On December 13, 100 people gathered on the Town Council lawns in Alice Springs to mark the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The action was organised by the Intervention Rollback Action Group (IRAG) and endorsed by the full council of the Central Lands Council.
The demands of the rally were: stop the NT intervention; no leases, no blackmail — housing is a human right; no funding cuts to outstations; support bilingual education and land rights not nuclear dump sites.
The crowd was entertained with poetry readings and performances by bush bands including the Simpson Desert Band from Titjikala and the Sunshine Reggae Band. Throughout the afternoon, MC Steve Gumerungi Hodder, a journalist with CAAMA radio, introduced many Aboriginal speakers, some of whom had travelled remote communities, to give impassioned speeches in defence of their land, culture, and human rights.
Speakers included: Paddy Gibson from IRAG; Elaine Peckham, a Traditional Owner for the Mparntwe-Alice Springs area; Harry Jakamarra Nelson, who — until the shire system was imposed on Yuendumu on July 1 — was chairperson of that community; Neville Perkins from Alice Springs, a relative of the late Charlie Perkins; Phillip Wilyuka from Titjikala; Diane Stokes from the Muckaty Lands Trust and Barbara Shaw, from Mt Nancy town camp and also a member of IRAG.
Perkins condemned the Rudd government's continued support for the NT intervention. "They would never do this to other Australians; they wouldn't get away with it", he said.
"They could only do this to Aboriginal people. Rudd is following in the footsteps of the racist Howard government. I'm a former member of the ALP in the NT and I'm disgusted."
Hodder called on the government to start listening to Aboriginal people "instead of talking down to them like they're little kids".
Nelson focussed on the changes to land rights enacted by the NT government, where traditional owners are required to convert their lands from freehold title into 40-year leases in return for more housing. He also condemned moves to heavily restrict bilingual education in the NT.
"Our cultural survival will still go on. We will never [back] down, we will never sign agreements that force us onto leases. I've said to my people: Don't do it — this land is ours. I don't condemn any culture. I condemn the federal government and the way they treat us."
Wilyuka compared the new laws to the old welfare days. "We thought our rights were given back to us by the change of governments — our self-determination has been taken away by the intervention. Let's stand as one Aboriginal people, and ask [PM Kevin] Rudd 'Where is the promise, the sorry, that you gave Aboriginal people?"'
He said that the changes to bilingual education would mean that Aboriginal language and culture would die. "Rudd is piggy-backing [former Aboriginal affairs minister] Mal Brough and [former PM John] Howard. I don't want my kid growing up as a white fella."
Shaw attacked Rudd for failing to live up to his election promise of ratifying the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People and listed all the articles of the declaration that the NT intervention contravened.
"Our people cannot forget the past because we have been demonised, traumatised and stereotyped", she told the crowd.
"We have been herded and chained into assimilation. They won't give us housing until we give up our land. We will never let that happen."
Stokes argued that people should be allowed to live in their traditional lands. "We don't want the government to take our community away. We want our children and grandchildren to grow up here. They want us to live their way, with the BASIC cards. Instead we can live our own way."
Rallies were also held in other capital cities across Australia. Aboriginal rights groups are building toward a convergence in Canberra on the first day of parliament on February 3, 2009.
[For more information about the convergence, call Barbara Shaw on 0401 291 166 or Marlene Hodder on 08 8952 5032].