Forum hears alternatives to Intervention

Photo: Jumbunna.uts.edu.au

About 50 people attended a forum on July 8 titled "Rebuilding from the Ground Up: alternatives to the failed NT Intervention".

The meeting heard from Valerie Martin, a Yuendumu resident in the Northern Territory, which is one of the "hub towns" under the government’s Northern Territory Intervention.

She took part in the Prescribed Area People's Alliance conference in Darwin in June, which launched the “Rebuilding from the Ground Up” document.

The statement puts forward an alternative to the intervention into Aboriginal communities. Supporters of the document include the Intervention Rollback Action Group, Stop the Intervention Collective Sydney and Concerned Australians.

Martin said: “The government is not listening to us. It’s another invasion. It's hurting our lives, culture and language. The government's got to stop controlling our lives."

The forum also featured Chris Graham, managing editor of Tracker magazine.

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