Last year’s West Australian of the Year Robert Isaacs has called for Tangney MP Dennis Jensen to be unendorsed by the Liberal Party following his comments about remote Aboriginal community members pursuing a ‘noble savage’ lifestyle.
Dr Isaacs, an Aboriginal elder from Langford and Liberal supporter, responded strongly to the comments made by Dr Jensen during a speech in Federal Parliament on funding for indigenous policy on February 22.
In his speech Dr Jensen argued affirmative action policies and legislation that dealt specifically with indigenous people were not working, racist and should be scrapped.
He also said taxpayers should not fund the ‘lifestyle choices’ of remote indigenous Australians and quoted 18th century French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s concept of the ‘noble savage’.
Dr Isaacs said Dr Jensen’s comments showed he was a loner, did not represent the people in his electorate and called for him to be unendorsed for the seat of Tangney before this year’s federal election.
“This guy as far as I’m concerned is a loner, he is on his own when he makes comments about people of this nation, the first people of this nation,” he said.
“I’m demanding he be unendorsed by the Liberal Party when it comes up to the preselection.
“I just want him out, as an Aboriginal elder I’m very committed to the work we do with state and federal governments.
“That is not the message of the Federal Government and State Government addressing Aboriginal affairs so he’s a loner in this area and he should not be taken notice of.”
Dr Isaacs would like to debate Dr Jensen outside of parliament and questioned whether Dr Jensen had been to a remote community.
“He did that in the privilege of parliament,” he said.
“I’d like to challenge him outside of parliament or even the Aboriginal people to an audience or a public forum and say those same words in front of us, we will hound him down like a dog.
“He’s never been to these communities, he’s probably never met a black fella in his life…the sooner he goes the better.”
Dr Isaacs said despite a different way of life remote communities deserved the basic right to good housing, water sanitation, health services and schools.
Dr Jensen’s WA parliamentary colleague Hasluck member Ken Wyatt said he was disappointed in Dr Jensen’s comments and use of the term ‘noble savage’.
“Noble savage was a last century notion,” he said.
“We wouldn’t call anyone a savage now because we’ve all changed.
“It’s used in a derogatory sense to describe somebody who we think is lesser, it’s unfortunate Dennis has used that terminology.
“It’s inappropriate, it’s out-dated and it shows that thinking hasn’t moved on by an individual.”
Mr Wyatt said he thought some affirmative action policies and they were necessary until the gap was closed.
“The intervention of the Whitlam and Fraser governments and all subsequent governments has seen the change occur,
“If we were to revert back to pre Whitlam government, which is what Dennis is arguing for, then conditions and every other aspect would be going backwards.
“There’s always a place for affirmative action but ultimately we should reach a point where we should no longer need it.”
Life for Aboriginals was never idyllic: Jensen
Dr Jensen defended his use of the term ‘noble savage’ and said he should not be unendorsed.
He rejected criticisms over his comments on affirmative action policy and remote Aboriginal communities by Dr Isaacs and Mr Wyatt.
Dr Jensen said after seeing policies in Africa fail he actually argued for the removal of ‘racist’ affirmative action policies, which were designed specifically to help Aboriginal Australians.
“I find it interesting that someone is calling for me to be unendorsed when what I’m calling for is for the removal of all racist policy in WA, I find that quite extraordinary,” he said.
“It’s sending a really bad message to Aboriginal people, it’s saying to them without this additional support from Australian society you can’t compete, that’s a terrible message to be sending.
“Ken Wyatt was critical of me but the simple fact is Ken himself has suffered people assuming that Ken has got where he’s got in life due to affirmative action not because of the work and the effort that he’s put in place.”
Dr Jensen said his use of the term ‘noble savage’ was a literary concept quoted from 18th century French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau.
“It’s a literary concept, it’s not that I’m saying they are savages by any standard,” he said.
“The point I was trying to say was if you look at those remote communities the ideal about them might be you are harking back to the days pre European settlement where there was some idyllic way of life.
“The reality is it wasn’t an idyllic way of life. If the taxpayers’ money comes into it then we should be expecting a return and this goes for all citizens in terms of education and potential to get jobs.
“The remote communities where they actually manage to make a living for themselves and all the rest of it and they have reasonable education and so on, fine go for it.
“I’m talking about those remote communities where they are the most hopeless and depressing places you could imagine and just I see no hope and no joy.”
Dr Jensen also rejected Dr Isaacs’ claims he had never visited a remote Aboriginal community and said he would debate him in public but would prefer to meet face to face.
“I’ve driven past them, yes,” he said.
“I think that one of the first things that would probably be of benefit is if Robert wanted to engage me one-on-one and talk through these issues.”
