Compulsory Income Management and Indigenous Peoples - Exploring Counter Narratives amidst Colonial Constructions of 'Vulnerability'

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Author(s)
Bielefeld, Shelley
Griffith University Author(s)
Year published
2014
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This article explores counter narratives to the dominant colonial narrative about Indigenous welfare recipients classified as
'vulnerable' under the compulsory income management laws. The compulsory income management laws and policies were implemented initially in 2007 as part of the Northern Territory Intervention, and were modified to some degree in 2010 in what the
Government alleges to be a non-racially discriminatory manner. These laws were further entrenched and extended in June 2012 as part of the Stronger Futures legislative package. The laws have a particularly significant impact upon Indigenous welfare recipients ...
View more >This article explores counter narratives to the dominant colonial narrative about Indigenous welfare recipients classified as 'vulnerable' under the compulsory income management laws. The compulsory income management laws and policies were implemented initially in 2007 as part of the Northern Territory Intervention, and were modified to some degree in 2010 in what the Government alleges to be a non-racially discriminatory manner. These laws were further entrenched and extended in June 2012 as part of the Stronger Futures legislative package. The laws have a particularly significant impact upon Indigenous welfare recipients in the Northern Territory and, increasingly, across some other Indigenous communities outside that jurisdiction. The government narrative about income management maintains that it is beneficial for those subject to it. However, there are other marginalised narratives that shed light upon the compulsory income management discourse. These suggest that law constructs, rather than merely describes, the vulnerability that the Government claims to seek to redress via these laws.
View less >
View more >This article explores counter narratives to the dominant colonial narrative about Indigenous welfare recipients classified as 'vulnerable' under the compulsory income management laws. The compulsory income management laws and policies were implemented initially in 2007 as part of the Northern Territory Intervention, and were modified to some degree in 2010 in what the Government alleges to be a non-racially discriminatory manner. These laws were further entrenched and extended in June 2012 as part of the Stronger Futures legislative package. The laws have a particularly significant impact upon Indigenous welfare recipients in the Northern Territory and, increasingly, across some other Indigenous communities outside that jurisdiction. The government narrative about income management maintains that it is beneficial for those subject to it. However, there are other marginalised narratives that shed light upon the compulsory income management discourse. These suggest that law constructs, rather than merely describes, the vulnerability that the Government claims to seek to redress via these laws.
View less >
Journal Title
Sydney Law Review
Volume
36
Copyright Statement
© 2014 University of Sydney. The attached file is reproduced here in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher. Please refer to the journal's website for access to the definitive, published version.
Subject
Law and Society
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Policy
Law