Compulsory Income Management and Indigenous Australians: Delivering Social Justice or Furthering Colonial Domination?

Abstract

Throughout Australia's early colonial era, governments limited Indigenous peoples' access to finances, creating entrenched hardship, poverty, ill health, degradation and disempowerment.2 Early colonial attitudes about the desirability of placing limitations on access to money for Indigenous Australians have been resuscitated in recent years. Contemporary attitudes of government reflect a familiar colonial way of thinking that subscribes to a range of negative stereotypes of Indigenous peoples.3 The contemporary compulsory income management laws were originally developed as part of the Liberal-NationalCoalition Government's 2007 Northern Territory Emergency Response (otherwise known as the 'Intervention'). However, after taking office in 2007, the Labor Government decided to continue compulsory income management in certain circumstances, stating their belief that it 'benefits' people.4 The 2010 modifications to the income management scheme made by the Labor Government were constructed in such a manner that indirect discrimination against Indigenous peoples was a likely consequence.5 The 2010 amendments extended income management to a range of categories, many of which detrimentally and disproportionately affect Indigenous peoples, arguably amounting to a form of 'indirect discrimination'. 6 Indigenous peoples are 'more heavily represented' in the 'target categories'. 7 Further legislative changes were proposed to the compulsory income management scheme in 2011, which are likely to broaden the net further still to cover more Indigenous Australians.8

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