Reconciliation and Social Justice Library
Reconciliation and Social Justice Library
6.10 The main Commonwealth language maintenance program over the last five years has been the National Aboriginal Languages Program. The program ran from 1987 to 1990. In 1989 consultants were appointed to conduct a review of the National Aboriginal Languages Program. The NALP Review has pointed out that NALP should have been called a "fund" rather than a "program" as a program should have sound principles, aims, objectives and guidelines. NALP had instead a sum of money available for allocation 112 . The allocation was decided on the basis of project submissions.
6.11 NALP funding was:
$0.5m - 1987-88
$1 m - 1988-89
$1 m - 1989-90
The NALP Review in 1989 noted:
that NALP was funded by the Government at half the level requested - $2.5 million instead of $5.0 million over three years. AACLAME has made recommendations to the Minister that the level of funding be doubled.
However, no further funding is envisaged. 113
6.12 The distribution of funds across groups was given by the Review as:
- 56% of NALP funding has gone to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and regional language centres 20% to government schools
- 5% to independent ATSI schools
- 2% to Catholic schools
- 17% to institutions, private companies, individuals 114
The Review found that in 1988-89 some 91 languages were assisted with 5600 people benefiting directly or indirectly. This comprised 1500 adults and 4100 children. 115
6.13 Mr Jo Lo Bianco from AACLAME commented on the shortfall in NALP funding:
It would have been possible for us to have done a much better job had we had the extra money, not just because more money is what people always ask for - I am cautious about that sort of argument - but because when we looked at the amount of demand for support under NALP and what we were able to provide, we were just a little bit under what we were being asked for. 116
6.14 The review of NALP in late 1989 by consultants Riley-Mundine and Roberts criticised NALP for having an overly educational orientation, lacking clarity in program goals, and having little co-ordination between projects. The Review stressed regional language centres as the key to developing language education projects. Approximately 200 people were consulted in the review. The Review found that NALP had begun to redress the serious neglect of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages and that the educational, linguistic and cultural potential of the program was enormous. They stressed, however, that language has a far greater significance than education. "Language is the key to a person's culture and culture is the very essence of a person's identity."
6.15 The brief for the NALP Review team included assisting in the incorporation of NALP activities into the Aboriginal Education Policy (AEP). The Review report stated that:
DEET's current intention is to integrate NALP and mainstream its funding under the AEP and has requested the Review Team to establish factors which have contributed to the success or otherwise of the program. In implementing the AEP the Minister has agreed, on advice from his Department, that at least 60% of NALP funds is to be allocated to projects having a direct educational focus supportive of and complementary to the access, retention, attainment and equity objectives of the AEP. The remaining 40% of projects are to have a research and/or educational focus. This allocation, based on 1988/89 expenditure, has not been accepted by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Reference Group. 117
6.16 From its consultation on this issue the Review team found that this proposed integration "was viewed with concern by all parties associated with the NALP program except for certain DEET staff." 118 The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Reference Group also expressed concern as they were not convinced that the AEP was an adequate vehicle for ATSI language maintenance and development. 119
6.17 The NALP Review concluded "that the activities of NALP cannot be incorporated fully into the Aboriginal Education Policy. Language involves much more than education as is apparent in the NPL endorsed by the Government. This does not mean that some NALP activities cannot be incorporated into the Aboriginal Education Policy." 120 The Review report stressed that the central place of language in education needs to be restated before any incorporation into AEP occurs as the review team "was not convinced that some people understand its pivotal role." 121 The funding breakup above indicates that only 27% of NALP funding went to schools and that 56% of the funding went to ATSI communities and regional language centres.
6.18 Despite these findings DEET advised the committee in December 1990 that "NALP along with other Aboriginal educational programs" had been incorporated into the Aboriginal Education Strategic Initiatives Program (AESIP) from 1 January 1990 as part of the establishment of the AEP.