ALICE SPRINGS JAIL I am back in Tennant Creek after a visit to Alice Springs, where i had a look from the outside at the new jail. Lots of razor wire. I got a whiff of lots of sterile and mindless routine with inmates subject to behaviour modification to fit them to the institution and not vice versa. I ran into some Tennant Creek women wanted to visit their relatives in the new jail - 20 kms out of town. They couldn't afford the bus. We went out on Sunday, but weren't allowed in because the women had been out the day before. One visit per week only allowed. The guard who spoke with me said he was from South Australia and he couldn't understand it either. It meant the women, who wanted to return to Tennant Creek (500 kms), had to wait to next weekend. They were out of money until Thursday, no food and staying in a town camp where there were problems with other people. It is bitterly cold in Alice at the moment (minimum of minus -1 while i was there) and a cold wind blows in the morning - as they face a long walk into town from the camp to fine out just how they will eat that day. A friend of mine had some meat for them, and i helped to the extent i could - which isn't much. A car trip here, some bread and fruit and small change. Visiting relatives in these jails places additional strains and stresses on people who live below the poverty line as it is. >From the little i could see from outside the jail, lots of black faces amongst the inmates. There is most certainly a high degree of "you're born criminal if you are born Aboriginal" here. Out of circulation and out of sight. And meanwhile, in downtown Alice, there is a tourist bonanza going on based almost solely on the marketing of Aboriginal arts and culture. Frequent police patrols. I doubt if we could encourage the average tourist to make a visit to the NT jails. They are places which have a force field of their own and which the average person instinctively seeks to avoid. But we may be able to publicise them - and somehow penetrate through the comfort zone of tourist mentality so that they at least know that they are supporting an oppressive regime when they buy the tourist image of the Territory. NT ELECTIONS No more news about either the date for the by-elections or talk of a general election. On the latter front, the new Chief Minister Denis Burke is dealing with the problem of having the former Chief Minister (Shane Stone) on his backbench - and as of today Stone is also the President of the Australia wide Liberal Party. Having a general election is one way for Burke to get rid of Stone - Burke has said that he is most uncomfortable with the present situation re Stone, and Stone has said he won't stand in the next election (but won't resign just yet). I gather part of the problem for Burke's discomfort is that it shatters the illusion that the Country-Liberal Party represents people in the Northern Territory by graphicly demonstrating that it is driven by a party alliance from outside the Territory (and ultimately from outside of Australia in my opinion) - with the 'backbencher' as the powerful party boss calling the shots to the front bench. Oh, and they beat their chests continually about being "Territorians" - proudly independent! Those Territorians affiliated with the major political parties are hollow at the core, unfortunately. Yesterday was Territory Day - 21 years of self-government. 21 - time to show some maturity then. LOBBY PROFESSIONAL POLITICIANS - RETAIN PEOPLES PERSPECTIVE Good to see that the message went off to Bob Brown. We need to really grow this peoples movement campaign if we are to be effective. And getting professional politicians onside is part of that, in my opinion, but only part of it. The caring part of life remains at the level of people, and not at the level of professional politicians. Until we come up with a new paradigm life-design, we do need them though. Professionals are soon swept off their feet by sophisticated smooth operators and can lose the peoples perspective. Part of our job (i reckon) is to ensure that our elected representatives put people first. Keep the professionals and the political process itself well earthed. LOBBY SENATOR ADEN RIDGEWAY Senator Aden Ridgeway with the Democrats should also be part of it, since my guess is a lot of other people will take their lead from his position on indigenous matters. In this respect, he should become at least as influential as Bob Brown. He will be soon over worked though (since really a whole form of government is required for First Peoples to deal with lifes problems and not just one Senator) - but it does mean that we need to get in quick to lobby him. If he could be encouraged to make Mandatory Sentencing in the NT one of his special concerns, that would be good strategy. NEXT YEAR FOCUS? We should also consider the APEC meeting in Darwin next year as a means of raising awareness about the mandatory sentencing laws if they haven't changed by then. I don't know when they are timed for, but if it is before the Games that would make for good timing. ALSO - GARETH Gareth Evans is presenting campaigning around the world for a position at the Head of UNESCO - we could use some international support from other groups to pop up asking questing about the NT mandatory sentencing legislation every time he puts on his display about how wonderfully suited for the position an Australian - such as his own modest but very able self - is. NOTE CALIFORNIA AND JAPAN Also note the bad publicity Australia has received by the wrongheaded decision to exclude other people from the opening event of the Games. Some publicity to the media in these countries about the backside of Australian life - as typified by mandatory sentencing in the NT - would also be timely (since they are presently receptive). But it is too much for me to organise. We need more active hands on deck to take charge of these lines of activity and to follow them up with others via the internet. Like a sort of chain reaction. A peoples movement must move outwards reaching other people, who become actively involved. There can be no leader - just people who move by activating their own core of Being. Bruce 2 July 1999 ------------------------------------------------------- RecOzNet2 has a page @ http://www.green.net.au/recoznet2 and is archived at http://www.mail-archive.com/ To unsubscribe from this list, mail [EMAIL PROTECTED], and in the body of the message, include the words: unsubscribe announce or click here mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20announce This posting is provided to the individual members of this group without permission from the copyright owner for purposes of criticism, comment, scholarship and research under the "fair use" provisions of the Federal copyright laws and it may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner, except for "fair use." RecOzNet2 is archived for members @ http://www.mail-archive.com/
