From June 30 to July 20, a group of Aboriginal rights and environment activists from New South Wales used a decommissioned red school bus to travel to Alice Springs.
The purpose was to expose government and media silence over the appalling conditions and treatment of Aboriginal people living under the NT intervention.
The passengers attended the Defending Indigenous Rights convergence in Alice Springs. They also visited town camps and remote communities to witness the effects of the intervention’s discriminatory measures such as income quarantining and compulsory land leases.
Spokesperson for the bus rides Ella Ryan (pictured) said: “The federal election has now been called, and we have returned from this trip determined to make Aboriginal rights a centre-stage issue.
“Aboriginal people told us how angry they were with Indigenous affairs minister Jenny Macklin, and now especially with Prime Minister Julia Gillard, for imposing harsh controls but denying basic rights. Promises like housing, better health care and more infrastructure have not been honoured.
“Meanwhile, employment opportunities and bilingual education are being attacked and degraded, and land rights eroded."