BY PETER JOHNSTON & KAREN CIERI
DARWIN — The announcement of the formation of an Aboriginal political party has understandably ruffled the feathers of both Labor and the Country Liberal Party (CLP). The Labor Party traditionally receives the majority of indigenous votes, and 25% of the Northern Territory (NT) population is indigenous.
The proposal comes from Maurie Ryan Japarte, an activist with the NT Stolen Generations Litigation Unit.
Ryan, who has been an ALP member for the past few months, and has previously stood as a candidate for the Australian Democrats, said his new party would contest the new NT federal seat of Lingiari in 2001.
Ryan said that the new NT Aboriginal party would be for "all Territorians". He said that new party will campaign on issues of reconciliation, social justice, a treaty for indigenous people, and an federal government apology to the stolen generations.
Ryan's announcement of the new party came two weeks after comments by Tracker Tilmouth, a former director of the Central Land Council, and a Labor political aspirant, quoted in the NT News that "the Labor Party up here is a strange beast. It likes pet niggers and I'm counted as a pet nigger. I'm allowed to mow the lawns, but I'm not allowed on the verandah".
However, Ryan revealed the extent of his commitment to an indigenous party by saying the Labor Party could stop the new party by promising him preselection for the seat of Lingiari