Much being Written about Us, not much being Written with Us: Examining how alcohol and other drug use by indigenous Australians is portrayed in Australian Government policies and strategies: A discourse analysis.

Abstract

Using critical discourse analysis, this study examined the portrayal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australian Government policies regarding alcohol and other drug (AOD) use. We used critical discourse analysis, informed by an Indigenous Research Paradigm, to analyse texts and contexts of six key Australian Government AOD drug policies; two Aboriginal AOD data documents, two reporting documents and two AOD strategy documents. The social practice analysis found issues of power imbalance relating to the socio-political situation the documents were created in. Textual analysis identified: culture being performative or functional in documents; cultural unsafety in construction of targets and outcomes, and; the decentring of Aboriginal peoples in the framing of the documents. The discourse analysis identified that the documents often wrote about Aboriginal peoples rather than writing documents with or by Aboriginal peoples. This typically: absented complexities of consultation occurring within a complex power imbalanced cultural interface; did not support an Aboriginal paradigm; centred Gubba people in power and; promoted a paternalistic view of 'helping' Aboriginal people. There is an urgent need to move from policy relating to Aboriginal affairs that relies on a deficit discourse, to more effective AOD policy that improves power balance in policy development, is written with or by Aboriginal people, is inclusive of Aboriginal epistemologies and ontologies, and represents a paradigm-shift to a strength-based approach.