[recoznet2] Melbourne walk

Chris Sitka Sun, 03 Dec 2000 20:53:37 -0800

ÿş<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META content="text/html; charset=unicode" http-equiv=Content-Type> <META content="MSHTML 5.00.2314.1000" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2>I want to offer another perspective on the Melbourne Walk. Namely the deliberate depoliticisation of it. Sure it was fantastic that so many people showed up - especially given that it was very lightly promoted. Given the lack of notice Melbourne people had and the dearth of pre-publicity it is even more remarkable that so many people put their feet on the ground during a traditionally over busy time of year. With good pre-publicity there surely would have been half a million!</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2>    But what bothers me most was the lack of politics at the Walk and the 'entertainment' provided after. I kept thinking why isn't there more spark here. I had heard that there would be political speeches by Aboriginal people but looked in vain for the tent. So I asked some well known Aboriginal speakers where this was taking place. It wasn't. What I found out was that the organisers had a strict policy of NO POLITICS.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2>     Apparently there had been a fight even to get Aboriginal bands and singers on the stage! But apart from some of their songs, no political statements from the stage were allowed. No facility for speeches was created - in fact it was discouraged and a couple of shows of initiative in this direction were squashed.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2>    So here was a huge crowd, come out to show their support. They could have been fired up, encouraged to do some practical reconciliation work, educated about the Treaty, Land Rights, whatever. But no - it was a light weight day out with a bit of music and expensive food stalls. </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2>   People were obviously itching to make a statement, to demonstrate their support. The only opportunity they were given was to sign the Reconciliation pledge and to put a hand in the sea of hands. So they lined up in big queues. </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2>    I was around the sea of hands sometimes and many people didn't even know what it was! There was no-one there telling them either - except me. People were there because they wanted to learn and no one was teaching. The Walk was constructed as  a 'nice day out'.  I guess a lot of people went home thinking - well I have done my bit now. Not - now I know what I can do next.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2>    That was it. A nice walk to Kings Domain Gardens (what a place name to end an Aboriginal reconciliation walk in!), some over priced hot dogs, a bit of music with no commentary and sea of hands with no explanation.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2>    Thank goodness many of the people brought their own political signs and flags and badges and T shirts. But why the determination to so thoroughly de-politicise a political event? </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2>   Unless of course you are a mining company. Rio Tinto was allowed to hand out free icy poles and caps with their logo on it. When I asked the person on the stall why, I was told because they were the major sponsor of the event. On the leaflets it only listed ATSIC,  Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation, Victorian Government and City of Melbourne as sponsors. </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2>    So Rio Tinto had a stall but I only saw one Aboriginal organisation or service with a stall. Apart from that there was Friends of the ABC and ANTAR with the Sea of Hands. </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2>    As I said before the Walk I tried to get permission to set up an information and fund-raising stall for Kapululangu Women's Law & Culture Centre. I didn't get anywhere. </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2>   People kept stopping me to ask where I had bought my Aboriginal Flag because they wanted to buy one and couldn't find any there. ANTAR only had a handful which soon sold out.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2>     So in another way people's desire to make a statement, to do more than just walk was frustrated. You could sense the rather lost feeling. The searching for something more. I had heard beforehand that there was going to be a political forum there. What shenanigans went on behind the scenes to suppress it?</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2>    I believe it was a lost opportunity to achieve more, much more. </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2>So while we must count it as a significant event I don' think we should lose sight of how it was also diminished and sanitised. How the likes of Court and Costello used it as an opportunity for self grandisement. </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2>    I've been in plenty of 'people's movements' before that were gutted by incorporation of their lowest common denominator into the mainstream and by commercialisation. We mustn't let that happen to this one.</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>

[recoznet2] Melbourne walk

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