 .04.90 Catholic Aboriginal Gerald ton Ministry

BARDON Vicky 11.04.90 Community Member Carnatvon (Aunty of Lincoln Wimbus)

BARDON Vicky 12.04.90 Community Member Carnatvon (Aunty of Lincoln Wimbus)

810

BARON Paul 11.04.90 Vocation Officer Carnarvon

Aboriginal Programmes BranchDEET

BELOTI1 Gail 12.04.90 Aboriginal Medical Carnarvon SeJVice Health Worker

BODDINGTON Donald 11.04.90 Aboriginal Medical Carnarvon Service

BOSTON Christopher 10.04.90 Shire Councillor Carnarvon

CAHll...LMr 09.04.90 Justice of the Peace Carnarvon

CHERVERTON 10.04.90 Shire Oerk Carnarvon

Malcolm

CLARKE Gavin 09.04.90 Principal Carnarvon Carnarvon Primary School

CLINCH Elizabeth 11.04.90 Aboriginal Medical Carnarvon Service

COCKRAM Gregroy 09.04.90 Magistrate Carnarvon

COLEMAN Rhonda 12.04.90 Community Member Carnarvon

COOK Leslie 12.04.90 Community Member Carnarvon

COUNCILLOR Phillip 12.04.90 Community Member Carnarvon

CROCKER Colin 09.04.90 TAFE Carnarvon

DALE Wallace 10.04.90 Shire President Carnarvon

DAVIES Alan 10.04.90 StJohn Ambulance Carnarvon

DAVIES Allan 10.04.90 Shire Councillor Carnarvon

DEAN John NSupervisor Murchison Carnarvon

Division

DffiDEN Geoffrey 10.04.90 Baha'i Community Carnarvon

EVANS Susan 11.04.90 Community Member Carnarvon

EVANS Susan 12.04.90 Community Member Carnarvon

FLECTCHER John 10.04.90 Assembly of God Carnarvon Church

811

GRAIEG Lindsay 10.04.90 St Luke's Church Carnarvon Carnarvon

HALL Christopher 09.04.90 Education Support Unit Carnarvon

HASELBYKN 09.04.90 Justice of the Peace Carnarvon

HAYWOOD Kaylene 09.04.90 Teacher East Carnarvon Carnarvon Primary School

HUNTER Colin 09.04.90 Principal East Carnarvon Carnarvon Primary School

KENNINGTON Sgt C 09.04.90 Officer-In-Charge - Carnarvon Police

LEGG Alison 09.04.90 Deputy Principal Carnarvon

Carnarvon Senior High School

MacMAHON Norman 12.04.90 Community Member Carnarvon

MacMAHON Shirley 12.04.90 Community Member Carnarvon

MALLARD Keny 09.04.90 Relief AEW East Carnarvon Carnarvon Primary School

MAVERKim 11.04.90 Murchinson Division Carnarvon

McARTHUR Rev Peter 10.04.90 Anglican Church Carnarvon

McCABE Philip 10.04.90 Baha'i Community Carnarvon

McKENZIE Dr 10.04.90 Aboriginal Medical Carnarvon Raymond Service

McKENZIE Dr 11.04.90 Aboriginal Medical Carnarvon Raymond Service

MITCHELL Elsie 11.04.90 Community Member Carnarvon

MITCHELL Eva 11.04.90 Community Member Carnarvon

MITCHELL Jimmy 12.04.90 Community Member Carnarvon

MITCHELL John 12.04.90 Community Member Carnarvon

MITCHELL K Mrs 09.04.90 Community Member Carnarvon

MITCHELL Karen 10.04.90 Aboriginal Medical Carnarvon Service

812

MITCHELL Karen 11.04.90 Aboriginal Medical Carnruvon Service

MORRIS Anne 11.04.90 Aboriginal Medical Camruvon Service

OAKLEY Revel 09.04.90 Police Aide Carnruvon

OAKLEY Susan 10.04.90 Homeswest Camruvon

OAKLEY Susan 12.04.90 Community Member Carnarvon

OMERODNora 09.04.90 AEW Carnarvon Primary Carnruvon School

PARKER Natalie 11.04.90 Aboriginal Medical Carnarvon Service

PHILLIPS Kenneth 09.04.90 Aboriginal Education Carnarvon Worker Carnarvon Senior High School

QUINN Steven 10.04.90 Homeswest Branch Carnarvon Manager

RANGER George 12.04.90 Community Member Camruvon

RANGER Ross 10.04.90 Aboriginal Medical Carnarvon Service

RANGER Ross 11.04.90 Aboriginal Medical Carnarvon Service

RYAN Kathy 11.04.90 Community Member Carnruvon

RYAN Lorna 12.04.90 Community Member Camruvon

SCHMIDT Raymond 10.04.90 Missionary Churches of Carnarvon Christ Federal Aborigines Board

SNOWBALL Charlie 12.04.90 Community Member Camruvon

STARR Georgina 09.04.90 AEW East Carnarvon Carnarvon Primary School

STEW ART Craig 10.04.90 Anglican Church Camruvon

STUART Anthony 09.04.90 Police Aide Camruvon

TAYLOR Genie 12.04.90 Community Member Camruvon

813

TEEDEB 09.04.90 Justice of the Peace Canwvon

THOMPSON May 10.04.90 Aboriginal Medical Carnarvon Service President

THOMPSON May 11.04.90 Murchinson Division CamaiVon

THOMPSON May 12.04.90 Aboriginal Medical Carnarvon Service President

THORPE Brian 10.04.90 St Luke's Church Carnarvon

VEENCMrs 09.04.90 Justice of the Peace Carnarvon

VELINGJohn 11.04.90 ManagerDepanrnentof CamaiVon Employment & Training

WHITE Cynthia 09.04.90 Aboriginal Liaison Cama!Von Officer Carnarvon Senior High School

WHITE Cynthia 09.04.90 Secretary Parent Group Camatvon Carnarvon Primary School

WIMBUS Herbert 12.04.90 Community Member Cama!Von

WIMBUS Lincoln 11.04.90 Student Carnarvon

WIMBUS Lincoln 12.04.90 Student Carnarvon

WINDER Helen 09.04.90 Chairperson Minoo Carnarvon Malga Kindergarten Committee

WINDER Helen 12.04.90 Community Member Carnarvon

BECK John 30.04.90 Community Member Esperance

CARMODY Roma 30.04.90 Member Aboriginal Esperance Housing Board Homeswest

COLES Joseph 30.04.90 Department of Esperance

Community Health

JAMIESON Gail 30.04.90 Ex-AEW Esperance Esperance Senior High School

NEVIN Dennis 30.04.90 Aboriginal Education Esperance Officer Esperance High School

814

REYNOLDS Nellie 30.04.90 Resident Esperance

REYNOLDS Robin 30.04.90 Aboriginal Education Esperance Worlcer Norseman Primary School

REYNOLDS Ronald 30.04.90 Community Member Esperance

ROBINS Brenda 30.04.90 Department of Esperance

Community Health

SAMBO Lynette 30.04.90 Esperance Aboriginal Esperance Corporation

SAMBO Rosina 30.04.90 Esperance Aboriginal Esperance Corporation

SMITH Pamela 30.04.90 Esperance Aboriginal Esperance Corporation

TRENBERTH Gregory 30.04.90 Department of Esperance Employment & Training

WEST Judith 30.04.90 T AFE Lecturer Esperance

WINrON John 30.04.90 Conservation And Land Esperance Management

BASSETT -SCARFE 03.05.90 Western Australian Albany Lynn Alcohol & Drug

Authority Regional Representative

BILICK Anthony M 03.05.90 Justice of the Peace

BLECHYNDEN 03.05.90 Department of Albany

Kenneth Employment & Training

A;M:anager

BOLGER James 03.05.90 Technical & Further Albany Education A/Director

BOOTH David 03.05.90 Principal North Albany Albany Senior High

BROWN Ronald Keith 03.05.90 Justice of the Peace Albany

COEBud 03.05.90 Co-ordinator Aboriginal Albany

Education& Employment T AFE

815

COEBud 04.05.90 Albany Community Albany

Release Program

COLBUNGMr 04.05.90 Chainnan Resource Albany Agency

COOMBES-PEARCE 04.05.90 Superintendent Albany Albany Phillip Regional Prison

COYNE Dallas J 04.05.90 Police Aide Albany

COYNE Lester 03.05.90 Manager Aboriginal Albany Programmes - Dept Employment & Training

DEAN Averil 04.05.90 Resident Albany

DILEITI Angelo 04.05.90 Director of Nursing Albany Albany Regional Hospital

DOWNEY David 03.05.90 Regional Manager Albany Department of Social Security

ELLIOT George 04.05.90 Senior Sergeant Albany Albany Regional Police

GRIBBON Martin 03.05.90 Social Worker/Supervisor Albany Department for Community Services

GRIFFITHS Diana 04.05.90 Education Officer Albany Albany Regional Prison

HAYDEN John 04.05.90 Liaison Officer Health Albany Department Narrogin

HERFORD Ian 03.05.90 Conservation & Land Albany Management Regional Planning Officer

HOOPER Donald 03.05.90 Homeswest Regional Albany Housing Manager

JONES Christopher 03.05.90 Regional Employment Albany Development Officer State DEI'

KELLY Simpson 04 .05 .90 Community Member Albany

816

KHAN Rebecca 03.05.90 Department of Albany

Employment & Training

MacWll..LIAM Hilary A 04.05.90 Departtnent of Corrective Albany Services

MAJOR Craig 04.05.90 Prison Officer Regional Albany Prison

MANNING Peter 04.05.90 Aborginal & Torres Albany Strait Islander Commission

MASSEY Robyn 03.05.90 Deputy Principal Albany Albany Senior High

McKAll. Florence M 03.05.90 Shire Councillor Albany

MEADE Danny 04.05.90 Community Member Albany

MEADEKeny 04.05.90 Community Member Albany

MINITER Graham 03.05.90 Liaison Officer State Albany Education District Office

MORGAN John 03.05.90 Justice of the Peace Albany

NEWMAN Albert W 03.05.90 Town Council Albany

NICKOLLS Nicholas 03.05.90 President of Plantagenet Albany Shire

OVERSBY John 04.05.90 Superintendent Regional Albany Police

PETERSON Carol 03.05.90 DSS Aboriginal Liaison Albany Officer

PETERSON Carol 04.05.90 Chairperson Albany Albany Community Release Programme

PUGH Robert F 03.05.90 Justice of the Peace Albany

REDSHAW Joseph R 03.05.90 Justice of the Peace Albany

REDSHAW Richard 03.05.90 Town Council Albany

RESIDE William J 03.05.90 Prison Visitor Justice of Albany the Peace

RIGGS Harold A 03.05.90 Shire Council President Albany

817

ROWE Penny 04.05.90 Community Nurse Albany

SHEARER John N 03.05.90 Chairman Justices Albany Association

SKINNER Peter 03.05.90 Shire President of Albany

Plantagenet Shire

SLATER Arthur 03.05.90 Departtnent of Albany

Community Services

THORPE Nigel 04.05.90 Co-ordinator Albany Albany Community Release Programme

TRAVERS Crispin 03.05 .90 DCS Senior Social Albany Worker

TRIPLETT' Alan 03.05.90 Departtnent of Albany

Employment, Education & Training

VINCENT Lloyd 04.05.90 Regional Hospital Albany Administrator

WHITE Homer 03 .05.90 Justice of the Peace Albany

WILLIAMS Glenda 04.05.90 Departtnent of Albany

Community Health - Health Worker

WILLIAMS Louise 04.05.90 Community Member Albany

WILLIAMS Shirley 04.05.90 Community Member Albany

WOODS Tracy 04.05.90 Community Member Albany

WRAYRobert 03 .05.90 Justice of the Peace Albany

ANDREWS Adam 17.05.90 Junjuwa Community Mary River Fitzroy Crossing

BIRCH Reginald 16.05.90 Chairman East Mary River

Kimberley Land Council Wyndham

BONSON Robert 16.05.90 Executive Officer Mary River Aboriginal Legal Service Kununurra

BROWN Frank 17.05.90 Senior Sergeant Derby Mary River Regional Police

818

CHULUNG Frank 16.05 .90 Kununurra Mary River

COLBUNGLen 16.05.90 Observer Mary River

COUNCILLOR Henry 17.05.90 Halls Creek Mary River

COX Tommy 16.05.90 Kununurra Mary River

DAWSONMr 17.05.90 Observer Mary River

DOWNS David 17.05.90 Christmas Creek Mary River

Community

FARRER Josie 17.05.90 Halls Creek Mary River

FRANCIS Peter 16.05.90 Christmas Creek Mary River

Community

FRANCIS Peter 17.05.90 Christmas Creek Mary River

Community

FRANCIS Peter 17.05.90 Christmas Creek Mary River

GREEN John 16.05 .90 Halls Creek Mary River

GUY Jim 17.05.90 Sergeant Wyndham Mary River

Police

JAMES Jewess 16.05 .90 Wankatjunka Mary River

Community

JOHANSEN George 17.05.90 Senior Sergeant Mary River

Kununurra Regional Police

KICKEIT Darryl 15.05.90 Aboriginal Issues Unit Mary River

KICKEIT Darryl 16.05.90 Aboriginal Issues Unit Mary River

LEE John 15.05.90 Ngumpan Mary River

MARSHALL Lucy 15.05.90 Derby Resident Mary River

MARSHALL Lucy 16.05.90 Derby Resident Mary Ri ver

MCKENZIE Michelle 17.05.90 Balgo Community Mary River

MORRISON Pat 15.05.90 Aboriginal Issues Unit Mary River

MORRISON Pat 16.05.90 Aboriginal Issues Unit Mary River

MOSQUITO Muntja 16.05.90 Balgo Mary River

819

MOSQUITO Muntja 17.05.90 Balgo Mary River

NUMI Elizabeth 16.05.90 Billiluna Mary River

NUMI Elizabeth 17.05.90 Billiluna Mary River

RJLEYRob 17.05.90 Aboriginal Issues Unit Mary River

SCHECKLER Colleen 16.05.90 Law and Culture Mary River

SHANDLEY Jock 15.05.90 Fitzroy Crossing Mary River

SHARROT Arthur 17.05.90 Superintendent Mary River

Kimberley Regional Police

SNAil.. Dolly 16.05.90 Fitzroy Crossing Mary River

T ABBA GEE Nipper 16.05.90 Nookanbah Mary River

TOUSSAINT Sandy 15.05.90 RCIADIC Broome Mary River

TURNER David 16.05.90 Christmas Creek Mary River

Community

VICKGeorge 17.05.90 Senior Sergeant Fitzroy Mary River Crossing Police

WATSON Ivan 16.05.90 MtAnderson Mary River

WATSON Johnny 15.05.90 MtAnderson Mary River

WATSON Johnny 16.05.90 MtAnderson Mary River

WATSON Robert 17.05.90 MtAnderson Mary River

WORRAMURRA 16.05.90 Junjuwa Community Mary River Banjo Fitzroy Crossing

WORRAMURRA 17.05.90 Junjuwa Community Mary River Banjo Fitzroy Crossing

BOLTON Allan 22.05.90 Liaison Officer Gnowangerup

DALY-HOLT Lance 22.05.90 Technical & Further Gnowangerup Education Lecturer

EADES Aden 22.05.90 Community Member Gnowangerup

EADES Eugene 22.05.90 Community Member Gnowangerup

GARNETT Richard 23.05.90 Shire Councillor Gnowangerup

820

GOOOS Patricia 22.05.90 Community Member Gnowangerup

HAYWARD Tasman 22.05.90 Aboriginal Education Gnowangerup Worker- Gnowangerup District High School

HOBSON Stephen 23.05.90 Police Constable Gnowangerup

HOOK Mark 23.05.90 A/Shire Oerk Gnowangerup

MINITER Joyce 22.05.90 Community Member Gnowangerup

PECH Kenneth 23.05.90 Shire President Gnowangerup

. POWER Geoffrey 23.05.90 Principal District High Gnowangerup School

STUART Gregory 23.05.90 Shire Councillor Gnowangerup

WITHERS Kenneth 23.05.90 Police Sergeant Gnowangerup

WOODS Humphrey 22.05.90 Community Member Gnowangerup

WOODS Lisa 22.05.90 DCS Family Resource Gnowangerup Worker

BOWEN Katherine 24.05.90 Co-ordinator Aboriginal Northam AccessTAFE

BREYZE Robert 25.05.90 Wheatbelt Aboriginal Northam Corporation

BURNETT Donald 25.05.90 Northam Town Council Northam

CALDER Graeme 24.05.90 Magistrate Northam

DAVIS Katherine 25.04.90 Community Member Northam

GARLETT Rodney 24.05.90 Aboriginal Liaison Unit Northam

GARRE'IT Timothy 24.05.90 Aboriginal Liaison Northam Officer- Department of Social Security

GREEN Bernard 24.05.90 Aboriginal Field Officer Northam CES

GREEN Bernard 25.05.90 Aboriginal Field Officer Northam CES

HALL Steven Youth Worker Co- Northam

ordinator Northam Youth Outreach

82 1

HANCOCK John 25.05.90 Department for Northam

Community Services

KIDD Kevin Snr Sgt 24.05.90 Northam Police Northam

KIELY Sr Mary 25.05.90 Catholic School Principal Northam

KIELY Sr Mary 24.05.90 Catholic School Principal Northam

MARTIN Leslie 24.05.90 Aboriginal Education Northam Worker Northam High School

MASON Steven 24.05.90 Department of Youth, Northam Sport & Recreation

NERICH Hilda 25.05.90 Northam Town Council Northam

PAINE James 25.05.90 Northam Town Council Northam

PARFITT Joan '.' 25.05.90 Community Member Northam

POLLARD Jeffrey 25.05.90 Homeswest Northam

PRIOR Francis Supt 24.05.90 Police Northam

THORNE Milton 25.05.90 Community Member Northam

VERHEGGAN Peter 24.05.90 Department of Social Northam Security Midland Deputy Manager

WATKINS Alan 24.05.90 Community Based Northam

Corrections

WEATHERLY Peter 24.05.90 ManagerCES Northam

ABRAHAMS Ed 29.05.90 Aboriginal Community Perth Representative

AGISElaine 31.05.90 Policy, Research & Perth

Training Officer A VS

BADMAN Steve 29.05.90 Co-ordinator Addiction Perth Studies Project ASCCU

BAUGARTER Pearl 29.05.90 Aboriginal Community Perth Representative

BEAVER Bevan 30.05.90 Executive Officer Perth

Housing Services Directorate

822

BEDFORD Doreen 31.05.90 Education Officer Dept Perth Corrective Services

BINDER Wayne 30.05.90 Co-ordinator W AAMA Perth

BOOTH John 31.05.90 Regional Director DCS Perth

Southern Metro Region

BOURKE Karine 01.06.90 Producer of Milbindi Perth

GWN

BRENNAN Bruce 31.05.90 NSupt OIC Police Perth

Academy

BRIDGE John 31.05.90 NCo-ordinator Perth

Aboriginal Visitors Scheme

BROSSARD Rormelle 29.05.90 Multi-Cultural Women's Perth Health Group Fremantle

BROWN Rev Murray 31.05.90 Anglican Priest Perth

BUDISELIK Bill 31.05.90 Department for Perth

Community Services-Eastern Metro Region

BUSHCJack 01.06.90 Executive Director Perth

Ministry of Sport & Recreation

CALCARET Tony 01.06.90 Deparunent of Social Perth Security

CHOO Christine 31.05.90 Community Member Perth

COLLARD Fred 30.05.90 Community Perth

Development Officer ADA

COLLARD Jean 30.05.90 Regional Aboriginal Health Liaison Officer Perth

COLLARD Leonnard 30.05.90 Community Member Perth

CORBE1T Chris 01.06.90 Deputy Director of Social Perth Australia for W A

CORBE1T Helen 30.05.90 Community Member Perth

823

CORBE'ITJim 29.05.90 Academic Co-ordinator Perth for Education Unit for ASCCU

CORONA Albert 31.05.90 Aboriginal Visitors Perth

Scheme

CORUNNA Albert 28.05.90 Aboriginal Visitors Perth Scheme

CORUNNA Gwen 28.05.90 Community Member Perth

CREEDY Steve 30.05.90 Chief of Staff West Perth

Australian

DALEY Dave 31.05.90 Manager Community Perth

Based Corrections

DAVIES Rev George 31.05.90 Uniting Church - Perth Perth Inner City Youth SeiVice

DREWELL Thomas 01.06.90 News Director GWN Perth

DUDGEON Pat 29.05.90 Head of Aboriginal Perth

Studies Centre CU

DUDGEON Pat 30.05.90 WACAE Head Ab Perth

Studies Centre

EGGINGTON Dennis 30.05.90 Director W A Aboriginal Perth Media Association

FINCHLEY Joan 30.05.90 Ex-employee of the Perth

DeprurnmentofCorrective SeiVices

FOWLER Paul 31.05.90 Snr Sgt Police Academy Perth

GALLAGHER Michael 30.05.90 Lecturer/ Author Perth

GARLE'IT Jenny 29.05 .90 Aboriginal Community Perth Representative

GARLE'IT Terry 29.05.90 Aboriginal Community Perth Representative

GUNNING Carol 29.05.90 Co-ordinator LeedeiVille Perth T AFE Aboriginal Access -AVS

HAMLE'IT Colleen 28 .05.90 Community Member Perth

824

HAMLE'IT Cora 28.05.90 Community Member Perth

HARRISMr 31.05.90 Police Aide Perth

HAR1LEY John 30.05.90 Lecturer/ Author Media Perth Studies

HENRY Leon 30.05.90 Manager Aboriginal Perth

Employment & Policy Unit within Public Service

HENRY Reg 29.05.90 Co-ordinator Medina Perth

Aboriginal Culture Group

HIT..L Jack 31.05.90 Warwick Polic Station Perth

HILL Michael 01.06.90 Nurrun Association Perth

Busselton

HUMPHRIES Pst 31.05.90 Aboriginal Evangelical Perth Denzil Fellowship

HUTCHINSON Supt 31.05.90 Wooroloo Prison Perth Ron

INDICHNick 29.05.90 Aboriginal Community Perth

Representative

ISAACS Robert 30.05.90 Chairman Aboriginal Perth

Housing Board

ISACCS Robert 30.05.90 Vice President AMS Perth

Perth

JOHNSON Trish 29.05.90 Aboriginal Community Perth Representative

JONES Murray 29.05.90 Aboriginal Legal Service Perth Field Officer

KENNEDY Bernadette 31.05.90 House of Hospitality for Perth Homeless Women

KICKETT CHARLES 31.05.90 Police Aide Fremantle Perth

LAW-DAVIES 30.05.90 Vice President Perth

Christopher Journalism Education

Association of Australia

825

LITTLE Des 29.05.90 Aborigianl Community Perth

Representative

LONG John 31.05.90 Midland Police Station Perth

LOUISBevP 29.05.90 W ACAE Aboriginal Perth

Promotions Officer

MAGNUS Jim 30.05.90 Reporter Perth

MAHER Russell 01.06.90 Department of Social Perth

Security

MAIN Keith 31.05.90 Chairman Spec. Govt. Perth

C'tee on Aboriginal, Police & Community Relations

MAY Sharon 29.05.90 Aboriginal Community Perth

Representative

McFARLANE Michael 31.05.90 Police Aide Warwick Perth Polic Station

McGUIRE John 01.06.90 Consultant Ministry of Perth

Sport & Recreation

MCREEDEN Robert 30.05.90 D/Supt Education Balga Perth Ministry of Education

MINNIECON Ray 29.05.90 Aboriginal Co-ordinator Perth Murdoch University

MINNIECON Ray 31.05.90 Aboriginal Evangelical Perth Fellowship

MOORE Peter 31.05.90 Dept Corrective Services Perth

MORRISSON Jerry 29.05.90 Community Member Perth

MORRISSON Norma 29.05.90 W ACAE Dept of Perth Aboriginal & Intercultural Studies

MOSES Jesse 28.05.90 Aboriginal Visitors Perth

Scheme

MOSES Jesse 31.05.90 Aboriginal Visitors Perth

Scheme

MOURISHivy 28.05.90 Cullacabardee Perth

826

MURRAY Paul 30.05.90 Editor West Australian Perth

MURRAY Phil 01.06.90 Director of Aboriginal & Perth Access Division DEEr

NARRIER Marlene 29.05.90 Aboriginal Community Perth Representative

O'CONNOR Kay 01.06.90 Department of Perth

Employment, Education & Training

PENMAN Andrew 30.05.90 NCommissioner Perth

Country Operations HDWA

PHILLIPS Neil 01.06.90 Community Member Perth

PUERTOLLANO Chris 01.06.90 Conciliation Officer Perth Equal Opportunity Board

QUARTERMAINE 28.05.90 Ex-Inmate Perth

Brian

QUILTY Betty 28 .05.90 Aboriginal Visitor's Perth

Scheme

RAYNER William G 01.06.90 Chief Executive fo OWN Perth

RILEY Robert 29.05.90 Aboriginal Issues Unit Perth

RILEY Robert 30.05.90 Chairman Western Perth

Australian Aboriginal Media Assoication

RIITERPaul 01.06.90 Lecturer Oontarf College Perth

ROGERSON Geoff 01.06.90 Department of Employment, Education Perth & Training

ROYCE Sgt Brian 31.05.90 Police Aboriginal Liaison Perth Unit

RYANBrKevin 29.05.90 Principal Oontarf Perth

Aboriginal College

RYANBrKevin 30.05.90 Principal Oontarf Perth

Aboriginal College

SAND George 31.05.90 Department of Corrective Perth Services

827

SHARRA T Steven 29.05.90 Aboriginal Legal Service Perth Solicitor

SIMPSON Colin 31.05.90 OCS Assistant Director Perth Community Funding & Development Directorate

SKERTERIS Robert 31.05.90 Spec. Govt. C'tee on Perth Aboriginal, Police & Community Relations

SLATER Judy 28.05.90 Community Member Perth

SMYTH Christopher S 30.05.90 Branch Secretary Perth Australian Journalists Association W A Branch

SPENCER Douglas 30.05.90 Producer ABC National Perth Member of Aboriginal Media Liaison Group

ST ANFIN Delphine 31.05.90 Co-ordinator Uniting Perth Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress

STANTON Ron 01.06.90 Perth Regional Office Perth

ATSIC

STEEL Graham 30.05.90 Australian Broadcasting Perth Commission (Manager Remote Area Broadcasting)

STEW ART Allan 01.06.90 Department of Perth

Employment, Education & Training

TAYLOR Ben 28.05.90 Community Member Perth

TAYLOR Maree 30.05.90 Community Member Perth

TAYLOR Marie 30.05.90 Metro Member Perth

Aboriginal Housing Board

TAYLOR Marie 31.05.90 Manguri Aboriginal Perth

Evangelical Fellowship

TRIGGER David 30.05.90 Lecturer Anthropology Perth UWA

828

TRUST Joyce 01.06.90 Department of Social Perth

Security

TYNAN Dawn 29.05.90 Aboriginal Community Perth Representative

VAN EARP Leon 29.05.90 Co-ordinator T AFE Perth

Aboriginal Accesss

W ALGAR Monte 28.05.90 Community Member Perth

WALLEY Jack 29.05.90 Aboriginal Community Perth Representative

WALLY Peter 29.05.90 Aboriginal Community Perth

Representative

WARD Supt Peter 31.05.90 Nyandie Institution Perth

WARD Janet 31.05.90 DCS NSupervisor Field Perth

Division Mirrabooka

W AREROPE Ian 01.06.90 Department of Social Perth Security

WILLIAMS Gina 01.06.90 Presenter Milbindi OWN Perth

WILLIAMS June 01.06.90 Commissioner Equal Perth Opportunity Board

WILSONian 29.05.90 Department for Perth

Community Services

WINMAR Barry 29.05.90 Aboriginal Community Perth Representative

WINMAR Ralph 28.05.90 Community Member Perth

WOODS Moira 28.05.90 Community Member Perth

WYATIBrian 28.05.90 Deputy Chairman Perth

Western Australian Aboriginal Media Association

WYATIKen 30.05.90 Senior Policy Officer Perth

Aboriginal Health

AKEESandra 08.06.90 Health Dept - Health Kalgoorlie

Worlcer

829

ANDERSON 05.06.90 Australian Broadcasting Kalgoorlie Olannaine Commission - Regional

Programme Manager

ARROW Des 05 .06.90 Field Officer - Western Kalgoorlie Australia Alcohol and Drug Authority

ATKINSON Barry 05.06.90 Manager of Community Kalgoorlie Based Corrections

AYLWARD Phillip 05.06.90 Regional Hospital- Kalgoorlie Administrator

AYLWARD Phillip 05.06.90 Regional Hospital - Kalgoorlie Administrator

BARNARD Helen 05.06.90 Community Nursing- Kalgoorlie Director

BARNES Cyril 08.06.90 Leonora Aboriginal Kalgoorlie Movement Body

BLYTH Noel 07 .06.90 Reverend Kalgoorlie

BROOMHALL Robert 06.06.90 Homeswest Kalgoorlie

CALVIN Paul 08.06.90 Aboriginal & Torres Kalgoorlie Strait Islander Commission

CARMODY Roma 06 .06.90 Aboriginal Housing Kalgoorlie Board Member

COOPER Norman M 09.06.90 Prospector Kalgoorlie

DA WS Olarles 06.06.90 Justice of the Peace Kalgoorlie

DAWSDoug 06.06.90 Justice of the Peace Kalgoorlie

DENHOLM John 07.06.90 Police Senior Sergeant Kalgoorlie

DIMERWendy 08.06.90 DEEr A/Manager Kalgoorlie

Aboriginal Programmes

DONEGAN Paul 09.06.90 Coonaana Community Kalgoorlie Member

DONOVAN Robert 07.06.90 Eastern Goldfields Kalgoorlie Regional Prison Superintendent

830

OORNEYBret 08.06.90 Kalgoorlie

Employment & Training

DOUGLAS Wilf H 07.06.90 Community Kalgoorlie

(Runs couses in Aboriginal languages)

GALLAGHER Hugh 08.06.90 Kalgoorlie-Boulder Kalgoorlie Chamber of Commerce

GITTINS Debbie 05.06.90 Kalgoorlie

HARVEY Graham 05.06.90 Radio 6KG Kalgoorlie

HEPBURN Michael 05.06.90 Department of Kalgoorlie

Community Services East Country Region -Regional Director

HUDSON Ron 07.06.90 Police Sergeant Kalgoorlie

JAMIESON Arnold 07.06.90 Police Aide Kalgoorlie

JEANS Peter 05.06.90 Editor Kalgoorlie Kalgoorlie

JOHSTON David 08.06.90 Kalgoorlie-Boulder Kalgoorlie Chamber of Commerce Vice President

JONES Grace 06.06.90 Justice of the Peace Kalgoorlie

JOYCE 06.06.90 Justice of the Peace Kalgoorlie

KEALLEYian 08.06.90 Regional Kalgoorlie

for Goldfields

KENNEDY David 08.06.90 DEET Education Officer Kalgoorlie (Aboriginal Section)

KERR Billy 08.06.90 Aboriginal Education Kalgoorlie

Officer

LAFFER Jim 05.06.90 Department for Kalgoorlie

Community Service -Social Wolk Supervisor

LAMB Dick 06.06.90 Kalgoorlie College - Kalgoorlie

Director

LING Dale 06.06.90 Kurrawang Aboriginal Kalgoorlie

Community

831

LING Dale 06.06.90 Kurrawang Aboriginal Kalgoorlie

Community

LYNCH Aubrey 08.06.90 Aboriginal Affairs Kalgoorlie

Planning Authority Commission Consultant

MADDEN John 07.06.90 Parle Villa Hostel Kalgoorlie

Support Group Member

McGILLIVRAY 06.06.90 Kalgoorlie College - Kalgoorlie

Barbara student representative

McLEAN Mary 09.06.90 Community Member Kalgoorlie

McLENNAN Greg 08.06.90 Department of Sport & Kalgoorlie Recreation

MELOR Rowley 05.06.90 District Education Office Kalgoorlie (Personal Sub)

MENCSHEL YI Attila 06.06.90 Homes west Regional Kalgoorlie Manager

MORRISON Barney 08.06.90 Mt Margaret Community Kalgoorlie Member

NOONAN John 07.06.90 Eastern Goldfields Kalgoorlie

Regional Prison 1st Oass Officer & WAPOUReps

O'KEEFE Tim 06.06.90 Kalgoorlie Primary Kalgoorlie

School - Senior Assistant

OAKLEY Ross 05.06.90 Community Member Kalgoorlie

PIRES Fr Tony 07.06.90 Parle Villa Hostel Kalgoorlie

Support Group Chairman

RIDDLE James 09.06.90 Community Member Kalgoorlie

ROBERTS Colin 07.06.90 Magistrate Kalgoorlie

SAMEC Olivia 06.06.90 Primary School Teacher Kalgoorlie

SCEGHI Keith 06.06.90 Community Member Kalgoorlie

SCOTT Bobby 08.06.90 Mt Margaret Community Kalgoorlie Member

832

SHAW Nancy 09.06.90 Coonaana Community Kalgoorlie Member

SMITH Dr Anne -Marie 06.06.90 Kalgoorlie College Kalgoorlie

SMITH Dr. Peter 06.06.90 Kalgoorlie College - Kalgoorlie Head of General Studies

S1RUGNELL Peter 06.06.90 Town Oerk: Kalgoorlie

STUBBSMr 09.06.90 Community Member Kalgoorlie

STUBBS Murray 05.06.90 Aboriginal Legal Service Kalgoorlie Field Officer

STUBBS Murray 07.06.90 Aboriginal Legal Service Kalgoorlie Field Officer

SUMMERS Katherine 05.06.90 Regional Hospital - Kalgoorlie Oinical Nurse Specialist

T ARNOWY Richard 06.06.90 Boulder Primary School Kalgoorlie -Principal

TAYLOR Tun 05.06.90 Department for Kalgoorlie

Community Services Senior Divisional Officer

THOMAS Beverley 09.06.90 Nyngamia Manager Kalgoorlie

THOMAS Hazel 08.06.90 Community Member (re: Kalgoorlie Fringe Dwellers)

THOMAS Preston 09.06.90 Community Member (re: Kalgoorlie Fringe Dwellers)

THOMPSON Mark 09.06.90 Coonaana Community Kalgoorlie Member

TUCKER Leslie 08.06.90 Resourced Agency Kalgoorlie

Manager

UGLESherma 06.06.90 District Education Office Kalgoorlie - Temp. Aboriginal Liaison Officer

VAUGHAN Trish 07.06.90 Eastern Goldfields Kalgoorlie Regional Prison Education Officer

WEBB Rob 07.06.90 Police Superintendent Kalgoorlie

833

WESLEY Ben 09.06.90 Community Member Kalgoorlie

WESLEY Bill 09.06.90 Nyngamia Employee Kalgoorlie

WHITI AKER Lesley 05.06.90 Australian Broadcasting Kalgoorlie Commission

WILLIAMS Ron 07.06.90 Pastor Kalgoorlie

WILLICK Michael 08.06.90 Aboriginal & Torres Kalgoorlie Strait Islander Commission Assistant Regional Manager

WINCH COMBE 05 .06.90 General Manager flying Kalgoorlie Sydney J Doctor Service

ZAREMBA Paul 07.06.90 Police Sergeant Kalgoorlie

BROWN Tim 20.06.90 Ngaanyatjarra Kiwikurra

C/Member/Communtiy F/man

JACKSON Michael 20.06.90 Ngaanyatjarra Council Kiwikurra Member

LANE Edgar 20.06.90 Ngaanyatjarra Council Kiwikurra

Member

LAWSON Andrew 20.06.90 Ngaanyatjarra Council Kiwikurra Member

MARTINMr 20.06.90 Ngaanyatjarra Council Kiwikurra

Member

PORTERMrT 20.06.90 Ngaanyatjarra Council Kiwikurra Member

ROBERTS Noel 20.06.90 Ngaanyatjarra Council Kiwikurra Member

ARMSTRONG 20.07.90 Commissioner for Health Perth Bruce K Western Australia

ATKINSON David 18.07.90 Review Committee on Perth Health

AZIZElaine 06.08.90 Aboriginal Issues Unit Perth

Consultative Group

834

BABAN Thomas 18.07.90 Western Australian Perth

College of Advanced Education

BEAVER Bevan E 18.07.90 Homeswest Perth

BLACK Gregory J 18.07.90 Executive Director Perth

Homeswest

BRANCH Colin D 31.07.90 A/Director General of Perth Mines

BRENNAN Michael J 01.08.90 Police Union Perth

BRINKMAN John 30.06.90 Police Aide Unit Perth

BROCKMAN Anita 30.07.90 Street Kids Perth

BROWN Sandra 18.07.90 Director of Policy Perth

Education

BUCHMAN Rodney 20.07.90 Aboriginal & Torres Perth Strait Islander Commission

BUCKRAM Joan 18.07.90 Catholic Education Perth

BULL Brian 31.07.90 Commissioner for Police Perth

CALOGEROCF 16.07.90 Alcohol & Drug Perth

Authority

CAMERON Jenny 30.07.90 Street Kids Perth

CHADBOURNE 01.08.90 Police Union Perth

Kimberley

CHOUDREE Rajesh 01.08.90 Aboriginal Legal Service Perth

CLARKE John D 31.07.90 Engineering & Perth

Environmetnal Section of Mines

CLOGHAN Daniel 06.08.90 Prison Officers Union Perth

COLLARD Dean 06.08.90 Aboriginal Issues Unit Perth Consultative Group

CONLEY Damien M 17.07.90 Commonwealth Health Perth Services

835

CORBEIT 19.07.90 Department of Social Perth

Christopher E Security, Western

Australia

COUNCILLOR Cyril 30.06.90 Police Aide Unit Perth

COUZENS Eric W 01.08.90 Police Union Perth

DANNAlec 18.07.90 Catholic Education Perth

DIMERJohn 30.06.90 Police Aide Unit Perth

EGGINGTON Dennis 06.08.90 Aboriginal Issues Unit Perth Consultative Group

ETHEREDGE Paul D 30.07.90 A/Director Aboriginal Perth Employment

FRENCH Stephen C 17.07.90 Manager Housing Perth

Services

FRYDavidF 17.07.90 Director Australian Perth

Government Health Services

GODDARD- 17.07.90 Commonwealth Health Perth

WILLIAMSRV Services

GRAY Dennis 18 .9.90 Review Committee on Perth

Health

GUNNING Carol 06.08.90 Aboriginal Issues Unit Perth Consultative Group

HANDPeterC 17.07.90 State Manager Perth

Commonwealth Health Services

HARRISLera 30.06.90 Police Aide Unit Perth

HILL Jack 30.06.90 Police Aide Unit Perth

ISSACS Robert 18.07.90 Aboriginal Housing Perth

Board

JONESGaryV 31.07.90 Taxi Control Board Perth

Department of Transport

KELLY Rebecca 30.07.90 Street Kid Perth

KICKETT Darryl 06.08.90 Head of Aboriginal Perth

Issues Unit - RCIADIC

836

KICKETf Marian 18.07.90 Chairperson Aboriginal Perth Housing Board

KING Michael 01.08.90 Aboriginal Legal SeiVice Perth

LARKINSKP 16.07.90 Alcohol & Drug Perth

Authority

LEWIS Bill 06.08.90 Aboriginal Issues Unit Perth

Consultative Group

LITTI...E Michael 30.07.90 Street Kids Perth

MAGNUS Jim 01.08.90 Journalist Daily News Perth

MASSAM Jolm C 17.07.90 VP Council of Civl Perth

Liberties

McDONALD Donald 20.07.90 Aboriginal & Torres Perth Strait Islander Commission

MciNTYRE Greg 01.08.90 Aboriginal Legal SeiVice Perth

MEIKLE Douglas L 17.07.90 Department of Social Perth Security Appeals Tribunal

MICHAEL Theodore 06.08.90 Royal Commission Into Perth Aboriginal Deaths In Custody- Perth

MITHCELL Monty 30.06.90 Police Aide Unit Perth

MONCRIEFF 19.07.90 Department for Perth

PhillipW Community SeiVices

MONGERRE 20.07.90 Crown Law Department Perth

OLIVE Noel 01.08.90 Committee to Defend Perth

Black Rights

PEDERSON Howard 02.08.90 Commissioner's Perth Assistant Aboriginal Affairs Planning Authority

PHILLIPG H 17.07.90 Commonwealth Health Perth

SeiVices

PHILLIPS Neil 30.07.90 Street Kid Perth

837

PIGGOT Anne 18.07.90 Consultant Aboriginal Perth

Education

PRIOR Athol George 30.07.90 NDirector Aboriginal Perth Education Branch

QUINN Terence A 20.07.90 Aboriginal & Torres Perth

Strait Islander Commission

RANDOLPH John 19.07.90 Aboriginal Sites Perth

Department, Western Australian Museum

RAYNOR Craig P 17.07.90 Commonwealth Health Perth Setvices

REYNOLDS Robert L 19.07.90 Aboriginal Sites Perth

Department, Western Australian Museum

RILEY Rob 01.08.90 Aboriginal Legal Setvice Perth

RILEY Rob 06.08.90 Former Head of Perth

Aboriginal Issues Unit-RCIADIC

RYAN Veronica 18.07.90 Catholic Education Perth

SANDERSON Kerry G 31.07.90 NDirector General Perth DepartmentofTransport

SEARCY Mary J 31.07.90 Christian Justice Perth

Association

SECKER Jeffrey 06.08.90 Prison Officers Union Perth

SHAWGregR 17.07.90 Commonwealth Health Perth Setvices

SIMPSON Terrence W 19.07.90 Department for Perth

Community Setvices

STEVEN Robert J 31.07.90 Executive Officer Perth

Department of Mines

STINGEMORE 01.08.90 General Secretary Police Perth Patrick J E Union

TRELOAR Mark P 20.07.90 Aboriginal & Torres Perth Strait Islander Commission

838

TYGUIN Rachel Gai 30.07.90 Director Aboriginal Perth Access Division Department of Employment & Training

VAN WHEELDON 30.07.90 Department of Perth

Nick Employment & Training

VINCENT Philip J 17.07.90 Department of Social Perth Security Appeals Tribunal

WEYGERS Peter H 17.07.90 President Council of Perth Civil Liberties

WILLIAMS Qifton 30.07.90 (Brought the Street Kids Perth into Hearing)

WILLIAMS Martina 30.07.90 Street Kids Perth

WILLIAMS Robert D 20.07.90 Aboriginal & Torres Perth Strait Islander Commission

WYATT Cedric 02.08.90 Commissioner AAP A Perth

WYATT Kenneth G 20.07.90 Aboriginal Health Snr Perth Policy Officer

JUBOYRoy 08.08.90 Community Member Loom a

KILLER Gerrard 08.08.90 Community Member Loom a

NAILONPaul 08.08.90 Community Member Loom a

SPINK Sandy 08.08.90 Community Member Loom a

WATSON Harry 08.08.90 Community Member Loom a

WATSON John 08.08.90 Community Member Loom a

WATSON Robert 08.08.90 Community Member Loom a

Please note that on a number of occasions, witnesses provided advice to the RCIADIC while representing different places and/or organisations : e.g. individuals recorded above may have identified as a 'community member' at one conference, and as a representative of, for instance, the

Aboriginal Legal Service, at another.

839

SUBMISSIONS TO COMMISSIONER DODSON'S COMMISSION

NUMBER NAME LOCATION STATE

bb so 601 ASHLEY, Len Figtree NSW

bb so 602 MORICH, Noel Perth WA

bbSO 603 GOODALL, Heather Sydney NSW

bbSO 604 DUGGAN, Ian Port Hedland WA

bb so 605 HOWARD, Naomi Onslow WA

bbSO 606 GRASSICK, Jean Peakhurst NSW

bb so 607 FLICK, Barbara Broome WA

bb so 608 PERTH Perth WA

TRANSCENDENTAL MEDITATION CENTRE

bbSO 610 CHRISTIAN BROTHERS Broome WA

bb so 611 TAYLOR, Benedict Perth WA

bb so 612 BARTON, David Kalbarri WA

bbSO 655 HAMMERSLEY IRON Dampier WA

bb so 657 RICHARDS, KJ Karratha WA

bb so 658 DEPARTMENT FOR Karratha WA

COMMUNITY SERVICES

bb so 659 MORAN, Kevin: Police Karratha WA

Supterintendent

bb S0660 WOODSIDE Roeboume WA

bb S0662 HARTMAN, Howard L Albany WA

bb S0664 WONTHELLA HOUSE Geraldton WA

WOMEN'S REFUGE INC

bb so 666 DEPARTMENT OF Kununurra WA

CONSERVATION AND LAND MANAGEMENT

bb so 667 BILLING, Julie Karratha WA

bb so 668 CATHOLIC CHURCH Broome WA

bb so 669 TRAVERS, Crispin Albany WA

bb so 670 RANGER, Margaret Gerald ton WA

bb so 671 GREEN, Susan Gerald ton WA

840

bbSO 672 DEPARTMENf OF Gerald ton WA

EMPLOYMENf AND TRAINING

bbSO 673 STELLA MARIS COLLEGE Gerald ton WA

bbSO 674 WILLA WAY, Nonna Gerald ton WA

bbSO 675 RYAN, Mamie Gerald ton WA

bbSO 676 KEARNEY,J A Gerald ton WA

bbSO 677 EAST CARNARVON Carnarvon WA

PRIMARY SCHOOL

bb so 678 CARNARVON EDUCATION Carnarvon WA SUPPORT CENTRE

bbSO 679 BOND, Jill H Carnarvon WA

bb so 680 DICKIE, Carlene Carnarvon WA

bb so 681 DICKIE, Carlene Carnarvon WA

bb so 682 SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY OF Carnarvon WA THE BAHA'IS

bb so 683 ST LUKE'S UNITING Carnarvon WA

CHURCH

bbSO 684 CONFIDENTIAL Ravensthorpe WA

bbSO 685 RANGEWA Y PRIMARY Gerald ton WA

SCHOOL

bbSO 686 MINISTRY OF SPORT & Carnarvon WA

RECREATION

bbSO 687 STJOHN AMBULANCE Carnarvon WA

ASSOCIATION

bb so 688 CATHOLIC EDUCATION Geraldton WA

OFFICE

bb so 689 DEPARTMENT OF Gerald ton WA

PLANNING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

bbSO 690 DEPARTMENT OF Gerald ton WA

EMPLOYMENT, EDUCATION AND TRAINING

bb so 691 PETTERSEN, Carol Albany WA

bbSO 692 O'CONNELL, Sheila Albany WA

bbSO 693 BOSTON, Chris Carnarvon WA

bb so 694 SCOTT, Karen Marie Broome WA

841

bbSO 695 JAMES, Jewess and Jimmy Wankatjunka WA Community

bb so 696 TIIOMAS, Sandy Wannun WA

bb so 697 AUSTRALIAN Surry Hills NSW

JOURNALISTS ASSOCIATION

bb so 698 GREAT SOUTHERN Albany WA

REGIONAL COLLEGE

bb so 699 KICKETI, Daryl and Perth WA

HAEBICH, Anna

bb S0700 CLARK, Bryan Carnarvon WA

bb so 701 SOCIETY OF ST VINCENT Kalgoorlie WA

DEPAUL

bb so 702 COLLINS, Laney & Jim Carnarvon WA

bb so 703 ASHLEY, Bret Mary River WA

bb S0704 BROOME DISTRICT Broome WA

HOSPITAL

bb so 705 LOGAN, Elizabeth Esperance WA

bb S0706 PEAC Kalgoorlie WA

bb S0707 KALGOORLIE DISTRICT Kalgoorlie WA

EDUCATION OFFICE

bb S0708 MINISTRY OF SPORT & Kalgoorlie WA

RECREATION

bb so 709 KALGOORLIE/BOULDER Kalgoorlie WA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

bb S0710 PARK VILLA SUPPORT Kalgoorlie WA

GROUP

bb so 711 BLYTH, J Noel Kalgoorlie WA

bb so 712 KALGOORLIE COLLEGE Kalgoorlie WA

bb so 713 NUNN, Pat Perth WA

bb so 714 QUARTERMAINE, Les Serpentine WA

bb so 715 BEDFORD, Doreen Perth WA

bb S0716 REMOTE AREA Perth WA

BROADCASTING -ABC

bb so 717 HARTLEY, John Perth WA

bb so 718 ABORIGINAL MEDIA Perth WA

LIAISON GROUP

842

bb so 719 SANTEN,Ron Perth WA

bbS0720 WHEATBELT ABORIGINAL Northam WA CORPORATION

bb so 721 DEPARTMENT OF Perth WA

CONSERVATION AND LAND MANAGEMENT

bb S0722 RITTER, Paul Perth WA

bbS0723 ABORIGINAL HOUSING Perth WA

BOARD

bbS0724 SMITH, Robert Perth WA

bb S0725 CHOO, Christine Perth WA

bbS0726 NORTHAM YOUTH Northam WA

OUTREACH

bbS0727 ABORIGINAL AFFAIRS WA

PLANNING AUTHORITY

bbS0728 GOLDEN WEST NETWORK Bun bury WA LIMITED

bbS0729 SHIRE OF BROOME Broome WA

bb S0730 COMMUNITY AID ABROAD Perth WA

bb so 731 BAPTIST ABORIGINAL Waikiki WA

MINISTRIES

bbS0732 CONFIDENTIAL Nullagine WA

bb so 733 ABORIGINAL WOMEN Narrogin WA

bb so 734 MARCHANT (Br) William Broome WA

bb so 735 HAEBICH,RG Fremantle WA

bb so 736 ABORIGINAL LEGAL East Perth WA

SERVICE OF WA (INC)

bbS0737 WA POLICE UNION OF Victoria Parle WA WORKERS

bb so 738 W A PRISON OFFICERS Perth WA

UNION

bbS0739 ABORIGINAL ISSUES Perth WA

UNIT (RCIADIC)

bbS0740 ABORIGINAL LEGAL East Perth WA

SERVICE OF WA (INC)

bb so 741 BREWER STREET East Perth WA

WELFARE RIGHTS & ADVOCACY SERVICE

843

bbS0742 TOWN OF PORT HEDLAND Port Hedland WA

bbSO 743 COOMBS (Dr) H C Casuarina Nf

bb S0744 TORRES, May Broome WA

bbS0745 THE COMMI'ITEE TO Perth WA

DEFEND BLACK RIGHTS

bbS0746 NULUNGU CATHOLIC Broome WA

COLLEGE

bb S0747 CONFIDENTIAL Broome WA

bb S0748 CONFIDENTIAL Broome WA

bb S0749 CONFIDENTIAL Broome WA

844

SUBMISSIONS TO UNDERLYING ISSUES DOCUMENT, WESTERN AUSTRALIA

NUMBER NAME LOCATION STATE

6/1/UI LEGAL AID COMMISSION Perth WA

OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA

6/2/UI YaGARNSHrnECOUNCa Southern WA

Cross

6/3/UI McLAREN,N De my WA

6/4/UI KELLY, Tony StLucia QLD

6/5/UI HARDWICK, Gil Perth WA

6/6/UI HUNTER, Ernest Wollstonecraft NSW

6fi/UI MINISTER ASSISTING THE Perth WA

MINISTER FOR ABORIGINAL AFFAIRS

6/8/UI BROWN, Ivan G Perth WA

6,.9/UI DEPARTMENT OF Perth WA

CORRECTIVE SERVICES -WESTERN AUSTRALIA

6/10/UI DEPARTMENT OF Perth WA

EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING

6/11/UI CITY OF FREMANTLE Perth WA

6/12/UI DEPARTMENT OF MtLawley WA

ABORIGINAL AND INTERCULTURAL STUDIES

6/13/UI LEGAL AID COMMISSION Perth WA

OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA

845

INTERVIEWS CONDUCTED ON BEHALF OF RCIADIC, WESTERN AUSTRALIA

NAME DATE LOCATION

ATKINSON, Dr David 10.02.90 Broome

ATKINSON, Dr David 22.04.90 Perth

BARR, Kelvin 16.03.90 Broome

BARTON, Peter 23.03.90 Albany

BEDFORD, Eric 03.04.90 Fitzroy Crossing

BENT, Hughie 03.04.90 Fitzroy Crossing

BIN SALLER, John 15.03.90 Broome

BLACK, Balfour Sgt. 19.07.90 Perth

BOOTH, John 07.07.90 Perth

BOURKE, Karina 27.03.90 Bun bury

BRIDGE, John 15.03.90 Broome

BROADHURST, Dr Rod 01.12.89 Perth

BUCHANAN, Betsy 17.01.90 Perth

BUMBLEBEE, Roy 28.06.90 Balgo

CANTRALL, Val 22.01.90 Roeboume

CARLOGERO, Carlo 01.12.89 Perth

CECIL, John 21.03.90 Albany

CHEVIS, Hugh 22.01.90 Karra1ha

CONDON, Adrian 26.01.90 Karra1ha

COOMBS, Dr HC 21.06.90 Broome

CORNISH, Glen 14.03.90 Perth

CRAWFORD, Fran 01.02.90 Broome

DANIELS, David 23.02.90 Roeboume

DARCY, Sandra 28.04.90 Broome

DA TTON, Mark 30.04.90 Perth

DAVEY, Stan 26.06.90 Darwin

DIY ARARN-BROWN, Ceilia D 04.12.89 Adelaide

EQUITY UNIT; ABORIGINAL 15.02.90 Perth

EDUCATION PIGGOTT, Anne GREEN, Oriel (And Other Members of the Group) FERNANDEZ, Francis 02.07.90 Mulan

FORBES, Cameron 15.02.90 Broome

FLICK, Joe 06.06.90 Darwin

GILL, Andrew 23.03.90 Albany

GILL, Mathew 28.06.90 Balgo

GORDON, Palmer 02.07.90 Billiluna

GOWER, Gary 17.03.90 Broome

GOWER, Wayne 14.03.90 Broome

GRAY, Dr Dennis 10.02.90 Broome

GRAY, Dr Dennis 24.05.90 Perth

GUNNING, Carol 16.03.90 Perth

HACKEIT, Annie 26.01.90 Roe bourne

HAMPTON, Margaret 04.12.89 Adelaide

HART, Bob 12.10.89 Roeboume

846

HAY, Dr Malcolm 17.01.90 Perth

HOARE, Ronald Peter (Major) 10.05.90 Broome

HOLT, (Const) Sally 19.07.90 Perth

HOWIE, Lorna 12.10.89 Roe bourne

HUNTER, Dr Ernest 27.09.89 Derby

HUNTER, Vic 12.06.90 Beagle Bay

HURRY, Glen 06.06.90 Darwin

IMBER, Rob 06.06.90 Broome

IRVINE, Steve 01.05.90 Broome

JACOBS, Alan 23.02.90 Roeboume

JACOBS, Kenny 23.02.90 Roeboume

JAMIESON, Gail 30.04.90 Esperance

JEWELL, Trevor 01.02.90 Perth

JOHNS, Julianne 02.07.90 Mulan

KICKEIT, Marian 30.04.90 Perth

LARKIN, Kevin 01.12.89 Perth

LEACH, Claudine 22.03.90 Katanning

LEE, Bede 28.06.90 Balgo

LEE, Leo 28.06.90 Balgo

LEE, Patricia 01.06.90 Balgo

LEHMAN,Ros 16.03.90 Roe bourne

LOGAN, Betty 30.04.90 Esperance

LOGAN, Elizabeth 30.04.90 Esperance

LOWE, Pat 21.02.90 Broome

LYE, Jeffrey 30.04.90 Perth

McLAREN, Dr Niall 13.03.90 Broome

McLAREN, Dr Niall 03.10.89 Broome

McLEOD, Don 27.06.90 Kununurra

McMAHON, Fr Michael 14.03.90 Broome

McRAE, Ian 23.01.90 Robe River,

Wickam

MAGNUS, Jim 19.03.90 Perth

MAY, Angela 05.12.89 Adelaide

MEADOWS, Sally 15.03.90 Broome

MOLONE, Prof John 21.03.90 Perth

MOTTER, Joy 09.11.89 Fitzroy Crossing

MOWRY, Dr Bryan 18.01.90 Perth

MUOn, Anthony 28.06.90 Balgo

NGUNGA WOMEN'S GROUP 16.01.90 Derby

ARMSTRONG, Maxine ROBERTS, Jean (And Other Members of the Group) NJAMME 11.06.90 Balgo

NOLAN, Mark 23.07.90 Perth

PENNINGTON, Bill 09.05.90 Broome

PENNINGTON, Bill 06.06.90 Darwin

PHILPOTT, Stuart 14.05.90 Broome

PLEY, Kees 03.05.90 Broome

PUERTOLLANO, John 14.03.90 Broome

RILEY, Dean 07.05.90 Perth

RIGNALL, Mort 22.01.90 Karratha

RILEY, Kevin & Beryl 25.05.90 Perth

RILEY, Peter 23.02.90 Karratha

847

RIVERS, Noel ROE, Joseph (Snr) & Eileen SEMPLE, Brian SHADFORTH, Brian SHEPHERD, Peter SMILER, Molly SMYTH, Chris SOLOMON, Roger SOMERVILLE, Fred SPARGO, Dr Randy STIBERC, Jan STEEL, Graham STEVENS, Pastor David SULLIVAN, Helen TCHOOGA, Jimmy THACkERA, Colin TRACEY, Tony & Beverley

WALKER, Gladys WEIGHfMAN, Llyrus WEST, Dot WHISSON, Lee WILLIAMS, Gina WILLIAMS, Jackie WILSON, Graham YOOMARIE, Stephen YOUNG, Dr Warren

848

15.03.90 23.05.90 26.06.90 27.03.90 03.04.90

12.09.90 21.03.90 23.02.90 01.12.89 27.09.89 26.01.90 28.03.90 24.01.90 09.11.89

11.06.90 29.11.89 14.05.90 23.02.90 22.01.90 26.06.90 26.01.90 27.03.90 28.06.90 23.05.90 02.07.90 01.02.90

Broome Broome Kununurra Broome Fitzroy Crossing Bidyadanga Perth Roeboume Perth Derby Roeboume Canberra Roeboume Fitzroy Crossing Balgo Perth Derby Roeboume Karratha Kununurra Karratha Bun bury Balgo Perth Mulan Swan View

6/Al/R 6/A2/R

6/A3/R

6/A4/R 6/AS/R 6/A6/R 6/Bl/R

6/Cl/R 6/C2/R 6/C3/R 6/C4/R 6/CS/R 6!C6!R 6/C7/R 6/C8/R 6/El/R 6/E2/R 6/E3/R 6/E4/R

6/ES/R 6/Gl/R 6/Hl/R

6/H2/R 6/H3/R 6/H4/R 6/HS/R 6/Jl/R 6/Ll/R 6/L2/R 6/Ml/R 6/M2/R 6/P2/R 6/P3/R 6/P4/R 6/PS/R 6/Rl/R

6/Sl/R 6/S2/R 6{fl/R 6{f2/R

6{f3/R 6/Wl/R 6/Y2/R

EXHIBITS

AAPA ABORIGINAL LEGAL SERVICE OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA (INC) ABORIGINAL SPORT AND RECREATION ASSOCIATION OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA (INC)

ALCOHOL AND DRUG AUTHORITY ATSIC ABORIGINAL AFFAIRS, MINISTER FOR BUILDING MANAGEMENT AUTHORITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA CAMPAIGN FOR PREVENTION OF CUSTODIAL DEATH COMMITTEE TO DEFEND BLACK RIGHTS CHILDREN'S COURT OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA COMMISSIONER FOR ADMINISTRATIVE INVESTIGATIONS COMMUNITY SERVICES, DEPARTMENT FOR CORRECTIVE SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF COUNCIL FOR CIVIL LIBERTIES CROWN LAW DEPARTMENT EDUCATION OFFICE, CATHOLIC EDUCATION, MINISTRY OF EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING, DEPARTMENT OF EMPLOYMENT, EDUCATION AND TRAINING, DEPARTMENT OF, EQUAL OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION GOVERNMENT HOUSE

HEALTH (ABORIGINAL HEALTH POLICY), SUB-COMMITTEE OF REVIEW HEALTH DEPARTMENT OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA HEALTH SERVICES, COMMONWEALTH HOMESWEST HOUSING BOARD, ABORIGINAL JUSTICES, ROYAL ASSOCIATION OF LAW REFORM COMMISSION OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA LOCAL DEVELOPMENT, DEPARTMENT MINES, DEPARTMENT OF MUSEUM, WESTERN AUSTRALIAN POLICE DEPARTMENT, WESTERN AUSTRALIA POLICE UNION OF WORKERS, WESTERN AUSTRALIAN PREMIER, OFFICE OF PRISON OFFICERS UNION, WESTERN AUSTRALIAN REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT & THE NORTH WEST,

DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SECURITY, APPEALS TRIBUNAL SOCIAL SECURITY, DEPARTMENT OF T AFE (Technical and Further Education) TOURISM COMMISSION TRANSPORT, DEPARTMENT OF W ACAE (Western Australian College of Advanced Education)

YOUTH LEGAL SERVICE

849

,,

APPENDIX 3

Historical Chronology

(see Chapter 2)

851

HISTORICAL CHRONOLOGY

SOME OF THE MAJOR HISTORICAL EVENTS, COMMONWEALTH AND

STATE GOVERNMENT LEGISLATIVE ADMINISTRATIVE AND POLICY

CHANGES RELEVANT TO ABORIGINAL ISSUES IN WESTERN

AUSTRALIA.

This list primarily refers to the State, except with regard to matters concerning

relevant Commonwealth legislation. This list is not exhaustive and needs to be

read in conjunction with Chapter 2. Its main aim is to provide an immediate

overview of the background from which this Royal Commission has emerged.

Prior to colonisation, it is significant to observe that Aboriginal people occupied

and traversed what is now known as Western Australia for at least 40,000 years.

1658 Exploration of the south-west of Western Australia by the Dutch.

1791 Exploration ofWestem Australia by the British.

1803 Exploration of Western Australia by the French.

1826 Further exploration of the south-west of Western Australia by the British.

1829 Colonisation of Western Australia by the British. Governor Stirling establishes the 'Swan River Colony'.

1830 Aboriginal 'Protectors' appointed (usually men drawn from the colonial police ranks).

1833 Yagan shot and killed near Perth, and his smoked head removed and placed on public exhibition in England.

1835 The Pinjarra massacre. Punitive exhibition led by Governor Stirling.

1840 Colonial government issues direction that Aboriginal peo ple should not be admitted to town areas.

1841 Rottnest Island Prison (for men only) established.

853

1848 New Norcia Mission, in the south-west, established.

1854 Role of 'Protectors' temporarily abolished.

1878 Busselton Mission established.

1883 Royal Commission established to inquire into the 'treatment of Aboriginal prisoners'. This was chaired by John Forrest and later became known as the 'Report of the Select Committee' or the 'Forrest Report'.

1884 Ord River Station established - first pastoral property in East Kimberley.

1885 Finding of gold at Halls Creek.

1886 The Aborigines Protection Board established, under the 'Aborigines Protection Act (1886)'. Powers of the Act enable regulation and control over entire Aboriginal population in Western Australia.

Gold Rush to Halls Creek.

1888 First recorded Massacre in East Kimberley.

1889 Section 70 introduced into the Constitution. Section provided for 1% of gross revenue to be 'appropriated to the welfare of the Aboriginal natives'.

1890 Western Australia attains self-government. British government continues to maintain control over Aboriginal affairs.

1890 Premier John Forrest attempts to repeal Section 70 of the Constitution. (The repeal of this Section remains a point of controversy today).

Beagle Bay Mission established, by the Catholic Church, in the Kimberley.

1894 Windjana Gorge Rebellion. The capture of Jandamarra, otherwise known as Pigeon in the Kimberley.

1897 Pigeon, leading others, carries out an attack on the Oscar Range Homestead in the Kimberley. Pigeon dies during the attack.

1901 Horseshoe Creek Massacre.

1904 First Royal Commission into Aboriginal conditions. Commission headed by Dr W.E. Roth from Queensland.

854

1905 Government fails to take up some of Roth's more significant findings. The Aborigines Protection Act (1905) enacted. Act legalises removal of Aboriginal children from their natural families; encourages establishment of reserves and missions; role of Protectors reintroduced; Aborigines prohibited from towns; cohabitation of Aboriginal women and non-Aboriginal men prohibited.

1906 Alfred Canning, a surveyor, appointed to lead a survey party to locate and map stock route from the southern Kimberley to Wiluna in the Gascoyne.

1908 Royal Commission to Inquire into the Treatment of Natives by the Canning Exploration Party. Commission headed by C.F. Gale. Commission findings fail to be treated seriously.

1908 The 'Lock Hospital Scheme', on Dorre and Bernier Islands, established as locations where Aboriginal women and men, believed to be suffering venereal disease, could be taken and isolated.

1910 Moola Bulla Native Settlement established in the East Kimberley.

1912 Punitive expedition in the East Kimberley, led by Sergeant Pilmer.

Violet Valley Reserve established.

1913 Carrolup Mission established in the south-west.

1914- Around 300 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men and 1918 women serve in the First World War.

1915 A.O. Neville appointed Chief Protector of Aborigines. Mistake Creek Massacre.

1918 Oosure of the hospitals on Dorre and Bernier Islands.

1921 United Aborigines Mission established at Mt Margaret in the Goldfields.

1926 Forrest River Massacre.

1927 Royal Commission, into the massacre of eleven Aboriginal people in 1927, established. Referred to as the 'Wood' Commission.

1928 Gnowerangerup Mission established in the south-west.

1933 United Aborigines Mission established at Warburton in the Goldfields.

855

1934 Royal Commission headed by H.D. Moseley established. Commission to consider 'Aboriginal problem'. Recommendations find expression in the Native Adminstration Act (1936).

1934 Sister Kate's Children's Home, located on the outskirts of Perth, established.

1936 Native Adminstration Act (1936) enacted. Extends powers of 1905 Act. Chief Protector given comprehensive control over entire Aboriginal population.

'Native Courts' established through the insertion of Section 59d. Allows no rights of appeal, and fails to recognise Aboriginal Law. Only 25 cases heard through this system.

1937 First conference, of Commonwealth and State bodies concerned with Aboriginal matters, held in Canberra.

Moore River/Mogumber Mission established in the south-west.

1938 Roelands Mission, near Collie, established by the Church of Christ.

1939 Balgo Hills Mission established by the Catholic Church in the Kimberley.

1939- Around 3,850 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men and 1945 women serve in the Second World War.

1940 F.I. Bray, succeeding A.O. Neville, is appointed Commisioner of the Department of Native Affairs.

Violet Valley people disperse to other stations when a new manager attempts to shoot one of them.

1941 Commonwealth Child Endowment payment extended to children of 'detribalised' parents.

In December 1941 with a labour shortage due to the war, Bray instructed police officers to ensure that as many Aborigines as possible were to be employed. Aborigines who refused to work were to be removed to a 'native settlement' where they would be 'disciplined' until placed in employment.

1942 In September, the Army formalised its control over Western Australian Aborigines by passing a proclamation under National Security Regulations requiring employed Aborigines over the age of 14 to be issued with a 'Military Permit'. Permits were written in either red or black, with red indicating the bearer was believed to be 'subversive', black indicating 'trustworthy'.

856

1943 Commonwealth invalid and old age pensions and maternity allowance extended to Aboriginal people holding 'Exemption' Certificates.

By August, the Anny planned to lift the restrictions it had imposed by the pennit system. Though many pastoralists objected to the controls when first imposed, some now sought to extend them. ·

1944 Natives (Citizenship Rights) Act (1944) enacted. Allows for 'citizenship rights' to Aboriginal people who could prove, among other things, that they had adopted a 'civilised life', were not suffering from leprosy or syphilis, could speak and understand English, and were 'reasonably capable of managing' their own affairs.

Commonwealth Unemployment and Sickness Benefits extended to 'detribalised natives' living in European conditions.

Wandering Mission established in the south-west.

1945 Education Department in Western Australia theoretically assumes responsibility for Aboriginal Education.

1946 First Aboriginal strike in the Pilbara.

General Farm Hands A ward includes a clause to allow for the employment of less efficient Aboriginal workers at below award wages.

Jigalong Mission established, by the Aborigines Rescue Mission (Pentecostal) in the Pilbara.

1948 A Perth Magistrate, F.E.A. Bateman, appointed to undertake of survey ofAboriginal matters.

General government support for assimilation following Bateman's recommendations.

S.G. Middleton appointed as 'Commissioner of Native Affairs'. Middleton encourages assimilationist policies and their implementation.

Education becomes compulsory for Aboriginal children between the ages of six and fourteen years.

1950 Cundelee Mission established by the Australian Aborigines Evangelical Mission in the Goldfields.

1951 Carrolup Native Settlement closed.

857

1952 United Aborigines Mission established at Fitzroy Crossing, in the Kimberley.

1953 United Aborigines Mission established at Cosmo Newberry in the Goldfields.

1954 The Native Welfare Act (1954) enacted. The Act fails to give Aboriginal people full citizenship rights, and continues to allow for the removal of children.

Aboriginal people legally allowed to enter town areas.

Commonwealth Social Services Consolidation Act (1954) also introduced. Act denies the granting of any form of pension or maternity allowance to any person who was 'more than one half Aboriginal .. .'

1955 La Grange Mission established by the Catholic Church in the Kimberley.

1955 Moola Bulla Native Settlement abandoned. Aboriginal residents re-located to Fitzroy Crossing.

1958 Report of the Gare Special Committee on Native Matters (with particular reference to adequate finance).

1959 Department of Native Welfare introduces its three stage housing programme.

1960 Aboriginal people become elegible for Commonwealth benefits, pensions and allowances on the same basis as non-Aboriginal people, unless they are considered 'nomadic' or 'primitive'.

South-west Native Mission established.

1961 Aboriginal people become entitled to vote through introduction of Section 41 of the Commonwealth Constitution. Voting not compulsory.

1963 Native Welfare Act (1963) provides for cooperation between the Department of Native Welfare and the State Housing Commission aimed at developing housing improvements for Aboriginal people.

Policy of 'transitional housing' becomes entrenched government policy.

1964 Drinking rights granted to Aboriginal people in the south-west through the repeal of Section 150 of the Licensing Act of 1911.

858

1965 Federal Pastoral Industry Award amended theoretically providing for Aboriginal people to receive the same rate of pay as non-Aborigines.

1965 Gnowangerup Agricultural School for Aboriginal boys opened.

1967 National referendum conducted. Section 127 of the Constitution repealed. Commonwealth Government given the power to legislate in relation to Aboriginal matters.

1968 Federal Pastoral Industry A ward amendment sanctioned, theoretically, allowing for 'equal wages fo r equal work' .

Home-maker service established, to provide assistance to Aboriginal families through the Department of Community Welfare.

1969 Commonwealth Government's Aboriginal Study Grant Scheme established.

1970 Commonwealth Government's Aboriginal Secondary Grant Scheme established.

1971 Housing provided in Western Australia sufficient to accommodate about 5% of Aboriginal population. Section 130, which replaced Section 150 repealed, allowing Aboriginal people throughout the State to consume alcohol.

1972 Change of Government at Federal level.

Labor government starts providing assistance to the States and Territory aimed at 'upgrading' the standard of living and education of Aborigines.

State Parliament passes legislation which abolishes the Department of Native Welfare. Functions of that Department succeeded by the Aboriginal Affairs Planning Authority (AAPA) (established by Aboriginal Affairs Planning Authority Act 1972), the Department of Community Welfare (established by the Community Welfare Act 1972) and the State Housing Commission.

The AAPA given role to coordinate government activities in relation to Aboriginal matters, to act in advisory role to the Minister, and to administer the Aboriginal Lands Trust (ALT).

859

1972 Government introduces the Aboriginal Heritage Act (1972), giving the Western Australian Museum, through the Department of Aboriginal Sites, the responsibility to protect areas of cultural significance to Aboriginal people.

Department of Aboriginal Affairs (DAA) instituted at a Federal level.

Concept of 'self-determination' developed as policy by Federal Labor Government. No structures established to support the policy.

1973 National Aboriginal Consultative Committee (NACC) established.

The first Aboriginal Medical Service established in Western Australia. This was located in Perth.

Closing of dormitories in Kimberley Catholic Missions for Aboriginal community children.

1974 Royal Commission headed by L.C. Furnell. Brief to look into all concerns 'affecting the wellbeing of persons of Aboriginal descent in Western Australia'.

Federal Government introduces the Aboriginal Land Fund Act (1974).

1975 Liberal Government assumes power over Federal Labor Government. Constitutional crisis allowing for Liberal Government to govern Australia.

Federal Liberal Government alters 'self-determination' policy to one of 'self-management'. No structures established to support the policy.

Royal Commission into matters surrounding the trial of Baymis Ugle.

1975 The Laverton Joint Study Group established to look into an 'incident' between Aboriginal people and police in Laverton, 1974. Also known as the 'Skull Creek' incident.

Aboriginal Legal Service established in Western Australia.

860

1976 The Laverton Royal Commission established. Only two recommendations made by Commission acted on by government.

Inquiry into NACC. Recommendations to alter structure and type of representation. Establishment of Strelley Community School.

1977 National Aboriginal Conference (NAC) established as result of 1976 Inquiry.

1978 Aboriginal Housing Board established in Western Australia.

Aboriginal Child Care Agency established. Establishment of Kulkarriya Community School.

1979 Aboriginal Communities Act (1979) proclaimed, allowing certain Aboriginal communities to control community affairs.

1980 The Noonkanbah controversy. State Government overrides Heritage Act legislation, allowing for mining exploration to proceed over an area of cultural significance to the Yungngora people at Noonkanbah in the Kimlerley.

Federal Government alters the Land Fund Act (1974) to the Aboriginal Development Commission (1980).

The State's 'Children in Limbo Report', commissioned by the Department of Community Welfare, observes that Aboriginal children account for 57% of all children 'in care' Two-thirds of those children had been placed with non-Aboriginal care-givers.

Signing of agreement between Argyle Diamond Mine and the Mandangala Aboriginal Community.

Establishment ofNyoongah Aboriginal Community School.

Establishment of Christian Aboriginal Parent-Directed School at Coolgardie.

1982 Establishment of Yiyili Community School at Louisa Downs.

1983 Newly elected State Labor Government institutes the 'Aboriginal Land Inquiry', headed by Mr Paul Seaman, Q.C. Inquiry asked by Government to make 'recommendations for a scheme of legislation for land related measures for the benefit of Aboriginal people in this State'.

1984 The Aboriginal Land Inquiry submits Final Report to State Government. Inquiry's findings rejected by government.

861

1985 The National Aboriginal Conference, the only Aboriginal elected body with direct access to government, disbanded, with the promise that a new structure, to grant greater powers to Aboriginal people, will be established to replace the NAC.

State Government recommendations regarding Aboriginal land, fmd expression in the Aboriginal Land Tenure Bill (1985).

Bill defeated in Upper House and does not become legislation.

1986 First Aboriginal Commissioner, a woman, appointed to head the AAPA.

1987

Wandering Mission returned, by the Catholic Church, to members of the Southern Aboriginal Corporation.

Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody established at a National level. Also known as the 'Muirhead Commission'.

1988 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody established at a State level.

Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody produces Interim Report.

Also known as the 'Muirhead Report'.

Findings and recommendations provided to State Government also in 1988. Also known as the 'Vincent Report'.

ATSIC Bill introduced into Parliament.

1989 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody appoints Patrick Dodson as Commissioner for Western Australia to consider 'Underlying Issues'.

Aboriginal Issues Unit established, to assist the Dodson Commission. Unit headed by Rob Riley.

Nyungars establish camp at area known as the Brewery, in order to protect place of cultural significance against government insistence on development of the area.

1990 ATSIC becomes formalised, and five interim Commissioners appointed by the Minister. Department of Aboriginal Affairs and the Aboriginal Development Commission absorbed under ATSIC umbrella.

Supreme Court rules in favour of Nyungar community with regard to protection of Brewery site, taking into account the necessity to observe 'natural justice'.

862

APPENDIX 4

ALS Research Paper 4 survey form

(see Section 5.3.2)

863

DRAFT OF BLE SHEET ANQ INFORMATION FORM

R.EOO

AOORESS:STREET TOWN._ ______ .

POST. . POSTCODE._ ...

A.uGEr:__ __ _uPAlE OF __ _ .MALE/ FEMAlE

ORIGIN.·-·················-··········.towrJ commutVty I reserve I outstation I other

FAMILY TYPE: single male I single female I single parenv couple/ couple & children I extended family/ other

INCOME. TYPE: C.O.E.P./ unemployment benefit I wage I invafld pension I aged pension/ other/ supporting parenv none

SERVICE REQUIRED: criminal/ civiV family I financial/ community/other

CRIMINAL:

DETAlSOf()ffBI(E_ _________ __ ______ ·--·-·--·-··--------·--·-

cxxm: PLA.uCEr:__ __________ -·-··---·--··- ··---

COURT TYPE: supreme I district/ petty sessions I J.P.

HEARD BY: judge/ judge & jury I magistrate I 2 J.P's. I 1 J.P's.

HEARING DATE: I REMAND DATE I

COURT REPORTS REQUESTED: comm. corrections I medical! other

BAl. YIN FYES-DETAILS-------··---------·----·-······-··-·······----·-----···

IF NO· .TNE IN CUSTODY----··- ···-·--···- --···-········-···-·············-·--·- ·-·····

PLEA ENTERED: .guilty /not .guilty

OUTCOME: acquittal/ conviction/ dismissed as trivial

OUTCOME DETAILS: j:W time--- frle amcx.rt,__ _____ other -·-·-···-·········-····-prOOa!ion time amount, ....... -·······-·-··-·-commlllity service order , time __ .................. _no peralty

REFERRALS TO OTHER AGENCIES: alcohol rehab I med psych. /med general/ welfare/ soc.sec I community i other

CLOSE DATE: I I

865

APPENDIX 5

Mission Lands Report recommendations

(see Section 6.4.1)

867

d*'i'&'illTIOIS

iECOKXEID!TIOI OlE:

a> Tbat freehold land now held in trust for !borigiul purposes by lllissiou

bodies be to the incorporated Aborigiul eo.munities resident on

the land in tru&t for the use and benefit of the Aboriginal inhabitants.

bl Tbat land held. by Jli.sion bodies in lease-hold be surrendered in favour of 99 year leases STILilted to the incorporated !borigiDAl COIIIIIIUni tieS resident on the land.

c> If communities have a need for freehold land origiully purchased by 1111ssion bodies that the Govenment purchaae these lud.s on the basis of their

current value whilst d.educting the contribution 112lde by Aboriginal labour and public funds tONards their developaent.

dl Tbat the JlissiODS retain those portions of land upon which Church'15u1ldings are for 'Church purposes•- 1f that is the desire of the resident

Aborigiul co .. nuty.

e> That the State and Commonwealth Governments jointly initiate and facilitate negotiations between the lllissions and the communi ties to effect these changes. The 'basis for negotiations should be the history of the lands and the Aboriginal communities thereon and the respective needs of the parties.

RECOXXEJDATIOI TWO:

That in the event of negotiations failing to provide a satisfactory settlement, undeveloped Xission lalld presently in Church control be resumed or be subject to other legal action uDder the Land .let for the purpose of Aboriginal settlement.

RECOKXEIDATIOI TD.EE:

a> That in consul tat ion w1 th the ties concerned the State and Federal

Governments sponsor ud. facilitate negotiations between the f1 ve Catholic Iilllberley eollllll.lni ties and the Bishop of Broome directed t..o effecting the transfers referred to in Recommendation one .

b> That should the Church desire compensation or a consideration by way of an interest in land this should not be made from land dedicated to Aboriginal purposes.

RECOKXEID!TIOI FO'O"R:

In pursuance of recommendation one

proposals for the five Catholic Kimberley communities referred to, which are based upon, and consistent w1 th, their recent respectively expressed needs, be pursued.

869

BALGO: The Bishop has ind.icated that he is willing to handover the shaded area ou the Balgo Bills Aboriginal mp . This

excludes the school buildings, bAsketball court, recreation oval, store alld. bakery. The area be retil.illed by the Church should be confined to Church

buildings to be in accord. with the co-..nity's wishes. It is therefore

that .the Bishop retain the checkered areas on the Balga Jlills

Aboriginal Co.-unity mp in freehold for •Church purposes• .

UL111B01ro: The freehold. for •Church purposes- retained by the Biahop should be witllin the .area checkered on the Kalu:aburu mp confined. to the lli&&ion buildings •iz; the Church, convent and .,nastery yet exclusiY& of

busine&& prelllises, the llllrket garden and other firtures. that the

eschange of land. proposed by the Church be not approYed. Any land conte11plate<1 to be grllnted. to· the Church by WilY of exchange should not be zde froa lan<1

de<1icated to Aboriginal purposes.

LA GiAJGB: It is reco111111end.ed that the Bishop retain the area checkered. on the La Grans.e Aboriginal Commni ty zp for •Church purposes•. The Church buildings outside this llr&a coul<1 be sub-leased to the Church ll period consistent with the lifetime of the buildings, with a vtew to their later

relocation within the Church area.

BliAGLi RAY : It is reco..ended that the area checkered. on the Beagle Bay Aboriginal Couaunity map be retained by the Bishop in freehold for

•church purposes•: The remaind.er of Locations 6, 5, 7, and 8 should be

tnnsferred to the Beagle Bay Aboriginal Community in trust for the use and

benefit of the Aboriginal inhabitants of Beagle Bay.

LOXBAD I I.A.: It is reco111111ended. that the area checkered on the Lombad.ina map be retained by the Bishop in freehold for •church purposes• . The reminder of Location 25 should be transferred to the Djarindj in Aboriginal Corporation in trust for the use and benefit of the use an<1 benefit of the

Aboriginal inhabitants.

RECOMXE!DATIOI FIVE:

al That a training course for CoDDUnity Advisers be established at a tertiary institution in Western Australia. This course should provide training in relevant academic llreas such as management, accounting, law llnd anthropology but also Instruct advisers in the operation of government agencies and how to best use them to the communities' advantage . Community councillors should also be encouraged to take the course as a means of enhancing self­

llllnagemen t .

bl That the emplo}'lllent of mission personnel as CollllDUni ty Advisers l:le

discouraged .

870

RECOKXEIDATIOI SII:

That the Commonwealth subsidise a Chaplaincy system to provide solely religious and spiritual services; This would be conditional upon

ll A CODDUDity being at least 200 kilometres from any town.

2> The mjori ty of the CODDUDi ty requesting the ertension of the scheme to

their co_,nity.

3> The &ehe• ouly being available followill8 transfer of lauds frl!ely and

without charge to the as per iecollllllendation one, and be on a

temporary basis only.

RECOXXEJDATIOI SEVEI:

al That au Aboriginal laud section be established within the Department of Laud Administration to carry out the work eDBnating from the applications

processed by the Aboriginal Lands Trust and Aboriginal ... Planning

Authority and that Aboriginal in the section be assured.

bl That the selection criteria !or the of the section include

preferably legal ezperience and a -nowledge and interest in Aboriginal affairs.

cl That the section liaise and work closely with the AborigillAl Lands Trust

the Aboriginal Affairs Planning Authority, and the Aboriginal Sites

Departllent of the Vest Australian Xuseum.

RECOJIXEIDATIOI EIGHT

That the leases granted by the Aboriginal Lands Trust to Aboriginal ties

be fully exaDined with a view to ensuring that they provide security of tenure at least co-nsurate with that of a Crown lease issued under the Land Act .

RECOXKEIDATIOI IIIE:

!hat a pilot schellll! be established incorporating individual land tenure and individual control and operation of enterprises at a suitable, and consenting community to ascertain whether a new economic .model based upon individual tenure can be successfully adopted by Aboriginal communi ties.

RECOII!E1lD!TIOI TEl:

That a programme of educational workshops be devised to acquaint _ Aboriginals with workings of Local and benefits accruing from participation in

Local Government.

871

RECOJOIEJDATIOI' liLEVEI':

That, in consultation with the co.-unities concerned the Xinister for Defence be approached to arrange for Engineers to be made available to construct aU­ weather roads to Beagle Bay, Lo11badina, One Arll Point, Pantijan, Ialumburu, Balgo and OollbulgurrL

RECOlOOii'DATIOI' TYELVE:

That the Forestry Department be asked to establish trial plots of trees likely to do well in the Killberley envirol1lll!nt and to be econollically viable there. It is suggested that an area of Crown Land that appears ellinently sui table exists on the banks of the Lower Ord River ou the northwestern side of Ivauhoe station.

Here soils should be satisfactory as the area was an old agricultural sub­

di visiou. It is understood that this land is idle because of iufestation by a

noxious weed but afforestation of this area llight well help the eradication sehelll!.

RECOXXEI'DAT I OJ' THIRTEEI:

That there be a review of station managemeut education, looking in particular at provision of formal agricultural courses and formal on the job trainiug on

particular properties.

RECOJOOiJDATIOI' FOunEEI:

It is recommeuded that the Fisheries Act be ameuded so that Aborigines may be perllli tted to dry-shell for lll)ther of pearl.

Although trochus is already being fished further actiou is necessary to increase the return to Aborigines, including:

a> Research being undertaken to cultivate trochus to a predator-safe stage for seeding reefs.

b> A boat being made available to safely use and extend the fishing area.

c> Other sea products being developed to maxilllise the returns fro11 the reef areas.

RECOXXEJDATIOll' FIFTEEll' :

That the following econolllic projects and others be investigated and where appropriate supported by Government !lalllely: tourism, tropical horticulture, camels, crocodile farlling, forestry, trochus shell and other marine products.

872

JEO)JOIEJDATIOI SIITEEI:

Tbat training courses for Aboriginals be sponsored by Governaeut in skills which yield higher wage returAS rather thaA in akills which •rely eater to basic ty needs. In the liaberley region such skills could include •at works,

pearl1ug, construction and plant operation.

873

APPENDIX 6

Copy of Kanparrmi community's submission

concerning 'living area excision'

(see Section 6.4.2)

875

RE1 KANPARRHI COMMUNITY (MELON HOLE)

LAN() CLAIM ON GOGO STATION

24.10 . 1990

A meeting was held on discussion of the above land claim between the following people1

Sandy Cox Dinah Cox Lizzie Cox Kogolo/Nuggett

Amy Nuggett Joy Nuggett Sandra Nuggett Ci&&ie Nuggell Helen Wv!NIIariar Melba Lenmardie

At the meeting we talked about the cJ.aim and wha t hess been happening so far.

An initial claim for. land on Gogo Station has been made sometime in 1984.

It was the idea of Sandy Cox and other members of the family who

reside at Bayulu Community, to have a family block.

Sandy said at the meeting how things have started . During that

stage EXIM, a Government body was the intjal when the claim

was put through. lie had spoken to the owner requesting some land

near Jilliyardi/Melon Hole area. EXIM's reply to the group was that the land there was not available because it was a flood prone area.

They requested that Sandy look at another area. Then again the

group decided to look at Melon Hole, a site near San Mi9uel bore.

This was selected as a good place by the family because of it's

closeness to very significant cultural ties. Nguyumpul is very

special dreaming place of the spirit child . White men have called

this place One This place is very special to our

immediate families, as we have very close connections to that

particulor place, not only for that, but for other reasons too. eg.

Our families ·have lived and hunted in thc!!t area and saw the place as being special and very import<!lnt even to th i :o; day •

.JJ.J..Ll.yoral l.::o "' •p•oanl. It. i.e rt 11..-r•..,m i na .olacc of a

a big goanna that came to the living pool. The story of

Pangnganu is being told to alol of people today.

Jill iyardi is al5o recogt,ised as a very spec i al place to the Nugget t

family, due to the death of one o£ their family members in 1974.

Also most of the people still use this plecc as a camping and

hunting area and teach their children hunting a nd c ultural s k i l ls

and talk about the drellming <1reas.

There has been no

station was put up for selc.

to the. Jilliyar d i

Stil l no response .

877

cl <'l i m. 'l'h en t h e

-7.-

Sandy again approached the station manager. Still no action

The group had written a letter to Gogo's General Manager, Jim

Coulthard requesting land. Sandy received no response and we

believe that there was a breakdown of conwnunication between the

General Manager and the f.XIM owners. Then the station was sold. to a Mr Harry Harris and his brothers. Jim Coulthard was still at. the

station . He most probably contacted the EXJM owners about our land claim, and then got back to Sandy advising him to wait for the new

private owners to decide, again. Jim Coul-thard advised Sandy to

wait and see what the new owners thought. All along there has been

nothing solved or discussed. Sandy again contacted Ray Blackwood of the Aboriginal J.ands Trust in J

There has been no repsonse trom him.

Sandy again wrote a let tcr to Ernie Bridge and Carmen l,awrcnce in

Perth in regards to our claim.

Letters of response have been received. Advising our group to

communicate and build a good relationship with the station people and discuss our claim with them, and that the ALT will assist. Sandy approached Jim Coulthard and spoke to him about having a

IIIAAting with our group. Jim - stated to him that he was busy and

didn't have time lu have o 1110et:1.ng with 1 he grouo. Jim sug!JARtP.d

that Sandy wait and talk to the new owners the Harris brothers. In reference to ALT, Ray Blackwood, there has been a lack of

communication between him and no support given . to the group in

reference to the larul claim.

On 1/9/90 a meeting was organised by AAPA to discuss the Donald's Bore land claim with the owner Harry Harris. ht 9t00am Sandy Cox, Annette Kogolo and Robert Kogolo along with Barry Taylor - from AhPA and others fr.om Water Authority and Rob Imber from the local

Aboriginal Resource agency in Fit?.roy Crossing drove to the station to meet with Harry Harris. He was not there he was out mustering at

Ruins bore. We decided to drive out find him. He was not to be

found. So we finally drove back and sited the block at

Rore, without Harry's presence. Then we returned home.

h meeting between AAPA and other parties MWW and Water Authority had been organised for Monday 3/9/90 with the owner Harry Harris to

discuss the on the map.

Harry - said that after the discussion, he would organise with Sandy lu go out t.o t:ta ....... .....

Sandy - said that Harry did not go to the site selected ou the map.

They went half way past the bore: I pointed out the particular site

to him, he said "that there j s no road to the block•. llarry didn't

take any notice of it. He decided to drive back.

Harry to that Murray Rillabong is a suitable plQce,

That aren is okay , because it's close to community.

878

-3-

Sandy like the idea. He saw that the area was not good.

It's too close to the other community. But sandy kept this in mind.

Sandy - tal ked to his family members about his td.p out to the block

and said that Harry didn't tlllke any notice. Nor had Harry Harris an understanding of the exact site mentioned at the meeting on 3/9/90.

Sandy then took Amy, Dinah and Helen to site the area Harry had suggested. All saw that it was too close to Bayulu. Then they came

back and mentioned it to the other members of the family, to see if

that area is suitable.

This was discussed again. The other members stated that they haven't been to the site and it was very hard to decide. Everyone

decided thatt

Opti.on (1) Donald's Bore was first priority. available, if not availlllble then, If land was

Option (2) Murray Billabong - was okay and suitable thio is because the site is a bit further away from Bayulu Community and as tHis was suggested by Harry as a suitable place then theres no point arguing about it. At least we have a block to settle down. Otherwise it

will take a very long time to get land.

Harry Harris should really have discussed the site with our group and told us why Donald's Bore is

Donald's Bore if suitable was suggested by the family that it wbs an idc:al ploce it is a long way from the other community the

reason for this is that the local cou.nunity wo living in is

having a lot of problems. There i.s not enough communication between the two tribal groups and infighting is developing in the village.

We are a group of Walmajarri people, seeing ourselves as one family group, living together and supporting each other. We are scared that the other group are very strong· in bringing alcohol to Bayulu.

The old people in our family stated that they have seen communities developing and have not progressed mainly because of joint running of community businesses by different friba! groups.

We would like to set up a community for. young members of our family and have them develop it more strongly, and also teach them to develop it more strongly, and also teach them our traditional/cultural skills in our own community. We know tlu:sl our chj have- received a good educ.!ltion and have

held high employment in the community and ulh•r non

Aboriginal departments. We have been very clDse living tnqether ir one section of Bayulu Community. We strongly feel that we can livE oru.l worl< tng"'thP!r as a family group.

We are very strong in disciplining our younq people when they "re dlsuoeyl.uy community nrles. Our young people are looking forward qetting a piece of land so that they duv•lop it for their own

future children. We would rather see them building up their tutur

879

-4-

Tho young people see that getting a piece of land .is very important. we have seen communities developed, and most of them are having problems developing themselves because of lack of communication and support. We would like to see our children have a good nights sleep, so that they can start off with a good feeling at school,

teach them tradi.tional skills as we did from our parents, help them to live together and have a good community whero they, in turn, teach their own chjldren.

SANDY COX'S STORY

I Sandy Cox lived on Gogo Station 1950.

Since that time I was employed as a station handy man. The work I

was doing on the station was putting up feuces, tanks,

troughs, and other things eg. development of the station,

building the homestead, mainly worked closely with Stan Webb who is still employed by the station. I am now living on Bayulu Community since the development of the communjty.

I would like to be recognised by the station owners on what developments have occurred on the station during those years since J9S0/74. These are the years I worked at Gogo.

I mycolf feel. that I h.avt:' "PP.n <.ogo station as mv traditional

country. I feel that the new station owners should look at my

application for land favourably and feel that the community I can build and develop is a better uue for my family.

I have seen a lot of things developing in other plus heve

supported my local. community ;n

Bayulu Community is part of Gogo Station. This community i$ made up of two tribal language groups, Gooniyondi and Walmajarri.

Family find it difficult to cope with problems associated with this tribal situation. This is why we badly wnnt to up on our own.

We ar.e one group with Lhe same aims.

880

APPENDIX 7

Raw data on Kimberley and Pilbara regions concerning

consumer price survey on essential foods

(see Section 7.1)

881

PI..BARA

a:xrs v.a:Jf'f NJU..AG AIHSE CO.GS'ltH: MIBARG. ST LEVERS DISC YNOfFiAAW< a.wn::HBJ. 'S RBNSIMAIU( QoB.DN 510 SS MILK 1.25ka 18.78 18.50 110.S. 16.30 17.00 SS.51 ...H,61 $7.08

2_50il . $2.25 12.40 $2.55 12.13 S2.15 S2.20 $1.99

2ka $3.10 $2.20 $3.04 $2..20 $2.63 $2.83 $2.80

DRI.UPI.AIN 18ka $32.00 $24.00 $23.50

PlAtiR.CUR 2ka $2.10 $2.02 $2.89 11.28 $2.68 $2.73

11190 $1 .50 $1.78 $1.60 1 1.80 S1.SS $1.55 $1 .72

1"1'4C1!EEF 340a 13.25 13.18 $3.55 13.50 $2.88 $2.69

SOAP 5ooa $5.70 $5.10 13.49 $2.60 12.81 $2.03 $7.83

R.YSPRAY 300a $4.60 13.114 $5.51 $4.50 $4.57 $4.99 $4.24

1ka $4..20 $1 .80 $7_2g $4.10 $4.50 $5.82 $6.15 $5.27

DETBUM 500ml $3.110 $5.50 $4.25 13.115 13.68 $5_2g s2.n

SIWof'OO 375ml $4.00 $4.06 12.60 13.85 $6.59 $5.91

150a 12.25 12.28 $3.64 13.60 .$2.49 '2.26 $2.24 RCE 1ka $2.00 $1.89 $1.45 S1.62 _U.IS 13.15 10M. SAUCE IOOml 12.10 12.24 $1.67 _11.55 _$2.10 12.12 $2.09 SALT 1$!1a S1.70 $1.70 .$2.50 S1.71 _1_1 .78 $4 .18 P8'I'BI l50a S1.10 12.81 suo 12.23 . $2.25 $2.42 IJBlXJWfT 75a $4.15 $4.45 $5.81 $5.35 $4.63 $5.35 13.80 JAM 5ooa 12.&5 $1.58 $2.72 $2.30 12.110 12.19 $2.28 $1 .08 cx:Re 100a 13.50 $5.10 $2.45 sa .so $4.25 $4.44 13.16 IW

00 oc

I WEGIT I RUSTY'S .. 17,

Z50a 11 .14

UINROLA IIAEA! I'IYI C'JBEEF ISCW'

IR.YSF lAY

Uko l2'ka

l340o

l•k•

l5ooml ,, .. 1loa l!a tko -TOU.!Wll'.l' IIOOml 17500 PEPPER !iii; .......... l7h =BEANS Ia I BISCUIT ClfRE ;PADS E .. lnoa tKo 12i tKo i'oo;;-5ooa IOOa [liCE 500ft li'EN'Il.l1 'AIITE l375a 175 '"" l440a lli&

1.2 ...

.. ..,..

12. 1.2 12.4l II

1.2.01 11.5<1

11.2CI 14. 12.21 II.

11 . U.H 13.17

12.12 12.40 11--:H 10.11

soT! 10.7Q lUI SIT! 12 ...

...

12.15 u-:H 14.44 113-:i2

lUI so'30 12.52

12.13 14.17 12M 12.711

12 ....

.....

11.111 12.11 ....

u--:-!1'1

.ClCJI.AA $5.15 suo 1.2.1. 123.50

1111 lUI 1.2.00 14.41 15.:M 13.11

1.2 .•• lUI IUO 12.15

12.00 12.16 u .m 12.11

11.10 12.1o 14.15 12.42

17.4: 1.2.10 113.00

1'1.35 117.55

11.25 IUS 10.35 10.30 1210

13.75 13.40 14.71 14.40

13.00 10.20

11 .tio 11.10 113.40 14.00 12.71

14.15 12.10 113.00 11.11

113.20

1103 . 1171.7t

loAi> IFX RHOl

11.10 18.10 -S10.10

12.35 •• so

11.55 12.50

11.70 13.21 12.50 14.10

14.10 13.15

11.10 IUO 12.15 11.15 12.10

14.21

12.40 11.71 12.40 113.21

' ..

10.40 10.40

13.15

....

11.25

lt.OO

11.50

..

1500

"" 1.2.30 11.10 11 .30 II.M 12.50 li:oo

13,30 13.30 1107 10.50 S0: 5o

1111<0

12.70 soan 14.00

..,...

SOM at

It

II

11350 113.

so

••

uan

so

"'ii:l•

1.2. 13. - ..

Ill.

15:15 •••

..... $8 1.1

12.3o 1:•.31

1.2 .10 11.71

12.00 13.00 1.2 .00

11.00

12.00 ..,_ .,.

13.00 1.2 .!10 suo

UM 15.io 11 .10 10.20

10.30 So 3D 10.30 10 00 12.20

13.30 15.00 13Jo IA.IO

10.20 10.40 12--:M 14.10 13M

uTa u•o U .to

12:1o-ot.•o 11.10 11.70

113 .10

12.10

12.40

12.11 11 .50 13.15 13.1'

12.21 u .n

12.72 II.U 11.11 11 .41

11 .01 113.11

12.11 113.31 11.41 12.17

1101 11.43 15.70 11.74

11.21 113 .81

I' .••

113 .01

11.81 12.15 11.14 14.12

113.44

113.54

12.2 113.21

11.14 12.25 u .n 113.11

11 .11 lUI 11.50

13 •• 12.1t

"" 1o r.5o

fii>i 1 FX IRL

11.40 12.10 12.10

12.10 11.11 12.15 11.10

111.30

. IUD 14.15 lUI 12.30

lUI 12.15 111.11 12 .•• 14.11 12.45

14.05 11 .70 12.05 _lUI

11.25 14.30

10.18 .. •.

10.21 11.45 11.51 I' .35

1.75 12.75 13.35 14.20 14.10

113 .11

s.c.•o

u .••

13.!10

IFX

'11.50

s: 1.00 •on 1.10 POO

1.10 111 .711

'"' •10 •10 1.00 1.21 !.01 , ...

I .M

'.40 1.50

.70 1.50 1.50 ...

1.35 M

1.50

'·"'

...

1.00

......

I;IH I .70

a. to

1.11

12.00 I: II

11 .71 S:• ..

13:10

113 .45

. . ...

IRAYUU l A

17.00 17.75 11.75

S1 20 1.2.20 12.80

12.00

125.00 124.01 123.80

15,20 11.10 "i.i'iiii 13.00

LUlil

11.75 12.55 .. -

12.00 11.70 13.45 12.15

15.00 14.70 14.50 14.15 13.15

.11.10 liM . 12.!10

Sl.ll 12.00

12.40 "'iUii 13.00 15.20

....

14.00

11,70

12.25 14.03 12.20 11 .10

1.2 .t1

113 .70

13 20 11'.40

10.:10 11 .10

10.40 si .50

11.50

12.00 10.50 S1 .00 lii:iO 12.10 10.50 12.10 ..... 12.00 13.50 10.!10 1310 13.10 15.30 12.10 ..... 14.00 . .... 12,00 12.10 10.70 10.30 12.20 l1 .0o 14.20 $5.22 ... •• 11.70 -._.,. U .OO -u--:oo IUD 12.11 --.uo 12.31 11M 11.70 113.:10 113.!10

12.10 12.00

15.20 12.1CI 11.50 11 .00

14.50 11.15 suo 11.15

113.25 S1 .40

10.25 10.25 10.25

suo 13.20 $5.30 54.50 13.05 10.20

suo

&· •••

14.50 57.34 13.35 13.55

S'l.45 11_,40

11.10 113.50

14 .00 15.10 12.10

111110 11147.17 1110.25

SQ .50 13.50 13.80 S3 55

UIO ....

'"" i.-a§ .. _ ..,

itlO .50 ..,.....

1.00 ...

APPENDIX 8

Juvenile justice and incarceration

(see Sections 10.3.1 and 10.3.3)

885

,, o.:.

8

? ... :,f

7-i7YrCid' ,_, \' .. } .!.

PERC!:NTAGE or AiL CH£LDREN' 7-L7 YEARS

WHO APPEAR COL"'RT by !)£\'1S£0N 1988/89

£cut w ... t

r.:r-.!>..-ioy 1( ",-.!>orley

't\'ett Pllbcro

<;oldhlclo Kllqoor11o Cen:ro!

Co..-try Bovlcltr

p:VISIQNI

SOURCE' : DE'P.A.RTMENT F'OR COMHUifiTY SERVICES

l

Sou'".:h 'Ne1t

..

200

18:>

12C

00 00 00

1(0

e·: ol Qeci3iOn3

60

20

;------------- - ·

Number of Court Decisions resulting in Aborigine.L & Non Aboriginal !ncarcere.tion

by uivi.s!on - 1 96e/69

Ecot w .. t l!:o.t

l

Pllt

00 00 \0

.---------------- ·

-40

00 2

c C) 0 1.. 0 JO a. c c c. · ;:::: c 20 .c < 10

SOURCE:

64

§ -- UJOR[G[l'fAL OF'FEtfOERS AS A PORT[QN or TOTAL OfFENDERS lN OUS CATEGORlES OF DlSPOSlTIONS 1QBB/B9 87

oil 7-10 o1do ro1ol _.orin, In

gpp•c:w\ng in c:o..st Pan•l

"otol -•annt in T.tal -looiono to Tetol Ce'-" > t t tim•• OCS cuttoef)· priaon

c •,/

pEPAPTMENT FOR SERVICES

00 8

8

6

cl o.l

Je:i3icn3 ( ;;)

2

-------------------,

SECC?.E CUSTODY 1 (DCS &

I as e. of

I I :.Ll :OURT

by - 19o6/89

!AI: 'J

i':ir-.!).,-,ev

'oNe1t t.,:,:-c.'1ho:'1 ?:r:·f7t: 9c..,;lc .. -

SOUPCE: DEPARTHEI\T f•J!l CC·MMIJNITY SERVICES

Cr.ct !.:·.; ':'lvr.

APPENDIX 9

Newspaper clippings: Mt Magnet, Geraldton and Mullewa

(see Section 18.5)

891

1

BI . k I· t' ac . p ,o to spark & guns r1ot ExCluSive By BIU. POWER B LACK activists and a croup of Geraldton Aborigi­ aes planned to have one of their people shot to spark the town·s July riot, say senior police officers. They believe the con­ spiracy bad inlema­ uonal conncc1ions and was dcsipcd 10 del iber­ ately embarrass AI&SU'alia. Sacrificial Had lhinp 10M to plan. Aborieincs were 10 have uacd tM llloolins as an e•­ QIIe 10 datrov a holelltlen sac:lt the town's police . Aation. . Ac:cordina to police. the ............ ..... .,. ............ . wbolc coaspirary depend-ed 011 - of the Abori&i· DCS baas shoe when JOt so Oer.idlon·s Frccma­ -.Hotd. The plao _. to push an Aborasine tllrou&ll the frool cloor u a sacrificial lamb. Police think the man did DOl tn- be - 10 be the manyr. But tbc wbolc conspiracy fell apan bccaUJC a uni­ farmed policeman. lhoacht so be off duty. what - hap. peaios a.nd aoolt poucs­ lioa of a sbotcun. As one ICftior policeman put it: ·uu.e IUD bad been fired it would have been --D. • Flashback to last month"s events In Geraldton wnen rioters were released from police vans . (the Aboncines) •·a,una lo u'r 1uns, that is my opinion." A key player in the plan­nin& is thou&ht to be a man •ith connections with in· temational aaivists. His activitin arc 11ow be· i11c closclr mo11itored by police in Gcraldton. • lntelli.cllce ptherin& is still 101111 on tn the town .oand officially ;wllicr ,..,. ti&hl·lippcd. a... sourcet arc talltin& (reel)· of the conspiracy be· c:a11sc the oubhc docs not 893 realise the· seriousness of th< July 2S riot and iu dif­turbin& intenL Police believe that l'lan· 11inc for the consptrary staned shonly after Eddie Camero11 was found ha11&ed i11 his cell at the Oeraldton lockup on July 8. Sourcet say the plans wr:--e C:\·c.n ii:'l""n -.o deLiil each rioter knowina euct• ly which wi11dow he or sbe •• had 10 smash.

The ·west Australian, Perth, Monday, 26 August 1985

;..,.....,..,..

-- "' .. SouCII /llrlUtt ,_ ' ·­ ,.... .. .,.,_ - Iller ., .. ............ ,..,.,.. ....

894

·A"ifiiaw· . urider : .:.·. ;.'.• : · .. :· . ·.control

.- .... - ...... ...

TU-a­ --­ ......... _CI'Ol. Ule Mtatuer te r -Mrc:arr.- -- ·--­ .......... " ...... ___ ., • L p £IlL ............... u. --- .. ................. _.. .. M ...... ,_... .. , ...... - MrCut-.. ...... ..... .,.. .... , .... .,. __ ., AMI\CUMII ..... I• ................. a. __ .. __ _ .. __ ., , •• o.,. .. u. • ... ._.. _,.._ .. twn..., II&. laM ......... _.,_ •••'-...... Me• .... --­ ... ..., .,...c'l., ....... ·--- .. .... ,.,.

NO--MARrr'R. PLOT SAY ABORlGlf{ES CLAIMS that Gerald·

ton rioters planned to create a manyr by hav· inc an AboriJinal killed have been rejected fi,·e WA Aboricinal orpnisation1.

They uid tht rlaim> invented by >OUI'CCS

and -re toully fal>c . · Last Frida,· the O.il•·

published a politt·

arecd. ltOI'\' y,;n, the .. ot on July .....

planned and on a

blad bein& shot. ai•;n, ,;. OICI'\ the CSCUle tO destroy the Hotel and

the pollee rution. The ultimate 1im of the pl1n .. -.s 10 embar·

r-an Australia.

Letter

The anc,cd plan fcllapan ,.'hen a off'trcr took

a aun from a mon. Stnior polirr 10urccs sund by the The Daih· =ei,·cd ·

a lcut-r frOm f•,·r AbonJi· nal aroups asktnf 1h1t the sources bt tdenuraed. that the be supponcd ,.,,h

fans or 1 full apolo') be

made 10 w ... Aboriaancs. The lntrr i• sianed by

Roben Eu•nrton. darcaor • the AboraJinll Child rc A&en'1·· 0al'!1·1 <"II. head of the Centre for Abori&inal Stud•es . Dean Collard. direnor of Saner

K11e's Fomily and Chil· drcn Sef\·irn. Cra11 Som· mtrvillr. ClCCu1i,·r mtm· btr or the WA Abori&inal

Med11 As>O

Se"·iccs. It u)'1: -"'c at'C' •Titinc to tl·

our deer concern

over the Daif.•· News front· paJ< 1101'\' on AUJUSI 12. 1986. headlined Riotcn Ploned Dutil. by

your rcponer Bill Power. -.-.s el«ted Aboriainal representatives of lpcal

and Statc-.·ide 1roups ..... kno"'· the

claims made in that aniclc IOIIIIY fal>e .

. -That the police should be prepared 10 •n•·enl •uch an inm:dible in

,..hich Aboririne• plot to ho,·e a blaek manrr shot b,· .. ·hite> is .. ·orr·yin&

cnouJh but ""e find it even more dosturbinr that a dai· ly nc-.'Spopcr should i&norc basic rules or journalism 10 print ttiou c1J.Im5 . ·

-when sueh ocnous aile· arc btinr made. it

u not enou'h ju51 to quote 'senior pollee·. only the name> of real people •·ill do. ·

..... nd .. ·herr .. -ere the bal·

ancin' quotes from Gcr· aldton ' s ... bori&inal

lc1dcrs':' "Was the reponcr afr-aid ·cxclusi"c· ••ould be rc· vealed for .. ·hat it was. a

nonsense'! -In our vif:¥.· thr story •"'.s jutt another eumple or th•t infamous pehcr pnc­

t icc of ·,·erbalhnf- mak· inc unsubstan11a1rd claim5 :and or. in

thll cue. the to be·

lievc 1n thr1r honesty.

Bloodbath -Two clements of the sto­ rv convtnet us that it -. ....

mercl)' an ancmpt 10 rc· store damaJed' rcpu­

tauons •n tht to .. ·n and di .. ven the CTiliC'II spotli&hl from poliec on to Ger-ald· ton Aboririncs.

-The first .. ·as the cloim thll only food pohcc work pre"cntcd " :h a t v.-as

planned 10 bt a bloodbath. "The occond ..... ,o tr)'

and apin prese-nt Aborit.•· nes as crecdily chuin& bit aovcmment handouu. -wt (eel it IS now your

duty as a nrv."\papc-r to ei· thcr make the stond

up with oome verifiable fans or issue 1n eQually ; prominent ooolocr to · Wrsttrn Ausual i a"s '

Abon1ines."

895

Push on for a riot ·squad

By BIU. POWER

POLICE mandinl! a special JOO·man 1quad to c:ombat riocine

Aboriainc1.

Tlot Union said

th •••ad b• no.-a to anr arra • htrf' Aboriainn •l'rt c-.usin& untnt. Thr "'liC'f Iff lhis as •n f'nf'C1ht' prolf'('fion (or Offi«n • ho att' In from b,..•·linc Aboriainn. Continuod P•!l• 2

Demand for .. i=·==== flt('ted the ancer of poliee ,..ho have to deal wilh riot· The fomution of the in& Abori&incs .

• I" rum t>.age 1

number of pollee in kno,.., Mr Stinacmorc uid the trouble spots to bt doubled eould bt formed

immediately. qu•ckly from the I 7 S rt·

While the riot squad is be· (Tuiu " 'ho ,arc 100n to!:'·'· inJ formed. off'ta:en worl· out of the Maylands r ,, ina in thC'SC' to-.-ns Aadem.y. Tt., '!\''''''""

be aranled double ulancs. He u 1d n. \ ,,,,,,

the union. squ1d would '

This mom inc union Itt· sh1fts. _). ' ·

•

Daily News 9/111985

APPENDIX 10

Newspaper clippings: 'Aboriginal gangs terrorise suburbs'

(see Section 18.5)

897

I olice declare war on By HELEN WINTERTON :.no TOHY IAAAASS POLICE >fMI 1ht 5101< Go.,.m­ n,cn t w;r on ''" C oil \\4 ' , m th l 'o iiJt.o " ! .. o:' .. ' "' ' ''" ' ""C.'t iiCoJL I'IOII L I'I\' ho .:o n1 '" ..., ,.,, .. ... '" "''"'' "'"'" ho m.-t I h,r, ,. ,JI Oro.' Cll ttul\ .. ," ' '"li P\ . I •ho ' " tl ,·ll JtC '"" Ill I'll,• I L OOP,.'\1 Jrw:l •00••'" 10. ' '' Z' "'"' i.a •CI ... thl u oppcd Cl11r'"l I he ho vn of 11\f: monu111 •O\Ik:l be 'oCitt: l'led (Ot '""'I:ICIOft l . tl'lq '"'dl M Clult • ll fl K ¥rrti Y. Thtrt ••II 110 UuUOnl. • Jw y ,d · Mr Zanttt• I.I •CI hu •crt CSII't'C icd at known oiTtnOc-11 or 1t1uw •flo --cl't people"• " "" ) Ltl'l · TI'Iq ••II 10 Lf'lc tO\It\S tnd wt' II M u pcoc una LI'IOtt •n LM CO\Inl IO dO lftt 1t JOb U Wf lf"t ClCI«Itd •o" l'lc i.a •CI . He i.a ld ,r '"'' of c::ar '"'"" JnO "'OitnL cnmn d u:l not r o me 10 1 1'1& 11 \001'\ . Lfl tl'l: W0 11 ICI tic l rt Pt.l t of J •n at'll 'f •h•ch cl&•mtd four h "e"l " ' 4.C)tll Wf\c:l\ I UO itll Cl ( 11 1 1'1\ l'fttd l ft !O l .. C 111 W t iii'I POOI. 0\I U. Id t tftt H011tt 'fC'Sitrd.& 't . 0r U•rrnt:'t w.•d W wu con­ IM 'PI It of lll"t· n o\( C"r"lm t JIIO JO)"· r"ld ln, young thugs

VICTIM. The aamaged four-wheei-

StH: lolld lc&J: IIILIOft 10 l ft ( t'Qi( \1\( I)C:nt lty for "'"'"'"onw:d IlK o f 1 "ctuclt would bnrtl 11 tnto li ne • 111'1

Cit """"'" The: lq•stAi uon '"' U not CIQ h • ltl'l fully •U pro ·

rocut'd bca ... it 1.1\( 0 ppo,1110ft·

dom•niiCd Council

l'l: fuloe'd to ... B•ll 10 be re •n·

IUI !td 10 II'IC rtOLit:t ptprr. 11 1'110 to

bt rt ·â€¢n LrOduct'd .,nLtTG.I 't .

• Tl11 1 II f't1 001"1tC 10 Lh t wtdcty htld .,.,,. 1 1'111 ., s.c , or

W 1 CS .

She "'d Ll'l t Go .. ( r nmcnt .a ho

10 lt'll ' l.a \c to rcm o .. c n:slnt·

••ons on 1/'lt \Cn tcna11 1 pow<"n of

Cluldrtn ·s Coun tnq.tl tntes en dul­ '"1 .., ,,.. rtpc.a r oiTc-nocn. The cruk elo•n o n JU" tn ll t

orfcndcn fo ll o•l mort fl•&l'l · lpcCCI , ., .. n.c"

s. u,. Clohcu.,. }7 . of Couu toc . • U l.li.tn 10 II OI Pt U I I SLO lt n

Lc•ccn c o lllel cd w• th her

"' "'• c it 1n Swanboume. Pohcr spone(l Lh c uolcn Lt•tcn .a ltolt n Po/"kl'lt ' " SL Q \l tnun

A¥tft\IC, O .a;tt mOtll. 11 II JJ pm When the: Pol"kl'lt t 11 med •nto 1

lldt ron u n11 cd 10 fo llow

Ll'lt unul tl'l t )" lOll lt &J'I I of H

btl'l•nd the Swanbo\lmt • More page 2: ed ltonal page 10

899

The West Australian Perth, Thursday , 1 7 M ay 1990

EST A8LISHEO 1 1JJ PERTH WEONESC , 28 199() 168 PAGES SOc ·

Aboriginal gangs suburbs

·\RORIGINAL aanas • ·tth mrmtw:n as )"'Uftl 11 tcven arr Baytwtltr mtdtnts

and pr')liC't ftar the sit uauon '' f('ll•nl out of conltol. W ,,._ f'X1al '"""""' ftSI"f tfl thit

.Htl f'W'ht"f' hl"t I bo1

or ar•tJn•"' '" '" tl'lfwt 10 ldtfluf•

Lfl ... 'cadtn.. .

l .ronl hntclw"- •ho "''"' """'Of fW'OI IC"r "mcrn 1f'd Aau•attt ctly

C' ""llttlkoon ... " .... (" thf'tll•

t"Rnl tO 11\t ""''"" .... ,..., .,..

if the P"'CS ...,. MCIOfd

T '-' Ni"' 1tw ''" has

'"'' ('fl "'' •hft•t )0

'"""'"'"" •iwl n'Mtl• ... lly diM. . ..,. ,, I""'M'"'"" tfld \tnl ......... ..., -- "-"tOfiC' •ilot'l ''"" '"' uafWI ' " ,...,.,, 11 1'\.Uufttod.

ly HElEN WINTERTON

IPJit fH •tfldtlw t'ftllfltfllt hftwK twnt-oft• In lhf' "'0"1 V ftMit

'"'''M"t "'' t<"H..r*' ""''t "l('tftMSI}· •ttauht"d h)' I llfll t'l( \1 • hrow

.,nil('( INi ttw tltll(' •

•C'n )'tllcrda, accu\td 1d11lt

.\ frwwtst"" of ,.,.... .. ,, .. ,, ch•\d rurttt

·=

(llid -S•CI I. H1n,. "•'(horovltl utd tht Abrtna•ftC"' "''"It'd ttl c*c'.,­ tht '-•

·1 do,.·c li•c DtCitfll 0111 thc­

"'hot"'"'"" hut llrlq- '"' ""''"" th( '"' '"'' he utd

·â€¢n •t C'l" ds ,, tht ..,.. MM'ftt.oA .,.hi'c' the' llidt ""' tfw alld 1'11rnfftt'd frcuu dtw '

fttft,..,s t n tht C"t''Uf11 11\n that 100-"'ctf he Ytd nf I typt('ll ••th Utd

'' " "" ttl lht C"ovns t t'l dfottdt

fr\.lf'Oitflt IO lhtftl at\lllllt kf-c

... '•tlltfll tht .. Wf'l(' lklri'W1'111t

aM '"''t""(tird te nuw: "''"" to ,....

. ... , ftt'l4 l""ft.. • he uid. ·Thnt

prnf'lt lf't" trlltfll ,_.., w t th lMYr

"'"'*" htnu'IIC tllr't ur "'-• 'ocllf'd . n tht lfl hi\ hottlir ...... IO 11011 1M lhtfta.

• ,UWMIII l-et tar lhrft a.Julll ,,.., Ill

y"Ck"f the' • ol 10 roo- '"'"

the' hNtk IN'It' •l'ltl the' aduits ct ••M

900

P"' "IJr"IIOft tcfUnt Ta,trl'll tlli!

·wr tw"'fllt ofllt t'l"''''"'-o'd . ,,,. "'C'Mt-.rf y..J hr\'oi'W' I

thfft t.Mtlrt Gf ttnttft fnddc'! '" "''' lo••"C Jftcr of

,,..hut! r-""· Au t what caft wot do' "'"' 11'd thrflt The' tl•·

Arn!U"¥ t!W kwh'"' unckr thor arr of tfll .,, rohh(od o"' "'o"tt'" Ul. tM t.• t he-y '"" ii'WH •t"tCJII""' · • ..,._ ti'HC't uok 1 un alld I

-.Nt fnt thtu • th!r Mtlk '"' "'tJ

Mr "-"nofl uld ,.., ·Tht"y ""'le-d ""' '" 1 w

ln& Wftil wfwfl I tnn:l IO fttl ,.,., ... lied uun tht: 11\d tht>

ht"'H;"::.; lltn hftoft r:bbrd lhc 1111 - tl .-,, 1"11 Qu td .

•"*' ""1lt' by a rrouo or'" lftft&C• ;'._.td let't'f'trt of af'CMhrf ca .-cu• tft I rrs who llltlltd lht ••"dows wnh 1hr ,.,.., dtd ... ,."' In

tll"'f '"'0 tht ""'" har aAd 1rlt'd to tlllld t'"tOfft('" """' (lH'I\Imn I (tthl thr, -tfll .wrou

ttlt ,,. lfld t'alft(' had ....... t iOftn

aACI .1 ,._. Ttw:, tmuhed lfo:l'ft (rOftt

e MOfe reJ)O,l. P•9• 2; AltiOf\, pegoe 10

DAILY NEWS Penh. WA. Thursday. May 17. 1990 Pnce 4(\c" ilolll l ll(c;.oo llll ... Phone 427 1400 THE CHASE

IS ov· ER "'9"'- • oa,;y ... •••"' ••· oaneftCed lint IN

oohca lace at,..oal . .... ,., "'OI'tt

ChaSM"tq JOYnd+fw;i t*I'I'•I'M .. S wt IIO· ... '""· , .. , ... , ... . .. .. ..

" ' 0"" of tM IOVQPI po*c• crack· dOwl'l Oft l"""erwla C""" a .

• tOT want o" palro4 • •1 1'1 tl'la e llta 1t 0o"'1100t1. 1 •q\olad of ••oanenc:acl oflteara af\d da tact .. a a '"""• ttsooN:t only 10 "'•tor c,_. •"cl car cl'laae•. The oll•c eu • rm acs ""* • •• r bwllal - prool ...... . • ANO it •••""! IO"O before the ••• '""oh•od 1" 1 cho•• jvva· "'lOt IOOd tiWOUOf\ Goar..lla tnd Llft910td in o ,ord LTC ta· 11•"· Two •••"-9'" woro caugP\t •"•" tho 9'"9 atundonod lha car '"" otl'la•• wero '"''' •d l'lovrt t• tor. WE SA'f' : Paoa I .

901

10 THE WEST AUSTRALIAN THURSDAY MAY 17 1990

PERTti' 'l'HURSDAY MAY 17 1990

Gloves off for • • •

VICIOUS Crime THE community is crying out for a solution to the problem of juvenile crime, especially violent premeditated attacks on

innocent victims in the so-called sanctity of their homes. There should be no soft options for the perpetrators of incidents in which a young woman and her neighbours -were terrorised with golf clubs and baseball bats and police were attacked with wheel braces and screwdrivers and had their cars rammed during high-speed chases.

These and many other appalling offences. in which car thefts figure all too prominently, have given added urgency to the

momentum with the release of

Government and Opposition proposals for improving the juvenile justice system. Unfortunatelv, there is no consensus on the best ways of tackling what is plainly one of the most complex and challenging

tasks facing government and the

community. Many people say offenders are treated too leniently. Others argue that only a small number of juveniles. are hard-core otTcnders and that tougher

penalties arc not the answer. Finding a balance between preventive measures and harsher punishment. while ensuring that the interests of innocent

victims arc protected. demands a united effon by the community. parents. suppon groups government. The best starting point is in the home where parental control must play a more important part in deterring young people from crime . On that score. the call by a s<."nior :\boriginal community member for cldt:rs to take more responsibility for

the ir youngstas is welcome. EtTect i,·e social and economic measures arc needed to deal with the causes of crime. At the: minor end of the scale. the

pl a n for · a formal police cautioning designed to keep trivial offenders

out of court is sens ible. Bu t tighter bail provisions for repeat offenders arc overdue. And the most co mpell ing nc:ed is to ensure that

otTcnders ac tuallv serve sentences in line with thOSe Imposed by the COUrtS.

902

·-

DAILY· NEWS 'TODoY'SWIATtllll 1111, lu: ·JSl Perth, WA, Wednesday, May 16, 1990. Phone "427 1400 . BACK COMES. ',;lHE . .• .. ·.. . ·BODGIE SQUAD

903

ly 11U. I'OWIR ... .IOHN .... TLEY

H ARD-LINE !Hilke pa­ lrols are lo lake lo lhe IIIHII In a IOUIIh ne,.· bid Ill cui junnile rrlme.

Police dcpu1y commiuionrr

Police to hit street kids

frank Zlntlli t.aid Aft)' juvcniftS Mr l .lfk.'lll .. w tw 1M.M Clh' allu ..,R tolna

searched. ''11'-:u· ••II k ltU Uuhufts: · ht Mi.J

lk hhM\1 the' ICIIIom 1(,1 lh'" aii&.J hiJit S4t-.ach. •lliM:h •·en· tua.·n•fwllft comN1· ll'ljlltUftilc CflftM: Ill the- t•6()l .... anary .,., Z1ntt11 uul all ,,.,..,," ul JU"'fUk'1 WOtlld l:lc llflf'ICf Jfltf l•u

wh•dllllan lft'n 1 •u•ll·

aft krrontH . .Wft IMslwd • ·ftlll IC)If dlflM. IIIV"*'h• . .tuccns or tKtll·in•

... I •VfWY• Mlt1) ,,. 1 a&Gk• nr i111tNtr.' Tile nlfftlftYnll) •as .tl th,·

" lftq ••II bt: plan" ... Me 1 .... l'UYfll

:.:: :cr:: .·: :

·· 1 IIIII IIMM 1111 .. 1111 Jih\H11II lfk· lrl \ 1.11

it\1111) l"m •al&.1111 or &tnna• aft.llhal "•h

·â€¢"Jhol\o.' •filo •rr ''""al 111 nllftOfll)

l'lhllllo P'!ttlm1 1h<.:u o-·a btlr·

td aft\1 ''"'' ..,.,..,,.

e CeRttAue4 Pee• 16

60 MINUTES OF TERROR •oman ..-u

rtrrorised for almost an huur by a croup of Abori1inal uurhs •bo rhrnrtntd ro rape

:and kill btr in Balarra early tuday. '\he bfitf'·ft tM • ·oukl Uvt . ::k\ol tltc , _,,,., •fM•J,hOoul"' h ad ::vt ruvwd 10 t.cf ald.

.. ...,. •• w W""ttc-d tt.c a•­

.. ,_., -f Uflll CH'I lh(

:n..otr•r. Mill "- ftN W .... ..,., Whf1t.

- .............. :cr ··- ,... bt

Club-wielding gang attacks young woman

_. ....., I h au

..... "" ........ 'n o\MIIItNl ...W••I ,..,a......,._ • .,. ilwf ,.,., ... "" &a.. ,.._ :.-. •a&M""'&I• - ...... ....a: .. ...., ...... &1111 ... ........ . ..... . _, .... !WW.,...,.. ·"·â€¢ :-., ,.,... .... ...

IIIU't'C ... &A4 dltuiCft""d • -.. a:.UIIC'!ra••Walllll h II "'ttiJilc lk .... ........ ................. ..O' I i ... t It Mapc T.,..., •• Mch·· ....... Pftl of' .41Mnpea ,... wlln.n lti.KkcG 1 wevnt)' ,...al"i •u" tolf dwbt.. ................. U.. ..... :l .... ..... ..... ............... "' ol "'=' ...wy.., lkta. .. ..,.. .................. ... ...,.fliWGI'IOwaktwr ........... ""' ..... ........ ... - · .......... 11\H\0 ••u-t"SttU'aMt:'" ,_. .. .. ....,.,.. ...... --t......I&C' __ ..__

...... ..,..... ........

......

-t4c ... U"f"AIW ...

....... * ............ ........................ &e Uw ,..._.Mall tlltt ... .... .... __ ... ...... ....

-·,... ... ,.... .. ...

""'"' ......... '011 Coo . ._, ... .

. .. C'f ... ... .....

l..all "'"'' tJw ,..,,Jilt .,.. ,. .... u, U'Wd .. ftU.I ... ... -.....

"1( ... ___ • .,.,,.., ____ .............

uarttll scrn•••l fer DIOwl 6lftOid Ofll ""'"' DICil

--- • .,, :eu01 IN'OuQI'\ tne :>eo"oom ""#::"'..,..,.I •Qml" •It tttrOf•ltC , BIIC-Ina lUI "10"1

904

r-------------------------------Tlw,_,llt .......... := WOf'ft&fll•bcMlt ..... ift. "'"'''«'fWd ,. ,... liWt Scream a ..... u,.t '"I ''\•II her. "'.: .... bftvr w .. , aM lwr "ut r,.,.. [ ;ut ,\",.h. "uril aiNol 1tw r .. "M"'' ,,.. ....... lhc .l'ft'l ••• ,." \0 -otN.a ·, aMI '""' ann lilt '"" ... ... ...... ... lft&H .... *" ct' ... Touy M hu "--t '" wwtu IC'I'OU .,. Nrt. Whn S..1 IMDI'C'd ;._. o! .. '! unnf ••• C'1l.alftl c1w•-ckl•"l row'" •llln ""'"""' .. ·- ""' ..... .,_ • fWf nr. Petrified III('C ''"".S. -"M'ftafl ,. .. 'Y i wW\,1 :o IACH .... 't lltii'U : 11 ...... , .... tl Ofl , ,.,. """'""'"""'' l.IAIJttlalloOt .... .,,,,.,"d,""' '' ·"'''"'"' rii AJ'"•"'C""h :n ""'"' ....... "' :o """ '0 · 11'2011'"" .. ....., """"'''" ,, tfl( /ft\"A ll'l,.·r.: ti'I(• ,.W'ollll ••' ' ' ' " ., .... ., , .... , ... _,, The Daily Nevvs

Perth, Tuesday, 15 May 19?.0

APPENDIX 11

Newspaper clippings: Contrasting views of non-Aboriginal

youth as conveyed in the media

(see Section 18.5)

905

Gang .··-J' tGrri ·· S, train· • RALW(

1nto .. 1 5 J . . . .. .. . . BY HElEN . WINTERTON .. A ·{RAIN . ride . to Freman!le turned into a terror tnp for passensen and a train &uard. A wild rna of SO youths too over the tram and terrorised · occupants with claans and abusive ncuage. Too scared to move. the 20 passencers watched helplessly as the youths llunc out of wmdows and threatened to . bash an ofT4uty pohce officer who had tned to step in. The youtlu went on a rampage, sprayin' car­ nages wtth craffiu and . thre:nenm& to throw ofT I anyone who interfered ; They shouted at the. cuard who tried on . -:aon to stop them wnton& obscene lan­ guage and anti-Westrail sluga:lS on doors wtndo"·s and 14-.alls. · The Australian Rail- ' woys· Union, which released information yesterday Monday afternoons oncident says it fears that san& may strike again. The .union called on Westraol to employ more secunty officers to patrol suburban rail scrvu:es.

PasSen&e" sat in fear as youths spilled into the city station from

variOUS suburbs to catch a train to the JUrraltatta station for the funeral of an 18-year-old grafliti

artiSL Chantin& slogans and harassin& waoung pas­ scncers. the youths follcu

the two carriages of the FmnantJe-bound train. The cane chanted •Transperth are

murderen· and painted the c:atria&eS with simi· lar sloPM. Westrail staff believe

the youths' behaviour was in reUlliatinn for the death of known gr:>tfoti artist Havden Samuel

\(jrby. wtio jumped on front of a traon near the eassendean station last TbundaY night.

The incident hap­ pened 45 minutes after ' he had been questioned I by Wesuail security staff

over damace to an inter­ state tr:>in. U niun tary Peter saic

more securil'-' was

needed on •tf the kods can ;;co

3'""3' with takinl. o,·er a ua&n and .. 1t

vou wonder what

else arc opablc .of

doing.- he said. -As soon as th< train was out ,,f the city .

station went wild. ;

Th..:r..: ''as 1

f'lh.' 110 trcun "''u1IJ \

..;. . !

\\ th1..· , , ,ut i\ ' \

a

C' :J if" : ... :.. : :• •il

11 " . 1

the traon . the; •• II .J:

1

. SublilCO stJtion and scanered. A Wcstrai\ said last thll th ' :i i tuation h;Jd hcl..'n undl' r surv.:1 11am:..: . bu t no 1mmcd i:ll'-' a<.: tio n h..:'..: n ta.h ' l' : .. \ L ,,..,,n

APPENDIX 12

Newspaper clippings: After the funeral of Edward Cameron

(see Section 18.6)

909

The West Australian 26/7/1988

A young man acknowleoges l!>e televosoon cameras in. !he centre of GeraiOton last nighl Picture: RON CTRA INE · · :

jail · death· funerij_ l· .R Poloce "'torong mcts Jnd batons l

II took them .:about two hours to ddusc the s•tuat •o n Jnd aim was restored on l:-o .:a fl er they cut throu&,h rt"d upc Jnd re le.ucd SIX pe-ople on

bJII .

Supt A.dnan 8.1mcs \i ld the .:ar· rested "bonc•nes faced charccs conduct to

He Slid po lle e reanforccments wou ld rcma1n '" 1n cue

of more trouble.

Const.:ablc !\.1 1c k Lc vennc.:e , who th t a rly releues Wllh Mr

Lted h..:am Clmcron . f.:athcr of Ed· ,..·..:ard (Jmcron. \.l id 11 was, the on ly wa y to orctcr .

·vou c..:an ai .. repl ace broken

gl..:au.- he 1.31\l

Urher •n th e d .:a y, Abon&Jnes \.iild they were pl.:ann 1n1 to on

Ptnh's pollee hc.:adquaners to pro­ IC'St lt the h.:and il nc of th..: tntemal poiiC"C 1nvest L gJt 10 n 1nto C.:amcron· s death.

Bu t 11 wu 1 stonny when the dc leptlon cmCTJC'd near ly 1n hour the Abon1,1nn s.a •d

the y hid not bttn ctven i fair be:Jr•

'"'" Mr (Jmeron n id only one of the 1r 1-' demands had been met

An dck&,J 11on heldC'd ._ He. s.l.ld LbG. Mi.nis ten told hun

by M r leoc:dtum C.:amcro n stormed · the y no power to orde r lhc into Gcr.:a ld ton ' s SGIO bulid 1n1 Pollet Comm1ss1oner . Mr Bu ll . to while 2 St.3te ClbLnct me-c 11 n1 wa.s hd 1 C (

In Jnd a hst of de· nspcctor oustns rom

mands to three .•· told the protnter\

. oui.J'ide-l.he bu ild in& what had h.ap-

. h .•s undcntood one o( th e dc lc-p- pc:ned and s.a.rd : • If the Government tton s pnnctp.al demJ.nds WlS the. ca n ' t-: coot rot Bull wc'll to

wuhdn .. ·ii l or Inspector En c Cous.-- much.oa Bull- ' -

lOS.. who IS hCldln& th e Interna l In• vewpuon. Ta lks were htld bc- tw t"C n th e de le­ PIIOn. tht for Abon &.J n.ll

AO'a tn. Bnd cc . th e ..... ttorncy·

GrMnl . . \1r B .. ·nnson . the Po hcc Mlnllttr. Jnd 1hc Pre ·

m1cr. Do.,.Cl •n&.

:The was &J"r'C t.cd wnh

chccn. : and thtre u now a stron.a poss1b li1ty that Abooc1n cs from th rouc,hout th e and G.:a s·

coyne wdl march on the Eut Penh pallet hudquancn...

• Fune,..l, more reports, page 7 .

911

APPENDIX 13

Newspaper clippings: The Kimberley Echo

(see Section 18.6)

913

The Kimberley Echo 1/6/1985

MILLIONS WASTE 10N ABO. GROUPS ? • lloth the National and Aborip-.al Oevelopcnenl Commiuion 1re under innelir;otion for the mi1ute of lundl l•r•cticlllly thrown at them by tlw Fctlerat Govemmrnl. It Is ollt90d thot little II ony of lht moo1ey c-enttd to the groups ever got to tht tru• tribol tborlglnos lor whom It Wtl in..,ndod. A spokesmen lor tht N .A.C. sold ........ got 10 mum money so quickly- did no know whot to do with It''. Tht Cht lrm., • Mr . R. Alley of the N .A .C . seld 11 he hid cut oH funding ht would lpprokh Ruult or China for fundi. S.. Footnot• Mr Chtrln Perkins who wa · tho Chtlm1an of lht A.D.C. undl he blc.,. ldvlsor to Primo Mlnlstor Htwkt w11 undtr ln-tiiJitlon for tht tlleptd misult • of olrilno dcktll for tboriglntl womon. Tho A.D.C. wa still undtr ln-tlgttlon Into lht ollegod mlu u• of funds. Footnote I The Amerl,., C.I.A. ond A.S.I. 0. hwt cloimed for 10me time thot Ru•l• hod ,_, dronnollin1 fundi Into tfte """'Y mon

APPENDIX 14

Newspaper clippings: Identifying Aboriginality

(see Section 18.8)

917

616

POLICE NAME VIOLENT BOY By l"otie• n-Mr BILl I'()W(R THE ern loday and pholnRrarlh nf lhr vnulh ,.-Jtn hrnkt 0111 n( (,.On£mOrt dt'lt'nlinn rrnlrr IIC' Jcrrmy J:1mC'< I nne<. I r.. who W:l< , rrh::.""'' • rtfturc- ' ni ., tlnl•foortl thf" •• ,,,....," .. ;. l( i,f ' .. ... . "' .• , -. •ntrtl a .u .... nc C"ar tlw(l\. ncot ln•r .... " JcWW""'t l.acl !'I ... ll\1 ttf f'O.t•l("t••..,.• . :"'·r ftC' • ·â€¢â€¢ fUftt . i ACitt.Jtttl f'f'tft\"tC · '""'' r.w ' """"ftf'f' aftd ..... '-""h '"" pMict h!'l"'' ,,,,., '" hr orutrrtrrl ." " hr Ulul . .. ... , '" thru i""""'"""' thai tluc '" rrr:tt•hurct .• Nf't llf'"tht lhc'rt • ·ill hr l"tf"lt•t• .,_.,, "f' ftH*'I •ul:" thr ru .. h(' .. lftttt"'\ i• lA AN'w•litt:ltl. 11U . •·ith 1 -'•m hmld . ._'""" filair 1.wl \Vhtft ht t..-nltc ,...,, n( l""l"''"f ht •"1"1'"'1 ,ra•u , T -chirl. :tftti lf"'f'f"" e '""C'' · runthrr "-"ul 11" ­cf:ot\" •hr h:o.,f to.rrn ('alk",l '" 1:"1•1 'ATf'\: 1'(' ­' r:"ll l \.t hr" '"" h:o..1 ·· """"laJ .('r•lrn(•C" • ·· ·· 1 If' '"'" hr ""I" 1'"'"­ '"' If' h:.tt' htftnrl( rtf ('ul . hti "''''"'· . 'hf' ... .,,(1 _ .. .. ._. tn F<"' C'MII ht-f'•\"(' h( WI' u("k lftd ltted "' 11-1(' fttf'thl f'8'"''"1 h,.., " "inlf"nl." •rr<"11rt4 '" hrr "'"" If' , i,·r .. '"''Cif ur tn tctltrr her,.., tht ,\horiacnal LeJ·"' Sc""t

920

THE WEST AUSTRALIAN SATURDAY JULY 14 1990 7 ·

Lawrence criticises police move PREMIER Cannen Lawrence has crit­

icised police for identifyinc a youth who smashed hts way out of Long­ more remand centre on Monday.

Dr Lawrence said she was dismayed by a police decision to release the name and photosraph of the 16-year-old in a bid to wom the public. She said the

police had to justify their actions.

She said the Government would introduce lecisl:nion so police would not be breaking the law when identifving a 4-:rimin:sl in the intcl't'Sts of public Safety .

Puhtl: would nUl comment ' 'csterd;l\ . but Police Commtssioner Fr.uik

ancni accepted \!arhcr

this Wffk for identtfytnc the estaP

"ud as tht couns. The Pl'

)uppont:d the release. ha'"ing no

pnor L:nowlc..-dgc of police intentions. Dr La wn:nce sa id the communit\ focused 100 he;a \·ily on j u venile crime. · -wt ha ve- to ma ke su rf! that va u nt.

people art" proh.."\.'H:d fro m undue: Public: she- s.a id. ..:rc: dc:,·dopin& an

attitude in this state which is verging on

But C it i zen' C rt m c-

prl.') ldcn t Bo b Taylor sup­

;>ortc:d the po li.:e sa ying i t

and concerns

,; lloliil tl'h.' \\' 1.' !'(" UOJ li Si ilicd .

By EUGENIE REID and HELEN WINTERTON

"The sufTenn1 of the &eneral commu­ nity is than the consequences for

one vic tim.· he said. - The public is fed up with judicial and political inaction on crime and is prepared to aive police d iscretionary

The WA Polic.: Union also hit back yesterday at Penh criminal la-.·yer ard Uttin' who had earlier criticised the namang ol the youth.

t n1un s.cnc-r.::r.l secretary Rae Stinet· more SOlid Mr Uttinc appeared to be c:urying out :1 penonal campaicn of vili fic:lllon of the w"' policr fortt.

-That a correct decision v.-as mack is nut only e"·idenccd by the early arrest of the escapee bu t has also port from the Auorncy·Gtneral. the

Mintstcr for Po li..:e . newspaper and the: ec-nc-r:ll f')ubhc .- ht sa.id . -we wi th · interest that neiahcr

the La,.,· Soc iet,· of WA nor the Bar Association uf \\' l. ha,·e sought 10 vi lify the police in the Mr ljnin& has. M

Mr Stin&emorc said he belie,·ed Mr U uing was seeking to create a •ulf

bet wee n the police and the communlly. Catholic Social Justice Commission chairman Mike Cole criaicised lhe police de<:ision . and said . t he J r.oup

bdieved the pohcc and Poltee M1n1ster :1dm it lhc:y made 3 m istake.

ISSUt isn' t whether the police

had •ood intenuons. no doubt they did. th e iSsue ts whether the poli ce 3n: :above th l· l:l \\ : ;o..i r Culc sa id .

921

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