Southern politician looks up to Nunavut

KIRSTEN MURPHY

Larry Graham says opposites attract — or at least make suitable political allies.

The MLA for Pilbara, a region in Australia’s dry, northwestern state of Queensland, recently visited the eastern Arctic. Along with carvings and snow goggles, Graham left with names and numbers that will help him introduce the practice of government decentralization to the 27,000 residents of Australia’s remote outback.

Northern Australia and Canada’s newest territory bear several striking similarities.

“We have small populations spread out over a large area of land, difficulty in developing and delivering government services, and we’re totally dominated by weather,” Graham said. “When it’s -30 C here, it’s 40 C there. Imagine sticking your head in an oven and trying to work.”

Cyclones and rising tides each summer cause offices and airports to shut down.

However, decentralization is not a new idea Down Under.

Two attempts to relocate jobs and services throughout Australia’s non-metropolitan regions failed after the collapse of two separate mining booms — one at the turn of the century and one as recently as the 1970s. But, as with most resource-driven economies, once mineral extraction ran out, so did the money needed to keep services running.

Graham wants to re-introduce decentralization using the contemporary example of Nunavut.

“The rest of the Western world is about reducing government spending, reducing government services from the smaller communities and locating them as hubs [in larger centers].

“Your government has done exactly the opposite. You seem to do it extraordinarily well and in ways that Western experts are saying is impossible to do. You are leading in the direction I think we should go toward,” he said.

Aware decentralization is not without its faults, Graham still sees the practice as a building block to improving health care, transportation and education in rural communities.

Graham’s visit came a few weeks after he met Premier Paul Okalik at an Aboriginal treaty conference in Sydney, Australia. Although already booked to fly to Iqaluit, Graham’s trip was enhanced by his inaugural meeting with the premier south of the equator.

Okalik welcomed the opportunity to show off his territory.

“There are a lot of areas of commonalties…. In the state they’re in, they’re lagging behind on the socio-economic ladder and we’d love to find ways to work together,” Okalik said.

During his south-eastern Baffin visit, Graham met with health officials in Pangnirtung. He also spoke with government representatives of various departments.

Graham’s said his interest in decentralization comes honestly.

Before he turned 10 years old, the curious youth had visited all six Australian states and attended five schools — a consequence of his father’s job with the Air Force.

While attending high school in Perth, he played football with aboriginal youths. Years later, upon returning to Northern Australia to work, he was struck by the differences between aboriginal and non-aboriginal residents.

“The only difference between me and them was I was white and they were aboriginal and they were dying and I was still there. If you have any social conscience, something like that is going to make you sit up and take notice,” he said.

Graham’s Nunavut visit was not one-sided. He happily shared his thoughts on northern Australia’s growing eco-tourism industry. He credits crocodile wrangler Steve Irwin and the 2000 Olympics with putting Australia on the map.

“People come to see the stars, feel the heat, walk the gorges, swim in the water holes and see the wildflowers.”

But more than rugged landscapes and dramatic weather, Graham sees his ties with Nunavut as long-lasting. His goal is to start pen-pal correspondence between schools and keep in regular contact with the government of Nunavut.

“There’s a lot we can learn from you and your system,” he said.