Third world living in a first world country?

There is a story in this morning's paper about the community in Irrkerlantye. It is a tiny place outside Alice Springs. The fifteen to twenty people there live in "third world" conditions. 

It certainly looks wrong, especially in a first world country. The people there live in tin sheds. They have no running water, sewage or electricity.  In summer it is much too hot. In winter it is much too cold. All this is of course by modern standards, standards of what is now acceptable. Prior to white settlement the situation was far worse.

Curiously I was talking to someone not so long ago about something similar. Years ago I taught a child from Uluru. She was boarding in the city. Her parents worked at "the Rock". They were good, hard working people who did the best they could in often difficult circumstances. Their immense respect for the local indigenous people was obvious. They did their best to work with them. I remember their concern at the way in which external forces were working against the best interests of the local people. 

It sounded good. It went along the lines of "we want to preserve the culture and the language" and "we want to respect the rights of the local people" and "we want to acknowledge the original owners". All of this is very laudable - and it prevents things from being done.

While it may sound as if things are being done there are sometimes consequences. People no longer come to climb "the Rock". It has been out of bounds for some years now. We were told that this was for cultural reasons and the dangers involved. The reality? The local people didn't climb it because there was no reason to climb it. They simply don't see any purpose in doing so. The formation and the surrounding area do have great spiritual significance. I know there are places around the base of Uluru I would not enter without invitation. It would be like walking into a mosque, synagogue or temple and participating in a service without invitation. 

But hundreds of thousands of people did climb Uluru. Most of them who did were, as they saw it, respectful. They did no more damage than feet do anywhere else. They did not leave graffiti or garbage. In doing so they also brought in money and employment to the local community. They would stay overnight. They were learning at least something about the local people and their culture, beliefs and customs. It was something indigenous people were, rightly, proud of being able to do.

But the balance has changed. The person I was talking to tells me it is very different now. It's a commercial venture for some but, for the local people, it is not the same any more. I am left wondering what price we are paying for "preserving language and culture".