Shantytown takeovers ignite fury of Aboriginal leaders

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. Photo / Getty Images

CANBERRA - Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has run up hard against Aboriginal opposition in the latest blow to a Government that is being hammered by a series of setbacks on key fronts.

Rudd, who after his 2007 election delivered a long overdue apology to indigenous Australians for the sins of 200 years of European settlement, last week won more points by easing some of the draconian laws introduced by the previous Coalition Government to allow its intervention in the Northern Territory.

But this has been overshadowed by a decision to take over shantytowns on the outskirts of Alice Springs against strident Aboriginal opposition and a move to block development on Cape York Peninsula.

Rudd's continuing support for the NT intervention, while applauded by many, is still faced with significant condemnation, including a bid today to start an international campaign against the controls imposed on indigenous families and communities.

Increasing rancour between the Government and Aborigines follows a string of other serious issues facing Labor, reflected in polls recording an increasing slippage in support.

The latest is a Morgan poll that says the Coalition has narrowed Labor's lead by four percentage points, and that since December preference for Rudd as Prime Minister has fallen 10 points to 60.5 per cent.

This is far from a crisis for the Government, which according to Morgan still has a lead of 58 per cent to 42 per cent over the Opposition in the two-party preferred vote that determines Australian elections.

But with an election due next year, Rudd will need to stem any further slide in the face of recession, rising unemployment and erosion of Labor's high grounds of equity, social justice and the environment.

Parliament resumes this week with Rudd facing anger over his poor attempts to sell the Budget's high-deficit strategy, potential defeat of legislation for an emissions trading scheme, and union fury over the move to lift the retirement age from 65 to 67.

Treasurer Wayne Swan has been forced to admit to "mistakes" and to promise changes to a Budget move to clamp down on employee share ownership schemes after anger from both unions and business.

The Government now further faces confrontation with indigenous communities. Although rarely significant in determining elections, high-profile Aboriginal policies can influence broader perceptions, and a serious, long-term confrontation could be corrosive for a Government besieged on other major fronts.

Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin's decision to compulsorily acquire 15 town camps in Alice Springs has met with strong condemnation despite unanimous agreement that urgent action is needed to relieve their Third World lives.

The move follows 10 months of fruitless negotiation between the federal and NT governments and Tangentyere Council, which represents the camps' housing associations. The camps are not on traditional land.

Macklin said Canberra had made a series of concessions and increased its commitment to infrastructure and housing to A$15 million ($18.8 million), but the council had rejected its proposals.

The council wants control, but the Government fears this could lead to nepotism and corruption.

"Anybody who has been to the Alice Springs town camps knows that action is drastically and urgently needed," Macklin said.

"Living conditions are appalling. Acute overcrowding and substandard housing combined with alcohol abuse, despair and hopelessness have led to desperate and dangerous consequences."

But the council has described the takeover as shameful and discriminatory, and lawyer George Newhouse said the move breached United Nations commitments.

In Queensland, indigenous leaders are furious that the Government has joined environmental groups to seek World Heritage listing for Cape York Peninsula. Already fighting the state Government's intention to lock up the rivers, they argue that struggling Aboriginal communities would be blocked from economic development of their land.