The National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples says First Nations people in remote Western Australian communities’ wont experience the same equal rights given to the rest of the State’s citizens, despite a recent report claiming proposed reforms will do so.
The report, titled Resilient Families, Strong Communities: A roadmap for regional and remote communities, includes the Government’s vision for Better Living Conditions, Supporting Families, and More Opportunities for education, employment and housing.
The document reveals the State Government’s plans to focus on larger communities with no support for 110 of the smallest communities.
Co-Chair and Yamatji man, Rod Little says the communities in question haven’t been experiencing the same rights as others and various measures in the review are contradictory to such claims for the future also.
Mr Little says the review is rhetoric policy blaming communities for the failures of decision makers.
One of the priorities determining if a community continues to receive government support, is the willingness to ensure children are safe and in school and adults are at work.
The Yamatji man says when children are in danger, appropriate action should be taken rather than blaming communities.
Furthermore, he says if the West Australian Government cuts services to the states smaller communities, they are in essence, closing them down and that some of the proposed actions within the report only cause more harm for the communities.
