CANBERRA: A major government review is set to propose a radical restructuring of the elected peak Aboriginal body that supporters fear will prevent the organization from being able to effectively advocate policies opposed by the government.

The president of the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre, Michael Mansell, argues that the government has no intention of tolerating an organization independently advocating on behalf of the indigenous community where its views conflicted with those of the government.

“Is it understood by all concerned that whenever the indigenous position is not the same as that of the government, ATSIC (the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission) will represent indigenous people as a priority?” he wrote in a submission to the review.

The government announced in November last year a review into the adequacy of the ATSIC, which was established in 1990 to allow Aboriginal people to have a greater voice in government policy and funding decisions.

While many within the Aboriginal community are critical of the Westminster-style electoral structure of ATSIC and problems with accountability to local communities, government ministers have resented the outspoken advocacy by the organization’s leadership, including at hearings of UN committees.

Prime Minister John Howard has come in for particular criticism for his refusal to offer a formal government apology for the forced removal of Aboriginal children from their parents.

In April this year, before the review team had commenced its consultation meetings with the Aboriginal community, Minister for Indigenous Affairs Phillip Ruddock announced a massive restructuring that stripped ATSIC of all funding decisions and nearly all its staff.

ATSIC was left with only a small secretariat with the remainder transferred to a new agency, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Services, under Ruddock’s control.

Mansell is also critical of ATSIC for bending to the government’s wishes too often. “At the behest of the government, the ATSIC Board approves the imposition of review after unnecessary review of Aboriginal groups with the result the effectiveness of those organizations is seriously diminished,” he wrote.

Speaking at the weekend conference of the Bennelong Society, a conservative lobby group on Aboriginal policy, Ruddock dismissed the emphasis by Aboriginal leaders on issues such as land rights and the failure of government services to match those available to the non-indigenous population.—Dawn/The InterPress News Service.