—–

Click here to download “jobs With Justice” statement

Endorsements of the statement so far include:

Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement Inc, Aboriginal Legal Service of Western Australia (ALSWA), Aboriginal Support Circle – Older Women`s Network, Aboriginal Support Group Manly Warringah Pittwater Amoonguna Community Council Inc., ANTaR Armidale, Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network, Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation, Australian Nursing Federation, Australian Services Union (SA,NT,ACT&NSW branches), Brisbane Aboriginal Rights Coalition, Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association, Communist Party of Australia, concerned Australians, Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union, Ethnic Child Care Family and Community Services Cooperative Ltd, Greens (NT & NSW), Gurindji stop-work meeting (October 20), Hoeroa Robert Marumaru (Maori ethnic community Brisbane), Intervention Rollback Action Group Alice Springs, La Perouse Botany Bay Aboriginal Corporation, Liquor Hospitality and Miscellaneous Workers Union, Leichhardt Council, Liberty Victoria, Maritime Union of Australia, Melbourne Unitarian Church Mutitjulu Community Aboriginal Corporation, National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Ecumenical Commission, National Association of Community Legal Centres, National Tertiary Education Union, Ngoppon Together Inc, NSW Aboriginal Land Council, Peace & Social Justice Network VRM Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Australia (AYM office Qld) Socialist Alliance, Socialists Alternative, Solidarity, Solidarity Choir, South Coast Labor Council, Stop the Intervention Collective Sydney, Tangentyere Council, The Greek Orthodox Community of NSW  Ltd, The Network of Immigrant and Refugee Women of Australia Inc, Tribal Warrior, Unions NT, UQ/QUT Students for Indigenous Rights, Urapuntja Aboriginal Corporation, Women for Wik, Women’s International League for Peace & Freedom

Prof. Jon Altman, Gil Appleton, Assoc. Prof. Barbara Baird, Prof. Larissa Behrendt, Judith Gamper, Vivi Germanos-Koutsounadis OAM, Dr Peter Gibson & Cathy-Anne Grew, Don & Estelle Gobbett, Rev. Dr. Djiniyini Gondarra OAM,Marcia Guild, Brian Johnstone, John Leemans, Ian MacIndoe, Jeff McMullen, Wendy McMurdo (Greens Councillor Hornsby Shire), Sandra Milne, The Hon Alastair Nicholson AO RFD QC, George Newhouse, James Oaten, Christine Olsen, Linda Pearson, Stephen Sewell, Rachel Siewert (WA Greens Senator), Associate Professor Gracelyn Smallwood, Warwick Thornton,Anne Vadiveloo, Sam Watson, Bethany Wheeler, Alexis Wright, Josephine Zappia

—

October 29, 2010

National Day of Action

The Intervention Rollback Action Group in Alice Springs is requesting
support for a statement demanding ‘Jobs with Justice for Aboriginal
workers’ that will be launched on October 29 with protest rallies
around the country.  (See link above)

The statement highlights the serious breaches of workers’ rights and
massive increases in unemployment that have taken place under the NT
Intervention. We are aiming to print it in ‘the Australian’ newspaper
on the day of the launch. The cost of the public notice is expected to
be around $11,000.

The closure of Community Development Employment Projects (CDEP) has
been devastating, throwing proud community workers who were being paid
wages onto the dole. It has been one of the main tools used by
government to push through their current agenda of assimilation.
Without access to proper employment programs in their own communities,
the pressure builds up on Aboriginal families to move away. Similarly,
without access to the funding and workers previously provided by CDEP,
many Aboriginal organisations are suffering drastically reduced
capacity.

Recent revelations of widespread starvation in Aboriginal communities
provided to an NT government child protection inquiry underscore the
complete failure of the NT Intervention to address acute social
problems.

Unless the resources that are currently being spent on discriminatory
bureaucracy can be redirected to employment opportunities and programs
based in Aboriginal communities, the well-being and living conditions
of Aboriginal people in the NT will continue to sharply deteriorate.
Please follow the links provided in the footnotes to the attached
statement, or get in contact if you require any more information about
these issues.

Pressure is mounting for change. As highlighted in this statement, the
UN Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has recently
issued another strong condemnation of NT Intervention. And in the
recent federal election, strong Greens candidates Barbara Shaw and
Warren H Williams outpolled both Labor and Liberal in Aboriginal
communities in Central Australia standing on a clear anti-Intervention
platform.

The call for support for the ‘Jobs with Justice’ statement came from a
major conference held in Alice Springs in July. Aboriginal community
leaders, human rights activists and union members and representatives
from across the NT and Australia all pledged support. Other early
endorsements include the Liquor Hospitality and Miscellaneous Workers
Union (LHMU) NT who cover many Aboriginal workers affected by the
Intervention and Aboriginal leaders such as Barbara Shaw and Larissa
Behrendt.

This letter is requesting:-

1.      Your public endorsement of the ‘Jobs with Justice’ statement;
2.      A donation of at least $100 to help with the cost of publication.
3.      Help advancing support for the statement through potentially
supportive organisations.

Please email your endorsement to jobs.w.justice@gmail.com or phone
Marlene Hodder from the Intervention Rollback Action Group (Alice
Springs) on 08 89525032.

Please forward your donation to:
Intervention Rollback Action Group
PO Box 8488
Alice Springs
NT 0871

Or by direct deposit to:
Bendigo Community Bank
A/c Name: Intervention Rollback Action Gr.
BSB No: 633-000
A/c No: 134 157 049

Please send a notice to jobs.w.justice@gmail.com when you have made a donation.

Many thanks for your ongoing support.

http://rollbacktheintervention.wordpress.com

===

STATEMENTS OF SUPPORT FOR OCT 29 RALLIES

Tena korua! [Greetings to you]

As a recognised representative for the Maori ethnic community of the Brisbane, South East Qld, region, and direct descendant of the families of the Rangitira [Chiefs], of the Iwi [tribes] of the Ngati Apa, and Ngati Whatua, I wish to express on behalf of my peoples, the solidarity of support of the Indigenous peoples of this land, in their struggle against the observed oppression of the disreputable NTER policy, continued perpetrated against them.

I wish to express the spirit of my peoples is with them, as is our hearts.

Ka kite! {keep well]

Hoeroa Robert Marumaru

_____________________________________________________________________________

The millions and millions of dollars wasted on the NT Intervention could have been used more wisely and intelligently by negotiating appropriate, modern comprehensive agreements or treaties with the Indigenous Nations of the Northern Territory. This work should have begun with the Kalkaringi Statement (1998), as it should have happened with the other important statements developed by Indigenous people trying to plan a future in the Northern Territory since 1963.

The Kalkaringi Statement, developed and endorsed by senior Aboriginal people in Central Australia representing the Combined Aboriginal Nations of Central Australia, was another beginning of the Aboriginal self determining process to plan for the future by creating appropriate Aboriginal governance arrangements in the Northern Territory.

This important and serious work of treaty making begins now with another apology by the Federal Government for the suffering created to Indigenous people by the imposed intervention.  People who have already suffered enough.

The work of treaty making with the Indigenous Nations of the Northern Territory should go hand in hand with a complete inquiry of the Northern Territory (Self-Government) Act 1978.  This legislation has never been tested. Whereas, we have lost count of the number of times the Aboriginal Land Rights (1976) Act has been challenged, reviewed, amended and weakened.

The review of the governance arrangements of the Northern Territory (Self-Government) Act 1978 should be headed by Indigenous people of the Northern Territory of high calibre and proven long term leadership such as David Ross and Tracker Tilmouth.

It is high time for looking towards hope, rather than despair.

Alexis Wright

Author of Grog War, and Carpentaria – winner of the Miles Franklin Award for Literature in 2007

Distinguished Research Fellow

University of Western Sydney