This is despite the fact that Mparntwe is the service centre for some 500 communities across three states and the NT, and that a large percentage of the regular income for businesses in town relies heavily on clientele from remote Aboriginal communities.
âCrime and punishmentâ has always been popular for those on the right, but even NT Labor has run with the âtough on crimeâ baton.
I drafted this article as I prepared to head to another remote community within the PAW (Pintubi, Amnatjere and Warlpiri) Media region, to deliver training to Aboriginal youth, similar to that delivered to me just over two decades ago. As I did this, I wondered whether governments and the wider Australian community even support advancement for First Nations peoples. Or are they more inclined to support the continuation of colonial oppression, within which active attempts at genocide are thinly veiled behind political jargon, legalese and racist legislation?