Racial Segregation by Hotel in Alice Springs is accepted racism embedded into the local community.
Racial Segregation in Alice Springs is not a trait of just one Major Hotel Chain. The problem is the Racism within the community of Alice Springs being ignored or deliberately unnoticed. Racism in Alice Springs appears to be justified and pacifies the community response.
A recent whistleblower exposed a top Australian Hotel Chain in Alice Springs for their racial segregation of Aboriginal people.
Photos of chicken bone, stained linen and a previous guest’s clothing left inside one of the rooms. Photo: ABC
Findings in an email stated that Aboriginal people were being segregated in Hotel rooms of terrible standards and provided dirty linen, while other guests were accommodated in regular clean standard Hotel rooms for the same price.
My cousin and partner (Both Indigenous) live and work out at Uluru Resort. Every time they come to Alice Springs, they stay at this hotel. They now asked to stay at my place, as they had heard about it in the news. They told me they had picked up ringworms the last time they stayed there. They now realize they were given these same unclean rooms because of their Aboriginal identity. They are appalled, especially as workers for another Hotel Chain.
It is nothing new in Alice Springs, and it would be bizarre for any resident to assume it is a rare occurrence, many locals just don’t speak up about these incidents, and many new residents are fed such profound justifications for racism in Alice Springs by local community residents. It is easy to accept these justifications as a means to avoid the issue and go about their everyday life.
No Reform to the Anti-Discrimination Act.
There has still been no reform to the Anti-Discrimination Act that prevents a person other than the victim of discrimination from making a formal complaint. Under ongoing review since 2017, it seems many do not want to lose this tool of power and control that embeds acceptable justifications and pacifies the community from responding. It imbues a good silence about the racial treatment of Aboriginal people in Alice Springs and the Centre of Australia. Because of language, literacy and education barriers, many Aboriginal people face racism and find it hard or do not even bother to seek legal action or redress. The Anti-Discrimination Act prevents many non-aboriginal locals who are conscious of the situation from intervening or speaking up. Many residents are also sick of seeing this treatment of Aboriginal people persist in 2019 and not being able to do anything.
Northern Territory Anti-Discrimination Act 1992
Part 6 - Resolution of complaints Division 1 Complaint 60 Who may complain
Subject to this Act
(a) a person aggrieved by prohibited conduct; or
(b) a person, authorised in writing by the Commissioner, on
behalf of a person referred to in paragraph (a),
may make a complaint to the Commissioner.
This means the average person on the street who views security guards and others kicking Aboriginal people sitting on the ground or the assault of an Aboriginal man being held off the ground by his throat cannot put in a complaint. Only the victim can put in the complaint or someone authorised in writing by the commissioner. If I am a witness, I should be able to complain. It would be like knowing someone was sexually assaulted in the same room as me and not intervening or reporting it just because the victim could not speak English properly, could not say anything, or did not have it in authorised writing. Too bad if English is the fifth language of many aboriginal people in the area. Many also do not know their full rights under the law and are scared to even deal with the police.
Alice Springs residents also influence new staff in the workplace and imbue the same attitude towards Aboriginal people. Sacking a manager or staff discrimination training will not change the accepted law that allows them to ignore the discrimination now embedded in the community.
“Every year in Alice Springs, there is on and off tourist season, local businesses rely on local money for support, that includes Aboriginal money, when it is off tourist season, take your money and go back to your camp.”
I am also an Aboriginal resident of Alice Springs. I have worked for many Hotel Chains over my 20 years in tourism and hospitality. Many years ago, I lived and worked at a hotel and was given permanent accommodation as part of my contract. During my time there, a staff member told me that they had to put all Aboriginal people who paid for a room only in one area of the Hotel. These rooms were uncleaned, with dirty linen, etc.
Some years ago, I applied to do some work cleaning at another popular Hotel when they gave me the same story. One of the staff showed me around the day I got there and told me how the rooms we were walking past were where they put the Aboriginal people in those rented rooms. I did not return to the job after that first day.
Having worked in Tourism, Hospitality, and retail, also holding management roles and many times more than one job, I understand the Industry very well. In just ten years, the number of tourists visiting Alice Springs has dropped drastically, leaving many local businesses struggling. The plane, train routes and changes now have many tourists detouring Alice Springs and heading straight to Uluru for their holidays. In the past, many would have to come through Alice Springs to get to Uluru. The Train Service has also taken away its backpacker and discount travel seated carriages from Adelaide to Darwin and vice-versa. Tourists that cannot afford Gold class travel on the Train now choose to fly as it is the cheaper option. Local businesses rely on locals when it is an off-tourist season.
Right now, it is still off-tourist season in Alice Springs. A time when hotels such as the one involved in this incident invite locals to come down, have lunch, use their pool or stay overnight as they need the business. The Hotel I was working at as a Restaurant Manager and residing at almost 20 years ago also did this yearly. Many Hotels in Alice Springs do this today. Sometimes local Aboriginal people are allowed because the Hotel needs the money—other times, they are not.
When tourist season starts, the Aboriginal people are regularly refused accommodation or told there is none available, even if one or two rooms are vacant.
As a local, I honestly do not see how anyone else in this town does not know or would be surprised this is happening, I certainly do not think I have been living in an illusion for 20 years.
Pure racism’: Aborigines chucked out after checking in (SMH 2008) https://www.smh.com.au/national/pure-racism-aborigines-chucked-out-after-checking-in-20080312-gds4p8.html
Alice Springs brings in hundreds of surrounding local community visitors regularly.
Alice Springs Hospital is the main hospital in the centre. Even the Royal Flying Doctor covers more areas in the centre than anywhere else in Australia, where I once worked doing tours. The Royal Flying Doctor Service covers a 500 km radius around Alice Springs and over 30,000 remote Australians. (You could fit the whole of England inside that area) More people live in these surrounding areas than those who live in Alice Springs itself. Many people from communities look for accommodation to be close to family in the hospital when they come in from remote areas.
The location of the Hotel involved in this incident is across the road from Alice Springs Hospital. The number of requests for rooms and the business is noticeable. It reflects how much Aboriginal money is going into all surrounding Hotels. Again, this is not the only Hotel Chain in Alice Springs doing the segregation.
This accepted racism has been going on for decades. Most local politicians act surprised and appalled by the findings if it is just a one-off and rare occurrence never heard about before. My guess is they are walking around with their eyes closed or ears blocked regularly.
The problem is not one hotel chain, the problem is the reality of racism many locals and Politicians still refuse to accept in Alice Springs. The Locals who are employed to run these Hotels create racial segregation and influence the minds of those who come to work here from elsewhere. This embedded racism within the community sticks to your feet like bubble gum when walking around Alice Springs.
Writer Chris Raja wrote about his experience living in Alice Springs in 2014:
“There were a few occasions when society mixed. Most people live in segregated areas. If you think I’m exaggerating, try approaching a real estate agent as I did with my Indigenous male friend and ask to inspect houses for rent. In one example, on seeing the client, the real estate agent immediately claimed to not have keys to the house. In Alice Springs, boundaries are rarely crossed.
This place is a microcosm of Australia. It is polarised but gradually even I turned a blind eye to the segregation. After 10 years in Alice Springs, you stop seeing. You stop noticing that the big fish in the little pond syndrome is a dynamic that exists here, and one can become immune to how the rest of the world is seeing things, which can be markedly different”
Are Chris and many other residents, including myself and the Aboriginal community living in some illusion, making up these stories as we go along, or have I just been half asleep or daydreaming? Many tourists who have visited Alice Springs over the years have also spoken about how their trip and memory of Australia were tarnished or ruined by the racism they witnessed while visiting Alice Springs. I will leave some reviews to read and links to local responses below. The racism towards Aboriginal people in the centre is a noticeable problem, and it is time for it to stop being justifiable.
Tourist reviews of Racism by local Businesses and Tours in Alice Springs
“No issue with the quad bikes or the adventure of hooning around on the station. that was actually quite fun. But Frosty picked us up and started chatting about the history of the area. He said that if “the Aboriginals” who live in a community near the station ever kill any cattle (as may have happened at times in the past), the family that runs the station will go out and shoot them. we said that was highly inappropriate and offensive and he laughed it off as a joke. Given there were massacres of Aboriginal people in and around Alice Springs as late as 1928, this is highly inappropriate. Not to mention THAT UNDOOLYA STATION IS ABORIGINAL LAND and the family that runs it only has a pastoral lease over it. Very inappropriate”
“Went to have lunch at this tavern and was treated like a second class citizen. Waited patiently in line to order my lunch. When it was my turn, the barman ignored me and took an order from a bloke who just walked up to the counter. After taking his order he then walks away to another customer down the bar and took her order. It was a humiliating experience and I spoke quite loudly and said, excuse me mate but I was first in line but again he couldn’t bother to acknowledge me. Two blokes having a drink next to me was shocked too and said that’s bad service. I guess if you are an Asian ( Chinese) don’t expect to be treated equally. It’s a white men pub. STAY CLEAR from this RACIST PUB!!!!!
I would give a no star, unfortunately, there’s none.”
More > Beautiful adventure ruined by an unforgettable racist tour guide - https://www.tripadvisor.com.au/ShowUserReviews-g255063-d3575357-r411333418-Wayoutback_Australian_Safaris_Day_Tours-Alice_Springs_Red_Centre_Northern_Territ.html
Local response and current -
“Kumanjayi Walker murder trial will be a first in NT for an Indigenous death in custody. Why has it taken so long? - https://theconversation.com/kumanjayi-walker-murder-trial-will-be-a-first-in-nt-for-an-indigenous-death-in-custody-why-has-it-taken-so-long-148922
The killing of Aboriginal man, Kwementyaye Ryder - https://www.solidarity.net.au/aboriginal/racism-whitewashed-in-alice-springs/
Barb Shaw on CAAMA “A powerful message to the nation about racism …and how it continues to impact on her people” -http://caama.com.au/news/2019/we-need-to-do-something-today-to-end-racism-and-discrimination-barb-shaw
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