Prejudice And Pride

Sydney Morning Herald

Wednesday March 12, 2008

Russell Skelton.

Alice Springs is struggling to keep the racist genie in the bottle, writes Russell Skelton.

Bethany Langdon is an extraordinary young woman. She and her friends from Yuendumu could have pocketed $480 in hush money and remained silent about their alleged ejection from an Alice Springs hostel.

The fact they decided to express their outrage and file a complaint of racial discrimination against the hostel's management shows that Aboriginal pride is thriving in a generation of young indigenous women.

Yesterday the 19-year-old mother told me that she could not have lived with herself if she had taken the money. "We would have let a whole lot of Aboriginal people down. We were angry and we still are."

Langdon says she has heard many first-hand accounts of racial discrimination in Alice Springs but has never been a victim of it herself. "This should not be happening to Aboriginal people, or any other people for that matter, Muslims or anybody. What has the colour of your skin got to do with getting a bed for the night?"

The Northern Territory's anti-discrimination commissioner, Tony Fitzgerald, agrees. He says the 16 women and children from Yuendumu had a strong case against the management of the Haven Backpackers Resort and its manager, who allegedly turfed them out after accepting them. Fitzgerald is waiting for the case notes to land on his desk.

Tom Calma, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social justice and race discrimination commissioner, backs Fitzgerald's comments, noting that if the women's account of events is correct, and he says he has no reason to doubt it, there is a strong case for action.

Calma says that during a formalised discussion of discrimination he heard many anecdotal reports of indigenous Australians being denied accommodation, or asked to pay higher room rates.

"I am concerned that this incident may be indicative of a broader, systemic problem in the provision of accommodation and services to indigenous Australians in the Northern Territory," he says.

There is no shortage of laws to punish acts of racial discrimination and racial vilification. They exist in the Northern Territory and most states. The problem is often finding people willing to step forward and take up the fight against an employer, a hotel or an institution. The risk of being branded a troublemaker in a small town often comes with a price.

The feisty reaction of the young Yuendumu women marks a turning point of sorts for the tourist capital of central Australia, a town too often divided by race and culture - although the lines between indigenous and non-indigenous are seldom clear-cut. In Alice Springs, income and social circumstance consign people to different lives. Relations with Aborigines living in the town camps and in welfare housing are brittle, at times hostile, even violent.

A big influx of people from remote communities looking for medical attention, accommodation, jobs, welfare, fun and alcohol has gathered pace since the 2007 emergency intervention. The Howard government's bans on alcohol, slashing Community Development Employment Projects and quarantining welfare has had a chain reaction. The drift to Alice Springs has strained services; so too has the high indigenous birth rate.

Residents say the Alice Springs "dry town" policy has pushed policing to the limits. During a recent visit I noticed groups of men drinking openly from "coke bottles", piles of empty cans stacked in discarded shopping trolleys. Severely overcrowded camps have added to community dysfunction, fuelling resentment.

Like so many Australian rural towns where indigenous populations are growing fast, Alice Springs is battling to keep racial prejudice in the bottle because the social gap between groups of residents has become disturbingly wide.

What is needed is a backyard blitz of new housing, improved education services and a range of intervention programs to build skills and curb alcohol and substance abuse.

What makes Langdon's stand, and that of her friends, particularly courageous, and perhaps a pointer to things to come, is that they refuse to be treated as second-rate citizens and demand to be treated equally. They refuse to be stereotyped.

The young women had come to Alice Springs to be trained as lifesavers by the Royal Life Saving Society before the opening of Yuendumu's new swimming pool in June. They were hand-picked from a youth leadership group at Mount Theo out-station, where anti-petrol sniffing programs for young boys have been successfully pioneered.

The were part of the "Jaru Pirrjirei", or "strong voices", program intended to instil pride, confidence and initiative in children living in remote areas.

As Susie Low, the manager of the program, puts it: "I was so proud of them. They were outraged and they wanted to do something about it. They were not prepared to let it go ... they want to go all the way with this to make sure it does not happen again."

Langdon says: "I could never hide something like that, because I would have to live with it for the rest of my life. I have a three-year-old daughter, Kiara, and I don't want her growing up thinking it OK for us to be treated differently."

On Monday, John Howard, while defending his refusal to make an apology to the stolen generations as prime minister, took a swipe at the emphasis placed on political promises which, he said, got a psychological reaction from indigenous people but did not offer practical measures to close the gap between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians.

"I think the only way the indigenous people of Australia can get a fair go is for them to become part of the mainstream community and get the benefits and opportunities available from mainstream ... society," he told an audience in the US.

The women of Yuendumu would surely agree: it was the only the existence of mainstream rights and institutions, such as anti-discrimination laws and agencies, that have enabled a possible claim and brought about the public opprobrium to their treatment. Yet the social conditions that prevail in Alice Springs and scores of other outback towns - the conditions that often make a mockery of much political rhetoric, no matter what side it may come from - flourish unchecked, fuelling the prejudice these women have now decided to fight.

No room at the inn, no place at the bar

1993

After years of racial abuse, by players and fans - and mostly ignored by umpires and the Australian Football League - St Kilda's Nicky Winmar takes a stand. He hoists his jumper and, pointing to his skin, declares: 'I'm black and I'm proud.'

1995

Essendon's Michael Long becomes a leader for his football-loving Aboriginal community when he tackles on-field racism, formally complaining about Collingwood ruckman Damian Monkhorst, and later accusing the AFL of trying to hush up legitimate concerns.

July 2001

Broadcaster Alan Jones forced to make an on-air apology after breaching racial vilification laws. He had been commenting on a case where a Dubbo real estate agency had been ordered to pay $6000 compensation to an Aboriginal woman after refusing her a property - but then giving it to her white friend.

March 2003

Inverell property owner Arthur Daleys ordered to pay $10,000 compensation to one of his former tenants, Sharna Sheather. He had refused to allow her to take over the lease when her flatmate moved out. The tribunal heard he had objected to Aborigines visiting the house and had commented that it badly affected property values.

May 2005

Two white men who tied a noose around a 16-year-old Aborigine's neck, and beat him with a stick after they allegedly caught him breaking into a farm shed, given small fines in the Goondiwindi Magistrates Court. More than 100 people protest outside the court.

September 2005

Planning Minister Frank Sartor (left) apologises for saying Aboriginal Housing Company head Michael Mundine should get off his 'black arse'.

November 2005

Aboriginal guides at Mount Annan Botanic Gardens receive confidential settlement after being told to drink no alcohol, eat only leftovers and sit at a separate table during a cultural evening at the gardens. They received an apology.

The Environment Department said it had been a misunderstanding.

December 2007

A Newcastle hotel and private security company ordered to pay $15,000 to each of six Aborigines who were refused entry to the Sydney Junction Hotel in May 2004. It was alleged hotel staff had prescribed a NCP - 'no coon policy'.

March 2008

Young women leaders from Yuendumu travel to Alice Springs for life-saving classes in preparation for the opening of a swimming pool in their community. They are asked to leave after checking in at the Haven Hostel, allegedly after complaints by guests.

"They said that it was because of the colour of our skin and they didnt like us," Bethany Langdon, a group member, said.

March 1992

Mandawuy Yunupingu, the lead singer of the band Yothu Yindi, is turned away from the hip Catani bar in St Kilda. He was told the bar section was full, and when offered to wait was told 'no way'.

January 2002

Another Yothu Yindi singer, Jodi Cockatoo-Creed, is ignored standing at the bar of the Three Ways Roadhouse near Tennant Creek. She is finally told by a bar attendant that Aborigines cannot be served because it's Thirsty Thursday.

© 2008 Sydney Morning Herald

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