----- Original Message ----- From: Trudy Bray <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: news-clip <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Thursday, June 08, 2000 12:57 PM Subject: -[Tino Rangatiratanga]- SMH - Trouble among the tribes > The Sydney Morning Herald > Trouble among the tribes > > Date: 08/06/2000 > > Internal divisions threaten to undermine the Aboriginal cause, writes Michael Mansell. > > Whenever Aborigines are poised to advance our cause, we begin to implode. I swear it's true! Take the huge turnout at Sydney's > Corroboree 2000. What should have been a unanimous celebration of such a generous show of public support for Aboriginal people has > instead degenerated into a petty public drubbing of some Aborigines by others. And yes, some of them ought to have known better. > > We are left to ponder why Evelyn Scott, chair of the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation, made her outburst at the weekend, claiming > that agendas had been hijacked and that white supporters were (strangely) using us. > > There is, of course, a difference of opinion about strategies for advancing the cause of Aboriginal people. There is very little > disagreement about what should happen - for instance, Jackie Huggins, a member of the council, supports the proposal for a treaty > between Aborigines and the Australian Government, but thinks it will be a yoke around the council's neck if linked to the council. > > Pat Dodson, the council's former chairman, also agrees with a treaty, but believes the council should run with it. It is trite to say > Aboriginal leaders are unanimous about there being much to be done, and many things needing to be changed, in the interests of > Aboriginal people. > > How the issue of broad public opinion is best handled usually brings out the untidy side of Aboriginal leaders. Why this continues to > happen is a mystery. > > It is true that one camp, to which I belong, sees public opinion as being only a factor to take into account, but not one that should > dominate strategy. > > The other camp believes that without broad public endorsement, there is no mandate for change. In other words, my camp says public > opinion should be nurtured and developed, but isn't the final arbiter while the other camp will not move without widespread public > support. > > Another relevant factor in this discussion is the role of the "white activists". In my view, they are welcome participants in the cause of > advancement of Aborigines. But where is the line to be drawn, and how far can white supporters go in peddling their own views? > > Malcolm Fraser, Fred Chaney and the late Nugget Coombs, for instance, have never forced their views of what they believe is best for > Aborigines on Aboriginal people. > > The roles of the Jesuit priest Frank Brennan and reconciliation councillor Ray Martin are more difficult to ascribe as being more > supportive of Aboriginal decisions than influencing those decisions. > > Part of the reason for the confusion of the roles and boundaries within which Brennan and Martin should operate is that, at least in the > case of Brennan, his views are often sought by politicians when seeking a compromise on Aboriginal claims or demands. > > Martin, of course, is in a formal position on the Reconciliation Council, and is often seen as strongly campaigning for one Aboriginal > group against another. > > The positions of Brennan and Martin are tenuous. They are committed to the cause but often express views which encroach upon policy > questions that are best left to the Aboriginal people. > > On Monday, Aboriginal leaders from around the country came together to set up ways to involve the Aboriginal community in > discussions about a treaty. This came shortly after the Herald's very interesting poll of views about the treaty. The fact that there were > about as many in favour of the treaty as there were against will encourage the Reconciliation Council, whose members seem particularly > poll-driven. > > As to the so-called argument of why people really marched in Sydney, I think it is a non-issue. Who will ever know why each person > turned up? What is clear is they all were marching in support of Aborigines. > > It was a wonderful sign that the more reactionary elements, displayed through support for Pauline Hanson's views on Aborigines, have > been overrun. There has to be a focus for that public display of support, otherwise people will have marched for nothing. > > The big issues such as health, poverty, customary law and a treaty, have to be resolved before reconciliation can occur. Otherwise > reconciliation has no purpose. > > Michael Mansell is a lawyer for the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre and secretary of the Aboriginal Provincial Government which > promotes discussion about the rights and entitlements about Aboriginies. > > This material is subject to copyright and any unauthorised use, copying or mirroring is prohibited. > > > > ************************************************************************* > This posting is provided to the individual members of this group without > permission from the copyright owner for purposes of criticism, comment, > scholarship and research under the "fair use" provisions of the Federal > copyright laws and it may not be distributed further without permission of > the copyright owner, except for "fair use." > > > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > Buy Long Distance with your GROUP and SAVE!!! > http://click.egroups.com/1/4123/3/_/20596/_/960444450/ > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > _________________________________________________ > Subscribe to the Tino Rangatiratanga eGroup > http://aotearoa.wellington.net.nz/subsc/ > _________________________________________________ > > > ------------------------------------------------------ RecOzNet2 has a page @ http://www.green.net.au/recoznet2 and is archived at http://www.mail-archive.com/ To unsubscribe from this list, mail [EMAIL PROTECTED], and in the body of the message, include the words: unsubscribe announce or click here mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20announce This posting is provided to the individual members of this group without permission from the copyright owner for purposes of criticism, comment, scholarship and research under the "fair use" provisions of the Federal copyright laws and it may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner, except for "fair use." 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