There is no basis for the Minister Vanstone to call ATSIC "lazy and inept,"The Minister has a responsibility, as a Minister of the Crown, to show respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people including the elected representatives.
The Minister is not achieving any honourable goal by inciting racist sentiments against the Indigenous Peoples of Australia, and is only drawing attention to the poor quality of her leadership as Minister.
The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) has already raised questions why Australia is linking the Minister responsible for Immigration with Multiculturalism and Indigenous Affairs.
In the words of the CERD members it appears that white Australia is considered the norm or model, and non-Anglo Saxon population is regarded as the other.
For the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population, we have no reason to regard Minister Vanstone as serving any other purpose than to carry out the policies of Pauline Hanson's One Nation on behalf of the Howard Government.
We can see no evidence of redeeming features of Vanstone's Ministerial role.
The Minister does not seem to want to defend the human rights and freedoms of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population.
The Minister is playing a role as Minister for racial propaganda, racial profiling, and incitement of racial discrimination.
The Report of the Senate Select Committee on the Administration of Indigenous Affairs makes some very important points regarding racial equality in Australia.
Some of these points are matters of international law and part of the law in Australia.
Minister Vanstone does not consider there is merit in educating Australians, particularly the leaders in Australia, of the importance of racial equality.
Instead of being a responsible Minister of the Crown and promoting human rights and equality in Australia, the Minister casts a racist slur on Aboriginal leadership.
We call upon the citizens to join our call for Minister Vanstone to apologise and raise the standard of her work as a responsible Minister for human rights.
If Minister Vanstone is unable to carry out the responsibility of her portfolio for the human rights and freedoms of Indigenous Peoples then she should either resign or face dismissal.
Indigenous Peoples require a Minister who promotes racial equality, human rights and human dignity.
Les Malezer Chairman FAIRA
PO Box 8402, Woolloongabba Qld 4102, AUSTRALIA
Mobile: +61 419 710 720 -- Tel: +61 7 33914677 -- Fax: +61 7 33914551
Email: les.malezer@faira.org.au
By Les Malezer, Chairperson of FAIRA posted 15 March 05
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