Antinuclear

Extension of NT Intervention in breach of human rights: UN ABC Radio PM  Meredith Griffiths, May 18, 2012 EDMOND ROY: The United Nations has heard that Australia is breaching its human rights obligations by moving to extend the Intervention in Northern Territory Aboriginal communities

The chairman of the National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples says it’s a major disappointment that the Government is extending laws for another 10 years, without the consent of the people concerned. Les Malezer says the laws are racist.

Meredith Griffiths reports.

MEREDITH GRIFFITHS: This week Indigenous people from all over the
world came together in New York for the annual meeting of the UN’s
forum on indigenous issues.

The stories they heard from Australia weren’t good.  LES MALEZER: The
major disappointment has been the decision of the Government to extend
the Northern Territory Intervention laws for another 10 years without
the consent of the people’s concerned and without subjecting the
proposed new laws to scrutiny against Australia’s human rights
obligations as a member of the United Nations.

MEREDITH GRIFFITHS: The Intervention began in June 2007 and
legislation is now before the Senate to extend it for another 10
years.
…… MEREDITH GRIFFITHS: As of July this year the Government will
actually roll out welfare quarantining for parents whose children skip
school in other areas around Australia and not just in Indigenous
communities.

Do you welcome that?

LES MALEZER: Well the fact is that when you look at the statistics the
impact upon Australians generally is minimal. The impact is mostly
going to be upon Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities,
not other families.

It’s a misleading approach to say that this is not targeting people of
the Aboriginal race…..
Congress leader Les Malezer says the Government has ignored five UN reports that have criticised the Intervention.

LES MALEZER: The Government can’t escape the fact that is it
discriminatory. If all Australians had to live under income management
and if all Australians had to live under prohibition of alcohol, then
we don’t have a complaint.

But to pick people out on the basis of their race and I can’t
understand how in Australia in these modern times people can’t see the
blind racism it just (inaudible). It’s just embarrassing on a global level and we think that Australia’s going to have to face up to the fact that if these laws go through the Parliament in the next month or so that they’re going to be faced with 10 years of being the pariahs in the world about racism.

It’s going to the new South Africa….
http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2012/s3506198.htm