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Cooper, David --- "Escaping from the Shadowland: Campaigning for Indigenous Justice in Australia" [2005] IndigLawB 20; (2005) 6(10) Indigenous Law Bulletin 15


Escaping from the Shadowland: Campaigning for Indigenous Justice in Australia

by David Cooper

Campaigning for Indigenous justice in Australia is a frustrating and sometimes isolating experience. The barriers of ignorance and disinterest and the constant vocal interventions from those who take a perverse and self-righteous pleasure in undermining Indigenous aspirations for justice and self-determination are disheartening and occasionally overwhelming.

But that is the reality of Australia – a country that continues to paper over the darker aspects of its history, and that history’s manifestation in the present, by shifting blame to those most affected and vociferously telling them to ‘get over it and get a job’.

John Howard’s leadership seems to me to embody these ‘mean-spirited’ values like few before it. It is no surprise that the cause of justice for Australian Indigenous Peoples has gone backwards during his time in office. His approach to Indigenous rights in general is reflected in his comments regarding native title, that ‘the pendulum has swung too far in one direction’ and needs to be brought ‘back to the middle’.[1]

Howard has achieved this and more. Perhaps most symbolically, he has engineered the abrogation of the Federal Government’s responsibility toward a national reconciliation process, turning the goals of the process into an agenda that narrowly addresses Indigenous disadvantage through undoing Indigenous self-determination and once again placing Indigenous communities under the control of mainstream departments. It is assimilation-lite.

From the shadowland of the current policy changes, we look back almost nostalgically to those exhilarating though tentative steps towards Indigenous justice of the late 1990s and 2000 – where vast kaleidoscopes of the Sea of Hands[2] appeared around the nation, and an astonishing human tide of optimistic Australians crossed bridges throughout Australia in support of... well, what exactly?

It was not a detailed shared vision but something closer – to quote The Castle to ‘the vibe’ of those who participated; human statements in support of Indigenous justice, for putting things right. The vision laid out by the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation failed to penetrate the wider community sufficiently or, more significantly, to achieve political agreement on what would be delivered to Indigenous people in fulfilment of a decade’s painstaking work toward reconciliation. This was not the Council’s fault.

As we know, the Council’s blueprint and ‘the vibe’ in support of it cut no ice with the conservative Howard government, by that stage already cutting a swathe through Indigenous rights in order to push that pendulum back. Although an inspiring rallying cry for those crossing the Bridge, the skywriting of ‘sorry’ was pie in the sky in terms of changing the course of a government which had successfully split the nation over an apology.

It would be folly to focus narrowly on John Howard as the source of the problem. He represents the attitudes and ignorance prevalent in the broader community – and this is where the real challenge lies. We also need to remember that the record of the alternative government in addressing the root causes of Indigenous discrimination is a poor one. Many in the Australian Labor Party argue that ‘there’s no votes in blacks’ – just the risk of wedge politics and an electoral backlash. The dumping of Labor’s commitment for a national system of land rights in the early 1980s was a salutory lesson in this respect, as was the political decision to back the scrapping, rather than reform, of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (‘ATSIC’).

The political lesson to those who seek to campaign for Indigenous justice is to ensure that their efforts make an impact on attitudinal change. Without a change in underlying attitudes there can be no driving force for political action and, consequently, no prospect of enduring justice for Indigenous peoples in Australia.

There are particular characteristics of Australian society which make this task difficult. Firstly, there is no culture attuned to a ‘rights’ dialogue. Unlike other developed countries, Australia lacks a bill of rights or similar rights protection mechanism. In the United States, where rights such as free speech are constitutionally-protected, these are part of every American’s identity and core values. Australians, on the other hand, have little understanding of what their own rights are or should be (and consequently of the ways in which these are being eroded) – let alone those of Indigenous people.

Rather, Australia proudly upholds its belief in the right to a ‘fair go’ as a kind of universal measure of equality. The problem with this, as astute politicians long ago cottoned onto, is that a ‘fair go’ is a subjective measure. It depends on who is defining what is ‘fair’ and under what circumstances. It resonates well with ordinary Australians, but often evokes a tone that is more about tolerance than rights. As we know, tolerance runs thin when fear, resentment and self-interest become motivators of the public mood.

Resentment and self-interest are precisely the emotions evoked by the Howard Government’s calculated misuse of equality arguments in relation to Indigenous people, such as:

The Government is committed to common rights for all Australians... Neither the Government nor the general community, however, is prepared to support any action which would entrench additional, special or different rights for one part of the community.[3]

Such statements resonate with the most common and deeply-seated prejudices about Indigenous affairs: vast spending, mostly wasted, and generous ‘hand-outs’ to Indigenous people that other Australians don’t get. Facts rarely get in the way of such hard-wired prejudice.

As a result, many Australians support policies which discriminate against Indigenous people. This includes discrimination in relation to their rights as Indigenous Peoples (such as rights to land, protection of cultural heritage and self-determination), as well as their rights as citizens (such as those in relation to the acute socioeconomic disadvantage they face as a consequence of being Indigenous).

The conditions in which entrenched discrimination can be regarded as over-generosity are assisted by the anti-intellectualism of Australians and the Australian media. This has encouraged scorn toward the ‘elites’ and the ‘latte-sipping do-gooders’ for their support for ‘Indigenous rights’. Lately, such support has been blamed for creating Indigenous disadvantage. Anti-intellectualism has also supported the new denialism in Australian history concerning past violence against Aboriginal people. The views of a few individuals, such as Keith Windschuttle, based on doubtful scholarship and dubious premises, have been favoured over the overwhelming consensus and body of work of historians specialised in the subject.

It will always be the case that negatives will dominate the rhetoric of those working against ‘rights-based’ social justice for Indigenous Australians. Such negatives, heavily influenced by ideology and connecting with existing prejudices, are difficult to counter. Better and more positive ways of addressing and countering these negatives are needed.

Organisations such as Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation (‘ANTaR’) have shown that it is possible to reach and motivate ordinary Australians on issues of Indigenous justice and to begin to address attitudinal change. ANTaR’s success has been assisted by colourful and engaging initiatives such as the Sea of Hands.

However, there are more important factors underlying ANTaR’s success. Foremost has been the development of strong relationships and partnerships with Indigenous people. Actions in support of Indigenous justice must take their lead from Indigenous people themselves, be informed by them and reflect their aspirations. This is fundamental. Developing such relations is in itself a measure of success that should not be underestimated, as is the encouragement and strength that Indigenous people derive from the non-Indigenous support they receive.

There are many challenges in framing the goals of campaigning. One is the yawning gap between the aspirations of Indigenous people (including for such issues as self-determination, sovereignty and land rights), and the increasingly narrow agenda deemed politically or socially acceptable – essentially Indigenous disadvantage. This requires innovative approaches that highlight underlying principles and provide examples of successful Indigenous initiatives.

In these circumstances, the success of a campaign may be as modest as keeping a movement or issue alive until conditions are again conducive to positive change. In many respects this has been the challenge of the Howard years. However, the appalling conditions of Indigenous people in Australia – to Australia’s international shame – must also drive us towards continuing to seek change in the here and now. Policies must continue to be challenged and the case put for urgent action based on need, underpinned by proper research.

ANTaR’s success has also shown the importance of community-based approaches that take a long-term perspective. There are no quick fixes or short-cuts that can avoid these realities. Attitudinal change, in particular, takes time to achieve.

David Cooper is the National Director of Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation (‘ANTaR’). For further information on ANTaR, its campaigns and activities, see www.antar.org.au.


[1] John Howard, Prime Minister , ABC Television, 4 September 1997.

[2] The Sea of Hands was created in 1997. They consist of 120,000 colourful, plastic hands which are displayed as public shows of support for native title and reconciliation.

[3] Commonwealth of Australia, Commonwealth Government Response to the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation Final Report – Reconciliation: Australia’s Challenge, (2002) 17.

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