NT government drowned out Aboriginal voice, Yingiya Mark Guyula, in Parliament

The NT government apparently supports an Aboriginal Voice to Parliament so it was disturbing to hear Mulka MLA Yingiya Mark Guyula’s speech drowned out in Parliament this week, writes Matt Cunningham

THE Territory Government is apparently quite keen on the idea of an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice to Parliament.

It would appear it believes it is important that the voices of Aboriginal people are heard when governments decide policy that affects Aboriginal people.

So it was curious to see the way an Aboriginal voice within its own parliament was treated this week when he tried to raise a critical issue about Aboriginal children.

Mulka MLA Yingiya Mark Guyula put a motion before the Parliament on Wednesday “that the failings in remote education are acknowledged by the Legislative Assembly as a current crisis that requires significant redesign through genuine consultation with local communities”.

The opportunity for opposition and independent MLAs to have motions debated are limited to Wednesdays during parliamentary sittings.

Independant MLA Yingiya (Mark) Guyula at NT Parliament. Picture: Justin Kennedy

Mr Guyula has had this motion on the notice paper since last September.

Among his concerns are shockingly low attendance rates and that struggling schools in his electorate are receiving less funding now than they were in 2015.

“I have concerns about Yolngu education falling away because it is overwritten by balanda institutions, and unfortunately we are seeing the effects of this in our communities as children are lost and confused and increasingly turning to brewing alcohol, smoking ganja and crime,” he said.

Few could possibly disagree that remote education in the Northern Territory is in crisis.

It has been for a long time.

But instead of debating Mr Guyula’s motion, Education Minister Eva Lawler moved an amendment, replacing everything after the word “that”. (You’ll note that “that” was pretty much the first word in the original motion).

The amended motion was that “the complexities of Northern Territory education is acknowledged by the Legislative Assembly.

During the development of the 10-year Education Engagement Strategy 2022 to 2031, there was extensive consultation undertaken with local communities.

All remote communities will continue to be consulted and engaged on how the strategy is localised and implemented in their community and region, including ongoing conversations with local teachers, elders, leaders and community members in local languages” etc, etc.

So instead of debating the motion of an Aboriginal MLA from a remote electorate about the crisis he sees in education, the Parliament debated an amended motion about what a great job the NT government is doing.

Matt Cunningham is the Northern Australia Correspondent and Darwin Bureau Chief at SKY NEWS Picture: Justin Kennedy

Seven Labor MLAs – including four from Darwin electorates – then waxed lyrical about the wonderful job the government was doing before time ran out and the debate was suspended.

The government could have debated Mr Guyula’s motion, fleshing out the reasons why children in remote communities are not going to school.

It could have voted against it if it wanted to.

Instead it hijacked the debate and sent the nonsensical amended motion off into the never-never to return at a date a long way into the future.

As Mr Guyula said during an adjournment on Thursday night:

“The Minister brought an entirely new motion to the floor of the chamber that basically said that the Government will continue education business as usual. In other words, the Minister is not supporting my motion and is removing my voice by replacing the entire motion and then proceeding to talk on the Government motion for three hours.”

Maybe this is the cut and thrust of politics. Maybe this is what you have the right to do when you have the numbers that control the Parliament.

But it’s a world away from the commitments made in Labor’s Restoring Integrity in government document from 2016.

And it seems odd coming from a government so committed to an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice to Parliament.