Aboriginal administration in the Northern Territory of Australia

Abstract

This thesis is an appraisal of the administration of the Commonwealth Government's policy of assimilating the Aborigines of the Northern Territory into the ordinary community, It has several theoretical aspects. It explores the reasons for the demonstrated gap between the policy and its administration. It assesses the effects on the execution of policy of the allocation of most relevant functions to the Welfare Branch of the Northern Territory Administration. It suggests guide-lines, in administrative terms, for a critical assessment of the Aboriginal 'problem' both in the Northern Territory and in other Australian states, The bulk of the thesis, on which these analytical conclusions are based, consists of a detailed empirical examination of the substantive problems and difficulties in administering the full-blood Aborigines of the Territory, As an introduction to the physical problems confronting the administrators of the policy, relevant aspects of the geographic, demographic and economic context of the Northern Territory are presented in Part 1, Part 2 briefly recounts the steps leading to the formulation of the policy, It summarises official statements of the policy, setting cut the legislative and administrative methods designed to advance it, There follows an analysis of some inconsistencies in the policy and · its intended application, The organisations and persons concerned with the policy's administration are described in some detail; the Department of Territories, Welfare Branch, missions, pastoral properties, the judiciary, Attorney-General's Department, Health Department, the police and the Legislative Council. The relations between these agents of policy, the relationships within some of them and how far each has a similar understanding and acceptance of the policy are discussed, The criticisms and defences of the Welfare Branch's functions and the nature of mission agency are important in understanding whether or not there is unity of policy between the agents, The main part of the thesis, Part 3, is an analysis of the administrative practices associated with the policy. It measures policy aims against official claims of achievement and the realities of Aboriginal administration in eleven fields of administrative activity, In each there is an assessment of how far legislative and administrative measures conflict with policy aims, how far they are adequate for the achievement of these aims, how far practices fall short of these measures, and why. For example, an analysis of Aboriginal wages, training and employment shows that neither the Welfare Branch nor the missions conform to the standards laid down in the relevant employment legislation, Conditions in these fields vary from one Aboriginal centre to another, revealing haphazard and antithetical policies within the major policy aim of trying to assimilate Aborigines economically to a position of equality with other Australians, Social service benefits for Aborigines reflect the administrative dilemma of trying to· give the benefits available to ordinary citizens to a class of persons who are legally minors and considered incapable of managing their own affairs. The relevant chapter demonstrates that the claim of Aboriginal eligibility - under the same conditions as other members of the community - is incompatible with the actual payments made to Aborigines and the use made of the money by the controlling authorities who receive the bulk of payments on behalf of Aborigines, Aborigines are not eligible for some benefits to which they are said to be entitled, Aboriginal ineligibility for unemployment benefits is discussed in detail because it illustrates ~he inadequate wage structure for Aborigines, A major policy aim is that a positive health programme is essential to Aboriginal advancement, An attempt is made to present the Aboriginal ill-health pattern, so far as is possible in the absence of reliable vital statistics. The prevalence of communicable diseases, the infant mortality rate and the causes of infant deaths are discussed, A number of factors contribute to the ill-health pattern: the standard of health services provided, housing, excreta disposal, water supplies, nutrition and feeding and the lack of health education, Another contributing factor is the sharing of certain health services between the Welfare Branch and the Health Department, Aboriginal education is a pivotal point in the assimilation policy; of all subjects, the most detailed policy aims have been laid down for it, The principles of the education programme are stated. After outlining the administration of the programme by the Commonwealth Office of Education up to 1955, the reasons for transfer of control to the Welfare Branch are set out. Then follows a critical evaluation of Welfare Branch control which tries to explain why there is so great a gap between aspirations and results, The political rights of Aborigines are linked with the education theme, After giving an outline of the steps leading to Aboriginal

enfranohisement, there is an analysis of tho extent to which Aborigines are politically educated according to policy aims and official claims. This is linked with the question of how far Aborigines participate in their administration. An account is given of the formation, structure, aims and activities of the Northern Territory Council for Aboriginal Rights. Legislative provisions often conflict with policy aims and this is illustrated by the various legal restrictions which apply exclusively to Aborigines. The chapter on Aborigines and tho criminal law examines in detail tho liquor restrictions on Aborigines, stating the oases for and against prohibition. Other provisions affecting Aborigines are the protection of Aboriginal women, removal and detention for disciplinary reasons, powers of arrest over Aborigines and discipline on missions and settlements. There follows a description of the administration of the criminal law, concluding with a discussion of the divergent views on the application of the criminal law to Aborigines. Part 4 attempts to explain the gap between the policy and its implementation with reference to relevant theories of administration. There has been a failure to break down the assimilation policy into mutually consistent subordinate aims which are progressive in time, Incompatible policies, interpreted differently by various agents and not held together in a regulated time pattern, have resulted in the administration of some other policy, more akin to tho earlier protection- segregation policies, but not the assimilation policy. The assimilation policy has remained a potential policy, not an active one. The various agents of policy, and the Aborigines themselves, are found to have different, sometimes antithetical, views of the assimilation policy, The lack of Aboriginal participation in administration is notable. A number of other administrative factors contribute to the gap between policy and practice: inadequate research and policy-making, planning, communications, staffing, delegation, review and so on. Another element is the difficulty faced by the Welfare Branch in attempting to provide almost all services to virtually one clientele, the Aborigines. In this particular case Haldane's principle of allocation of functions to departments by service to be rendered rather than by clientele to be served is applicable. The surrender by the Welfare Branch of certain of its functions to professional bodies is more likely to achieve policy aims.The final consideration is the role of precedent in policy and practice. The Aboriginals Ordinance and the Native Affairs Branch had a distinct influence on the Welfare Ordinance and the Welfare Branch. The likely influence of the latter en the 1964 proposals for a Social Welfare Ordinance and Social Welfare Branch is discussed.