ABSTRACT The Cape York Welfare Reform (CYWR) income management regime commenced in 2008. While this regime was supported and funded by the Queensland and federal governments, it was essentially developed by the Cape York Institute for Policy and Leadership (CYI), which was known as an Aboriginal policy development think tank. Income management in Cape York involves quarantining between 60% and 90% of a person's social security payment, if the person is deemed to have breached particular social responsibilities. The decision to income manage social security payments of CYWR community members, was based on a belief and writings by the CYI that there was a social norms deficit in Cape York communities, which income management could play a role in addressing. The language used by the CYI to describe Cape York community life was negative in the extreme, dramatic and evocative. This language, which I describe as deficit discourse, commanded a response to what was described as a dire situation. This article frames this deficit discourse in the broader and continuing context of colonisation. This discourse has been applied consistently throughout Australia's colonial history, perpetuating racial discrimination and justifying continuous governmental intervention into Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people's lives.

中文翻译：

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赤字话语——约克角福利改革之前的“真理制度”

摘要 约克角福利改革 (CYWR) 收入管理制度于 2008 年开始。虽然该制度得到昆士兰州和联邦政府的支持和资助，但它本质上是由约克角政策与领导研究所 (CYI) 制定的，该研究所被称为作为土著政策发展智囊团。约克角的收入管理涉及隔离一个人的社会保障金的 60% 到 90%，如果该人被认为违反了特定的社会责任。对 CYWR 社区成员的社会保障金进行收入管理的决定是基于 CYI 的信念和著作，即约克角社区存在社会规范缺陷，收入管理可以在解决这一问题上发挥作用。CYI 用来描述约克角社区生活的语言是极端消极的、戏剧性的和令人回味的。这种语言，我称之为赤字话语，对被描述为可怕的情况做出了回应。本文在更广泛和持续的殖民化背景下构建了这种赤字话语。这种话语在澳大利亚的殖民历史中始终如一地应用，延续了种族歧视，并为政府对土著和托雷斯海峡岛民的生活进行持续干预提供了理由。