Milton James and Abia Ingui

Peter Botsman The Australian 1/5/03 www.boysfromthebush.org.au

What would turn a young indigenous hoodlum into a proud, respectful, strong young man?

It's not jail, courts, police, counselling or conventional social work.

You have to use powerful weapons, such as deep empathy, the bush and the sea, work and the strength of a strong group. That's the message of Milton James, who has done what few can do and many think impossible.

James works through Cape York Partnerships in north Queensland. He might have been sacked, shifted, blocked, short-circuited on many occasions, but he has survived the ravages of juvenile justice and the child protection bureaucracy to create a multi-dimensional program that is simply astounding.

This is what civic entrepreneurship – using the resources of government to make a difference – is all about.

In steady numbers, Cape York courts and community elders justice groups are referring young people who have committed crimes or been involved in self-destructive behaviour to James.

The first step is environmental. James quotes a 17-year-old Aboriginal boy from a Cape York community. "You can't stop the drinking here. The only way to stop is to get out of this place."

In devising each program, says James, "there is no substitute for deep understanding. There is often an emptiness in a young indigenous person's soul with no life tools to fight back. You have to create those tools."

The celebrated strategy James has created is called Boys from the Bush. "Camping rough in the bush with its discomforts and challenges can develop life-enhancing qualities of self-control, self-reliance, endurance and co-operation," says James.

Make no mistake, this is no simple camping trip. At a minimum the controlled bush camp environment provides a respite from excessive drinking, petrol sniffing and violence. Young people return feeling physically and psychologically healthier. In addition, James creates a powerful group environment in which pride, culture, resilience and enterprise replace a US-inspired Boyz N the Hood self-image and behaviour.

Step by step James offers each boy the possibility of a partnership in the production, sale and marketing of what he calls "21st-century indigenous products" harvested from the bush – pure melaleuca and eucalyptus oils that are unique, valuable and highly marketable.

In harvesting the raw materials, young people – many of whom come from at least two generations of welfare-dependent families – learn how to work efficiently and effectively. The bush camps establish a routine of working, teamwork and problem solving.

Boys learn the relationship between profitable work and income. They learn to assemble and operate a distillation plant for extracting oil, about the medicinal, cosmetic and industrial uses of eucalyptus and melaleuca oils, and about the eucalyptus and tea-tree oil industry.

After the bush camps, the young participants sell their products to locals and tourists from their market stalls in Cairns and Kuranda. All the profits are shared according to individual productivity. Boys are taught about marketing, labelling, price formation, operational efficiency and selling methods.

Young men learn that true Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men do not take drugs and commit crimes – they are strong, resilient and earn money the proper way.

The results are remarkable. In Mossman, while the program was operating, police report that none of the young people re-offended and Children's Court appearances fell from seven each month to fewer than one.

Continued hindrances of juvenile justice and conventional child-protection bureaucrats to this program are hard to understand. The darker realisation is that under the guise of benevolence and proper practice, there is an industry funded by taxpayers that effectively perpetuates more Los Angeles-style gangs and hoodlums.

In this context, strengthening entrepreneurial government workers – civic entrepreneurs such as James – is a national priority. The civic entrepreneurship conference on May 22-23 in Canberra will explore the prospects and promise of these new practices of government. It will be a learning process that no government official can afford to miss.

For more information about Boys from the Bush go to www.boysfromthebush.org.au.