Obliged to be Difficult
Obliged to be Difficult
Since the 1967 constitutional referendum, Australian governments have moved towards policies of indigenous self-determination. Obliged to be Difficult, first published in 2000, presents the central issue of self-determination as seen by Dr H. C. Coombs, the most important policy maker since the referendum: through what political mechanisms will indigenous Australians find their own voice? Coombs was singularly influential within government in the years 1967 to 1976, and he remained a tireless critic and policy advocate from 1977 to 1996. Rowse's narrative of his work, drawing on many unpublished sources, illuminates the interplay of government policy with indigenous practice. This book is both an account of government policies and a biographical slice of an outstanding Australian. In attempting a critical celebration of Coombs' vision and methods, it invites informed reflection on the issues of land rights, sovereignty and reconciliation in these conservative, and highly anxious, times.
- Traces Coombs' legacy in public policy generally and Aboriginal affairs specifically
- Draws on many unpublished sources
- Biographical element gives unique insights into Coombs' work
Reviews & endorsements
'Rowse has produced the first comprehensive political history of the federal administration of indigenous affairs in late twentieth-century Australia … for those interested in his innovative approach to governance, Obliged to be Difficult is an essential work.' The Times Literary Supplement
'… for those who want to understand how negotiations evolved between indigenous groups and successive Australian governments, or who want to draw useful comparisons with other such interactions, this volume offers real insights into the complexities of the process. It also paints a fine biographic portrait of an extraordinary man.' Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute
Product details
April 2000Paperback
9780521774109
264 pages
229 × 153 × 19 mm
0.43kg
Available
Table of Contents
- 1. The modest mandate of 1967
- 2. 'Land ownership for Aborigines presents difficult problems'
- 3. Mediating the Yolngu
- 4. Voice and feet
- 5. North and South
- 6. A national Indigenous leadership?
- 7. Clans and councils
- 8. As nasty a piece of chicanery as I can remember
- 9. Effectively Aboriginal
- 10. An Indigenous public sphere
- 11. From James Cook to Eva Valley
- 12. The 1940s in the 1990s.
