Letter to the editor of the Sydney Morning Herald March 28, 2000 Blatant rip-off I write in reply to the host of letters which have been printed in response to the front-page articles which appeared in the Herald and The Age in relation to the use by Qantas of the Carol Napangardi photograph. In leaping to the defence of Qantas, most of your correspondents have missed the central point. The article was not about Qantas per se. It highlighted the fact that Australia's major companies spend a fortune on marketing campaigns every year, drawing heavily from Aboriginal art and culture, and barely a pittance gets back to struggling indigenous communities. The blatant rip-off of Aboriginal culture is rife. That was the central point of the article. Corporate Australia needs to take a good look at itself in this regard. Reconciliation will never be achieved in this country if the situation is allowed to prevail and the NIAAA is committed to ensuring it does not. No-one can tell me that Carol Napangardi was paid the same sort of money that people such as Elle Macpherson would be paid for appearing in a Qantas promotion. Qantas and other major companies have an absolute ethical obligation to consult Aboriginal communities on using any imagery associated with their culture. It is obvious from dealing with NIAAA, and as an ATSIC commissioner, that most don't. I thank the Herald for bringing this issue to the forefront of the public mind and I'm perplexed when I read about Aboriginal people involving themselves in this public debate with little knowledge of this complex area. The prime objective of the National Indigenous Arts Advisory Association of Australia is to provide specialist support services to protect the cultural and intellectual property rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists. We will continue to pursue these matters with vigour, regardless of whether we are dealing with large corporations or small businesses that wish to exploit our culture. Dr Charles Perkins, Chairman, National Indigenous Arts Advocacy Association, The Rocks. -- _________________________________ Truth is a pathless land. --- Krishnamurti ------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------ 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/recoznet2%40paradigm4.com.au/
