Old Australia raises its ugly head again

The news that John Howard's conservative government in Canberra is to completely ban alcohol in Aboriginal areas of Northern Territory is frankly unsurprising. Advertised as a response to an inquiry into child sex abuse in Aboriginal communities, the ban probably has far more to do with politics than anything else.

Closer inspection of the raft of new laws affecting these communities reveals a very interesting picture. Howard has seized control of indigenous affairs by citing a 'national emergency'. Among the many laws being introduced are the confiscation of family benefits for parents who buy alcohol or drugs, confiscation of family benefits for parents whose kids play truant from school and forcing some benefit claimants to perform menial tasks. None of these laws are applied to non-Aboriginal Australians who, we suspect, also have a minority involved in both alcoholism and child abuse.

The Federal Government also used its announcements to smear the NT government, which happens to be held by the opposition Labor party, despite the fact that the inquiry backed many of the territorial government's policies. Oh, is that an election coming up?

The worry is that Howard is willing to gain political points while setting Aboriginal rights back decades. This shouldn't be surprising. He's done the same sort of thing before (like when he mendaciously claimed that illegal immigrants were willing to murder their own children to enter Australia). Howard's a deeply unpleasant demagogue - the sort only Australia could produce. (I should note here that I love Australia and have spent a lot of time there… but people like Howard are among the things that really put me off the idea of living there).

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June 21, 2007 | Filed Under Politics 

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One Response to “Old Australia raises its ugly head again”

  1. Aboriginal Children » The Bartlett Diaries on June 22nd, 2007 5:17 am

    [...] Not surprisingly, it has also received enormous coverage in overseas media, as well as on some overseas based blogs.   « Pay rise for politicians (again) | [...]

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