Extract from the Call for Recognition: A Report on the Situation of Australian South Sea Islanders, Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, December 1992.
7 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
7. 1 Conclusions
First, South Sea Islanders have suffered from a century of racial discrimination and harsh treatment which are the major factors contributing to their being in a state of disadvantage today. In fact, the statistical profile indicates that they are one of the poorest groups in Australia.
Second, South Sea Islanders as a group are in a situation of high need, with particular difficulties observed in school retention, employment skills, home ownership and health.
Third, until recently, it has been relatively easy and common for South Sea Islanders to access a broad range of government programs for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Both officially and unofficially, governments have developed de facto policies which permit such access.
Fourth, while giving material benefits to South Sea Islanders, governments have denied South Sea Islanders recognition as a distinct black minority group. This lack of recognition has over time contributed to increased tensions amongst the South Sea Islanders themselves, and between them and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Fifth, as South Sea Islanders are now being denied access to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander programs, they are forced into mainstream programs which are seen by them to be culturally inappropriate, with the result that they are not used.
7.2 Recommendations
(1) The Government should formally recognise Australian South Sea Islanders as a unique minority group which is severely disadvantaged as a consequence of racial discrimination.
(2) Government agencies should consider whether their programs or activities have particular relevance to Australian South Sea Islanders, and where the programs are not relevant or are culturally inappropriate, the agencies should consult with the South Sea Islander people and take account of their particular needs and wishes. These agencies must take cognisance of the socio-psychological aspects of disadvantage. In particular, agencies providing employment, education, housing and health services should review the application of those programs or the development of new programs aimed at the specific needs of South Sea Islanders.
(3) Australian South Sea Islanders should be identified as a high-need group in equal opportunity, access and equity programs, and they should be employed in government agencies dealing directly with the South Sea Islander community, most particularly in the Department of Social Security, CES, and Housing Department offices in Queensland and Northern New South Wales.
(4) The Government should, as soon as possible, make available to Australian South Sea Islanders, schemes comparable to Abstudy and other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander educational support programs currently provided by the Department of Employment, Education and Training (DEET), with the development and (where appropriate) the implementation of such schemes to be the responsibility of DEET.
(5) The Government should make a specific allocation in the 1993-94 Budget for the provision of culturally appropriate programs for Australian South Sea Islanders and organisations (such as programs to include housing, legal, child care and financial services). Community development workers could be employed through Grant-In-Aid type programs to liaise between South Sea Islanders and mainstream services, provide organisational assistance so that South Sea Islanders are better able to continue examination of their past and present situation, and present cogent arguments to governments for action as and where required.
(6) The Government and relevant government agencies should take steps to increase public awareness of South Sea Islanders and their role in Australia’s history, including through inclusion in school curricula, preservation of South Sea Islander historical sites and archival material (including oral histories).
