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Indigenous Australia thinks Brough is a joke
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Mal Brough may be excitable. He may appear to be passionate. He likes to yell, “Who will think of the children?” into microphones. It all makes for a great spectacle. But the problem is Aboriginal Australia doesn’t need another showman, it needs solutions. Brough doesn’t have any now, and he didn’t have any in office. Brough was out on the weekend claiming that Prime Minister Kevin Rudd was being ‘unAustralian’ for not allowing him a spot on the ‘war cabinet’ formed to tackle Indigenous disadvantage (the one unveiled during Rudd’s apology to the Stolen Generations in February). So let’s take a look at Brough’s CV shall we? Let’s not forget one of Brough’s first acts when he became Indigenous affairs minister was to redirect $100,000 in Northern Territory Aboriginal mining royalties to the organisers of a festival in the Queensland electorate of Longman, in addition to another $280,000 in departmental funds.
Brough used to be the Member for Longman. It was Mal Brough, you’ll recall, who spent much of 2006 and 2007 screaming about the poor performance of state and territory governments in Indigenous affairs. At the same time, his department underspent the Indigenous affairs budget by a staggering $600 million, or one-fifth of the total budget. And then there’s his time out of office, which has been even more eventful but no more useful. Brough told media over the weekend that the Rudd government was so ‘political’ that it prevented him, as a private citizen, from bidding on a tender to provide housing to the poor old blackfellas on the Tiwi Islands. You’ll recall that as Minister, it was Brough who amended the NT Aboriginal Land Rights Act — against the will of the almost every Indigenous stakeholder — to allow anyone to buy a 99-year lease on inalienable Aboriginal land. Fresh out of office, Brough ‘turned developer’ and began approaching the Tiwi Islanders to, believe it or not, buy their land. “(We wanted) to tender in a joint venture with the Tiwi islanders to build houses on the Tiwi islands that Mal Brough would not make one cent out of. But we weren’t even allowed to tender,” Brough told Sky News on Sunday. Well, Mal Brough is either lying now, or he was lying three months ago when The Australian reported (February 8): “… he reluctantly [said] that he was seeking to make a profit from - and lend a hand to - the islanders in yet- to-be-finalised joint-venture projects on the islands. A quote from Brough: “The idea is to make a profit in joint-venture partnerships. I’m trying to walk the walk after talking the talk.” No Mal, you were trying to make money. Nothing wrong with that, but now you’re trying to re-write history. It’s classic Mal Brough just make it up as you go along, safe in the knowledge you won’t be challenged by media. What Brough understands is that most mainstream journalists have almost no understanding of Indigenous affairs, and even less ‘corporate memory’ of past events. He also knows that stressed and/or lazy journalists don’t want to wade through Senate estimates hearings and media clippings files. They want to stick out a microphone and hear some Brough unplugged. Far easier to meet a deadline that way. That said, it’s still hard to comprehend that he would get away unchallenged with this rubbish, delivered over the weekend to Sky News: “… the decision to exclude Brough was the “culmination” of a series of inactions including a lack of Indigenous funding in the budget and not acting quickly enough to tackle child abuse,” AAP reported. The Howard government grossly underfunded Indigenous affairs throughout its entire term in office, in particular the area of Indigenous health. Granted, Labor did as well, but Rudd’s first budget as Prime Minister, while still inadequate, is a million times better than anything Brough or his party delivered. In fact it’s about 800 million times better. Howard and Costello delivered sufficient budget surpluses over 12 years ($102 billion) to eliminate the gap in Indigenous health funding several hundred times over. Yet year on year, they refused to bridge the funding gap, which by 2007 had grown to an annual shortfall of $460 million. Meanwhile, black kids are still being born with a life expectancy in some regions more than 30 years less than white kids. The media has even reported, without question, the claim by Brough (and his PR machine aka The Australian newspaper) that his pending trip to the APY Lands to explain the benefits of an NT-style intervention is because of overwhelming support from Indigenous Australians. I’ve always thought an election result was a far better indication of public support. At the November 2007 federal election, Brough claimed overwhelming support ‘on the ground’ for the NT intervention. His party even predicted the seat of Lingiari which included all of the affected communities would be a ‘referendum’ on the intervention. Indeed it was. Lingiari used to be a marginal Labor seat. Now it’s a safe one. In some Aboriginal booths, the swing against the Liberals nudged 20 percent. On the Tiwi Islands where Mal Brough has been ‘walking the walk’ — there was a swing against the Liberals of almost 10 percent. In Yirrikala, where local leaders also posed for media with Brough and promised to sign a 99-year lease, the swing against the Liberals was almost 20 percent. The CLP candidate managed just two votes. Brough and the media can wheel out the Warren Mundines and Noel Pearsons of Aboriginal Australia all they like and claim overwhelming support for the intervention and Mal Brough personally. But it doesn’t change the reality that to the vast majority of Indigenous Australians, and their non Indigenous supporters, Brough is considered a joke. And a bad one at that. Brough may be fun to watch and he may make for great sound bites. But he’s all sizzle, no sausage. Hold your ground Kevin Rudd. |
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12 Comments
“I’m not aware of any paedophile rings in the Northern Territory; paedophiles act opportunistically, not generally as organised as Mal Brough says. I think he got himself into a bit of a media pickle, and he’s since extracted himself from it. But I don’t think the claim should be taken all that seriously”- Editor of The National Indigenous Times Chris Graham 18 May 2006.
I choose to believe Mal Brough. He has done more for aboriginal children than the Chris Grahams of this unfortunate community
JohnJames shows the ignorance that helped Mal Brough seduce the punters with the idea that he was the first person who ever thought that the protection of Aboriginal children was a priority. Under Howard, Aboriginal health was underfunded by more than $460 million, despite record surpluses. Great economic managers, indeed. Brough’s interest in the NT had more to do with Mark Textor’s advice to the Libs that the best way to avoid electoral annihilation was to draw attention to the incompetence of ALP state/territory governments. The Coalition had 11 years to fix things and waited til the last minute to make Aboriginal affairs a priority. Brough lost his seat with a resounding 10 percent swing against him. Three cheers for democracy.
Chris Graham, this expert on indigenous affairs is responsible for a lot of unchallenged rubbish. The N.I.T ? They Can’t give it away !!!!
It’s about time this jerk got some favourable media coverage.
Isn’t it sicking to see so much of our Aussie Media so toe the owner’s line.
See what happens when work security is relinquished to the dark side.
Fear and ignorance becomes the norm’ Milne, Ackerman, Bolt, their gods love’em.
I just think they’re a sick joke.
Please Aunty, quickly shed the slim of the howard era.
We’re still drowning out here.
Thanks Crikey for some air!
Dear Dr. Tarvydas, Psychologist. I suppose this is pointless but…….here goes. Mal Brough, John Howard, Territory and State governments and the public at large including the Aboriginal leadership, including Chris Graham (who you “congratulated… before and now again”!), received damning reports many years before the Federal Government finally did something unprecedented and remarkable (perhaps even unconstitutional) and….humane. Might I suggest that you see a psychiatrist……seriously…. you need help.
I’ve congratulated you before and now again.
You are spot on with your insightful description of most media effort and commitment on show today.
I’ve suffered a media microphone slut stick his mic in my face and behave as a criminally sub-human dirtbag.
When you settle in on J Howard’s lap you have to learn to lie as audaciously as the master or you won’t stay there. Lying was a performance criterion in which Brough naturally excelled.
I’m not sure whether the idea to shame the Aboriginal nation was the master’s or his own frantic ‘break through the barriers’ attempt at ascension with a shared compassionless (symptom of psychopathy when this extreme) disregard for those you purport to be helping.
The people whom he represented in parliament told us how too on the nose he was for them. He in true Howardesque manner sees it as a vote of approval for his great work which if he hadn’t been so cleverly subtle would have had him elected as president of the KKK. (warning – you have to be brough to understand that one)
Walk the walk after talking the talk (after legislating the legislation) is really walk in the manure that you spewed out in the talking after fixing the game in the legislation stakes.
As for JamesK comment, Howard and Brough were furnished with the WA ‘little childrens’ report 5 years earlier with a genuine Gallop pleading for funds and chose to laugh in his face.
(psychopath – lies, steals and expects you to be grateful when he calls himself your best friend – don’t be shocked 1 in 10 of us is born that way)
You’re obviously an idiot, Chris. That is all.
More money, more money, more money! Typical of the chardonnay set, toasting the Republic or Bill Henson while black kids are missing school, sniffing petrol or getting raped.. As Pearson said, you’re killing my people with your “money”!
Well said Chris Graham. Mal Brough is a grandstanding, moralising hypocrite, as fundamentalist Christians so often are. The NT intervention was a Howard election dog whistle to the racists, which failed so spectacularly both Brough and Howard lost their seats. At least Howard has since had the decency to keep his trap shut, unlike Brough who still considers himself a political player. Perhaps he is just protecting his financial interests. Whatever his reasons, it’s time Brough accepted the verdict of the voters who overwhelmingly voted him out of politics. Goodbye and good riddance.
Perhaps John James should read the entire article by Chris Graham and digest the contents before attempting to justify Brough and Howards election vote buying venture in the NT in 2007. No mention of the points raised by Graham, probably because they are true. Brough is a loud mouth bully, it would be more educational for both he and his fan club Mr James, if they reintroduced themselves to the result of election night Nov 24th 2007, particularly the outcome in Brough’s seat. What more needs to be said?
” The Howard government grossly underfunded Indigenous Affairs..” Why would you throw good money after bad with Chris Graham’s “do nothing” Labor mates ( lets have another enquiry!) administering the States Indigenous policy. What Brough did, and dragged the likes of Claire Martin kicking and screaming along with him, was to compel O’Donoghue, Graham and all the other ATSIC hangers on, to confront the appaling neglect and abuse of Indigenous kids by their own communities.
Reminds me of early 1996, when an indigenous housing group rented a building off me. The incoming Howard Government froze their funding for over 3 months. They couldn’t pay their rent and after legal fees and expenses incurred we all lost many thousands. Both the good people of the housing association and myself.
The money saved went into consolidated revenue. Wonderful economic managers the Liberals, only winners are treasury and lawyers.