{"id":20321,"date":"2022-12-28T09:00:35","date_gmt":"2022-12-28T14:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wordpress-537697-2997182.cloudwaysapps.com\/?p=20321"},"modified":"2022-12-28T09:01:04","modified_gmt":"2022-12-28T14:01:04","slug":"aboriginal-families-targeted-for-homelessness-again-through-new-legislation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress-537697-2997182.cloudwaysapps.com\/aboriginal-families-targeted-for-homelessness-again-through-new-legislation\/","title":{"rendered":"Aboriginal Families Targeted for Homelessness Again through New Legislation"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples\u00a0<\/span>have inhabited<\/span><\/a>\u00a0the landscape now referred to as Australia for tens of thousands of years, effectively making them the region’s first residents. These First Nations Australians, as they are often called, have made unparalleled contributions to the current and past status of the country.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Their\u00a0<\/span>culture<\/span><\/a>, which dates back approximately 60,000 years, and encompasses over 150 distinct languages, has left a lasting impact on just about every aspect of the current Australian lifestyle, from medicine and shelter to tools, weaponry, and cuisine. These remarkable people have left their mark from the Snowy Mountains to Eastern Victoria and just about every place in between.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sadly, colonization of the region cost many First Nations Australians their lives, and those that survived lost something perhaps more valuable still \u2013 their livelihoods.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to\u00a0<\/span>Australian History<\/span><\/a>\u00a0Professor Lyndall Ryan, approximately 270 frontier massacres swept the coasts of Australia over 140 years, reducing the First Nations People’s population from approximately 1.5 million to just under 100,000. As Australian Museum points out, many historians argue that this genocide is far from over and is, in fact, raging on this very day. Approximately one First Nations Person dies at the hands of law enforcement officials every 28 days, a staggering number when one considers that Indigenous People account for only\u00a0<\/span>3.2% of Australia’s<\/span><\/a>\u00a0entire population.<\/span><\/p>\n

Beyond Genocide: Aboriginal Families Face Death, Imprisonment, and Rampant Homelessness<\/h3>\n

The woe of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People is in no way limited to genocide or police brutality. Perhaps even more disturbing still has been the historical and forcible removal of children from the home. This practice stripped future generations of their parents, relatives, and tribal identities, an abhorrent policy that continues morphing under different names while producing the same result \u2013 cultural genocide and mass oppression.<\/span><\/p>\n

As a direct result of so-called “protection policies” that aim to erode cultural ties and erase tribal identities, First Nations Australians are now vastly overrepresented in both the prison and homeless populations. They comprise\u00a0<\/span>27% of the former<\/span><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>29.1% of the ladder<\/span><\/a>\u00a0despite only comprising 3.2% of the population.<\/span><\/p>\n

This reflects a sweeping 12.5-point overrepresentation ratio, proving that even in modern times, Aboriginal families face death, imprisonment, and rampant homelessness at far higher rates than other sub-groups of Australians.<\/span><\/p>\n

One of the leading factors fueling the oppression is unjust legislation that targets First Nations Peoples in cruel and inhumane ways.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to the\u00a0<\/span>National Indigenous Times<\/span>, it’s happening again. New rental laws target the same group of people, particularly Stolen Generations members, who were thrust into homelessness after being cruelly separated from their parents and placed in abuse-ridden institutions as infants.<\/span><\/p>\n

“The new laws banning us from the city centre and other places is a repeat of colonial law. We can’t live under laws that restrict us from entering or doing cultural business,” explained former Perth Tent City resident and current activist Noelene Garlet, who is of Noongar descent.<\/span><\/p>\n

No Reason Evictions, Three Strike Rules, and Hefty Housing Authority Debts are Among the Most Egregious of these Punitive Eviction Laws<\/h3>\n

Preliminary data\u00a0<\/span>shows<\/span><\/a>\u00a01 in 4 renters in Western Australia have been subject to “No Reason Evictions,” which are precisely what they sound like \u2013 evictions that occur without reason to the tune of great consequence for the renter.<\/span><\/p>\n

First Nations Peoples are some of the hardest hit residents due to the extreme poverty and trauma people from the Stolen Generation have faced. A recent survey of 200 WA renters revealed that 53% of respondents were living on short-term rental leases that could be ended at any given moment without cause. The study also showed that these renters who feared “no reason evictions” were less likely to ask for repairs and more likely to be living in homes wrought with:<\/span><\/p>\n