Transcript The Intervention: What does that mean for us?

The
Intervention:
What does
that mean
for us?
Voices of
Remote
Indigenous
Child Care
Workers in
the NT
CEIEC Conference
Melbourne Nov 13-15, 2008
VISION
Batchelor Institute: a site of national significance in
Indigenous education ― strengthening identity, achieving
success and transforming lives.
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The Project
• An Action Research project
• To support Indigenous children’s
services workers
• To understand and voice their views on
the recent Australian Government
Intervention in their remote NT
communities.
• Funded by BIITE Research Division
• July 2007-July 2008
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Communities
Yirrkala
Groote Eyandt
Yirrkala
Warruwi
Ngukurr
Umbakumba
Batchelor
Wadeye
Casuarina
Milingimbi
Laramba
Alice Springs
Aputula
Batchelor
Tenant Creek
Gapuwiyak
Goulburn Island
Western Australia
border
Queensland
border
South Australia border
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Indigenous children in the NT
• Population of the NT - 210,000
• 30% Indigenous
• 35% of children are Indigenous and
growing
• 50% of Australian Indigenous
Communities are in the NT
• Many NT children don’t speak
English as their first language
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Who was involved?
• 34 Indigenous children’s
services workers
• 17 different communities
across the NT
• All women
• Researchers were the
BIITE Research Team &
Children’s Service
Workers
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Mid 2007: The Intervention
• Little Children are Sacred Report
– (Wild & Patterson, 2007)
• Aug 2007
– Federal Liberal Government reacts with a
package of five Bills introduced into
Federal Parliament
– resulting in ‘a comprehensive, compulsory
intervention in 73 Northern Territory
Aboriginal communities’ (Brennan, 2007)
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The Intervention laws

measures to abolish the Community Development
Employment Program (CDEP)

quarantine 50% of community members’ welfare
payments, and 100% of those whose children are
truants

deploy Australian Federal Police as ‘special constables’
to the Northern Territory Police Force

remove the permit system which governs access to
Aboriginal land

acquire five-year leases over prescribed townships that
are part of the emergency response

negotiate with interested communities on 99-year
township leases
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Indigenous families have been
consulted repeatedly….
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Talking Early Childhood (1995)
Pipirri Wiimaku “for the little kids” (2001)
Aboriginal Child Rearing Strategy (2002)
‘Listen to us we’ve got something to say’
(1999)
• ‘Both Ways’ Indigenous Children’s Services
Project (2004)
• SNAICC, Indigenous Early Childhood Case
Studies (2004)
• Kid’s Tracks (2004-2005)
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Consistent messages from
Indigenous people…
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Don’t put your ideas onto us – listen to us
We want safe and healthy places for kids
Child care can give kids good food
Child care - by locals for locals - not just
people who are ‘passing through’
REAL ownership of the service
Places for keeping culture strong
Culturally appropriate training
Get our kids ready for school
Child care for making the community strong
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Intervention research asked
three questions
1. What do you know about the
Intervention?
2. How is the Intervention affecting your
service?
3. How is the Intervention affecting your
community?
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Data Collection
Research Workshops
Researchers
• 5 workshops between
August - November
2007
• 1 workshop- July 2008
Selina Grant
Rowena Grant
Sue-Anne Thingle
Vanessa Watson
Veronica Pompei
Jude Maglis
Renae Polly Davies
Kim Whitburn
Patricia Lalara
Lyn Fasoli
Lyndal Barrett
Saraswathi GriffithsChandran
Ranu James
Rebekah Farmer
Research Methods
• Survey
• Discussions
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Intervention
Research
workshop
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What child care workers knew about the intervention…
In 2007
In 2008
• Not many people
understood what would
happen.
• Most people knew CDEP
would change
•Some people hoped it
would improve school
attendance.
• 1/3 people thought it
would stop child abuse
•1/3 thought it would
improve children’s health
• Everyone understood more
but still had questions
• Saw some small changes
with CDEP but in some
communities it stayed the
same.
• Most people saw better
attendance at school
• Some believed it was trying
to stop child abuse but
people still not reporting
abuse
• All thought it helped to
improve children’s health
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What Child Care workers knew about the
Intervention
2007
2008
• Some people thought it
was about removing the
land permits
• They understand it’s not
about removing land permits
• Not many people knew
the word ‘pornography’
before Intervention
• People didn’t know what
it was about.
• No signs of pornography
• Not many people knew
about income
management
• Everyone knows about
income management and
some people are happy
about it.
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• People agree it is trying to fix
problems (alcohol and drugs)
Concerns
Money concerns
• People still worry about money
• People still on CDEP & people still worried about CDEP
being taken away again.
• Need more money for food.
• Payments have changed
– Some people have gone from Centrelink, to CDEP,
to Local Council to new Shire Council.
– ITEC
– From weekly payment to fortnightly payments
– Need to change budget to survive 14 days instead of
7 day intervals.
– big families still don’t have enough money for food
• We’re concerned because we get pay from salary.
• Salary people feel like new paper work is too hard.
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Concerns
Unfair treatment
• ‘Haven’t seen non-Indigenous children being
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checked by army’
‘Non-Indigenous children get abused too’
‘Aged pensioners feel targeted by quarantining
when they don’t have responsibility for children.’
‘We don’t need food vouchers but our family has
to use them’.
‘We are treated differently by the government’
‘Didn’t tell children their rights.’
‘People still worried about too many changes.’
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Concerns
Lack of Information / Fear / Confusion
• Some people still don’t fully understand,
scared and confused,
• Some understand and accept the
intervention
• Some think there has been a lack of
action
• Some angry about cultural issues being
ignored for so long in child care
– i.e. staff’s right to attend ceremonies & have
breaks like bush holidays to catch up with
family.
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Ongoing Concerns
• Government push for new child care services
– lack of appropriate spaces
– no proper infrastructure (buildings etc)
– lack of professional development & training
– different communities need different kinds of training
• Still gambling even on quarantine
– ‘Gambling is causing gross poverty in some families,
where some children don't eat at home cos they have
got no money.’
• Family violence & child abuse still occurs outside the
service.
– ‘Can’t speak up because it might cause problems
towards other families’.
– ‘Families worried because drunken mob still come back to
the community and start fighting and making trouble.’
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Concerns
Too little to late!
• Should have planned better before they acted.
• No proper consultation with Aboriginal people.
• Original focus for intervention misguided
– stress levels are still high throughout the family as a
whole.
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Need more housing.
Need more child care places for the kids
Need more consultation with community.
People want interpreters to understand the
changes.
• No information for staff on reporting abuse.
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Good things to come out of the
Intervention
• Better regular attendance at childcare,
preschool & school.
• Good idea to employ more police & special
task force to crack down on drug & alcohol
abuse.
• Removal of permits so intervention mob
came in and sacked the white people who
were not doing their job.
• More people coming to work
• Less grog coming in
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Child Care Workers’ Suggestions
• Money management training
• Breakfast programs in every school
• More training or programs about drugs &
alcohol
• Stop the gambling
• More child care services for more children
needing care
• Regular bus services between outstations and
communities so people can move out of larger
communities to outstations
• Improve the roads
• Fix up existing playgrounds
• More and bigger houses, with fences
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Acknowledgements
• Thank you to the child care workers
who participated in this project
• Thank you to Batchelor Institute for
funding to do this project
• Thank you to the CEIEC
Conference Committee
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What did you learn from this
presentation?
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What issues does this raise
for us as a profession?
CEIEC Conference
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