Changing The Debate: Australia Day

Changing the Debate; Our expert panel comprised of CIS’s Indigenous Program director, Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, Nyunggai Warren Mundine AO, Dr Anthony Dillon and Chris Kenny of Sky News joined us at the Centre for Independent Studies for a conversation on how best to change the debate surrounding indigenous issues.

When the nation debates whether we should change the date of Australia Day, we should ask; How is any of this going to improve the lives of Indigenous Australians in practical terms? How is this going to generate economic development and employment opportunities, reduce rates of domestic violence, reduce rates of incarceration, produce better health outcomes or help Indigenous Australians empower themselves away from the victim mentality? Will the “Voice” help or hinder indigenous prosperity?

In recent years, symbolic acts and gestures have distracted and deferred attention from the real issues that Indigenous Australians face. However, since the 1970s, governments and NGOs have been motivated by good intentions to overcome Indigenous disadvantage. Yet the billions of tax dollars spent have not appeared to close any measurable gap.

Check out Jacinta's recent article from January 22, 2020 in The Australian: https://www.cis.org.au/commentary/articles/culture-to-blame-for-much-of-indigenous-family-violence/

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For all of the CIS research on Indigenous Affairs click here: https://www.cis.org.au/research/indigenous-affairs/