It appears that interest continues on this topic. The post 'Push for Sealed Road from Amata to Uluru' dated 26.12.2015 is an current example.
A few years ago - 2006 in particular - I submitted these
views to a discussion titled: "Access to Aboriginal Land under the N.T. Aboriginal Lands Act – Time for change? – Discussion paper."
In an effort to stimulate discussion, I am copying that submission for all to consider. Here it is:
"Regarding the Access Permit System that closes off some Australian communities.
It would appear that isolation (effected by the current permit access system) of aboriginal communities has done no good at all.
Let’s share problems & issues, and open the regions to visitors. The people living in the aboriginal lands are not separate Australians; they are merely one sector of our diverse residential
population. Why do we continue to perpetuate such divisions? By abolishing controlled permit access in aboriginal lands, we could begin to
breakdown some of the destructive attitudes that exist.
While I recognise that many living in currently permit controlled access communities have issues such as health, drugs, poverty and abuse, I don’t really comprehend those issues. And I’m unlikely to develop any comprehensions while those fellow Australians are in isolation, caused in large part by the current access permit system. Current public concerns about abuse, poverty, drugs and health in aboriginal lands underline the disadvantages of permit controlled access.
It is very likely that enabling more visitors to be exposed to these areas and issues may facilitate visitors willing to help in some way. Unfortunately, access prohibition currently prevents the rest of us from putting a shoulder to the wheels of help, respect and assistance. The interior of Australia has many visitors and people on a journey. Not all of these people are ‘
grey nomads’. I’m not. Let’s enable visitors to bring more income and more support to these remote areas. Let us abolish the current controlled access permit system, immediately.
The current arrangement of closed access also prohibits my family and me from enjoying the land use patterns, the scenery, the topographical features, the flora and fauna, and the environmental aspects that relate to an appreciation and understanding of any region. If able, I would gladly visit remoter aboriginal lands, and be prepared spend time and energy and money to develop a sense of understanding of a particular region. I can’t see how preventing my access benefits those local residents.
One of the ‘rights’ as a citizen I wish to utilise is the ability to travel where I choose on our road systems. I’m not talking about a desire to trespass onto personal private freehold land such as housing premises. But I do think that public space in Aboriginal lands - the townships and roads - need to be accessible. I would like to appreciate not only the people and their issues, but also the local environment, all of which is denied by the current permit access system operating in aboriginal lands.
The issue of currently closed access, or permit controlled access, is baffling to many of us. We can’t deny access to the road, say between
Adelaide and
Broken Hill, yet the aboriginal community seems to be able to deny us road access from say,
Marla to Kaltukatjara. (a.k.a. Docker River). Why should there be one rule of access for one group, and one rule for another? Surely such rules & attitudes are a major contributor to the ‘them & us’ way of thinking that delivers benefits to no-one. It is unjust and unreasonable to have two policies for one nation of residents. The current access permit system perpetuates a ‘one rule for us and one for them mentality’. It should be abolished.
One solution may be to follow the South Australian example of enabling access in remote regions. There, Public Access Routes have been created to provide transport corridors. Let’s do the same in the Aboriginal lands.
Legislation and regulation should enable all of us to appreciate all of Australia – there is demonstrably no good that comes from the current restrictive permit access policy. It is time for a change.
Individual states also need to be encouraged to follow the removal of access-prohibiting regulation / legislation. By having only the Northern Territory situation changed, the issues of controlled access will highlight disadvantages to all parties."