�Little Children are Sacred� is a report which exposes the sexual abuse of young black children in the Northern Territory. The Federal government has used this report to masquerade as their saviour. On June 21 the government imposed leases taking away community control of land without negotiation or consent. Troops and cops were then moved in.
Communists reject the concept of paedophilia to the extent that we believe children technically below the age of consent can have meaningful consensual sexual relations and should have the right to do so. But it is clear that many of the attacks were either rape or with children too young to understand. Whilst we definitely don�t support this, we condemn this unjustified invasion. The government is imposing a police state. This invasion will not solve the problem of paedophilia.
There is nothing new about the abuse of young children. Communities and the black bureaucrats� council known as FCAATSI (now disbanded) were asking for assistance for a long time. The government offered nothing. There are, of course, far more significant dangers facing Black children and adults in the Territory. In May this year a report on Black health exposed the high rate of women dying in childbirth. Black people have a life expectancy at least ten years below the expectancy of non indigenous Australians.
The conditions facing Black people in their communities are atrocious. It has been estimated that another 1.2 billion dollars needs to be spent to make Black housing up to scratch. Many communities do not have a resident doctor and it is often hundreds of kilometres to a community, town or city where there is one. Far more mothers die from child birth compared to the non-indigenous population. The food that is available is often totally unhealthy. These issues are of far more consequence to the lives of Black people than sexual abuse. But do Howard and his minister Brough want to deal with all this?
Some token changes are promised but there is no indication that they have been budgeted for. Even if the promises offered are delivered and carried out, this would be only the tip of the iceberg. What Brough is effectively delivering, however, is a police state.
It is noteworthy that when the report was introduced, Howard�s Health Minister, Tony Abbott proclaimed that Aboriginal people would have to wait for decent health. Effectively he was throwing black health in the too hard basket. Mal Brough, on the other hand, argues that the government has a �duty of care� and goes in gung-ho, without any plan or consultation with the communities or even the Northern Territory Government.
Being a military man, his military solution is to impose the army and place communities under military control. Howard believes that it is his right to invade �failed states� in the Pacific. He now thinks he has the right to invade failed communities in the Northern Territory. For Howard, imperialism begins at home.
The Federal government now has taken full control. Some of the communities have no record of paedophilia so there isn�t even a fig leaf of a rationalisation for Howard�s police state. Howard doesn�t want these communities to run themselves. Philosophically he is opposed to even token control by Blacks over their own societies.
The Howard-Brough agenda was, initially to force Black kids to undergo health checks, irrespective of parental consent. When they were informed that this might constitute assault, another strategy was devised -- to withdraw Centrelink payments if parents don�t co-operate. This has been advocated by Cape York black bureaucrat Noel Pearson.
Noel Pearson�s proposal works hand and glove with the government�s overall agenda for the smashing the welfare system. Howard has announced that single parents will only get money if their parental standards meet the Howard government�s requirement. Yes, there are many parents out there, black and white who have trouble looking after children. They receive a payment which supports a single person only with difficulty. They need assistance, not poverty. Child care should be considered a job and be paid for as such. Dysfunctional parents will not become better parents by more poverty.
Community destruction is not the way to defeat child abuse. There may be a few children saved and a few criminals arrested by Howard�s racist takeover. But the price will be the destruction of many communities and this could lead to much more abuse than currently exists. It is through strong democratic community organisation that such anti-social practices can be defeated. It will be enhanced when the community is weakened. The army cannot stay forever. Howard is having problems getting enough personnel to control the camps currently under occupation. He has to rely on police donated from state forces.
Whilst ideological opposition to any form of Black control and welfare �reform� (meaning taking away peoples� money) are Howard�s main motivations, this takeover will also assist any mining company which wants to exploit any potential mineral wealth. The companies will pay less to the new lease-holder, the Federal Government, than the traditional owners. Howard is fully committed to the exploitation by imperialist mining companies. No doubt he will offer black labour at discount rates.
This invasion is an outrage and should be opposed by the left and the workers� movement with action, not just words.
For organised workers opposition to Howard�s invasion of Black Northern Territory!
Howard also hopes to use this invasion to expose the states, all of which are, at the moment controlled by Labor. The message he hopes to ram home is: the Federal Howard Government has the will and the means to act against paedophilia, the states don�t. Howard realises that things run more efficiently under Federal control. He wants to expose the Labor Party. By showing he is acting decisively and the state and territory Labor Governments are not, they are exposed as being complicit in protecting paedophilia. He also hopes that these raids will galvanise support from chauvinist Australia and help save his electoral bacon. Public opinion polls have shown that a majority do support these terror raids.
Historically, the states have played an important role containing Federal Labor, preventing Labor governments from carrying out any type of radical reform programme. Now that Federal Labor has abandoned any commitment to such a reform programme, the states are merely an obstacle to having a sensible centralised water planning scheme.
It is hardly surprising that Labor leader Kevin Rudd is giving the invasion in-principle support. He only has minor and tactical differences - he wants the government to recruit more Federal police as opposed to enlisting state police officers. Rudd, a true blue police supporter realises that the state forces are stretched to the limit. Does this constitute principled opposition? Rudd is a party to Howard�s racism!
Black communities must be defended unconditionally! What is needed is a programme of public works. Millions, in fact billions should be spent on education, health, transport and jobs. It is clear that neither of the major parties offer this.
To the indigenous people of this country, capitalism only offers poverty and state repression. The only way forward is socialist revolution, a revolutionary workers� and farmers� government .This is the only way which Black people can be free of state repression, have the right to work (as opposed to slave labour), decent community amenities, health and education and the right to self-determination.
The opposition from the left has been minimal and atrocious. Even more disgraceful has been the trade union movement�s silence. At the recent main demo held in Sydney several hundred attended, mainly from the radical left. But there was no trade union contingent.
The workers movement must act now! Those who are party to Howard�s racist attacks cannot fight Howard�s agenda when it is attacking unions!