Marcia Langton; 8/11/08
‘Big bunga (men) politics” describes the endemic pattern of lateral violence that plagues Aboriginal family and community life, especially - though not exclusively - in remote Australia. It also encapsulates the dysfunctional response of mainstream Australian political institutions to the accelerating crisis in the Aboriginal world. Many remember the big bunga politics that brought the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission into disrepute and finally led to its disestablishment in 2004. Periodically throughout the life of that body, Aboriginal men and women who were without doubt leaders in their communities became embroiled in political theatre led by “big men” who failed to show leadership on the most pressing issues in those communities: housing, health and education. While the first chairwoman, the gracious but formidable Lowitja O’Donoghue (who started her long and distinguished career as a nurse) was at its helm, the body proved successful at influencing governments, negotiating bilateral federal-state arrangements for indigenous programs and leveraging state funding allocations with commonwealth “carrot” funding.
See: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24616890-5013172,00.html
Tags: Aboriginal, Australia, Gender