Joe, you and Leak, the cartoonist should get together. I am sure that you could provide him with enough material to produce a weekly commentary for many editions of the newspaper.

David

Totally agree Joe. Nepotism and powerful families control funding in indigenous organisations and those indigenous brave enough to challenge the system soon get shot down in flames and give up trying, unless they are incredibly strong and able to withstand the constant abuse and name calling. People like Anthony Dillon and Bess Price come to mind.
My issue with funding is that despite many organisations going bankrupt, despite lack of measurable outcomes, the government still keeps funding these projects, all in the name of " Closing the Gap".
If indigenous people are going to learn self management they have to be allowed to fail and find their own way back. If that means cutting back on services or reducing staff levels, so be it. Measurable outcomes need to be listed in all grant applications and if those outcomes are not met, then funding is not renewed.
Even the ongoing issue of indigenous housing in remote areas could be solved by applying the same rules that apply elsewhere. All tenants pay rent and pay for all damages. If correct rents were collected, there would be a reliable stream of money with which to build new houses. As it is, very little rent is paid on houses crammed with people, leading to constant damage to the building and no money to build more.
We need to start treating aboriginal people the same as everyone else, no excuses. There are too many examples of successful aboriginal people to continue with the myth that special allowances need to made to enable aboriginal people to progress.

Great article Brucey!*

Note: I'm still holding my epiphany. Your mugshot still looks like Sonny Hammond (out of Skippy)...
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Uh8WY_nFSWk/VUny9EOsr-I/AAAAAAAAADk/__Y1w1tNQO0/s1600/url.jpg

* I'll stand by you if you grape farm (at Mudgee) turns to wine. http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/author.asp?id=4504 Put me down for 10 cases, purleaze, and send the High Court the Bill.

Oh, and may your olives turn to guaranteed triple virgin (oil).

Hi Joe

Further to your observations about higher numbers of indigenous graduates.

At a uni I was attending there were a few PhD scholarships. With special preference going to Indigenous Women.

On such topics as:

"What My Aunt Mabel Said to Me About Her Rabbit Proof Fence Experience Over Long Cups of Tea For The "Three" (cross that out) Four Years Of The Scholarship".

Bruce had to give us another baseless, lying assertion that the flaws in the aboriginal community are all caused by white men
In his twisted and distorted view, he has evidence:” It's the condescension, it's the awkwardness, it's the body language, and it's the conversational tone. It's the inability to converse in any meaningful way, to get on the wave length. It's the lack of understanding of others lives, struggles and pain. “
Yes, the twisted lefty view of the decent, respectable white man. That is something that Bruce can never be, due to the self-imposed mental disability of being a lefty, and incapable of taking an honest view of the world.
There are plenty of aboriginals who take responsibility for being aboriginal, and have made a start to forming an educated self reliant aboriginal community, despite the efforts of miserable, dishonest lefties like Bruce trying to mislead them and cripple their efforts.

Leo lane.

I thought the author was making the point that non-aboriginal NGO's were failing in their attempt to assist Aboriginal communities to live a more tolerable life.
Obviously you didn't see it that way....I believe though, that many Aboriginals are intimidated in the presence of whites. I don't see that as racist though necessarily.
There are places whites should not go in my opinion, Aboriginal missions is one of them; and for the reason the author observed, it has a bad look if you are Aborigional.