Your Say

I ALONG with many others travelled to Armidale (northern NSW) over the October long weekend to attend the 2009 Aboriginal Rugby League Knockout. The brand of football played from the teams that came from all over NSW was fantastic – hard and fast. But there was a downside to the carnival – poor refereeing. With big prizemoney involved and each team trying to win for their community, paying out lots of money on nomination fees, footy gears, plus travel and accommodation cost, these footy teams deserve better. They should have professional referees in the Koori Knockout, and maybe they should have two referees on the field for every game – just like the NRL. The Knockout itself did have some flaws in the organising side too. In fact I felt it was poorly organised. Whatever happened to self-determination for our people? After all it was a Koori Knockout, but all I saw were white people in the ticket box at the gates for the whole of the carnival. The only time I saw a black face was at the table on the other side of the gate, to check our bags. I thought the high number of police was just simply overkill. Riot Squad, Drug Squad, police on horses, bikes and foot patrol – it was just way over the top. All pubs and clubs were shutting down early and there was no night entertainment organised for the people. Look, I’ve been to many Knockouts and there weren’t any problems that the organisers themselves along with a small number of police couldn’t handle. Here are some other points I thought where the Armidale Knockout was lacking: l Poor lighting on Saturday evening – games were called off because there were no lights. l No portable toilets around the oval. The toilets at the back of the grandstand weren’t operating. l All shops in the oval – and there weren’t many – were operated by ­non-Aboriginal people. l No merchandise! No Knockout t-shirts or Knockout caps for sale. l No feedback or announcements on scores from the other ovals. l No Elders Tent like previous Knockouts where you could sit around and have a hot meal, hot tea/coffee, a soft drink and a piece of fruit. All I got was a cup of tea with one piece of cake. And the tea room wasn’t operating all the time. But I must say I would like to give a big thank you to the young Koori lad who was working there. He couldn’t do enough for us with what he had. l Aged pensioners paying $5 entrance fee. At previous Knockouts they were allowed in free. l There weren’t many Aboriginal service providers’ tents. I think only about five or six, whereas at previous Knockouts there would be ten to 15 tents giving out all their information bags and goodies. I hope the organisers of next year’s Knockout will take all of these things into consideration and put the Knockout back on track just like previous years for everyone to enjoy. See you next year when we do it all again! ... Dorothy Smith, Toongabbie, NSW

THE United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on Human Rights has found ‘entrenched racism against Aborigines in Australia’. It seems the Northern Territory intervention legislation breaks two UN treaties to which Australia is a signatory. Where is the public outrage? Far from being embarrassed, we have Minister Jenny Macklin, former Liberal ministers Mal Brough, Tony Abbott and (former Labor Party National President) Warren Mundine using ABC Radio to justify or rationalise the discriminatory legislation they support. Governments reflect the views of the people they govern, and Australia hasn’t yet reached a critical mass of ordinary people who really care about the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who share this country with them. Minister Macklin’s excuse for continuing the Howard Government’s racist legislation is that ‘government needs to protect the most vulnerable women and children’. These measures are directed ONLY at Indigenous people. Isn’t that the kind of thinking that gave us the Stolen Generations and previous dispossessions of Aboriginal people since 1788? One suspects governments deliberately seek to disempower Aboriginal Australians. The land of the ‘fair go’ is not so fair to Indigenous Australians, and the United Nations has noticed. ... ELSA STORY Wollongong, NSW

I HOPE you'll publish my letter, as Indigenous Australians are the first custodians of the dingo species. Another dingo killed on Fraser Island - in a 'sanctuary', a place that is World Heritage-listed and supposed to be protecting dingoes. When is there going to be some common sense and accountability on the side of human beings? Dingoes are supposed to be protected. Yet, 82 dingoes have been killed since 2001 from a population of 140 in total on the entire island. These figures come from the Queensland Department of Environment and Resource Management (DERMS) registrar. Qld Environment Minister Kate Jones is so out of touch here. A dingo dies and a media release from Ms Jones declares these animals are the best-protected animals anywhere in the world. Who is she kidding? I'm glad these people are not in Africa; there would be no lions left. Rangers are supposed to be the carers of this icon - running around with traps, gings and syringes to exterminate these animals they're assigned to protect. Isn't that a contradiction in terms? What does it take for Australians to wake up and demand that no more dingoes be killed? Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett is vocal about the Japanese killing whales, but hypocritically he is silent on the dingo topic. This animal needs protection, is on our turf and also should be given priority before it joins the ranks of the thylacine due to ignorance. Those in power should have a complete reshuffle and change in the way they think - from 'let's kill the pest' to 'let's protect and save these creatures'. Dingos are as important as whales! The dingo gene pool is being destroyed by this constant eradication. Get parents to be good parents and take some control and responsibility. It's their duty. Otherwise they shouldn't visit Fraser Island because they're jeopardising the very existence of this Australian treasure. Time for the Aussie population to wake up. A very loud 'Oi Oi Oi' is required to get this apathy removed and have some common sense introduced to save the dingo from extinction on Fraser Island and all across the mainland. Wake up Aussies, before it is too late. Write and demand action now of our politicians, who should earn their overpaid salaries by being made accountable and doing the work they are allocated and assigned to do in their portfolios. For further information on the plight of the dingo, visit www.wadingo.com ... NIC PAPALIA President, West Australian Dingo Association Balga, WA

IT seems that bidding for soccer's World Cup is going to be tough for Australia, with nations such as Mexico, Belgium and the USA bidding against us. But we, as Aboriginal people, are trying to win against something much bigger than a World Cup; we are trying to win against ignorance. Soon after Australia's World Cup bid was launched in June, I wrote to the Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Football Federation Australia (FFA) chairman Frank Lowy asking some questions. And I followed up the letter on 6 July. Today is 17 August and I am still to hear a response. I asked these two gentlemen: If FFA and the Australian Government are so committed to Aboriginal people being involved in what is known as the world game, then why - in the Great Hall of the Australian Parliament where the historic 'Sorry' was spoken - did they fly the Aboriginal flag upside down during the official bid? And then, when asked why, they could not even acknowledge my question. Maybe they thought that getting a couple of black faces on TV and playing the didgeridoo in the background of their launch was enough. Well, it isn't enough. Mr Rudd and Mr Lowy, I am pretty sure that if you do not respond to us, then FIFA (the Fédération Internationale de Football Association) will and they'll see how much this country values its First Nation peoples. And, in turn, we'll launch our own bid - to be recognised, acknowledged and respected by our own country on the biggest stage of them all. ROBERT WATERS Coffs Harbour, NSW ...

AS D-Day steadily approaches for the Indigenous community of Yarrabah, a large number of our people are facing uncertain times. The hope for the Community Development Employment Projects (CDEP) scheme to be extended past 1 July has been lost, with Federal Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin rejecting the local leaders’ plea, and putting what she thinks will work in place. She has rejected another proposal by the local leaders to extend CDEP, once again acting bull-headed towards our people and Indigenous Affairs. These brash and foolish decisions which have been made by government ministers over the last decade who have handled Indigenous Affairs did not help us move forward one bit. Minister Macklin’s latest decision is also going to backfire and fail miserably unless she becomes more proactive towards the community in Yarrabah, instead of bureaucrats dictating from their flashy offices in Brisbane. They’re still sending their feedback drones or mules into the community meetings to do their dirty work. Shame on the ministers and the Government. Five hundred people will lose their jobs and their families will be left to live off the dole. So much for our ‘highly skilled’ labourers and qualified tradesmen who have also proved themselves working in the mainstream. It is a shame we have been given this to live and abide by in our beautiful home in a year where Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said he would start closing the 18-year life-expectancy gap between non-Indigenous and Indigenous Australians. This neglect has been with us Yarrabah folks since the old missionary days of 1892. Our people are totally sick of it. We wonder why we still die younger than expected. These new changes have no respect for our cultural identity, making us into dole-bludgers and draining our confidence instead of giving our residents hope of being employed in their home town. Ms Macklin, if you really care about Indigenous Affairs and your fellow Australians in far north Queensland, I urge you to visit us in Yarrabah to meet the residents to find a better outcome, because the one you settled on is not good enough. We are not all useless. We are Australians too, the real Australians. We deserve much better. ... BRAD HIGGINS Yarrabah, North Queensland

I write to express my absolute admiration, appreciation and respect to Warwick Thornton and his new film, Samson & Delilah. I am a non-Indigenous student at the University of Canberra and studying in the social work paradigm; Indigenous contemporary issues and how they are portrayed is a constant theme of our study. However, through all my academic experience, I could not summarise how I felt or what it means for me to want to work within the heart of Australia. Samson & Delilah encompasses these feelings. Leaving the cinema I felt inspired, shamed, uplifted. But most of all, I was utterly moved. This film has changed me, and I cannot stop thinking about the characters within it and the love and pain of their lives. The scarcity of their dialogue only showed me how intense these connections can be, and I praise Mr Thornton for creating such a real and brave new film, showing an untold story of this country. I know many other people will also take a lot away from this amazing triumph of human expression. KARLA PULLEN Canberra, ACT... Karla Pullen, Canberra, ACT

Lots of Aboriginal artists and craftspeople across Australia make a living by producing their craft and sharing their cultural heritage with Australia and the rest of the world. But with all the fake Aboriginal art and craft flooding the country from Indonesia and Vietnam, the Government needs to act immediately to stop this forged crap called Aboriginal art and protect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists and their cultures. These people depend on the income they gain from their crafts to feed their families, but they are now finding it harder to sell and compete with all the container loads of cheaply painted imported so-called 'Indigenous' crafts. As the Australian Government is firmly committed to a freer global trading environment, this may be difficult to achieve. However, it may be possible to launch a public relations and advertising campaign to get Australians and international tourists to be aware of the authenticity, and to value the crafts association with its Indigenous creator and place of origin. Reserving the names 'didgeridoo' and 'boomerang' only for items made in Australia by Australian Aboriginal producers protects both consumer and producer in a similar way to 'Champagne' and its name, which is protected by France. The only sparkling wine in the world which can be called champagne must come from the French region called Champagne. Didgeridoos and boomerangs have been produced and carved in Australia for thousands of years, but have only recently been copied and sold for cheaper prices due to lower wage rates in overseas countries. The imported imitations mainly copy the dot art used by northern and central Australian Aboriginal artists. We should protect the brand names didgeridoo and boomerang and only allow those produced by Aboriginal craftspeople to be labeled as such. Any copy made by non-Indigenous people, if not banned altogether, should be called blowing sticks or throwing/returning sticks. The same can apply to other products such as T-shirts with Chinese prints on them claiming it is Aboriginal art, when it was clearly produced and created by a Chinese artist and manufactured there. These, and the many other imported products featuring Indigenous motifs, should be labeled as such. Many have heard and read about the Americans wanting to take the brand name of 'Ugg Boots'. Many Australians were in an uproar over it. How dare they, the Yanks! Ugg Boots belong to us and are an Australian icon. They belong to the Australian people. Because of the commotion it caused over here and in America, the name wasn't registered to an American company and is still wholly Australian owned and retains the Australian brand name for Australian use only. Another famous workman's boot company transferred its manufacturing processes to China. Now Australian workers and their union members refuse to wear that brand because it's no longer made here. Now the Pacific Brands family are moving to China, meaning their famous Australian brand names (King Gee, Bonds, Holeproof, Berlei, Hush Puppies and so on) will be imported. This has finally got governments up in arms, the sacked workers are putting up black bans and boycotts, and lots of the Australian people swear they will no longer buy any of these well-known brands because they will have lost their Australian authenticity. Sadly as I put a pen to paper, it is now revealed another icon, the famous Australian slouch hat worn by many Aboriginal soldiers, may now be made cheaply by overseas labour. We Indigenous Australians should be up in arms about what's happening and complaining long and loud to our local politicians, land councils, the Australia Council for the Arts and to leaders in the arts, as well as Aboriginal departments. The livelihood of Indigenous artists, woodworkers, didgeridoo and boomerang makers and Torres Strait Islander carvers and designers is at risk. Imported fakes could destroy a $40 to $50 million industry. ... Danny Eastwood, Mt Druitt, NSW

I WRITE in regard to recent reports in a number of mainstream media outlets that flowed from statements made by former Chairperson of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC), Lowitja O'Donoghue. Professor O'Donoghue is reported to have stated that male Aboriginal leaders in the now defunct ATSIC were more concerned with gambling, drinking and womanising than getting on with the business for which they were elected. Her comments should be viewed in a historical context given that her leadership of ATSIC ended in the mid-1990s. They should not be taken, ten years on, as a reflection of present-day Aboriginal leaders. Sadly, however, I think her reported comments could be taken out of context and seen to mirror the situation now. I am one of nine councillors elected to form the Governing Council of the New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council (NSWALC) and am a non-drinker and non-gambler. I'm happily married with three terrific kids. I am honoured and privileged to have been elected to represent my people in the Sydney-Newcastle region on the peak representative Aboriginal body in NSW and believe I am typical of the many new young leaders coming through the land rights movement in NSW and elsewhere. The emergence of this new current leadership is totally different to that of the 1990s. It is a shame that our past leaders tend to focus on the old style of leadership and are quick to lay blame for organisations they were part of. The new leaders would rather focus on solutions rather than the problems. We are highly committed to what we do and why we do it. I think Prof O'Donoghue's comments recall a particular period that has now, thankfully, long gone and would not be condoned if it were the case today. ROY AH SEE NSWALC Councillor Newcastle/Sydney Region ...