Must be the Grog can’t be the Government: Relationships between Government and Indigenous People in Australia

Tomlinson J¹*

1. Queensland University of Technology, Carseldine, Queensland, Australia

This paper sets out to consider relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, particularly interactions with governments and their agents in Queensland. Many levels of government impinge on Indigenous communities and these will be examined to see if they are acting to enhance or control the interests of Indigenous communities. Issues such as the management of alcohol, mining leases on Indigenous land, land rights, employment and the Community Development Employment Program (CDEP), health, housing, infrastructure development, community governance, legal aid, incarceration and community services will be considered.

The protection period, 1897 to mid-1970s, will be compared with the present to see whether the current arrangements demonstrate a major break with past administrations. Various community work traditions will be analysed in an attempt to suggest a form of community work likely to lead to Indigenous self-determination. This analysis will compare previous community work with current efforts and will concentrate upon the period between the early 1970s and the present. The “social entrepreneurial”, “social capital” and “community capacity building partnership” arrangements of current State, local and Federal Governments will be considered with a view to determining whose interests are being served.

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