Reconciliation and Social Justice Library

A MATTER OF SURVIVAL - HISTORY OF POLICY AND PROGRAMS

From 1788 until the 1970s government policies are characterised as applying harsh assimilatory pressure in which Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander language and identity were largely denigrated and repressed. The beginning of recognition and support for some ATSI languages occurred in the 1970s through bilingual education and other institutions. The 1980s are characterised by a resurgence in ATSI language and awareness and the beginning of government sponsored language maintenance efforts in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

Following the introduction of bilingual education in the 1970s a series of reports dealing with ATSI languages were prepared during the 1980s. These included a Senate committee report on A National Language Policy in 1984 and the Government's response, the National Policy on Languages in 1987. A House of Representatives Select Committee on Aboriginal Education in 1985 dealt with language issues within education. The Aboriginal Education Policy Task Force reported in 1988 and was followed by Commonwealth, state and territory agreement on the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Policy (AEP) in 1989.

A National Aboriginal Languages Program was established in 1987 under the National Policy on Languages. Following a Green Paper the Commonwealth released a White Paper in September 1991 on Australia's Language containing an Australian Language and Literacy Policy.

While the National Aboriginal Language Program (NALP) was criticised for some shortcomings it did begin to redress the serious neglect of ATSI languages and gave a large degree of control to ATSI people. Regional ATSI language centres grew and played a significant role in the program as well as direct assistance being given to many community based programs. A review of the program in 1989 found that the educational, linguistic and cultural potential of the program was enormous. The review also found DEET management of the program had an overly educational orientation, lacked clarity in program goals, and provided little co-ordination between projects.

The committee is critical of DEET's limited outlook and management of the NALP program. Attempts by DEET to transfer NALP functions into an education program, the AEP, were totally inappropriate. An attempt was also made through the Green Paper to limit language maintenance activities to 20 languages claimed to be the only ones where language was being actively transmitted to children. This ignored the broader language service needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Fortunately this extremely restrictive view did not reappear in the White Paper.

The Aboriginal Languages Initiatives Program announced in the White Paper supports a national network of Regional Aboriginal Language Committees extending the present number of centres and increasing the level of funding. A conference of ATSI language organisations in December 1991 agreed to a structure for the network. The committee believes that structure should be endorsed by the Commonwealth and that state and territory governments should contribute more to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander language maintenance.

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