NEWS RELEASE
November 1, 2002
A
people, a culture in crisis – where now for
Indigenous Australians?
Noel
Pearson of the Guuguwarra Nation from the Kalpowar and Jeanie River Region
of Cape York will take a tough look at the political, economic and social
factors that have led to such a bleak outlook for Indigenous people in
Australia at the annual Hawke Lecture 2002 to be presented by UniSA’s
Hawke Centre this week.
This
year’s Hawke lecture promises to be one of the most thought provoking
and challenging examinations of Australian society. Already 950 people
have booked to attend the lecture, which will be held at the Auditorium,
Adelaide Town Hall this Sunday, November 3 at 4 pm.
Pearson
will trace the continuing destruction of Aboriginal cultures in Australia
by looking the history of the welfare state and the differences between
how it has affected white and black Australians.
His
controversial comments have laid bare the human health and welfare
dilemmas of those who are clearly Australia’s most marginalised people.
But
Pearson’s view is not without its detractors. In fact Indigenous people
and commentators are divided in their reaction to Pearson’s take on the
future of his people and just what is wrong with contemporary notions of
support.
Pearson
will argue that all Australians have an inalienable right to a fair place
in the real economy; a right he believes has been systematically denied
Indigenous communities, especially in the past 40 years.
Pearson
will count the costs of generational disempowerment and disengagement from
the intellectual tools that make change achievable and expand on what
needs to happen next if Aboriginal communities are to survive and thrive.
The
Annual Hawke Lecture is the centrepiece of the public events organised by
UniSA's Hawke Centre. The Hawke Centre is the University’s key public
project and incorporates community, research and library programs. Named
after former Prime Minister Bob Hawke, the Centre is politically
non-partisan and strongly endorsed by current and past public leaders for
its role in promoting understanding of democratic processes and civic
obligations.
Media
contact: Michèle Nardelli (08) 8302 0966 or 041 8823673
email: michele.nardelli@unisa.edu.au
Media
contact: Michèle Nardelli (08) 8302 0966 or 041 8823673
email: michele.nardelli@unisa.edu.au
