KEY POINTS:
A month after Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's apology to indigenous Australia and the launch of new measures to overcome 200 years of disadvantage, the nation has been rocked by new claims of racism.
The allegations centre on young women chosen as future leaders of their remote Northern Territory community and driven 300km to Alice Springs as part of a programme organised by the Royal Life Saving Society.
The six women, accompanied by community elders, children and others involved in the programme, were ordered to leave accommodation booked by the society because other guests complained of their race.
The group was offered money as they left, but refused. "I felt like I wanted to cry, because it made me feel like I wasn't an Australian," Bethany Langdon told ABC television's Lateline programme.
The decision by Shelly Ball, manager of the Haven Backpackers Resort, to order the group from their rooms has infuriated Northern Territory, anti-discrimination and tourism officials.
Territory Chief Minister Paul Henderson described the move as unacceptable and urged the group to take action.
"It was truly appalling and I'd call on all those women affected to immediately make a complaint to the Anti-Discrimination Commission so that the commission can immediately use its powers to get to the bottom of the matter," he told ABC radio.
Henderson was supported by the Territory's Anti-Discrimination Commissioner, Terry Fitzgerald.
The allegations have also shaken the Territory's A$600 million ($696 million)-a-year tourism industry, which has just launched a campaign to promote Alice Springs and the surrounding region, with a strong focus on local indigenous experiences.
Market research for the industry by Nielsen Research has shown that Aboriginal people and culture are key experiences sought by tourists.
But the Territory has been fighting a wave of negative publicity after the revelations of endemic child abuse and appalling standards of living in remote communities, and last year's dramatic intervention by the Federal Government.
The new allegations came after the group travelled to Alice Springs from Yuendumu, a community of about 1300 to the northwest of the city, where the mainly Walpiri people have launched their own five-year development programme.
Part of this is a young leaders' programme and a Royal Life Saving Society campaign to train lifesavers in remote indigenous communities.
Yuendumu intends opening a public swimming pool in several months.
The society had booked accommodation at the Haven Backpacker Resort, which describes itself as "stylish, funky, clean and with the most friendly welcome possible".
The group had been shown to their rooms and were unpacking when Ball allegedly told one of the officials that other guests had felt threatened by them and they would have to leave.
"They'd been there for about 30 minutes or so," society chief executive Rob Bradley, who was travelling with the group, told Lateline.
"We were just getting ready to go out for an evening meal and the hotel manager took aside our staff member and said the group members are going to have to leave."
Langdon said she had asked why they couldn't stay.#"They said it was because of the colour of our skin and [the other, apparently Asian, guests] didn't like it. If we didn't leave, they would leave."
Added Sharelle Young, another of the Yuendumu young leaders: "Someone was complaining about us just because we were black and the manager told us to leave."
Bradley said the group had been offered a feeble excuse but the real reason was "pure racism" that had shocked and dismayed the group.
"They were shamed, they were just staggered," he said. "We quickly got on the phone and made alternative accommodation arrangements, but the damage had been done."
Said Langton: "It's a disgrace against Aboriginal people, especially when Aboriginal women come to town trying to be a role model for their community and get looked up to by elder people and younger people from their community and other communities."
The resort issued a statement claiming the group had been turned away because they were not foreign backpackers.
"Haven Hostel is a backpackers' hostel catering for international backpacking tourists, which the group was not. So accommodation [elsewhere] was sought and arranged with their consultation, on their behalf."
