A recent United Nations report accused the Australian government of organized racism in its treatment of the indigenous population during “the intervention,” a new program begun in 2007.
The UN has also recommended that the government compensate Aboriginal victims of institutional discrimination. The government has rejected the proposal.
The intervention promised $1 billion in greater housing for the Aboriginal population. Instead, the money has been used to take away Aboriginal lands while building virtually no new housing units. Thousands of Aboriginals have also lost their jobs during the intervention’s restructuring of Aboriginal lands.
The program has also imposed tough rules on Aborigines, including a ban on alcohol. The government has used the chauvinist excuse that the Aboriginal-only laws are meant to reduce child abuse and sexual assault.
Aborigines are denied basic social services in apartheid-like fashion. They suffer from higher rates of poverty and significantly shorter life expectancy than the rest of the country’s inhabitants.
Thousands of people have attended mass actions against the intervention and have sent personal letters to the UN, demanding a halt to the intervention and greater access to land.
