The ACT government is talking the talk, but it stands charged with not walking the walk when it comes to the treatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the community.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
On the one hand, the government is supporting National Reconciliation Week, a very worthy initiative which begins on Monday, promoting events including Reconciliation in the Park.
On the other hand, it is accused of continuing to ignore Aboriginal agencies and Aboriginal people and, in doing so, actively harming reconciliation efforts.
At its heart, reconciliation is about strengthening relationships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Indigenous peoples, for the benefit of all Australians, according to the reconciliation website. Stark examples of where this is not happening in the ACT are revealed in a new report from the Aboriginal-led Our Booris, Our Way committee. The committee is reviewing cases of Aboriginal children in the child protection system.
The report reveals the government's abject failure in implementing procedures to help manage arguably the most vulnerable people in the community.
In one child's cultural care plan, it prescribed totems of an opossum and iguana, neither of which are native.
For example, the government committed to implementing cultural care plans, which are specifically designed to ensure Aboriginal children stay connected with their culture, so they have a sense of identity.
Of the 131 cases reviewed by the committee to date, 108 have a cultural care plan in place. Of the 108 care plans, just nine involved consultation with the child's community, just one involved consultation with Aboriginal agencies, and just 35 of these plans were provided to the child's carer.
One carer was advised to perform acknowledgement of country regularly throughout the day to help keep the child connected to country. In one child's cultural care plan, it prescribed totems of an opossum and iguana, neither of which are native.
"The situation would be comical if not so extraordinarily and deeply consequential to a child's understanding of their own culture, identity and connection," the committee reported.
Committee chair Barbara Causon told the Sunday Canberra Times the first recommendation they made six months ago, which the government accepted, has not been implemented. They asked the government to only allocate Aboriginal children to case workers who had appropriate cultural training to understand the situation. In April, just eight of 18 cases went to trained staff.
If the government is serious about reconciliation, and not just during the week dedicated to recognising it, perhaps they could consider acting on promises they have made to the Aboriginal community.