Frank Baarda's musical dispatches

Good morning on this Northern Territory Self Government Day, better known as Firecracker Night.

Bob Beadman has spent half a century straddling the Aboriginal / mainstream frontline, mostly as a highly placed public servant. On several occasions I've crossed paths with Bob. We don't always agree with each other, but recognise we're basically on the same side (the side of fairness and common sense).

For a couple of years, Bob was the NT's Coordinator-General for Remote Services. Like his Federal counterpart, he failed to get much coordination happening, but not for lack of vision or trying.

A couple of days ago he wrote an article in the online Alice Springs News. He prefaced his article with a quote attributed to Mahatma Gandhi:

"The true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable."

True to form, Bob wrote about both sides of the Alice Springs crime wave / incarceration coin. Also true to form the almost instant comments came from both sides of the public opinion coin.

Bob's article included: "There is also a terrible ongoing social cost to family and community – family disruption, breadwinner missing, raising children."

Which elicited this response: "Breadwinners??? There are very few. They do not have to grow the ingredients. They have it given to them on a plate with no apparent effort on their part."

Coincidentally my wife Wendy came back from Alice Springs last night with some notes of relevance.

She had written down what a plate receiver told her. Here it is unedited:

Income Management

They were not paying bills on time

rent, power + water, gas

paying late so bank was overdrawn

Had to prove (Centrelink had medicare record)

• regular children's general health check

• immunization record

• kid's attendance - no more than 20

unnotified unnamed absences in a semester

Had to show how she was budgeting

Had to prove no one was demanding money

That no-one had your bank card

That no-one was forcing me to get off

without informing her they automatically put her back

on income management – sent the smart card before sending email

Money in quarantine – have to tell them what you are getting it out for.

If you move you have to be there for 3 months before you can get

your money + get off income management

New thing Smart Card once on it you can't get off.

It has a chip so you can tap and pay

Can't pay for cigarettes Shop people have to stop you.

Also for alcohol.

People drinking more because the quarantined money

basic or smart card is for food. Don't have to budget for food.

The rest of their money is for alcohol So many people spend more

on grog, smokes + gambling drugs.

When they got their whole pay they bought food, paid rent at first –

enough basics to last 2 weeks

Some spend it all on expensive shopping – iphones sports clothes, + shoes

big brands for self + kids.

Non managed money is gone in 2 days –

Baby bonus now paid into income managed money – can't get it all at once-

They don't grow them up.

Now people so used to income management

If it gets taken off – they have no budgeting skills. They will just spend it all

as soon as they get it. This is what they are used to doing.

Then they have to demand money off other people.

As the commentator wrote:

"Breadwinners??? There are very few. They do not have to grow the ingredients. They have it given to them on a plate with no apparent effort on their part."

All of this does not excuse the behaviour of out of control Aboriginal youth in Alice Springs, but I think it goes some way to explain it.

Aretha Franklin - Respect (1967) HD 0815007

PHOTO Ontario's Science Centre