During my time in Australia earlier this year I had an interesting conversation with some locals regarding the Aboriginies. On the international stage there’s a general agreement that Australian Aborignes have been harshly treated by the rest of the population over the years, so it was with great surprise that I found myself involved in a conversation that for the first time wasn’t necessarily pro-aboriginal rights, and I was reminded that not all issues are black and white, even when we like to think they are.

The very public ‘Apology’ by Australia Prime Minister Kevin Rudd had taken place a short time before I arrived in the country.  A speech was made in Parliament to address all the wrongs caused by successive governments on the indigenous Aboriginal population.

“For the indignity and degradation thus inflicted on a proud people and a proud culture, we say sorry”

- Kevin Rudd, Prime Minister of Australia

Schools around the country all dealt with communicating this political milestone to pupils in different ways. Some set aside a room during break time for pupils to watch the event if they chose to, others sat the whole school down and made it required viewing. The idea that Australia is making too much fuss over aboriginal rights and the political correctness of it all these days is not a perspective I had previously come across.

Not all aboriginal claims over land rights have been geniuine, and the same is true for some claims of aboriginal ancestry. Often there is money or land involved and as with any reputation – it’s easy to destroy, difficult to build. Disingenuous attempts to profit by exploiting cultural connections or cultural traditions is unacceptable, and until recently I hadn’t realised that it had been a source of cultural conflicts in Australia.

Now that efforts are finally being made to assimilate aboriginal culture into mainstream Australia, and aboriginal rights are being considered it seems obvious that some people will attempt to abuse the situation.  For some reason the idea that it could be members of the indigenous population is a little hard to swallow and as a result (of political correctness no doubt) we hear very little of it internationally.

The Hindmarsh bridge debacle

All the way back in the early nineties questions were raised when a group of aboriginies tried to stop the construction of a bridge in South Australia by revealing that a sacred site would be violated. It was later alledged that the Aboriginal women had been encouraged by sympathetic feminist anthropologists to invent some ’secret women’s business’ that would provide a reason to oppose construction of the bridge. The anthropologists were part of a politically correct lobby that opposed construction. Has political correctness come to compromise fairness, morals and fact, allowing an abuse of trust and sympathy?

“The fraud has not necessarily been by the individual aboriginals who, often innocently, have been encouraged to bring legal proceedings, but rather has generally been by the activists and, it is regretted to say, by some of the lawyers who have advised or incited them.”

- National Observer No. 41, Winter 1991

The stolen generation

Some examples of unfounded claims have been analysed by Mr. Andrew Bolt, one of Australia’s most distinguished journalists:

• Mr. Charles Perkins, who claimed to have been “stolen”, was in fact accepted into care at the request of his mother.
• Mr. Mudrooroo Narogin, who has also claimed to have been “stolen”, was in fact handed across by his mother in view of her poverty.
• Ms. Cathy Freeman’s claim that her grandmother Alice was “stolen” was untrue: Alice was the illegitimate daughter of a Syrian man, who was given to an Aboriginal couple to be raised.

A recent landmark case saw the Supreme Court of South Australia award an Aboriginal man (Bruce Trevorrow) A$525,000 in compensation after finding he had been falsely imprisoned and treated unlawfully when he was taken from his family in 1958. Bruce Trevorrow is the first member of Australia’s “stolen generation” of Aborigines to win compensation. There are many other stories where individuals claimed to have been “stolen”, but had in fact been sent by their parents to be educated.

It is no wonder that fraudulent reports have surfaced in recent years and that there may in fact be some truth in them given the prospect of compensation? Many would agree that there are often more similarities between cultures than differences, and using favourable situations to promote self interests is something we can all relate to.  It’s important that such occurences are dealt with in a fair and equal way, without fear of political correctness, without tarnishing an entire culture, without creating prejudice, and most importantly without denying history. Regardless of the fact that there have been conflicts of this nature, there is no doubting the significance and importance of The Apology for modern day Australia. What are your thoughts?