Over at Troppo Armadillo Ken Parish has an excellent article on Kicking Sacred Cows and the associated misconceptions, general ignorance and politically correct stifling of the Aborigine debate. His trigger was an article by John Hirst They are both worth the read, particularly the thread at Troppo Armadillo. Some wonder at the implication that the last three decades of policy has been found to be at fault and others are surprised that some wonder. I would like to think that Aborigine society should be treated the same as the rest of Australia as far as is possible. That is, education and medical services should be provided by the State Government with Federal funding, and local issues, such as provide to me by the Brisbane City Council should be provided locally. The first problem encountered here is the fact that my local council charges rates and from that income stream provide me with sewerage, water, waste disposal and more. Rate payers who live in towns across Australia generally have an income and own land that can be taxed in the form of rates. I’m not sure this is always the case in the Aborigine communities. Wayne Wood says the answer is;

As discussed in my blog ‘The Mystery of Capital’, I believe the solution to many of the problems in Aboriginal communities lies with the recognition and registration of land title.

Which is all well and good but there must be a market for land to have value. How many people would want to buy a block at Yuendumu? Obviously some land has value but while all land doesn’t, then the standard Australian system of collecting rates will not work. One answer is detailed in the post below. The Government and the Army have a programme that installs services and teaches locals how to maintain them but it’s not broad enough (only eight communities developed so far) and is not quick enough – the problem is now. Hirst says;

In traditional Aboriginal society, goods were shared, but in a highly structured and ritualistic way. A kangaroo would be divided by unvarying rule, a certain portion going to a certain relative. The sharing was among kin. There was no generalised ethic of sharing.

Good nomadic hunting/gathering policy but fails all 21st century standards. There has to be an arbitrator to reapportion benefits that traditionally go to the stronger family/tribal/tribal elder groups to all the community. Services are for all and all are responsible. Otherwise the new septic sewerage will cease to operate at the first break down and no one will repair it. The medical centre will become run down and stay that way. Finance the services and finance the maintenance and if the local community doesn’t have the expertise to manage maintain the system then bring the expertise in. Continuing the thread, reader Norman writes;

Some of the attitudes to which you refer, Ken, aren’t all that different from those found in sections of the “white” community too. The relevant difference is that members of these sections of the general community don’t manage their community’s infrastructure and/or finances.

Yes they do Norman. They hold elections and elect someone to manage the service for them. We have a proven template for providing communities with all services. The division between Local, State and Federal responsibilities in this area has been worked out over hundreds of years and, by and large, it works. Let’s stick to this time proven plan and where local problems occur, adjust to cover them as all good planners do.

While Labour and particularly the Left argue for land rights and apologies and historians argue about how many aborigines were killed, the Government and the Army are busy with hands on projects. Not talking – doing. This from Defence.

Soldiers from 21 Construction Squadron today loaded heavy equipment and supplies on to HMAS Tobruk for the long journey to the Bamaga region of far north Queensland to start work on the ATSIS Army Community Assistance Program (AACAP). “AACAP provides assistance to remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to improve community environmental health conditions,” Officer Commanding 21 Construction Squadron Major Stephen Gliddon said. “This year’s project is planned for the Bamaga region of far north Queensland. Army engineers will focus on environmental health infrastructure including water, sewerage, power and housing and access to primary health care facilities such as roads and airfields.” “In addition to the crucial infrastructure developed as part of the program, previous AACAP contingents have provided military medics and dentists to assist communities with primary-care medical and dental treatment,” Major Gliddon said. A significant element of AACAP is the delivery of training to community members. The communities benefit not only through improved infrastructure but also through skill transfer training in areas such as vehicle maintenance, building, computer use, health and first aid and general repairs and maintenance. “AACAP also provides significant benefits for the Army through practice of operational planning and project management. It enables the Army to undertake realistic training for deployments, construction and redeployment as well as the provision of health and training activities,” Major Gliddon said.

Army signing contracts with local tribal elders AACAP is a co-operative initiative between the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Service (ATSIS), the Department of Health and Ageing (DHA) and Defence. AACAP resulted from a meeting between the Ministers for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, Defence and Health and Family Services and the Prime Minister Joh Howard on 5 November 1996. The parties agreed that the Army would assist with infrastructure improvements in a number of communities, identified by ATSIC for priority assistance. Between 1997 and 2003, Army has participated in 8 AACAP projects, located in the Northern Territory, South Australia, Western Australia and Queensland. The most recent Queensland-based projects were at Jumbun in 1999 and on Palm Island in 2003. Army built Medical Centre at Jumbun. Bloody conservative government – fancy them actually doing something for disadvantage Aussies.