Gulf War

Mapoon, 1957

They were evicted at gunpoint. Men, women and children. Armed police stormed their homes in the night, herding them onto a boat where they watched the church they had built, the school and their township torched to the ground.

It was the first Gulf War. Mapoon, the Gulf of Carpentaria. November, 1963. The Tjungundji people had refused to leave their country to make way for the mining companies. So they were removed at gunpoint. Mapoon and a further 1,373 square kilometres of Aboriginal traditional lands were handed to multinational bauxite mining giant Alcan, without any compensation to the traditional owners.

It was the beginning of the Australian resource boom, and a revamping of the war against Aboriginal people to get them off their mineral-rich land. The governments were acting on behalf of the giant multi-national mining companies to secure open and free access to Aboriginal land. Throughout Australia it is much the same story. People forcibly removed from their country and crowded into settlements, living in poverty. Now the Howard Government is sending the troops back into Aboriginal country in the Northern Territory.

Terry O'Shane, retired seafarer, chair of the North Queensland Land Council, a member of the Kuku Yalanji people and life member of the Maritime Union, forces back the tears as he recalls this and other atrocities against his people.He has just returned from a trip through Cape York. The last time he was in Mapoon all that was there were the blackened stumps of the burnt down buildings. His wife's aunty and uncle, Jerry and Ina Hudson were living in very harsh conditions. Old wounds have been reopened by the visit. And the latest attack on Aboriginal communities has only made it worse.

"They burnt our people out," Terry said. "Forced them at gunpoint onto reserves. Now they live in poverty. People are doing it hard on Struggle Street, in Napranum and Mapoon in the shadow of the fourth biggest mining company in the world.

"Mining companies have made billions of dollars extracting bauxite from the region," he said. "And governments have grown fat on tax revenue from these operations. But the traditional owners of these lands are still waiting in line for their payout."

Under the Howard Government this war has gained momentum. The High Court's "Mabo" decision was and continues to be opposed by John Howard and his parliamentary colleagues.

"One of the first things Howard did on coming to power 11 years ago was to implement his 10 point plan designed to shred the native title legislation put in place by the Keating Labor Government and to cut $400 million from Aboriginal health programs."

This Terry O'Shane stresses is where the widely publicised abuse in Aboriginal communities has its roots. That a conservative government having created the crisis is now using it against his people to win an election and take control of more Aboriginal land makes it all the more repugnant.

"Child abuse and domestic violence stem from serious overcrowding and social dislocation," said Terry. "You get 20-30 people living in the one house with no jobs, no future and you get community dysfunction. Both my grandparents were taken from country and put into Yarrabah Reserve," said Terry. "You had 20 or so different tribal groups forced together into one community. Traditionally this was not the way we lived, so this situation alone created enormous problems for community cohesion. Yarrabah today continues to have its problems with overcrowding, unemployment and poverty. Having two to three families in one house creates lots of tension.

"The government exterminated whole Aboriginal communities," he said. "They separated children from their mothers; wives from their husbands, sisters from brothers. The authorities separated us by distance and then changed our names so that after all these years we are still linking up with our families - those who are lucky enough to be still alive, that is. A whole generation, the Stolen Generation, was never taught parenting skills due to government policy of separating children from parents; they never knew how to father their children or feel their mother's love. The separation was designed to break the continuity of a thousand generations.

"It was meant to destroy our language, tradition, culture and community," he said. "You lose your identity if you are separated from your language, country, culture and people. Howard's policies are all about individuality; it is about marginalising communities and fragmenting community cohesion."

Terry O'Shane is not just talking about Aboriginal Australians. What the Howard Government represents is the fragmentation of all Australian communities. It represents big business, privatisation and putting profits before people.

"Howard's got me twice over," said Terry. "One time as an Aboriginal Australian and one time as a trade unionist. He has never respected Aboriginal people. He never spoke out against the apartheid regime in South Africa, and he is totally opposed to the recognition of native title."

Now the Howard Government has done away with people's democratic rights to elect their own representatives - in the Aboriginal communities and in the workplace.

"Since Howard came to power he has demonised ATSIC," said Terry. "All the government advisors are now hand picked and appointed by the government. None are elected so none enjoy community support. They are Howard Government lackeys."

Terry is familiar with the way the Howard Government is now demonising the unions and taking away democracy in the workplace.

"He is setting out to break the community spirit, destroy working communities, and outlaw solidarity," said Terry. "And like Mapoon, it is all in partnership with big business. We remember well the lies the government told before, during and after the Dubai industrial mercenary affair, the Patrick lockout, the dogs on the docks and the mass sackings."

The government's pre-election "shock and awe" strategy of sending troops into Aboriginal country is just more of the same, says Terry O'Shane. That the Government ignored successive reports on the crisis in outback Aboriginal communities and did not implement any of their recommendations is proof the decision to send in the army is an election ploy and yet another land grab, not a change of heart.

"Yes, we need housing and health care," said Terry. "We need nurses and teachers, but not soldiers. We need to reconnect with our land."