Indigenous disadvantage resides not in the affluent city of Mitcham, South Australia, but in the usually out-of-sight remote communities which continue to perplex us with their lack of progress and limited opportunities for trapped and desperate residents. Their long-term, seemingly intractable issues, are worthy of national focus, debate, and action. This is where our focus as a nation must be. Hopefully we can find new and effective ways to assist those in need to create better lives for themselves and their families. The failure of sit-down money, endless layers of ignored consultation with too numerous claimants, and fortunes spent on administration and endless futile programs, is hopefully soon to be a thing of the past.

Within the local government area of Mitcham in South Australia, the 2021 Census illustrates that there is little, if any, gap. Indigenous residents have similar numbers of university graduates, fewer one-parent families, higher levels of home ownership, greater workforce participation than the South Australian average, and comparable numbers on some measures to the rest of what is a very affluent Mitcham population. ‘The gap’ is clearly not here, it is elsewhere.

The Mitcham Council, presumably mindful of some community sentiment towards all things Indigenous, displayed its progressive credentials when it came to the naming of a new Blackwood Library as part of the community hub. The library was the lovechild of the hills-based Mitcham mayor, who tapped into a longstanding resentment among hills dwellers against a perceived bias against them by a plains-dominated council. Indeed, council only approved the name of the new library/community facility on her casting vote, which has a fitting symmetry, as the council’s commitment to the building of the new library was also passed on the casting vote of the mayor.

The decision by Mitcham Council in SA to give the new Blackwood Community Hub (which includes the library) a Kaurna name signals a new height of folly of a council seemingly determined to push its progressive agenda onto its community. Essentially, by all state and federal election results, it is a conservative electorate, though it does have some pockets Green and Woke.

It appears that the main investment, and community use, is in the library. Attached to it will be other facilities, but without the library, the building would not be there. There are no libraries, no collections of books, and no historic literacy in the oral traditions of the Kaurna past. A library is in its entirety a creation of Western culture, not the Kaurna culture. So, why is there a need to rename the facility with a Kaurna name? Perhaps because the community wanted to?

Local councils pride themselves on consultation, but my guess is that often a decision is made, and then consultation processes are guided to fit. I am not saying that is what happened here. In this case, it has been said that the preferred council name was first suggested in a kick the dirt on-site construction meeting, allegedly by Kaurna elders. Council officers liked, and the process of consultation began.

The consultation about the name was never really focused on the main users, the Blackwood community. It was open to any responder (who registered online, so I wonder where they live?), poorly funded, badly designed, and included just three leading questions and ‘an online brainstorming’. Many of us are sceptical about what those ‘brainstorming’ approaches yield, and it was never a Nobel prize or a revered symphony. It was more like a cacophony of kindergarten shrieks. The survey numbers were small, in fact a full 34 respondents out of 65,000 showed a preference for the name ‘kamangka’ (coming together). The outcome was largely predictable, and ultimately aligned with what some on the Woke council wanted.

No face-to-face discussions were held, as far as I can tell no community groups were contacted directly, nor businesses, residents in person, and the hard copy of the council’s community news carried nothing significant about it.

A simple suggestion I made to a council officer was to ask, in person, users of the old library what name they preferred. And will use. Blind Freddy could see that the common usage will be: ‘I am just slipping up to Blackwood library to pick up some books.’ The council would have us believe that their Blackwood residents will now be ‘slipping up to Tiwu Kamangka to pick up some books’. ‘What?’ ‘Sorry, the Blackwood Library.’

The Kaurna Yerta Aboriginal Corporation initially did not ‘bestow’ the preferred Kaurna name, because it was used elsewhere, and had no particular connection to the new facility. This position is completely in line with South Australian government guidelines which council is obliged to follow. The local Indigenous land council seems to be a lot more savvy about naming issues than Mitcham council.

Only after further communication, and a one-day workshop with the Mayor, Mitcham Council CEO, and relevant responsible officers and the Board of the Kaurna Yerta Aboriginal Corporation was a slightly altered name approved, or ‘bestowed’ as it was described. Then, it was recommended that further opportunities, for renaming various localities, for more artwork, a preferred collection of Kaurna books in the library, Indigenous interpretive and art installations, and employment opportunities for Indigenous artists, were tabled. Should any of these demands be taken seriously by council, then let’s hope the ratepayers get a real genuine look in on all this.

The citizens of Mitcham who claim Indigenous heritage (a bit under 1 per cent, about a third of the national average), may feel some sense of recognition or reconciliation, though of course very few of them will be Kaurna speakers, and indeed, the overwhelming majority of have their ancestry with other historic tribes. (2021 Census.)

But of the 65,000 non-Indigenous citizens of Mitcham, many will question this as tokenism, which contributes nothing to the serious issues of Indigenous disadvantage. It doesn’t close any gaps, and just might open a few.

At the last gasp, four councillors voted against the new name, and seven for it. No need for the mayor’s casting vote. One councillor expressed their opinion to me that despite reservations, there was a feeling that the Kaurna Yerta Aboriginal Corporation who (reluctantly) ‘bestowed’ approval might be offended if the name was not approved at council. Well, quite a few ratepayers are offended, and my guess is that the Indigenous group also will offended be if their special further ‘recommendations’ don’t come through.

Oh well, Indigenous people who really do experience a gap, and need a leg up, could always get the train to Blackwood next time they visit Adelaide and gaze upon the new sign outside a beautiful new library, that says ‘Tiwu Kamangka’.

That should fix it.