For starters, sentence is spelt with an 'e' not an 'a'
But i agree with you and was wondering the exact same thing - that's how i found this post.
After a bit of research, however, [and it's not that difficult to do research] i came to realise that the "executive" Bandler refers to is, in fact, the collective group of elected council members, rather than just simply one individual.
“It had a multiracial executive and a greater ability to mobilise community support than other exclusively Aboriginal organizations because of its organizational links with trade unions, churches and other bodies interested in promoting Aboriginal rights; and its very close association with the Australian Labor Party [ALP], senior members of which were on its executive.”
This in mind, the sentence in question starts to make more sense. One could assume that, yes, she is talking about the FCAATSI as being poverty stricken. From what i've found "the organisation...did not seek funds from the government for fear of having it's hands tied". However, another document directly contradicts this in saying, "when the federal government suddenly cut FCAATSI's funding in 1978 it was forced to wind up its affairs".
I, personally, would suggest that Bandler is referring to the "matters that had to do with equal wages...housing, education opportunities, freedom of movement" etc. which she lists further on in the paragraph. 'It' is the actual socio-economic status of the Indigenous Australians at the time which Bandler describes as being "the most poverty stricken in the whole of Australia", hence, the FCAATSI "had to mobilise the forces [of community support] to meet those needs".
Another sentence earlier on - "it's not 50 years since Indigenous Australians has the right to citizenship" - doesn't make sense either. Possibly a typo, as it should be 'had'.
So, who knows, there's probably even an entire sentence missing in this case. The point of the matter is that, as responders, we can only interpret the intentions of the composer or assume the true meaning of any text.
