One Nation failure in Queensland's election doesn't mean race relations are better | Melinda Mann for IndigenousX

Covid may have distracted many voters from Pauline Hanson but there’s been no let up in the targeting of Indigenous people

In the lead-up to the October Queensland election, commentators pointed out the very obvious absence from the campaign trail of the One Nation party leader and senator, Pauline Hanson. They predicted her party would take a hit at the polls and they weren’t wrong. The election results showed a 7% swing away from One Nation. But while the party’s leader may have been out of view for many, that has not been the experience for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Rockhampton.

Before and during the state election campaign, federal senators sparked backlash from the local Indigenous community. In June a peaceful march in support of Black Lives Matter and Black Deaths in Custody was held in Rockhampton and attended by approximately 600 residents. In the weeks after, a billboard in Rockhampton depicting Senator Hanson had a message to Black Lives Matter and Black Deaths in Custody supporters to “bugger off”.

Together with Rockhampton-based Nationals senator Matt Canavan, Hanson has taken to targeting the Indigenous community of central Queensland. Ensuring the Indigenous populations in regional Queensland are controlled seems to be key to their political aspirations, and what better way to do that than attempt to say we don’t belong on our own land and that our lives don’t matter as much as the natural resources that can be mined from it.

While I care less about the politics that sustains the careers of controversial people in state and federal parliaments, the ongoing criminalisation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people here and afar is a significant concern. However, this priority doesn’t require us to remedy “problem youth” as much as it needs us to interrogate our positions as adults.

Elections run on youth crime. Not applying the same or any scrutiny of crime and violence perpetrated by adults in positions of authority is hypocritical but not new. It desperately needs to be retired as an ineffective method to instigate the change called for by those who rally behind “law and order” campaigns. Advocating competency and integrity of the systems and the people who govern us all would be a far more effective way for politicians to effect change and earn the trust of voters.

One only needs to read posts and comment threads on Facebook community groups to see how social media platforms allow wannabe vigilantes to post photos of un-consenting minors in the name of “community safety”. As the subjects of government policies the general community should demand better models of community safety that don’t require increasing resources to respond to crime but investment in prevention programs for the ultimate protection of the wellbeing and lives for all (I mean, if “all lives” really do matter).

The school to prison pipeline is not a new phenomenon, but the correlation of high rates of suspensions and expulsions leading to the incarceration of young people is becoming clearer. State school suspensions in Queensland numbered 82,813 in 2018-19, which was twice what New South Wales recorded for the same time period. These numbers, together with the presence of police in schools and the lack of commitment from policymakers to curb the rising number of student suspensions, reinforces that the system is designed to defend and protect itself and its values, not our kids.

Schools ought to be places where students desire to be because they are seen and valued and where they are rewarded for showing acceptance of themselves and others. While investment in state school infrastructure is much needed, equally so are appropriate levels of learning support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, tailored supports for students with diverse learning abilities, and wellbeing services for all students. An education system that centres on learners and not the system, its processes or the people who control it, is paramount.

It is incumbent also upon Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults to contemplate our own positions on the issues affecting our children and youth. We must be actively searching for new ways and ancient ways to ensure our children can walk through society strong in who they are as Indigenous people and with the responsibility they have to be good ancestors and custodians of country. We must be their loudest advocates and call out those who would politically and physically attack the sacredness of their childhood and youth.

In the meantime, have the latest state election results, with the One Nation party failing miserably, shown a shift in the politics of race relations in Queensland? No, it most certainly has not. It only proves that race issues are not a priority at the same time non-Indigenous people are experiencing a pandemic – which is affecting us too.

  • Dr Melinda Mann is a Darumbal and South Sea Islander woman from Rockhampton, Queensland. She is the owner of Melinda Mann Consulting and an adjunct professional fellow at CQUniversity

Melinda Mann for IndigenousX

The GuardianTramp

Related Content

Article image
To keep young children out of adult prisons, Australia must urgently raise the age of criminal responsibility | Cheryl Axleby
It won’t fix all injustices but it’s a step towards getting children back to their families and communities where they belong

Cheryl Axleby for IndigenousX

25, Aug, 2022 @5:53 AM

Article image
Hundreds have died in US prisons from Covid-19. Will Australia act before it's too late? | Nerita Waight for IndigenousX
Covid-19 will almost certainly lead to more Aboriginal deaths in custody. The Victorian government has an urgent lesson to learn

Nerita Waight for IndigenousX

30, Jul, 2020 @8:25 AM

Article image
'Tough on crime' doesn't work and is damaging Indigenous women and families | Vickie Roach
Most Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women in prison are mothers and carers. Most are also survivors of physical and sexual violence

Vickie Roach

14, May, 2017 @9:10 PM

Article image
Queensland urged to appoint independent justice inspector after minors locked down
Exclusive: Ipswich police watch house being used to house children and teenagers after coronavirus outbreak linked to Brisbane Youth Detention Centre in Wacol

Ben Smee

08, Sep, 2020 @4:28 AM

Article image
Crime and embellishment in Townsville: how a local "myth" could swing the Queensland election
The notion of a crimewave is greatly overblown, the evidence suggests. But the result is recycled punitive policies that experts say are proven failures

Ben Smee

26, Sep, 2020 @8:00 PM

Article image
As Indigenous people we exist outside of sporting arenas and welfare dependency | Todd Fernando for IndigenousX
There’s a crisis of low expectations for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. Exclusion is a reality but we must look beyond the stereotype, says IndigenousX host Todd Fernando

Todd Fernando for IndigenousX

23, Oct, 2017 @1:10 AM

Article image
Australia has shown it’s not serious about empowering Indigenous people. Now our voices must be heard | Steve Gumerungi Hodder Watt for IndigenousX
We need a public review of the implementation of recommendations from the royal commission into Aboriginal deaths in custody – by a majority First Nations committee

Steve Gumerungi Hodder Watt for IndigenousX

15, Apr, 2021 @5:34 AM

Article image
There’s a link between the over-policing of Indigenous kids and our people dying in custody | Tameeka Tighe for IndigenousX
Our children’s innocence is stolen, and the system presents them with a life in and out of prison

Tameeka Tighe for IndigenousX

30, Apr, 2021 @5:20 AM

Article image
Not everyone's an artist, but all prisoners would benefit from practising art | Robert Henderson for IndigenousX
Do we want our prisons to produce people who learn from their mistakes and who have bettered themselves, or people further damaged by punishment?

Robert Henderson for IndigenousX

22, Aug, 2016 @4:18 AM

Article image
This is black liberation in Australia - the time is here to be on the right side of history | Lynda-June Coe for IndigenousX
The world is no longer crying out for change but demanding it

Lynda-June Coe for Indigenous X

08, Jun, 2020 @7:02 AM