CAAMA’s Paul Wyles talked with the chairwoman of the NSW Aboriginal Land Council Bev Manton on Tuesday morning, responding to some of Noel Pearson’s comments in the media recently.
“The man is drunk with power…I’ve always respected Noel but I just can’t understand where he’s coming from,” she said in response to Mr Pearson stating that “Aboriginal people have turned into a nation of cripples.”
Mainstream media pushes Noel Pearson forward as a representative of all Aboriginal people but, as Bev Manton said, “Noel is not an elected voice.”
Mr Pearson’s support of John Howard’s ‘Emergency Intervention’ also brought scathing criticism from Ms Manton.
“It is a land grab…I just can’t support John Howard. He’s failed aboriginal people for 11 years. These reports (on child sexual abuse) have been around for 20, 30 years, gathering dust on shelves… It’s an adhoc plan.”
Using child sexual abuse as the reason for imposing martial law in the Northern Territory creates a strong impact on any Australian who will most likely believe that any intervention strategy must be a good thing. But the non-involvement of aboriginal people in the Prime Minister’s strategy brings up too many unanswered questions.
“How is a six month plan with the military going to solve a lifetime of misery that aboriginal people have been experiencing? It’s not just the Northern Territory. It’s other states as well. We hope that services are going to be rolled out for everybody. There’s been no consultation… and they’ve ignored the successful programmes being run. Has his land grab got anything to do with true child sexual abuse?” asks Bev Manton.
“How can we work together to address a national tragedy?”
Her advice? Channel your energy to the ballet box.
“They say Aboriginal people just don’t have the numbers. But they are wrong. I urge Aboriginal people to vote.”
“The federal government needs to be talking to community people – the ones they’re supposedly there to help. We have plenty of services offering workable solutions to current problems. Why doesn’t the government read existing reports instead of coming in with the military and the police?”
“The climate in mainstream media is scaring innocent people. Hopefully it has put perpetrators of child sexual abuse on notice that they are the focus, not the children. The children have to be reinforced that they have done nothing wrong, which is what John Howard is doing by talking about sending kids away to boarding school for their education.”
“It’s not about John Howard. It’s not about Noel Pearson or about Bev Manto. It’s about this country getting real and showing that it believes in a fair go for everyone.”