The Northern Territory Listening Tour started with a public consultation which we held in partnership with the Northern Territory Anti-Discrimination Commission and the NT Legal Aid Commission. My colleague, Tom Calma, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner and Acting Race Discrimination Commissioner also joined us for this leg of the Tour.

Participants at the consultation put forward a very clear message about the need for a cultural shift which would allow men to readily take up flexible work practices. A few women told us that, while flexible work practices were available, men are still not taking them up because the workplace culture doesn’t allow them. This means that the status quo of women undertaking the majority of caring responsibilities remains. As well as education and empowerment of employees to better negotiate flexible work, participants agreed that employers need to be educated to understand the caring responsibilities of their employees.

One suggestion from a participant was for employers to keep statistics on the employment, pay and career progression of women in comparison to men. This could then be part of an annual report which could set out how the employer is tracking towards gender equity. I would like to build on this idea at a national level, with the introduction of gender equality benchmarking which would track our progress as a country towards full gender equality.

In the afternoon I met with people from town communities in the Darwin area with the staff from Larrakia Nation. Members of these communities expressed their concern about elements of the NT Intervention, particularly the quarantining of Centrelink payments. We heard story after story of older women and men, and women with children walking long distances in the searing heat to get their store vouchers, then either walking or needing to take a taxi to the store and a taxi home with heavy bags. These implementation problems are creating difficulties on a daily basis for many people. The availability of housing is another critical issue. In one community, up to 4 generations of family are living under one roof. In this community of 52 homes, only 3 had stoves that were functional.

The staff at Larrakia Nation informed me of the shortage of rehabilitation services for alcohol abuse in the area with a 50 person wait list for their service.

The dire need for more low cost and culturally appropriate housing was brought home to me when I visited people living in the long grass. The conditions were third world, with many people living with severe chronic illnesses. Some were long term residents of Darwin. Others were in town for a range of reasons. The camp was tucked well away in the long grass in order to avoid the daily patrols of police and council officers who will move them on when they have nowhere to go. Darwin has the highest rate of homelessness of any capital city in Australia. Visiting the long grass was a sobering experience.

Thank you to the vibrant community of Darwin for sharing your stories with me. We will be travelling to Arnhem Land over the next two days so until then..

Liz

As I drove with the team from Broome to Fitzroy Crossing, I was taken by the magnificent landscape of red dusty dirt, beautiful rock formations coupled with the odd roaming cow or horse. For those of you who haven’t had the opportunity to see this part of the world, Fitzroy Crossing is the town at the heart of the Fitzroy Valley in Western Australia’s Kimberley region. The Valley has a total population of around 4000, with around 1500 living in the town of Fitzroy. The area has a significant Indigenous population, with four main Aboriginal language groups converging at the crossing.

On the night we arrived, we met up with the management committee of the Marninwarntikura Women’s Resource Centre. The committee is made up of women who volunteer from the community to oversee the strategic direction of the centre. We heard about some of the great programs run from the centre including a mobile play group which rotates around the 45 surrounding communities, providing mums and kids with educational and social activities.

The Centre also provides services for local women including counselling, legal services and social activities. The annual women’s bush camp is also organized by the Centre, where women come together from the various communities to discuss their issues and make plans for change. At last year’s camp, the women decided on three objectives – to lobby for a 12 month moratorium on the sale of alcohol, to advocate for services for men and boys, and a better relationship with Police.

Last year, a ban was put in place to restrict the sale of full strength take away alcohol. The Women’s Centre fought for this change as a measure to address the violence and associated health and social problems linked to alcohol abuse. I was shocked to hear that some estimates suggest that 30% of babies are born with fetal alcohol syndrome. Since the ban, police reports show that domestic violence reports have decreased by 43% and school attendance and engagement has risen. Some of the senior women in the community told me that, since the ban, they have been able to sleep peacefully through the night without fearing for their own safety or that of their family. Police estimate that call outs for alcohol fuelled violent incidents have decreased by 55% since the ban. I was so inspired by the collective determination of the women to ensure that every woman in the community has the right to live without the fear of violence.

Over the next two days we had meetings with service providers, a community BBQ and visits out to remote communities. I heard the consistent themes of alcohol related violence, the scarcity of housing, problems with transport and the accessibility of services, health problems associated with alcohol and poor nutrition, lack of services for men and boys, and the shortage of appropriate education and employment opportunities. I was impressed by Nindilingarri Cultural Health Services, with its focus on culturally appropriate preventative health promotion. The Health Service has installed a music studio as part of a spiritual health promotion program to encourage personal and cultural expression through music as a way to improve community health.

I want to thank June Oscar, Emily Carter and Michelle Kwikki from the Marninwarntikura Women’s Resource Centre for hosting our visit and for their warm hospitality. I am inspired and energised by their courage and determination. As our photos attest, we met many strong women and men from the diverse Fitzroy Valley, and I feel deeply privileged to have heard their stories as part of my Listening Tour.

Liz