This Sunday marks 19 years since the then Howard Government announced the Northern Territory Intervention laws – ‘The Intervention’ began with a media release by Mal Brough, Minister for Indigenous Affairs, on June 21, 2007.
The laws compulsorily seized control of all Indigenous communities in the Northern Territory, while suspending the Racial Discrimination Act (1975).
To mark this day, local filmmaker Sinem Saban will be presenting back-to-back screenings in Murwillumbah of her two award-winning films that not only expose the draconian Intervention policies, but also present the catastrophic fallout from these laws that have been unravelling in Aboriginal communities to this day.
Working in synergy to undermine Indigenous people
‘The NT Intervention policies of 2007 and subsequent years have been numerous, all working in synergy to undermine the last bastion of Indigenous people practising their unbroken traditional law in this country, while also attacking their cultural identity and leadership,’ says Ms Saban.
‘Amongst a long list of affronts, communities have had their local assets frozen, leaders have been stripped of their authority, schools have been forced to stop teaching bilingual education to their children, funding for their precious homelands has been cut, and people have had portions of their welfare payments quarantined – all under the now discredited accusation that, “every single community has paedophiles operating in them,” (Mal Brough).’
No evidence of paedophile rings
Ms Saban, who has spent the last 25 years working with the Yolngu Nation of NE Arnhem Land, says it was a Trojan horse. ‘Nineteen years on, there has been no evidence of paedophile rings in these communities. But once that gross stereotype hit the mainstream news, the damage was done. It has justified almost two decades of destructive and racist policies – while destroying people’s pride and dignity.’
‘All those children born at that time 19 years ago, have grown up in communities where their own leaders and traditional laws have been undermined and demonised. And now we see communities spiralling into spaces of helplessness, self-loathing and chaos, reflected in the highest suicide and incarceration rates in the country.
‘The sad thing is, all the Elders I have spoken to over 19 years, including the late Rev Dr Gondarra, who features in both my films, predicted what would happen. But nobody listened to them.’
Our Generation
The first film for the screening will be Our Generation (2010), which was filmed while Sinem was teaching on Elcho Island and witnessed firsthand how the NT Intervention laws were impacting the community. It presents the uncensored voices from many Indigenous people who were watching army trucks roll into their communities in the guise of ‘saving the children’.
Ḻuku Ngärra: The Law of the Land
The second film, Ḻuku Ngärra: The Law of the Land (2024) traces the life and legacy of the late Elcho Island elder and lawman Rev Dr Gondarra OAM, who spent over 40 years fighting for the spiritual and political freedom of his people. He presents context and background to the issues Indigenous people in remote NT are facing today, while smashing the stereotypes we have been fed in the media. And through his unparalleled insight, Rev Dr Gondarra also presents much bigger philosophical themes as he questions the structures and mechanisms of the dominant system as oppressive not only his own people, but all of humanity.
Ḻuku Ngärra also features Yolngu MP and senior lawman Yingiya Guyula who, now in his second term in NT Government, continues to experience institutional sidelining. Raising big questions as to why, even as a democratically elected Indigenous leader and spokesperson, are his recommendations not taken seriously by the NT Parliament?
Tickets are $30 and are on sale through The Regent website. www.theregentcinema.com.au.
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