January 1999

"Money and History"

"Money and history" were the topics addressed by well-known Koori activist Gary Foley at the recent Pathways convention in Toowoomba.

Mr Foley is an undergraduate in history at the University of Melbourne, and he stated his concerns about the amount of funding mainstream universities receive for Indigenous students.

"That university" he stated, "receives money for about eighty-five Aboriginal students. I've been hanging around that University for five years, and there is no way there is eighty students there."

"Every tertiary institution in Australia is on the same gravy train - add it up and it comes to a helluva lot of money."

Mr Foley spoke about the history of the Land Rights struggle in Australia, including the roles of activist Vincent Lingiari, the Freedom Rides in the Sixties and the Tent Embassy which put Aboriginal politics on the international agenda.

He spoke passionately about the fight, not for "Mickey Mouse Native Title" but for Land Rights, and "self-determination through Land Rights, economic selfdetermination through Land Rights, cultural revival through Land Rights."

Mr Foley asked the assembled delegates what had been achieved in the 25 years since the DAA was established with a budget of $44m in 1972/73.

"It is no wonder" he said, "That a fish and chip proprietor can get up and say that's a lot of money wasted, because there is! I've got the information off the internet, and I can say that my tally, 25 years later, is that $22b has been spent in Aboriginal Affairs since 1972.

Now I don't care what community you're from, you know you won't see evidence of that level of expenditure in your community.

We were the ones who talked about the Aboriginal industry first, they've stolen this stuff from us.

There is an Aboriginal industry. If every blackfella in Australia dropped dead tonight, there would be a million, minimum, white people unemployed tomorrow. That's the Aboriginal industry, folks!"

Mr Foley said that while a small minority of Indigenous people were wealthy, most Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders made up a black underclass. These were the people, he said, who were reflected in the unchanging statistics.

"The money is not getting to the people who need it most" he said. "So let's forget about reconciliation, let's forget about being nice. What have we gained?"

Mr Foley stated that too many Indigenous people were making too many compromises, and he directed criticism particularly at the Australian Labor Party.

"Have we forgotten," he asked, "Who invented the White Australia policy? Which party has the longest history of racism in this country? All politicians are professional liars" he ended, "and not to be trusted."

FAIRA Aboriginal Corporation
Phone +61 7 3391 4677 • Fax +61 7 3391 4551 • email letterbox@faira.org.au
Post Office Box 8402 Woolloongabba Q 4102 Australia
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