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Posted by Tyson Yunkaporta Sep 15, 2006 |
There are 14 members on the new Australian National Indigenous Council, which was established following the abolition of ATSIC. Apparently these members have been forced to sign a confidentiality agreement that only allows the chairperson to speak publicly, allowing the government to control the content of messages to the public.
The function of this Government-appointed council was supposedly to advise the Government on Aboriginal issues - so this is not a governing body, but an advisory group representing the needs and voices of Indigenous Australia.
The government argues that all advisory bodies have only the chair as spokesperson; perhaps this is why the Council was established under this advisory framework - to further silence and disempower Indigenous leadership in this country.
Since the abolition of ATSIC (The Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander Commission) the ability of Indigenous leaders to make decisions about the future of our communities has been significantly diminished.