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Can Palm Island survive as an 'out of sight - out of mind' welfare dependent community?

By Peter Lindsay - posted Thursday, 2 December 2004


The shocking events of last Friday on Palm Island underscore a dysfunctional community in disarray, a community that must be helped.

In all of the words that have been said and written about the riot on Palm Island I have not been able to find any that talk about the real solution that has to be faced.

A community of 42 different tribes that have lost their cultural heritage will continue to spiral downwards if Indigenous leaders and governments do not face this core problem.

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With 86 years of experience, just how long is it going to take all Australians to conclude that Palm Island is not viable and never will be while it sits as an “out of sight - out of mind” welfare dependent community. It will remain a community where alcoholism, domestic violence, drugs, health problems, unemployment, housing, sense of self worth and literacy standards may be the worst in the country.

The 42 tribes and their leaders on the island have had ample time to do something about the hopelessness that pervades the community. They have had more than enough money, yet nothing changes - year after year after year. Since 1998, after I came to understand Palm Island, I have been supporting an integrationist model - a model that has worked well on the mainland.

There are 8,000 Indigenous Australians in my electorate, the majority living in the cities of Townsville and Thuringowa. Those on the mainland do not share the lack of self-esteem, the domestic violence, the lack of job opportunities, the lack of housing and poor education that typifies the Palm Island community.

Premier Beattie’s five point plan announced this week has to be seen for what it is - a recipe for just more of the same. The Indigenous people of Palm Island do aspire to be better and I believe the key to that is the current review of the Queensland Government Aboriginal Lands Act. I strongly support making changes to land tenure on Palm Island. It is the key to improving the self-esteem of islanders and to bringing about local integration.

It will provide an opportunity for economic participation and home ownership, something that islanders cannot even dream of under the Deed of Grant in Trust tenure. Presently islanders cannot own their own home or their own land so that they don’t have any equity, and so they can’t get a loan.

The Queensland Government will say, “This is all too difficult. How would they ever handle freeholding the township areas? How would they handle the tenure on the balance of the island?” But I remind the Queensland Government of two things:

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  1. failure to act will see Palm Island stay the way it is;
  2. Aboriginal people I talk to want this to happen.

The most costly mistake we can make now is to continue to think that the provision of infrastructure and the introduction of co-ordinated program delivery strategies on Palm Island will solve the social, political, cultural and economic issues impacting upon the residents who live there.

Palm Island was first established in 1918 as a government reserve under the 1897 Aboriginal Protection and Restriction of the Sale of Opium Act. This enabled local Police Protectors throughout Queensland to remove Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island peoples to reserves.

Palm Island was established in the early days as an Aboriginal penal settlement. Representatives of some 42 tribes were taken to the island and formed the core of the problem we have today.

Following last Friday’s riots, no one misunderstands the need for the community to undertake a whole lot of healing, and the government can’t do that for them.

We understand that the islanders need to deal with their historical issues and that governments need to look differently at how we do business with the island community. From the government’s part we can get our systems operating better and our service systems sorted out, but the answer is not in planeloads of bureaucrats going to Palm Island trying to interfere with the rebuilding of the community.

Unfortunately, Palm Island does not have the cultural authority of traditional owners that is found in other communities. This is a result of its history. It is an artificial community. People have lost their way. Young people have no idea where they have come from or what their culture is.

In the immediate term I am concerned about the influx of strangers and what they will bring to the community. This is not a time for radicalism. Out of respect for Cameron Doomagee’s family I ask that people remain calm.

I am encouraged that the Australian Government’s new arrangements in respect to the disbandment of ATSIC will see many problems in Indigenous affairs sorted out. There has been a welcome response from Indigenous leaders, but governments can only do so much - in the end the community needs to do a lot more.

Over the years there have been many reports on the conditions on Palm Island and what to do about them. They reaffirm that any way forward must recognise the contemporary issues facing Aboriginal people are linked to history and any response needs to address that history.

Residents of Palm Island have said on many occasions that the lack of an economic base and limited employment opportunities perpetuates the continued dependence on governments for funding basic services.

This results in residents who find themselves living below the poverty line in inadequate housing with minimal support services. Most residents resent this situation and see economic development as the only means of breaking the welfare cycle.

This is why I believe that the integration model I have re articulated today is the only way forward for Islanders to be able to live a decent life free from the scourge of living in third world conditions.

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This is an edited transcript of the Grievance Debate from Hansard November 29, 2004.



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About the Author

Mr Peter Lindsay MP, is the Liberal Member for Herbert (Qld).

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