The unheard truth in the heart of Australia
Dear friend,
Amparr Alyawarr women's camp
© Lucas Jordan/Amnesty International Irene Khan has witnessed some of the worst poverty and discrimination in the world.
From Brazil to Bangladesh, in her eight years as Amnesty International Secretary General, Irene Khan is well placed to assess how government policies can impact the lives of people in the world’s poorest places.
That’s why when she speaks out against the "inexcusable, unexpected and unacceptable" conditions affecting Indigenous people on our own doorstep, politicians must sit up and take notice.
Click here to amplify Irene Khan’s powerful message by opposing blunt, heavy-handed government policies in the Northern Territory
This week I accompanied Irene to the Utopia Homelands, a group of Aboriginal communities a five hour drive on dirt roads north-east of Alice Springs. There we met Elsie, who was squatting in the raw dirt of an open field, surrounded by all her belongings. Through an interpreter she said: "I pay rent to the government for sleeping on a mattress in the desert, I have no home, I do not have my voice, no one is listening to me or my family. No one wants to know what we see, what we think, what we know would make this right."
Elsie's sense of exclusion is shared by all the people we met in Utopia. It’s outrageous that more than 45,000 Aboriginal people are still subject to racially discriminatory measures, including compulsory quarantining of social security payments, as a result of the Government's Northern Territory Emergency Response. Click here to call on Indigenous Minister Jenny Macklin to urgently reinstate laws that protect people like Elsie, and forge a new approach grounded in a genuine respect for traditional cultures.
In the heart of the first world we saw scenes more reminiscent of the third world. How is it possible that in Australia - the land of the fair go - its own first peoples are living in such appalling poverty?
Our politicians must answer this question, and they have been stalling for too long. The Government will not secure the long term protection of women and children unless there is a community-driven human rights solution.
Next week the Government will introduce legislation to reinstate the Racial Discrimination Act. Now is the critical time for the Australian Government to reset the relationship with Indigenous peoples and seize the opportunity for change. Click here to send your urgent message now.
With hope,
Claire Mallinson
National Director
Amnesty International Australia
PS. Irene Khan's message to the Australian Government to stop discriminatory measures affecting tens of thousands of Indigenous people is already making waves in the media, with coverage in the Sydney Morning Herald and ABC News. Add your voice to ensure the Government gets the message.
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