AustLit

The theme of European Australias' Bicentenary is: "Living Together"-Living together for what? Living together when? Most importantly, how we live together? These are questions this short dissertation will touch upon. What quality of life can we as Aboriginal people expect in the future, if we scrutinise the last 200 years as the model of "Living Together" with the European people who invaded our land?

'The Aboriginal population was estimated in the 1986 consensus to be 1.1 per cent of the total Australian population, representing about 180,000 Australian citizens. The number of Aborigines prior to white invasions has been given at 300,000 or over 300,000 depending on whether you read white history books or listen to black history.'

'Wednesday 25 November 1987, Cliff Watego interviews Steve Mam of IINA the Torres Strait Islander Corporation Talking about the Bicentennial and Expo and the Celebrations that are going on with it.'

'This "Disposition to live in their own Country" - still the key to Aboriginal self determination - has been frustrated for us by European ownership of the law. Your laws say that you occupied our country by peaceful settlement, under the doctrine of Terra Nullius. The fact that hundreds of thousands of Aboriginal people have been killed through poison, disease, starvation and bullets make a mockery of peaceful settlement. The International Court of Justice, in its 1975 opinion on the Western Sahara case, put the doctrine of Terra Nullius, as it applies to territories with tribal inhabitants, into the rubbish bin of history.'

'1988 will be like any other year when it comes to memorable occasions, with the opportunists already out in their droves snatching the chance to capitalise on fake glory. There is also a vast number of devout anti-Bi-centennialists hatching clever excuses to justify their "rip them off first before they rip us off anymore" attitude. For black writers this may be far more difficult to carry out than for their comrades in other artistic areas. Black screen-printers, actors, dancers, musicians, painters, and not to forget the small (often community-based) artefact enterprises, among other occupations, have the moral armoury to accept and get away with Bi-centenary money without compromising their principles. (Secretly, the money is despised but has a way of talking in 601 different languages in Australia nowadays.)'

'Civil libertarians show commendable concern for and action in defending the civil rights of Australian citizens. In opposing penalties for race defamation however, they seem to be particularly blind to the effects that race defamation can have on the curtailment of civil libertarians.'