Editorial:

Class and Indigenous leadership

Noel Pearson is the director of the Cairns-based Cape York 
Institute for Policy and Leadership. He is a lawyer and self-
proclaimed spokesperson for Aboriginal Australians. An Aborigine 
whose education he attributes to the Lutheran Church, he grew up 
on a church-run mission and was sent to a private Christian 
boarding school. He advocates sending Aboriginal children to 
private boarding schools, calling the provision of secondary 
public schooling in remote Aboriginal communities a "failed 
experiment". Basing his arguments on his own experience of having 
"the best of both worlds" he rejects those who say his proposal 
opens the way for a new stolen generation.

In offering his panacea he casually states that Aboriginal kids 
have been going to boarding schools since the 1960s. Yes. A lot 
of things were happening then: Aboriginal people were barred from 
most public buildings and public swimming pools, hotels and 
clubs, confined to missions on the outskirts of white towns, 
refused service at the counter in shops, and in restaurants and 
cafis. Aboriginal stockmen went on strike against their ruthless 
exploitation by pastoralists; a Freedom Ride around the country 
took place by Aboriginal activists to highlight the prejudices, 
exclusion and racism being practiced against their people.

As far as education is concerned and setting aside for a moment 
the existence of two different cultures, we immediately run up 
against practical questions. Does Mr Pearson expect that all 
Aboriginal children will get this golden opportunity offered up 
by boarding schools, a whole generation sent away from their 
families and communities? Or is it to be an elite few who will be 
feted through the private system?

The answer has been provided by Indigenous Affairs Minister 
Amanda Vanstone. Supporting Pearson's proposal, Vanstone has 
announced plans for a $10 million corporate-backed scholarship 
program to take Aboriginal children out of their communities and 
into private city schools. The plan is supported by the likes of 
Westpac bank and mining giant Comalco.

If Mr Pearson believes that assimilation is off the agenda he is 
profoundly misinformed.

An issue such as Indigenous education services cannot be dealt 
with in isolation. Indeed, Noel Pearson does not confine himself 
to matters of education. He has for some time been blaming 
welfare for the plight of Indigenous Australians, most recently 
claiming that Aboriginal communities are "disintegrating socially 
and culturally because of passive welfare and substance abuse". 
John Howard couldn't have put it better. In fact "passive 
welfare" is a government catch-cry for dole bludger or parasite.

Prior to the federal election Mr Pearson called on the incoming 
government to abolish welfare payments to Aboriginal school 
leavers. The Government is going one better with a racist scheme 
to make payment of benefits to Indigenous Australians conditional 
on their behaviour. This would involve the monitoring of their 
spending of benefits through a government-issued "smart card". 
Any spending deemed offend government standards would see 
individuals cut off benefits and whole communities punished with 
loss of services. (See Guardian 17-11-04)

Not everyone is as enthusiastic as Noel Pearson. Tony McCartney 
from the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health 
Organisation called the plan "genocide", Mr McCartney pointed out 
that the crisis was not caused by Aboriginal people, "rather we 
have been the victims of over 200 years of ill-conceived ideas 
and policy failure and continue to live with the legacy of that".

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice 
Commissioner, Tom Calma, warned, "I would be deeply concerned if 
conditions were introduced which place restrictions on access to 
services for one sector of the Australian community defined by 
their race".

Where does all this place Noel Pearson in the class structure of 
society? He believes in the private sector and private 
enterprise. This accounts for the apparent contradictions in his 
actions. As such, no matter his claims of community concerns and 
ties, in practice he puts the individual first and the collective 
second. He issues edicts and helps formulate policy for 
governments. Thus he exudes the paternalism usually seen oozing 
out of Howard Government ministers.

The leadership his institute in Cairns aims to provide is the 
passage of some individuals toward the creation of an elite 
Aboriginal middle class, who like himself, would provide 
"leadership" while being part of the very system responsible for 
oppressing their people.