Hundreds gathered on May 6 to fill Adelaide's Tandanya National Indigenous Cultural Institute for the forum “An Aboriginal Perspective on Inequality, the Intervention, Racism and Struggle”.
It was jointly organised by the South Australian Aboriginal Coalition for Social Justice, SIMPLA (Stop Income Management in Playford) and the Socialist Alliance. It explored a cross-section of the most pressing issues facing Aboriginal people in Australia, such as racism, the Northern Territory intervention, inequality, the need for struggle and youth activism.
Tauto Sansbury of South Australia's Narugga people and spokesperson for the SA Aboriginal Coalition for Social Justice facilitated the forum and the all-Aboriginal panel, giving local context to the themes discussed.
The mood of the forum was that of anger at the continued legacy of injustice but also brimming with hope, as speakers discussed the need for unity, solidarity and mass action. The enduring impacts of colonialism, oppression and discrimination were clear.
Speakers included Bogaine Spearim of Gamilaraay heritage from the Brisbane Aboriginal Sovereign Embassy, who spoke about the destruction of native title, black nationalism and sovereignty and the enduring relationship between the coloniser and the colonised.
Dr Jared Thomas, award-winning author and co-chairperson of the Nukuna People's Council and member of the Socialist Alliance, spoke about the effects of neoliberal capitalism and its reliance on racism and other oppressions to function. He said there was a need to ultimately break from this system, and also spoke to the importance of literacy as a tool of emancipation.
Cheryl Axelby, CEO of the Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement, discussed the proposed amendments to the Racial Discrimination Act and the federal government's moves to embolden bigotry. Axelby linked this to a brutal criminal justice system that perpetuates hugely disproportionate incarceration rates for Aboriginal people, the removal of Aboriginal children by the state and black deaths in custody.
Aboriginal rights activist Amelia Rosemarie Pangarte Kunoth-Monks from Utopia in the Northern Territory spoke fiercely of the devastating effects of the NT intervention on her community and the dehumanising experience of being forced onto the Basics Card as part of income management, which began with the intervention and has been expanded around the country.
The event's ability to bring together speakers from across the nation to explore some of the most serious problems facing Aboriginal Australia, while forging stronger links for further cooperation, holds promise for progress.
After its success, Nadine Shoen, one of the organisers of the event, said there were moves to make the SA Aboriginal Coalition for Social Justice convene regular forums to forge a stronger national discussion on the issues in focus.