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Why We Should
Stop The
Intervention
one Indigenous person before implementing the program.
Article 4: the right of the Indigenous to self-govern (meaning a
right to exercise changes in their communities).
And Article 21: the right of the Indigenous to an improvement of
their economic and social situations
without discrimination
. Not only
have their situations not improved, but they’ve been actively
discriminated against, since the Intervention does not apply to non-
Indigenous Australians in these communities.
‘The Intervention offers us nothing… excepting the feeling of
being second-class citizens,’ said one elder from the Aboriginal
community of Utopia.
Now, you could probably excuse some of the flaws in the program,
if change was being made. But, eight years on, and over 88 million
dollars later, little has been achieved. In terms of
positive
achievement,
that is. After five years, the detrimental impacts of the program are
shocking. Suicide rates increased by 500% in the first four years, and
around 200 more incidents of domestic violence have been
occurring since the Intervention.
This lack of success has led people to believe the Emergency
Response was the government’s way of accessing land for mining.
A lot of evidence points towards this fact, especially the loss of land.
Many also believe the Emergency Response is trying to instill the
non-Indigenous lifestyle in Indigenous communities, as it does not
recognise cultural and language differences. As said by an Aboriginal
elder, ‘The white man’s way of thinking is being forced upon us, and
is forcing us to abandon our culture’.
Not only are Indigenous Australians speaking out against the
Intervention, there are also many non-Indigenous groups that are
opposed. Central Land Council and the Australian Human Rights
Commission are the two main organisations that have conducted
research on the Intervention. Both are opposed to the program, and
instead suggest the government tries to support Indigenous families,
and consult Indigenous communities. They also recommend a focus
on substance abuse and land rights, as well as child abuse and
domestic violence. Despite their many efforts, however, the
Australian government has refused to remodel their policies. Instead,
they’ve extended the duration of the Emergency Response for
another seven years.
So, though this issue may seem obscure at first, and maybe too
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