Desert Fish,

After reading those pages from AHRC it seems to be a gross misrepresentation of the facts according to the Abstudy and Austudy payment tables cited earlier in the discussion. I think I need to write to the AHRC and ask them to explain this apparent contradiction.
Yet more Leftist Propaganda.

Thanks.

@Desert fish
Please refer me to the government program that will pay for a non-indigenous high-school child of an impoverished background in an isolated area $8k in a lump sum, plus some more direct to the school, plus a fortnightly living allowance, plus, plus, to go to boarding school in the city instead of doing school of the air.

Please refer me to the Centrelink benefit that will pay $900 or so a fortnight as a basic living allowance for a non-indigenous person to study a masters or doctorate.

Answer those two, and I'm more than happy to revisit the issue of whether or not you do or don't get more for just being black. Because on this point thus far the answer would seem to be: Yes.

The AHRC is actually wrong when they say that you don't get additional income, and it's only special programs, unless they are counting the much higher payment rates of Abstudy as a program which they shouldn't be.

Do special programs need to be in place to help overcome disadvantage? Yes - I said that in the post. Have your Indigenous study support centers and alternative entry pathways and scholarships.

But the base level of support has to be the same, and it has to be the same rules, and it has to be called the same thing, or this question of equality is always going to be raised.
- Kathryn

Abstudy & Austudy have no proven track record so why not replace them both with a two-year non-military National Service ?

...Well Joe, you win the award for living in the ideal world!

First of all, I thought you were meant do the research so go ask Centrelink & AHRC yourself!

I highly doubt there's many 'white' kids in remote communities who go without & I'm sure some of the station owners would be real happy to swap places with some bush community Aboriginal (or 'black' as you like to refer to us) families and the dilapidated housing stocks with the 'brand new' refurbed kitchens or bathrooms they were 'gifted' as well!?

If you really want to look at rorts then ask Nigel Scullion (CLP senator who supports Abstudy) about how much was wasted on SIHIP or Income Management and who benefits most from the intervention, Canberra's non-Indigenous next gen red tape robots.

Perhaps there needs to be better streamlining of systems but it's easy for this to just be thinly vieled 'black bashing' so don't wave the banner of 'equality for all' one minute then turn your back when it suits (namely when the RDA was suspended for the NTER/Intervention)... it's called consistency!
PS. When was the last time you walked a mile (in a remote community)?

@Desert Fish... I'd already done the research.
If the assistance is for geographic isolation I would have no problem with that, but pay it on that basis, not on race. In which case yes, a non-indigenous child of say a stock hand on a remote station - but not the station owner due to means testing/eligibility - would equally be able to go to boarding school with the same level of government assistance. That is not currently the case.

I use indigenous and non-indigenous in most of my writing. I use black and white when quoting or referring to those who taught me, because those blackfellas, whom I adore and have enormous respect for, only use the fancy words when the suits from Canberra are around. They say black kids and white kids the rest of the time. As I was talking about a principle they had taught me in the post it seemed appropriate to use the language they had taught me the principle in. This post was originally on my blog and only for my normal audience - I probably should have cleaned it up before it got reposted here but whatever.

I don't support the intervention. I think you may have tried to imply that there, so I just wanted to state that.

-Kathryn