ANTaR's report card on Indigenous rights
Howard's shameful record: 1996-2004

When the Howard Government was elected in 1996, the 
Reconciliation process was progressing, historic Native Title 
legislation had been enacted and the Stolen Generations inquiry 
was under way. The Howard Government's first term was one in 
which the rights and self-determination of Indigenous people 
became increasingly undermined.

On election night 1998, after the outcry over the Government's 
discriminatory treatment of native title in 1997-98, the Prime 
Minister promised to make Reconciliation a priority for the 
Government's second term.

Instead, public perception is that the Government has pushed 
reconciliation from the national agenda.

The 2004 Federal budget contained $87 million in increased 
funding allocations for Indigenous Affairs, including an extra 
$40 million over four years to improve access to primary health 
care services. However, $10 million a year is grossly inadequate 
considering the AMA has recently estimated that Indigenous health 
is under-funded by $425 million a year!

The following provides a summary of some of the main aspects of 
the Howard Government's record on Indigenous issues over the past 
eight years:

Reconciliation

In December 2000 the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation (CAR) 
presented its final recommendations to the Government after a 
decade-long formal process. At Corroboree 2000 and events like 
the Sydney Harbour Bridge walk and other similar "bridge walks" 
around Australia, one million Australians turned out to show 
their support.

Instead of providing national leadership and adequate support to 
continue the Reconciliation process, the Howard Government 
withdrew the Commonwealth from a formal role. Its recent 
allocation of $15 million over four years to Reconciliation 
Australia, a private foundation set up to replace the Council for 
Aboriginal Reconciliation, is an inadequate response to an issue 
of major national significance.

The Abolition of ATSIC (& self-determination)

The Howard Government ignored the findings of its own review of 
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) and 
instead announced in April its intention to abolish ATSIC, return 
all funding and programs to mainstream departments, and to reduce 
Indigenous involvement to an appointed, advisory body. The move 
removes independent Indigenous involvement in decision-making 
affecting their lives — the very basis of self-determination — 
and breaches Australia's international obligations.

"Practical reconciliation" & Indigenous disadvantage

With or without an Indigenous elected national body, Commonwealth 
and State governments will continue to carry heavy 
responsibilities for service delivery to Indigenous people. It 
becomes even more important with the Howard Government's 
insistence on further "mainstreaming" of government services.

In 1996, one of the Howard Government's first actions was to cut 
funding to Indigenous Affairs by $470 million. Some of this 
funding has been restored, but despite adopting a "practical 
reconciliation" approach, the Government has failed to make an 
impact on Indigenous disadvantage.

Native Title

The Native Title Act 1993 was passed in response to the 1992 High 
Court Mabo, after extensive negotiation with Indigenous 
representatives.

The Howard Government came to power in 1996, at the time of the 
High Court's Wik decision which established that native title 
could potentially coexist with leaseholders' rights on some 
leasehold lands, including pastoral lands.

The new Howard Government triggered an alarmist and divisive 
debate over the Wik decision and refused to negotiate with 
Indigenous representatives.

The Government instead introduced the 1998 Amendments (based on 
Howard's 10 Point Plan), significantly increasing the 
extinguishment of native title and winding back of Indigenous 
rights applicable under the Native Title Act, while enhancing the 
rights of other landholders, governments and developers.

Aboriginal Legal Services

Federal Government plans to "mainstream" Aboriginal and Torres 
Strait Islander Legal Services by calling for tenders to provide 
legal services for Indigenous people, have had to be wound back 
following serious criticism of the effects of the proposed tender 
documents. The Government backdown does not end the issue as 
there is no guarantee that current Indigenous Legal Services will 
not be disadvantaged or overlooked during the tendering process.

Stolen Generations

The Bringing Them Home Report of 1997 focused national 
attention on the devastating impact of past government policies 
to remove Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from 
their families. In response [among other things] the Howard 
Government spent an estimated $11 million to oppose just two 
"Stolen Generation" cases in the courts (the Gunner-Cubillo and 
Williams cases) and questioned whether there was a "Stolen 
Generation".

Treaty

The Howard Government has rejected the idea of a treaty or 
agreements process out of hand and has refused to facilitate 
community education and measured national debate on the issue.

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*ANTaR (Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation) 
http://www.antar.org.au

Abridged