Indigenous – Aboriginal Party of Australia

Summary

Policies & Commentary

One of the sections on the IAPA site is title Truth and Treaty, and it goes a way towards explaining why this party exists: as their slogan says, they want a voice IN parliament, and after the failure of the Voice To Parliament referendum, it’s hard to say that this is a bad idea, either tactically or politically. The same section also states that The Indigenous – Aboriginal Party of Australia supports many of the sentiments expressed in the “Uluru Statement from the Heart”, and reproduces the statement in full – but alas does not specify what disagreements they may have other than that mentioned above.

Healthy rivers; Healthy people
The IAPA wants to see the Baaka (Darling River), the Martuwarra (Fitzroy River WA) and all other natural rivers in Australia restored to full health and protected, with particular attention to the cultural, spiritual and social importance of these rivers to the tribes that dwell near them. The latter element has frequently received lip service at best from governments at all levels, but there’s no denying that there are problems with many of our rivers being mismanaged, and that solving those problems would benefit all Australians.

Indigenous kids stay with their families
While acknowledging that sometimes it is the correct solution, the IAPA feels that removing indigenous kids from their families is too often resorted to instead of more constructive solutions. And they’re not just interested in treating the symptoms, they want to go after the causes as well: Governments to recognize most Indigenous kids are removed for neglect, not abuse. Neglect is usually caused by poverty. Address poverty; don’t remove kids.

No juveniles to be placed in detention
This one should go without saying, but just in case you missed them, here’s some news stories about children dying in custody and being subjected to cruel punishments. The IAPA doesn’t want to see ANY children having this sort of contact with law enforcement – it’s notable that this is one of their few policies not to specify that it is about indigenous people: they don’t think this should happen to anyone. And they have a Royal Commission that agrees with them.

End Indigenous incarceration
This is one of IAPA’s core policies, and it comes out strong:

The number of Indigenous Australian prisoners has continued to grow despite an overall reduction in the number of adult prisoners nationally.

We plan to end Indigenous incarceration, except for the most serious offences so as to protect the offender’s victims and community, but even then intensive rehabilitation should happen in prison always working towards release.

All fines to be worked out with community service and/or fines should be proportional to income.

The Australian government is increasingly spending less on police and more on prison systems.

Let’s spend on keeping Indigenous Australians out of prison – Prevention not punishment.

The biggest issue here is the lack of detail. How will the structural and systemic issues be addressed? How will this be done without the far right (and for that matter, the self-proclaimed ‘sensible centre’) screaming about ‘special treatment’ or ‘double standards’? I’m not saying I disagree with the policy, I just want to know the nitty gritty of it.

Indigenous control of Indigenous school education
There are a few ideas under this heading, but they can all be summarised by this statement: We want schools that break down the barriers that prevent Indigenous kids from engaging in education. To this end, they want Indigenous control of Indigenous school education, particularly for school refusers, which seems not unreasonable given how much latitude our governments grant various religious schools¹Indeed, it seems not unreasonable to a degree that arguing against it seems hypocritical for anyone who went to a private school – like most politicians.. They’d also like to be free from NAPLAN requirements, and see some enquiries into the role of government authorities in NSW and Victoria in relation to the closure of Indigenous friendly schools and/or the obstruction of their formation.

Save our sacred sites
Wherever you stand on the issue of sacred sites, it’s hard to argue with this unfairness: The current legislation, the Aboriginal Heritage Act, does not allow for consent to be renegotiated when new information comes to light, sites can be de-listed, information about new evidence is blocked and governments, and mining corporations constantly seek exemptions. Remedying those errors seems a no-brainer to me.

Traditional land management
Okay, so there’s this:

For tens of thousands of years, Indigenous Australians managed the land. They hunted, gathered food, lit fires and fished in the ocean and rivers. Coming off the land after European settlement caused not only huge cultural and social dislocation and difficulty for Aboriginal Australians, it also proved a disaster for conservation.

We propose a return to traditional ways of caring for country.

Look, this one is more a wish than a policy – while it does make some valid points, the route from here to there is unimaginably vast, and no attempt has been made to explain how the transition is to be managed. Not to mention the fact that traditional ways of caring for the country supported a much smaller population²The most generous estimate of pre-colonisation population I have seen is three million people – which is less than an eighth of our current population than we currently have in this country.

Support Indigenous businesses
The IAPA calls on the government to Support growth of Aboriginal businesses via Government procurement policy – specifically, a requirement that (presumably a minimum of) 10% of government purchases. There’s a difficulty here in having businesses that actually service what the government needs to purchase, but assuming that hurdle could be reached, this would be a simple and easy way for governments to support the Indigenous community – one which they will do doubt claim goes against deciding on “merit”.

More Indigenous people in parliaments
I mean, there’s nothing wrong with this idea – in fact, I think it would be a very good one – but isn’t this the reason the party exists in the first place, rather than a policy per se? The lack of detail here makes it hard to tell whether something more than just this is meant.

Better housing for Indigenous people everywhere, especially in regional and remote areas
In particular, the IAPA would like to see housing built with highly collaborative approaches used by organisations such as the Yiyan Foundation in the Kimberley which aim to have residents of remote communities designing and building their own homes thus also leaving a legacy of training which will enable maintenance and further building by the communities themselves. And it’s an excellent idea, if likely the kind of thing that would be opposed for its expense. I mean, the expense is lessened if you take a longer view, but long term thinking is not a commonly found quality in our current political class.

Support Traditional Custodians, the natural environment, and sustainable food production, by better managing water resources
Honestly, this one just seems to restate the very first idea above, albeit with more detail. I suppose the repetition adds emphasis.

Local Lands Councils Must Strive to Implement the Concerns Of The Local Indigenous Communities
This seems a little contradictory:

Local Lands Councils must strive to implement the concerns of the local Indigenous communities when it comes to the protection of our land.

When conflict arises between the Lands Council and the local Indigenous population, an independent mediator, such as Traditional Owners³This presumably refers to the official designation (here’s an example from Victoria), rather than the looser social use of the phrase should be sought. The independent mediator should be someone acceptable to both sides of the dispute.

Surely if the councils are striving to implement the concerns, there can be but little conflict? This pedantry aside, this seems like a pretty radical shift in political dynamics that is unlikely to sit well with those who benefit from the status quo. As an inner-city dweller, I don’t know that I’m the best person to comment on rural matters such as this, I am simply not familiar enough with the issues to be able to add anything useful here.

Local Community-Based Solutions Are Favoured
Again, this one seems more like a guiding principle than a policy as such. (And also seems like it could have been the final sentence of the previous policy.)

Free Indigenous suicide prevention phone line
This one also notes As of 16/3/2022 this is also a win with the Formation of 13YARN. As such, this one reads less as a policy plan than an achievement that the IAPA would like to see supported and continued. As it should be. And realistically, it’s hard to see any grounds for objecting to this that aren’t racist.

Save the Flag
As at 26.01.2022… the Aboriginal flag is available for use by all and that is a far better situation than its previous corporate ownership, but like the continent itself, the Aboriginal flag is not rightfully or morally owned by the Australian Government. Again, acknowledging the win, but also that it needs to go further.

Treaty and Constitutional Recognition now
As the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists has found: “The lack of recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the traditional owners of the land and waters of Australia in the Constitution impacts on identity and sense of belonging within the communities, perpetuating discrimination and eroding mental health and social and emotional wellbeing.” Another pretty damned simple ask, but one that has been too long delayed. Perhaps getting into Parliament will put IAPA representatives in a better place to advocate for this (since it will take a referendum to get Constitutional Recognition).

I feel like IAPA’s comparative lack of experience in running this kind of campaign is showing in these policies. Not that they are bad policy – they are, with one exception, sensible and reasonable policies – it’s just that they could be better explained and organised. That said, IAPA’s arrival on the Australian political scene is long overdue, and I can’t imagine that they will not learn quickly how to do what they need to do. For myself, I will be ranking them highly in my voting, likely somewhere betwixt the Greens and the ALP.