Pearson. Great tool for the Howard Government. Very poor Aboriginal Leader.

By Aletha Penrith

I am an Aboriginal Woman, mother to three and current Youth Reconciliation representative for NSW. Previously, I represented the metropolitan area of Sydney on the Aboriginal Youth Justice Advisory Network; a junior section of AJAC, that comments and implements social policy for Indigenous Youth, among other things.

I am also currently on the board of Mudgin Gal Aboriginal Women's Co-operation situated in Redfern, not far from the Block. It is a centre that deals with Aboriginal women from all over the country, who pass through Redfern, and are in need of support. I have dedicated my life to the contribution of social justice for my people, as my parents and their parents have done before me.

In 2002, I attended a National Youth Justice Conference in Brisbane, where I heard Noel Pearson speaking for the first time. He was babbling on about land as assets, which he believed were not being used in an appropriate economic manner, as well as other ideas about smart cards and welfare dependency being at the root of social disorder, and further ideas of economic development in Cape York.

This has been his main platform - Economic development in Cape York.

However his ideals seem to be actively dominating Aboriginal social policy right across the board in 2007, regardless of teams of experts. I, personally, find him an interesting character, full of irony and contradictions, like most politicians. But as Lowitja O'Donahue said in response to the "Little Children are Sacred" report and Pearson's influences on social policy affecting Aboriginal Australians, I agree that he is "...not our new messiah".

The whole Commonwealth invasion of the Territory at present has his seal stamped all over it, though he has claimed in last week's Australian Weekender, not to be responsible for the so called ‘urgent action' taken by Federal Aboriginal Affairs Minister and the Howard Government. Convenient, Pearson.

As a child of generations upon generations of people who fought for the right to self determinate effectively, particularly in areas of social health and justice, Pearson's, Borough's and Howard's take on it seem a bit ‘Johnny come lately'. So much should have been prevented, if only Governments of past and present supported Aboriginal recommendations. The sad thing is, Pearson himself is no doubt aware of this.

But things are running in backward order, and Noel has a lot to answer for in relation to these matters. At the same time as Pearson recently told the media "‘Land rights' is no longer an issue in the Cape", in his neighbouring state Northern Territory, an economic asset, land, is being removed from community control, and is subject to the Howard Government's preferences for up to five years, according to Health Minister Tony Abbott on yesterday's ‘Sunday' Program. What cultural impact, I wonder, will five years have on the local mobs. It seems almost "iconic" when one considers that a notable community in NT has just rejected a $60 million paternalistic SRA with Governments for 99 year leases for mining companies; but are now subject to an even worse form of paternalism.

However, Pearson says confidently, as though squealer the pig, the character who spins positives for Napoleon the dictator, who just also happens to be a pig, from George Orwell's 1940's novel, Animal farm; "This is not a land grab". Surely, Pearson does not actually believe this, because from where I am sitting, it is impossible to see it as anything else. I believe the future of these lands will be sold or leased to miners, under the banner of "social reform for sacred children". Time will tell, but what is obvious is that the Government cannot afford these measures. If they could, these types of economic extremes should have been afforded to the Aboriginal Corporations, under the banner of social health, many years ago.

Perhaps it is a mechanism to employ the mining companies' unquestionable "economic support" and mining leases. Alas, it could be so that these may be the measures required for the public to see the reality of black Australia and its urgent state, but somehow, since the bridge walk of over 200,000 Australians this decade, I don't think so.

Australians are well aware of social issues Aboriginal Australians face. Reconciliation has sprouted from this knowledge.

Social reform is the answer. In truth, it's not that I don't support radical social reform. Absolutely, I do, but ‘democratic paternalism" cannot work. If the people of Australia really seek radical social reform, then why not an independent Aboriginal Government, or can Australians only accept its Indigenous peoples on non Aboriginal terms.

It is a method that has not been trialled and therefor not already failed. ATSIC, was not an independent governing body by any means. It became a tool of politically correct power for Governments, as well as a scapegoat for the broader community to point the finger at poor Aboriginal management. In my personal opinion, ATSIC was set up to fail, as much as the animals in ‘Animal Farm' were set up to fail. The failure was in the infrastructure.

The democratically elected Commonwealth Government have failed us and continue to fail us miserably. The population is obsessed with populist politics, and material possessions, and, as the Y generation fall deeper and deeper into debt over fantastical economic ideals, I would dare to question whether the majority have the common sense to see beyond their own individualist desires. I definitely do not think they have the maturity to make decisions on behalf of a 60,000 year old People.

Among other things, this much is evident within this report and the many reports done before this; under-resourced communities create hopelessness, along with a powerlessness that leads to an inevitable implosion. Aboriginal experts have been saying this for as long as I have been alive.

Rudd, leader of the opposition, has offered no leadership on this matter; perhaps he is a little scared of Pearson's intellect. Who knows, but his lack of opposition on this matter, has removed any confidence that I held in his leadership capacity.

Reconciliation seems baffled in this, but that is not at all surprising. One of the problems, including the lack of Aboriginal engagement in Reconciliation at the grass roots level, is because there is no real equal power base with which to engage.

Why not immediately hand over the powers to the community, legal and otherwise to create that change? Import culturally sensitive people, who are Aboriginal, who have dedicated themselves to social health and justice for thirty years or more, to help implement that change as directed by the women, the mothers.

If not, then what does the Government really want, because this method will only create more problems, for mothers, children and responsible men, as well as contribute to racism and bigotry nationally, and I have already seen the impacts of that, when my local Greek shop owner freely told me what "my people should be doing" to improve our affairs - now an expert on the matter after reading a few articles.

Pearson has played a massive role in the removal of Aboriginal Human Rights in this era. His tactics have been divisive, to say the least.

Although he is a man who does not have the responsibility of raising children, he feels he is in an appropriate position to remove the rights of mothers, who are also real victims, subject children to enforced health checks which would have been forensic given the opportunity (legal paedophilia?), and completely supports the Commonwealth in their serial "raping " of Aboriginal communities all over the NT.

He says that he doesn't care if the Howard Government is only acting as a result of the elections, as long as they are acting.

What an absolutely incredulous statement. Pearson should know, as a supposedly intelligent man, that populist politics reflects greed and manipulation for power, not substantial commitment and development.

Nothing has been mentioned by him or the Government, as was by Aboriginal psychologist and Trans-generational trauma expert Judy Atkinson, regarding the preying on disempowered communities by non Aboriginal Australians, including mining officials.

Perhaps it is an inconvenient truth. But it is something that comes with a convict and immigrant history, and certainly something that occurs all over the country. I can remember as a girl, in my hometown in NSW, businessmen, economically successful individuals, preying on myself and my cousins at the tender ages of nine years and up. Whites and Italians were the main perpetrators. Young black men were jailed and arrested for coming to our aid.

Another common misconception suggests that people with economic independence are not perpetrators of domestic violence, or paedophiles, and that is a dangerous notation and quite simply incorrect.

There is a convenient blindness to Pearson and his supporters. A human element missing, that is inappropriately replaced with intellectualism and ineffective idealism.

A real Aboriginal leader would take history into account, support immediate action, and direct ideas that empower the community to ensure that this chaos never happens again. They would inspire young leaders to do the same in their own community, not divide already small numbers, and disengage already disempowered people.

Pearson may be a brilliant tool for the Howard Government, but he is a very poor Aboriginal leader.