Hi Wolly,

As the Report suggested, yes, that's likely, although it's all a bit academic, since life in remote hell-holes (to use Mal Brough's apt words) and 'town camps' must be so deadly boring that getting drunk every day is one of the only ways to pass the time, with ghastly consequences for women and kids.

Frankly, I suspect that on the whole, 'communities' are past their use-by date, and that services to them should be gradually withdrawn over the next ten years or so. It is now glaringly obvious that very few enterprises will ever get going in remote 'communities', that children will, each generation, be even less skilled than their parents, less 'cultural' if you like, more damaged human beings. Big Nana may know of exceptions, but I suspect that nothing much good will ever come out of such 'communities'.

We each have only one life and I'm appalled that yet another generation of young Aboriginal kids may have to spend theirs in such hell-holes and grow up to be destroyed human beings, to destroy the next generation in turn.

Joe

Loudmouth, James A Michener wrote some very interesting books, one I remember very poignantly described, the affects that alcohol had on the lives of the eskimo's.

Whole villages would starve to death during the winter, because the hunters, instead of hunting and creating a food store for the winter, spent their time getting drunk.

Hi Wolly,

Yes, thanks to our welfare system, and newly-learned techniques of standing over grandmothers and aunties and girlfriends, there is plenty of cash to buy as much grog and drugs as any humbugger wants. And plenty of Toyotas to bring it in with - including those used solely by the chairpersons of 'communities'. Nobody needs to freeze to death while there is a bountiful welfare system. Plus royalties. Plus thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, of salaries for do-nothing jobs.

And I wonder how often 'community health workers' use their positions to enrich themselves bringing in the drugs and grog that are so much in demand, and for which they can command such high prices ?

So: an endless cycle of the most brutal violence against women and children, all fuelled by guaranteed lifelong unemployment and uninterrupted income flow. Sweet, for some.

So: what is one good reason for 'communities' ? Anybody ?

Joe