Mick Miller (Aboriginal statesman)
Encyclopedia
Mick Miller was a notable Aboriginal Australian activist, politician
, and statesman who campaigned for most of his life seeking greater social justice
, land rights
, and improved life opportunities for Aboriginal Australians in North Queensland
and Australia
.
In 1998 Queensland's Land Rights Newspaper summarized and described Mick Miller and his life's contribution as follows:
on 16 January 1937, son of Michael Miller Senior (Waanyi) and Cissie Miller (née Sibley) (Kuku Yalanji), and eldest of seven children (5 girls, 2 boys)
By the early 1960s Miller had married Pat O'Shane
in Cairns, and together they had two daughters, Lydia and Marilyn. Later he married Barbara Russell, and had a son, Michael.
Mick Miller died from a heart seizure on the 5 April 1998. It was reported that his funeral was attended by over a thousand people.
on Palm Island
. He completed his secondary schooling at Mt Carmel Boarding College at Charters Towers, Queensland
.
By 1959 Mick Miller had graduated from Kelvin Grove Teachers College
in Brisbane
, where he was one of the first Aboriginal Australians
in Queensland to become a fully qualified teacher.
In the mid 1960s he obtained some early political training and encouragement by joining the local Aboriginal Advancement League and later the Federal Council for the Advancement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders (FCAATSI), during which time he attended a World Council of Indigenous Peoples meeting at Kiruna
in Samiland (Sweden). .
to teach at the North Cairns State Primary School. Some years later he resigned from this position, having encountered some resistance and difficulties within the Department of Education regarding his political activities and attendance at a World Council of Indigenous Peoples
in Samiland (Sweden).
Having left teaching, Miller instead became an active member of the local branch of the Aboriginal Advancement League, and, by 1971-1972 had become Vice-President of a Federal Council for the Advancement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. He also helped establish the original, politically active and influential North Queensland Land Council, of which he was Chair for some time.
Miller also sat as a Board Member of the Aboriginal Arts Board, and by the 1980s had become a Commissioner with the Aboriginal Development Commission (ADC) and, later, Deputy Chair of the ADC, from where he sought to promote economic development
as the key to getting Aboriginal people off welfare
and government dependence.
In 1985, the Commonwealth Government appointed Miller to head up a federal government review of employment, education and training, ultimately producing what came to be known as the "Miller Report": a significant Commonwealth Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander training and employment policy document that was to become an Aboriginal employment and training 'blueprint' with 'pivotal impact on Government program policies for some time to come.
During the 1990s Mick Miller chaired the State Tripartite Forum (a Queensland State Government-sponsored Aboriginal health organization) and in this way he became involved in many founding State policies and programs to improve the health of the Aboriginal people in Queensland.
It was during this period that, following national success in a 1967 referendum
winning Aboriginal Australians the right to be included on Australian electoral rolls, Mick Miller plus Clarry Grogan chose in 1977 to accompany Fred Hollows
and his National Trachoma
and Eye Health Program team on visits to North Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander reserves
.
While visiting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, Miller and Grogan assisted people to sign onto electoral rolls., so confirming their reputation with the then Queensland Government, and the then Premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen
for being trouble-makers and political dissenters:
) about that State's treatment of Aboriginal peoples. The film was produced in collaboration with filmmaker Dennis O'Rourke
to bring attention to the social injustices that were endured by Aboriginal people
. The film included television footage and clips of politicians and businessmen openly expressing racist views (including Western Australian mining magnate, Lang Hancock
suggesting mass sterilization; a town mayor calling Aboriginal people 'savages', and a Queensland Graziers Association spokesperson dividing people into 'true Aborigines' and 'hybrids').
.
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
, and statesman who campaigned for most of his life seeking greater social justice
Social justice
Social justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. The term and modern concept of "social justice" was coined by...
, land rights
Native title
Native title is the Australian version of the common law doctrine of aboriginal title.Native title is "the recognition by Australian law that some Indigenous people have rights and interests to their land that come from their traditional laws and customs"...
, and improved life opportunities for Aboriginal Australians in North Queensland
North Queensland
North Queensland or the Northern Region is the northern part of the state of Queensland in Australia. Queensland is a massive state, larger than most countries, and the tropical northern part of it has been historically remote and undeveloped, resulting in a distinctive regional character and...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
In 1998 Queensland's Land Rights Newspaper summarized and described Mick Miller and his life's contribution as follows:
Biographical details
Mick Miller was born on Palm Island, QueenslandPalm Island, Queensland
Palm Island is an Aboriginal community located on Great Palm Island, also called by the Aboriginal name "Bwgcolman", an island on the Great Barrier Reef in North Queensland, Australia The settlement is also known by a variety of other names including "the Mission", Palm Island Settlement or Palm...
on 16 January 1937, son of Michael Miller Senior (Waanyi) and Cissie Miller (née Sibley) (Kuku Yalanji), and eldest of seven children (5 girls, 2 boys)
By the early 1960s Miller had married Pat O'Shane
Pat O'Shane
Patricia June O'Shane is a magistrate of the Local Court of New South Wales living in Sydney, Australia. A former head of the New South Wales Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs, and Aboriginal herself, O'Shane was appointed a magistrate in 1986...
in Cairns, and together they had two daughters, Lydia and Marilyn. Later he married Barbara Russell, and had a son, Michael.
Mick Miller died from a heart seizure on the 5 April 1998. It was reported that his funeral was attended by over a thousand people.
Education
Mick Miller received his primary school education at St Michael's Convent SchoolSt Michael's Convent School
St. Michael's Convent School was established in 1986 in the city of Karachi in the province of Sindh, Pakistan. The school started its first academic session on 23 November 1986 under its founder principal Bishop Anthony Theodore Lobo.-History:...
on Palm Island
Palm Island
Palm Island may refer to:* Palm Island, Queensland, Australia, the community on Great Palm Island* Great Palm Island, Queensland, Australia, the island* Palm Island, Grenadines...
. He completed his secondary schooling at Mt Carmel Boarding College at Charters Towers, Queensland
Charters Towers, Queensland
Charters Towers is a city in northern Queensland, Australia. It is located 137 kilometres inland from Townsville on the Flinders Highway. In 2006 the population was 7,979 people, some 450 fewer than in the 2001 census. During the last quarter of the 19th century the town boomed as the rich gold...
.
By 1959 Mick Miller had graduated from Kelvin Grove Teachers College
Kelvin Grove Teachers College
Kelvin Grove Teachers' College established 1961 provides courses in primary and secondary teacher education. It established from its predecessor the Queensland Teachers' Training College....
in Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, where he was one of the first Aboriginal Australians
Australian Aborigines
Australian Aborigines , also called Aboriginal Australians, from the latin ab originem , are people who are indigenous to most of the Australian continentthat is, to mainland Australia and the island of Tasmania...
in Queensland to become a fully qualified teacher.
In the mid 1960s he obtained some early political training and encouragement by joining the local Aboriginal Advancement League and later the Federal Council for the Advancement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders (FCAATSI), during which time he attended a World Council of Indigenous Peoples meeting at Kiruna
Kiruna
Kiruna is the northernmost city in Sweden, situated in Lapland province, with 18,154 inhabitants in 2005. It is the seat of Kiruna Municipality Kiruna (Northern Sami: Giron, Finnish: Kiiruna) is the northernmost city in Sweden, situated in Lapland province, with 18,154 inhabitants in 2005. It is...
in Samiland (Sweden). .
Career
After qualifying as a teacher in 1959, Mick Miller was posted to Cairns, QueenslandCairns, Queensland
Cairns is a regional city in Far North Queensland, Australia, founded 1876. The city was named after William Wellington Cairns, then-current Governor of Queensland. It was formed to serve miners heading for the Hodgkinson River goldfield, but experienced a decline when an easier route was...
to teach at the North Cairns State Primary School. Some years later he resigned from this position, having encountered some resistance and difficulties within the Department of Education regarding his political activities and attendance at a World Council of Indigenous Peoples
World Council of Indigenous Peoples
The World Council of Indigenous Peoples was a formal international body dedicated to having concepts of aboriginal rights accepted on a worldwide scale...
in Samiland (Sweden).
Having left teaching, Miller instead became an active member of the local branch of the Aboriginal Advancement League, and, by 1971-1972 had become Vice-President of a Federal Council for the Advancement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. He also helped establish the original, politically active and influential North Queensland Land Council, of which he was Chair for some time.
Miller also sat as a Board Member of the Aboriginal Arts Board, and by the 1980s had become a Commissioner with the Aboriginal Development Commission (ADC) and, later, Deputy Chair of the ADC, from where he sought to promote economic development
Economic development
Economic development generally refers to the sustained, concerted actions of policymakers and communities that promote the standard of living and economic health of a specific area...
as the key to getting Aboriginal people off welfare
Welfare
Welfare refers to a broad discourse which may hold certain implications regarding the provision of a minimal level of wellbeing and social support for all citizens without the stigma of charity. This is termed "social solidarity"...
and government dependence.
In 1985, the Commonwealth Government appointed Miller to head up a federal government review of employment, education and training, ultimately producing what came to be known as the "Miller Report": a significant Commonwealth Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander training and employment policy document that was to become an Aboriginal employment and training 'blueprint' with 'pivotal impact on Government program policies for some time to come.
During the 1990s Mick Miller chaired the State Tripartite Forum (a Queensland State Government-sponsored Aboriginal health organization) and in this way he became involved in many founding State policies and programs to improve the health of the Aboriginal people in Queensland.
Political dissident
By the early 1970s Mick Miller, along with other local Aboriginal Australians in the Cairns region (including ex boxing champion and close friend Clarry Grogan), had become active members of a local predominantly Aboriginal branch of the Aboriginal Advancement League; had become effective advocates on a Federal Council for the Advancement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders (FCAATSI); were involved in founding an Aboriginal Legal Service to bring legal assistance to Aboriginal peoples in the North Queensland region; and, with the formation of the North Queensland Land Council in January 1976 were campaigning for Aboriginal land rights.It was during this period that, following national success in a 1967 referendum
Australian referendum, 1967 (Aboriginals)
The referendum of 27 May 1967 approved two amendments to the Australian constitution relating to Indigenous Australians. Technically it was a vote on the Constitution Alteration 1967, which became law on 10 August 1967 following the results of the referendum...
winning Aboriginal Australians the right to be included on Australian electoral rolls, Mick Miller plus Clarry Grogan chose in 1977 to accompany Fred Hollows
Fred Hollows
Frederick "Fred" Cossom Hollows, AC was an ophthalmologist who became known for his work in restoring eyesight for countless thousands of people in Australia and many other countries...
and his National Trachoma
Trachoma
Trachoma is an infectious disease causing a characteristic roughening of the inner surface of the eyelids. Also called granular conjunctivitis and Egyptian ophthalmia, it is the leading cause of infectious blindness in the world...
and Eye Health Program team on visits to North Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander reserves
Deed of Grant in Trust
A Deed of Grant in Trust is the name for a system of community-level land trust established in Queensland to administer former reserves and missions...
.
While visiting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, Miller and Grogan assisted people to sign onto electoral rolls., so confirming their reputation with the then Queensland Government, and the then Premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen
Joh Bjelke-Petersen
Sir Johannes "Joh" Bjelke-Petersen, KCMG , was an Australian politician. He was the longest-serving and longest-lived Premier of Queensland, holding office from 1968 to 1987, a period that saw considerable economic development in the state...
for being trouble-makers and political dissenters:
Couldn't be fairer!
In 1984 Mick Miller wrote and narrated a film named "Couldn't be fairer!" (the expressed point of view of the then Premier of QueenslandQueensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
) about that State's treatment of Aboriginal peoples. The film was produced in collaboration with filmmaker Dennis O'Rourke
Dennis O'Rourke
Dennis O'Rourke is an Australian documentary filmmaker.- Biography :For most of his childhood, Dennis O'Rourke lived in a small country town, where his parents ran a failing business, until he was sent to a Catholic boarding school for his secondary education...
to bring attention to the social injustices that were endured by Aboriginal people
Australian Aborigines
Australian Aborigines , also called Aboriginal Australians, from the latin ab originem , are people who are indigenous to most of the Australian continentthat is, to mainland Australia and the island of Tasmania...
. The film included television footage and clips of politicians and businessmen openly expressing racist views (including Western Australian mining magnate, Lang Hancock
Lang Hancock
Langley Frederick George "Lang" Hancock was an Australian iron ore magnate from Western Australia who maintained a high profile in the competing spheres of business and politics...
suggesting mass sterilization; a town mayor calling Aboriginal people 'savages', and a Queensland Graziers Association spokesperson dividing people into 'true Aborigines' and 'hybrids').
On line Newspaper articles
- David Alias (5 September 1980) "Blacks List Top Target: Bauxite Mines will face ban" The Age8 June 2010
.
On-line video clip
- Victorian Department of Education and Early Childhood Development's "Couldn't be Fairer" video clip download pageAccessed 8 June 2010<
External links
- Dennis O'Rourke & Mick Miller's "Couldn't Be Fairer" Camerwork webpage (includes photo of 1980s Mick Miller)Accessed 8 June 2010
- http://www.nga.gov.au/Exhibition/NIAT07/Detail.cfm?IRN=163688&BioArtistIRN=6109&mystartrow=109&realstartrow=109National Gallery of AustraliaNational Gallery of AustraliaThe National Gallery of Australia is the national art gallery of Australia, holding more than 120,000 works of art. It was established in 1967 by the Australian government as a national public art gallery.- Establishment :...
's 'Culture warriors' exhibition]Accessed 4 June 2010 - Martin Ferguson MP (7 April 1998) House of Representatives 'Aboriginal Rights' speech. Hansard Accessed 7 June 2010