The Central Land Council says it’s always obvious when an election campaign is approaching with the key indicator being politicians resorting to the black card.
CLC director David Ross said it’s been fairly typical during past election campaigns for some politicians to blame Aboriginal people for a variety of woes in an attempt to deflect attention from their own failures as representatives of all people from all cultures in their constituents.
“We have the Country Liberal Party’s Dave Tollner reported in the press as saying Aboriginal people should automatically have their land taken off them for 99 years,” Mr Ross said.
“He says the five year leases the Federal Government is forcing through for Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory, isn’t enough, but presumably a century would be long enough for the Commonwealth to get its work done.
“This is from a politician who didn’t even bother to read the Government’s intervention legislation even though constituents in his electorate will be greatly affected by the changes.
“The CLP would be well advised before the next federal election to actually take the time and effort to talk with Aboriginal constituents in the Northern Territory, ask them what they want and then represent those views as politicians are supposed to rather than trying to ram your own paternalistic views down their throats,” Mr Ross said.