Aboriginal Artists Say Code May Stymie Bad Deals, Fuel Sales

Australia has launched a draft code regulating the sale of Aboriginal art, worth as much as A$500 million ($330 million) per year. It aims to outlaw so-called carpetbagging, when dealers exploit artists and buy their work cheaply for alcohol or drugs.

“This industry is not regulated and sometimes people buy paintings cheaply and rip us off,” Kulitju, who was paid A$2,050 for a painting which later sold for A$15,000, said by telephone on Dec. 29 from Mututjulu in central Australia. “This code will help us get a fair price and stop exploitation.”

The Australia Council code bans the sale of art for drugs or alcohol. It says buyers must not take advantage of an artist who is ill, affected by drugs or alcohol or who does not understand the terms of the sale.

Indigenous Australians are almost three times more likely than non-indigenous to get a disease. Half indigenous adults smoke, compared with 11 percent of non-indigenous. Some 55 percent drink alcohol at risky levels and Aborigines die on average 17 years younger than other Australians, government figures show.