ANTaR is launching its "A Better Way" campaign today. The campaign aims to highlight that there is a better way to work with Aboriginal people than the coercive and stigmatising approaches still continuing under the Northern Territory Emergency Response (NTER) and related Aboriginal policies.

One year ago the Rudd Government's independent review recommended that governments must genuinely and respectfully engage with Aboriginal people to find solutions to child abuse and related community problems. Yet, punitive and discriminatory measures remain in place for the 73 prescribed Aboriginal communities.

"The Federal Government commissioned a Review of the NTER which was released in October 2008. As that Review concluded, ‘The Intervention diminished its own effectiveness through its failure to engage constructively with the Aboriginal people it was intended to help.’ They advised that 'sustainable improvements in the safety and wellbeing of children and families in remote communities will only be achieved through partnerships between community and government'. Yet, little has changed on the ground," ANTaR's President, Dr Janet Hunt, said.

"There are better ways to address the problems that were highlighted in the Little Children Are Sacred report, which prompted the Howard Government to introduce the NTER. The Federal and Northern Territory governments should look to what is already working in Aboriginal communities. They will find that Aboriginal solutions to Aboriginal problems yield the best results."

The "A Better Way" campaign seeks to educate a younger audience about the measures that some Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory are subjected to. These include compulsory income management, being expected to lease property to the government in return for basic services, and having many primary-aged children taught in a language they don’t even speak for the first four hours of each school day.

"I think many of us hoped that with Kevin Rudd's Apology, we would be entering into a new era for Australia – one based on mutual respect between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. It is disappointing that this has not been the case. The Rudd Government has not done enough to change the Howard Government's discriminatory policies and approaches.

"If governments genuinely want to close the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, fulfil their obligations to the Close The Gap Statement of Intent, and act on their endorsement of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples this year, they need to support Aboriginal people rather than patronise them,” Dr Janet Hunt said.

“Governments need to listen to Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory and support local initiatives and solutions, rather than imposing solutions across the board. They need to work in real partnership with Aboriginal communities – and they need to start this work immediately.”

A range of alternative ways of working and policy responses are set out on the ANTAR website: http://www.antar.org.au/abetterway.

Media Contacts:
Dr Janet Hunt, ANTaR National President (in Canberra) – 0408 170 448
Dr David Cooper, ANTaR NT Coordinator (in Darwin) – 0418 486 310

We strongly recommend the media speaks to some Aboriginal leaders in the Northern Territory about how the Northern Territory Emergency Response is affecting Aboriginal people and communities, and what should be done differently.