"Little Children are Sacred"

"There's no quick Fix"

(Image from Oxfam.org.au)

After much request, I've posted a letter below that was written to the Commissioner of Australian Southern Territory about the recent interventions into Aboriginal communities. It is a very sensitive issue in Australia with so many different opinions on what should or shouldn't be done. I'm placing it here to get people thinking and raise awareness about the issues involved. I also just wanted to say that I am so glad we have a Commissioner here that we feel comfortable expressing these concerns to and having the youth voice heard.

Much Grace,
Heather

Dear Commissioner,

Firstly, welcome home to Australia!

As we are sure you are aware, following the recent release of the report " Little Children are Sacred" on child sex abuse in the Northern Territory, the Federal Government announced a major policy intervention into the welfare of remote aboriginal communities. The policy that encompasses a number of extreme measures has been met with mixed responses from both Aboriginal communities and the wider Australian public (including the authors of the report).

We were very disappointed to read the Salvation Army's THQ media release, which fully supported the Government's proposed solutions and advocates for the State governments to adopt similar measures.

As youth passionate about this issue, we, like many people are in complete agreement that this is an urgent issue and a national crisis that needs our immediate attention. We need to ensure that communities are safe and free from violence and abuse. It is for this reason we fully support the intention of the policy.

Despite our support for the intention, we have many concerns about the detail of the policy and believe the approach the government is pursuing, sends a very strong message of blame and disempowerment to the aboriginal communities. In the words of Paul Briggs an aboriginal leader of Yorta Yorta in Shepparton, it " legitimizes the view of indigenous dependency". To us the policy does not seem in the spirit of reconciliation, a concept that acknowledges the impact of past policies on indigenous people. Australia's history of paternalistic, western, imperialist approaches to aboriginal affairs should inform this new policy so that it does not simply become another failed experiment.

In a privileged position of trust and respect from the public, The Salvation Army, a grassroots organization focused on assisting the marginalized and oppressed, has the responsibility to question policies that target the poor, oppressed and marginalized – the voiceless. In Australia that is our Indigenous people. It is a central part of our democratic society that we can debate these issues, rather than uncritically accept government's decisions. The Salvation Army has valuable experience in assisting those with drug and alcohol addictions, victims of domestic violence and child abuse, all things being targeted as a result of this report. Would we encourage an extreme policy response in communities within our cities? In our rural towns? Take the alcohol bans as an example, whilst we would support the movement towards more dry communities, we recognize that to simply ban alcohol will not cause the problem to disappear; people with addictions require rehabilitation, counseling support and a personal willingness to get clean.

The government's policy has not been well thought out or planned and as a result details are changing continually as people and organizations raise their voice of concern over the plans. To our knowledge the Salvation Army has not been one of these voices. Key adjustments include the decision to not target the non-indigenous sex offenders, clearly a discriminatory decision considering the findings of the report. Secondly, the compulsory health checks are now going to be voluntary because people voiced their concern over the psychological impact these would have on the children. It has been widely supported by medical professionals that such a policy is abusive and could simply place additional trauma on children. We believe there is scope for us as an organization committed to reconciliation and mission to the poor, to encourage the government to adjust and implement changes that will result in the long-term health, healing and wholeness of these communities.

The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Ecumenical Commission (NATSIEC) which is a commission of the National Council of Churches in Australia have also raised a number of important questions worth mentioning regarding the holistic impact that the policy will have on communities by identifying some key areas missing;

Ø "We are concerned that the focus is on the identification only of victims, with too little thought being placed on appropriate long term counselling and medical support as well as a lack of attention being given to charging and processing perpetrators through the justice system and, importantly, protecting communities during this process. We ask the Government to pause, in its eagerness to intervene, and listen to the experts in child abuse; and to take on board their well thought out recommendations to both prevent further abuse and to ensure those children who are already victims are cared for appropriately . "

Ø "We are also concerned that not enough attention is being paid to other aspects of alcohol abuse, in particular the violence against women. The fact that more Aboriginal women die from violence in the Northern Territory than any other cause of death is a statistic which should have inspired intervention long ago ."

Ø "We have concerns about the blanket approach to quarantining welfare payments. We believe that quarantining should only apply where it is proven that there is a failure of responsibility and children are at risk. Casting all Aboriginal people as irresponsible and unable to manage their income is erroneous. It will cause more problems than it will fix. Care must be taken to ensure these measures are targeted to those people who will benefit from them. We do not support a blanket approach which will affect all Aboriginal welfare recipients . "

We recognise that this is not an easy issue or situation to address with policy solutions. We believe the government, needs to work with the aboriginal people to ensure real, positive, and long lasting change is achieved, something the report also recommended. The government needs to listen to the aboriginal voice, recognize and support the efforts and successes that already exist . They have given very little recognition to the strengths and capacity that is present within these communities. Pat Anderson, a co-author of the report has raised concerns over the policy and urged us to "build on the successes that are already out there and to not turn away from the body of knowledge that we have already accumulated about these issues". There are many indigenous people and communities fighting for change, who recognize a solution for their own community. There is no one size fits all solution, but that doesn't mean a culturally sensitive and sustainable solution does not exist. We just need to learn to listen.

In the foyer of Territorial Headquarters in Mont Albert, there is a beautiful aboriginal painting of a cross that has foot prints leading up to it; recognizable as non-indigenous feet represented by the circle and five toes either side of the aboriginal symbol for footprints. Underneath is the quote:

"The promise of reconciliation begins with the journey of indigenous and non-indigenous people approaching the cross of Christ where we sit and share stories, honoring one another as those made in the image of God. United in purpose, we walk away as partners – reconciled people – committed to being agents of reconciliation"

Our common vision is one of individuals, communities and our society enjoying health, healing and wholeness. However to get there, we believe the approach needs to be one that believes in the capacity of people, is at the grassroots, is empowering and community driven. An approach where we can discover grace and be transformed as a society together – a reconciled nation.

We leave you with one question, is this the message we are telling the public and the government by supporting the Federal Government's policy of intervention without any challenge as to its approach?

Yours Sincerely,

Heather Saunders, Sarah Roberts, Mayra Landy-Alliston, Claire Ruthven, Beth Callander & Paul Roberts