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j - WORLD COUNQIL OF CHURCHES 7th ASSEMBLY
Hawke defends
record on aid to
t- » .» .
black Australians
By TONY WRIGHT,
; *1 Political Cotmpondmt
: The Prime Minister, Bob
Hawke, tried yesterday to defend
bis .-Government's record on as
sisting black Australians by declar
ing that almost $ 1 billion would be
spent1 this year, on programs for
Abqrigines and Torres Strait
Islanders.
- Tf his was more than any other country
Was spending, per capita, on specific pro
grams for indigenous people, he said.
.CHe! announced also that the Govern
merft-planned to introduce legislation
early this year to establish a Council for
Aboriginal Reconciliation, and that he
hoped there would be bipartisan support
for a "document of reconciliation -
the treaty or "compact" he promised in
1988.
"Mr Hawke was addressing the Sev
enth-Assembly of the World Council of
Chufches. ?
His speech came after stinging criti
cism by a delegation of the World Coun
cll'df Churches of Australia's treatment
of ' Aborigines.. The delegation, which
visited Aboriginal communities at Wil
cannia, in NSW,' and at Mornington Is
land, in the Gulfof Carpentaria, found
.thatthe impact of racism on Aborigines
wasjiorriftc and genocidal
Thfc delegation, which is to present its
findings to the assembly, found that a
whitp-controlled bureaucracy had pre
vented self-determination for Aborigi
nes,'with no effective intervention from
government or religious organisations.
. 'The delegation found also that little
iiacl'changed since similar visits to the
communities in 1981.
- 'Mr Hawke, who faced a demonstra
tion" by Aborigines calling for justice
when he arrived at the National Conven
tion Centre to deliver his speech, con
ceded that conditions in Aboriginal
communities were inadequate.
The general secretary of the World Council 0. Ch"rcl»».the ReTT,, Dr EmI.. CastT, ,"d Prime Minister Bob Hawk, a. The delegation from Armenia yesterday in the pavilion set up at the ANU. i Help
"There is a long and tragic history of
demoralisation and despair-not infre
quently exacerbated by government and
community responses that were mis
guided, or plain wrong," he said.
But he denied there had been no im
provements since 1981.
"You would be doing yourselves and
all Australians a great disservice if you
failed to recognise the significant steps
forward that have been taken in Austra
lia since, for instance, the first World
Council delegation to Australia in 1981,"
he said.
"In the days ahead, as you come to
debate these issues further, I hope your
deliberations will be soundly based,
comprehensive in scope, and addressed
to the hard issues - not simply raising
.questions, as,the team visits did, but
assessing the answers that are being pro
vided by government today and, where
those answers are relevant and effective,
acknowledging this."
Mr Hawke said said there were four
main aspects of the Government's at
tempts to address Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander problems:
. Almost $1 billion had been provid
ed this financial year for specific pro
grams, in addition to funds available to
the general community, such as Medi
care and Family Allowance.
. The establishment in March of the
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Commission was an "administrative re
volution" giving black Australians
"meaningful control over the policies
that affect them and the services that
they receive".
. There had been continuing pro
gress in granting land rights.
. The Government and the Austra
lian community had embarked on "what
may be the most difficult, but the most
enduring task of all J.. to tackle the issue
that lies at the historical root of white
black relations". This was to seek a path
of reconciliation between Aborigines
and non-Aborigines.,
The Government's planned Council
for Aboriginal Reconciliation would
consist of 25 prominent Australians,
white and black, whose task would be to
educate non-Aborigines about Aborigi
nal cultures, dispossession and the need
to address the continuing disadvantages
of Aboriginal people.
The council would also advise the
Government on whether the process of
reconciliation would be helped by "a
specific document such as an instrument
of reconciliation", Mr Hawke said. "But
as I have said before, the process of
reconciliation may well be as important
as the outcome, and our initial focus will
be on the process rather than on a docu
ment"
Though the Opposition has indicated
it is hot impressed by the idea of a
document such as a treaty, Mr Hawke
said he wanted the unanimous backing
of the Federal Parliament.
The general secretary of the World Council 0. Ch"rcl»».the ReTT,, Dr EmI.. CastT, ,"d Prime Minister Bob Hawk, a. The delegation from Armenia yesterday in the pavilion set up at the ANU. i Help
The general secretary of the World Council 0. Ch"rcl»».the ReTT,, Dr EmI.. CastT, ,"d Prime Minister Bob Hawk, a.
The general secretary of the World Council 0. Ch"rcl»».the ReTT,, Dr EmI.. CastT, ,"d Prime Minister Bob Hawk, a. The delegation from Armenia yesterday in the pavilion set up at the ANU. i Help
The delegation from Armenia yesterday in the pavilion set up at the ANU.
i
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