Indigenous voters may sway marginal seats
21.07.2010
By: Tony Koch, Sean Parnell
THE indigenous vote could make the difference in up to three marginal seats if the Australian Electoral Commission can re-engage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in the political process.
A 1996 decision by the Howard government to withdraw funding for a 12-year-old AEC indigenous engagement program led to a decline in voter turnout at subsequent elections.
In last year's budget, the Rudd government allocated $13 million over four years, and 18 AEC staff have now returned to indigenous communities in an effort to improve the voter turnout on August 21.
The move could have implications in some seats, particularly Labor-held Leichhardt, in far north Queensland, where former Liberal MP Warren Entsch is making a return.
Other marginal seats with a significant indigenous population are Calare in NSW, Solomon in the Northern Territory, Grey in South Australia and Herbert in Queensland. In Leichhardt, Mr Entsch -- together with Coalition leader Tony Abbott -- has campaigned against the state Labor government's Wild Rivers laws and the lack of commonwealth support for mining projects in the region.
Kevin Rudd's apology to the Stolen Generations and memories of the Howard government intervention in the Northern Territory, might also have an impact.
It was unclear yesterday whether the major parties would seek to capitalise on the AEC's efforts, but business and community leaders warned indigenous voters would not ``vote blindly''.
Stephen Hagan, the editor of the National Indigenous Times newspaper, which is circulated throughout most communities across the country, promised no editorial recommendation to readers on who they should support. ``Our view in this newspaper is that people are intelligent enough to figure out which party is offering the best deal for them and their children and for Aboriginal people collectively, and it is our job to ensure they are informed of just what is on offer,'' Mr Hagan said.
``We will encourage our readers to make an informed decision on who will best represent their interests.
``The major parties have been conspicuously silent so far on what they would do to address the parlous state of indigenous disadvantage,'' he said.
Cape York Land Council chairman Richie Ahmat, whose organisation operates in Leichhardt, acknowledged the indigenous vote could prove crucial.
``Commentators say the lack of technically advanced communication in the far north means our people are not informed on what the policies of the parties are,'' Mr Ahmat said.
``But the black telegraph is much swifter and surer than any IT communication.
``What has to be addressed here is the incessant meddling by government in the efforts of Aboriginal people to try to run their own lives, businesses and their land.''
Seats with the most indigenous residents of voting age
Seat ............... State .... Party ............ Margin (%) ... Indigenous residents 18-plus
Lingiari ............ NT ....... Labor ............ 11.2 ............. 29,889
Kalgoorlie ........ WA ..... Liberal ........... * .................. 17,368
Leichhardt ....... Qld ...... Labor ............ 4.1 ............... 15,732
Kennedy ......... Qld ...... Independent ... 6.8 .............. 11,595
Parkes ............ NSW ... Nationals ....... 13.8 ............ 9431
Calare ............. NSW ... Nationals ....... 3.5 .............. 6594
Solomon ......... NT ....... Labor ............. 0.2 .............. 6214
Grey ............... SA ....... Liberal .......... 4.5 ............... 6121
Herbert ............ Qld ...... Labor** ......... 0.3 ............... 5873
New England ... NSW ... Independent ... 15.1 ............. 5320
*Seat of Kalgoorlie abolished, its voters redistributed into O'Connor (Lib margin of 13.2%) and the new seat of Durack (notional Lib margin of 7.3%) **Lib seat now notionally Labor
Source: 2006 Census data, 2007 electoral boundaries
