The Centralian advocate Tue 28 Mar 2017
Centralian Advocate; NewspaperNT
2017-03-28
This publication contains may contain links to external sites. These external sites may no longer be active.
English
Community newspapers -- Northern Territory -- Alice Springs; Tennant Creek (N.T.) -- Newspapers; Alice Springs (N.T.) -- Newspapers.; Australia, Central -- Newspapers
Nationwide News Pty. Limited
Alice Springs
application/pdf
Copyright. Made available by the publisher under licence.
Nationwide News Pty. Limited
https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2019C01407
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/266558
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/449483
22 OPINION TUESDAY MARCH 28 2017 CAVE01Z01MA - V1 Price not right Re Article: Debate encour aged without racism fear in the Advocate 1 February 17. Jacinta Prices concern and willingness to speak out on issues which have affected her extended family is admirable. However I am beginning to wonder if her media appearances on the national stage are more about self-promotion than finding solutions to family violence. Why lobby to repeal/ change section 18c of the Racial Discrimination Act when paragraph 18d provides specific protections for free speech by exempting artistic works, scientific debate and fair comment on matters of public interest? We live in a country which is an ongoing social experiment to create a cohesive inclusive community with literally hundreds of different cultures, and multiple racial and mixed race heritages. Paragraph 18c is included to ensure safety and mutual respect so we can hopefully avoid the terrible inter racial and inter cultural conflict seen in some other countries, while 18d is to ensure that freedom of speech will not be curtailed. Ms Price calls Aboriginal people professional mourners who need to take responsibility, stop blaming the government and stop looking to govt to solve all our problems. And yet in a recent media article she publicised her own mourning of her relatives. In an appearance on National TV she blamed the Govt for not removing children to foster care when she and other family members were concerned about their welfare. Why did Ms Price not take responsibility to take care of the children herself? Ms Prices willingness to accept funding from various sources for the highly effective Yamba the Honey Ant health promotion program is also inconsistent with her criticism of Aboriginal people not taking responsibility for their own lives (I would be surprised if her singing career has not benefited directly or indirectly from some form of government funding targeted to Aboriginal people.) Ms Price does not speak as an ordinary member of the public. To gain attention and give what she says greater credibility and authority she introduces herself to the public and media stage as a Walpiri Woman and an Alice Springs Councillor. As an elected Alice Springs Councillor Ms Price has become a politician with institutional power. This should come with added responsibility to not make misleading generalisations and factual errors. Her generalisations are insulting, distressing and totally ignore the decades of selfless work that is ongoing every day by so many Aboriginal (and mainstream) men and woman trying to empower their families and communities, and stop the terrible toll of family violence. Parents, Grandparents, brothers, sisters, Aunties and Uncles who are often physically and emotionally utterly exhausted finding another meal and safe place in their home for vulnerable adults and children. No one argues with the need for individual personal responsibility, but we need to enable individual responsibility by identifying and removing the institutionalised obstacles that prevent that occurring. Public discussion of family violence requires nuanced, considered statements that bring people together to find solutions, not factually wrong and alienating commentary that divides and hurts and can become dangerous. If Ms Price is genuinely interested in stopping family violence I suggest she accept the responsibility that comes with her institutional power as a politician to ensure she is properly informed, and understands the complex individual, family, community, economic, environmental and neurobiological factors that contribute to violence in all its forms. Otherwise she risks being seen as someone who is using the suffering of others to promote herself. Or is this really about selfpromotion to further her political career and become Nigel Scullions replacement in the Senate? Louise Samways Alice Springs Quote of the Day Its very disappointing when you have media from afar make points about our town, but havent had the decency to come here. M AY O R D A M I E N R YA N O N T H E R E C E N T T R A V E L A D V I S O R Y S T O R Y W H I C H M A D E T H E N A T I O N A L N E W S letters@aliceadvocate.com.au London attack hits home via local link LAST weeks horrific terror attack in London is the latest in a long list of strikes on western countries by Islamic fanatics. Unsurprisingly, the Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the incident, as it does for every terror strike, even if had little to do with executing the attack. Sadly, the police officer killed in the callous act had a local link to Alice Springs, as highlighted in todays edition on page 3. Central Australian jeweller Andrew Thorogood posted a photograph on Thursday afternoon, showing him with his two daughters and PC Keith Palmer, in front of Big Ben. Less than 24 hours later it had been shared more than 90,000 times, and had attracted more than 15,000 comments. More than 300,000 people reacted to the post. Mr Thorogood was in the English capital last October and crossed paths with PC Keith Palmer when the family visited the Houses of Parliament. The well-known Alice Springs businessman recognised the slain policeman when he was named by broadcasters in Australia on Thursday morning. Mr Thorogood still had the photo with PC Palmer on his phone. It sends a shiver down your spine. You just think of how small the world is, he said. While the attack sent shockwaves around the world, it would have hit Central Australians particularly hard, considering the local link. 20 90 $1792 THE number of robots Alice Springs Public Library hasaccess to, helping introduce kids to robotics. THE number people who took part in the Black Dog Ride one-dayer from Alice Springs to Glen Helen. THE Northern Territorys average weekly wage. 2 Gap Road, Alice Springs PO Box 2254, Alice Springs 0870 Phone: (08) 8950 9777 Fax: (08) 8950 9740 www.alicenow.com.au News: news@aliceadvocate.com.au Letters: letters@aliceadvocate.com.au Sport: sport@aliceadvocate.com.au Display ads: ads@aliceadvocate.com.au Classifieds: cenclassies@aliceadvocate.com.au Managing Editor: Carl Pfeiffer Sales Manager: Lisa Nadan Sports Editor: Steve Menzies Editorial content and election comment is authorised by Carl Pfeiffer of 2 Gap Road, Alice Springs. CONTACT DETAILS EMAIL ADDRESSES PHOTO OF THE WEEK: Incredible photo of the March 13 full moon taken by Alice Springs resident Drew Hendricks.