Protest The Intervention - Jenny Macklin's Office

This Wednesday 8th July Aboriginal rights activists from around the country are holding a protest outside the office of Indigenous Affairs Minister, Jenny Macklin at 149 Burgundy St Heidelberg.

The protest was jointly called by the Intervention Rollback Action Group from Alice Springs, Stop the Intervention from Sydney and the Melbourne Anti-Intervention Collective.

The protest will be attended by a number of Aboriginal leaders from Alice Springs and surrounding communities who have been directly affected by the Northern Territory intervention, and who will be affected by Jenny Macklin’s planned take over of the Alice Springs town camps and the Northern Territory Government’s policy of moving Aboriginal people from homelands to ‘hub’ communities.

Opponents of the Governments expansion of the Northern Territory intervention have labeled it racist and assimilationist, arguing that the real aims of the intervention are to move Aboriginal people off their traditional land and to destroy Aboriginal culture.

“The recent report from the Productivity Commission shows the failure of the Rudd Government’s approach of imposing policy upon Aboriginal communities. The Rudd Government’s ‘Closing the Gap’ policy and expansion of the Northern Territory intervention have proved to be devastating for Aboriginal people.

We demand that the Government reinstate the Racial Discrimination Act, repeal the racist policies of the intervention, and act on their own surveys that show that the best outcomes are achieved when Aboriginal people have control of their own affairs,” said Joe Lorback from the Melbourne Anti-Intervention Collective.

On Wednesday protesters will be highlighting the failure of the Labour Government to re-instate the Racial Discrimination Act, the racism of quarantined welfare payments, Jenny Macklin’s decision to take over the Alice Springs town camps, the Northern Territory Governments policy of forcing Aboriginal people off homelands, and the ‘blackmailing’ of Aboriginal communities to trade their land for housing and basic services.

Aboriginal community leaders have spoken out against the injustice of the "BasicCard" that gives the Government the power to decide where those on quarantined welfare must do their shopping and what they can buy. Accessing welfare entitlements has turned into a new battle that is leading many of them to go hungry and forcing them to leave their land and move into larger towns where housing, health and education problems are greater.

“The Aboriginal people are being forced to line up in separately to the rest of the population to negotiate the "BasicCard" in Centrelink and in shops. This clearly shows that the government intentions are the total assimilation of these Aboriginal communities,” said Marisol S. from the Melbourne Anti-Intervention Collective.

Aboriginal leader Barbara Shaw who is traveling to Melbourne from her home in Mt Nancy town camp near Alice Springs has argued that things have gotten worse since the introduction of income quarantining. “Centrelink is always mismanaging funds and people are losing money... We need control of our own money. This legislation is racist and must be repealed,” said Ms Shaw.

Protesters are meeting at 12 midday out the front of Jenny Macklin’s Burgundy St office. They have said they are determined to make their opposition to the expansion of the intervention and take over of the Alice Springs town camps known to the Minister and the wider community.

For details or comment: Marisol: 0413 597 315 Barbara: 0401 291 166 or email Joe.