This Sunday marks 19 years since the then Howard government announced the Northern Territory (NT) Intervention laws.
The laws compulsorily seized control of all Indigenous communities in the NT, 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.
‘The NT Intervention policies of 2007 are working 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).’
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.’
The first film for the screening will be Our Generation (2010), which was filmed while Sinem was teaching on Elcho Island and witnessed first-hand how the NT Intervention laws were impacting the community.
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. Tickets are $30 and are on sale through The Regent website. www.theregentcinema.com.au.
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