Haven Back Packer Resort

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Coordinates: 23°42′06.90″S, 133°52′25″E The Haven Backpacker Resort in Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australian provides low cost dormitory style accommodation. It is owned by Adventure Tours Australia As at March 2008 it claimed to be the newest bacpackers resort in Alice Springs[1].

The resort gained national fame[2] on Monday 11 March 2008 when the ABC's Lateline program claimed that a group of young native Australian trainee lifesavers had been asked to leave allegedly because of the colour of their skin.[3]

The trainees, mostly young women, had been chosen because of their leadership abilities and were being trained by the Royal Life Saving Society Australia so that they could ensure the safety of people using the new swimming pool at their community of Yuendumu.

According to Rob Bradley, CEO Royal Life Saving Society Australia a staff member had been taken aside and told that the trainees would have to go. He said that there was an excuse that there had been a complaint by other guests but added that "looking into that there was no complaint, there was no reason, it was just pure racism."[3]

The hostel's explanation for the action varied somewhat with the passage of time. On the night of the incident (Saturday 9 March) the manager told Lateline that the hostel had acted as a result of complaints by guests but on Monday the manager provided a statement stating that the trainees had been asked to leave because "Haven Hostel is a backpacker hostel catering for international backpacking tourists, which this group was not... so alternative accommodation was sought and arranged with their consultation on their behalf. We also offered to pay for that night's accommodation."[3]

By Tuesday the owners of the hostel had issued an apology for the alleged racism, had denied that the group had been asked to leave and had claimed that the group was in fact encouraged to stay. A joint owner of the company confirmed that international back packers had complained but stated that the management had offered to move the back packers to alternative accommodation and had not asked the lifesavers to move.[4][5]

On Thursday The Age carried a report that a former employee of the hostel claimed that exclusion of Aborigines was a well understood, though not written, policy of the hostel management. It also reported that the company which owns the hostel was revisiting its investigation[6]

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Haven Website". Retrieved on 2008-03-13.
  2. ^ ""Google List of News Items referring to Haven Incident"", Google News. Retrieved on 2008-03-13. 
  3. ^ a b c "Young Aboriginal lifesavers claim racism after being kicked out of their accommodation", Lateline, ABC, 10 March 2008. Retrieved on 2008-03-12. 
  4. ^ "Macklin concerned by alleged hostel racism", News, ABC, 11 March 2008. Retrieved on 2008-03-12. 
  5. ^ "Hostel owners deny group's expulsion", The Australian, News Ltd, 12 March 2008. Retrieved on 2008-03-13. 
  6. ^ "Further complaint over hostel racism", The Age, Fairfax, 13 March 2008. Retrieved on 2008-03-13.