I have a hairdresser friend I gave a little push to help start her own business.
She does mobile hairdressing and gets her clients from facebook from existing clients and word of mouth.
No advertising costs, no salon rent costs, no employee costs.
She does a good job and is a people person who's well liked by her clients and has become somewhat sought after, sometimes booked out many weeks in advance.
A good job / product at a reasonable price sells itself.
She already owned an economical car (Getz) when she made the move from employee to starting her own business.

So all she needed to start her own business was a little bit of confidence that she could do it; a new basic model $700 Dell laptop; being sent in the direction of a bookkeeper and enough initial products on hand to get started.

I doubt it cost her any more than a few thousand all together and now she's quite successful.
And she didn't need to ask anyone for anything to get started.
She used money she'd saved herself when working for others previously as an employee.

Now that she has all the work she needs she's planning on buying a home and using a front room as a salon.
I haven't talked to her in a while, she might've achieved this already.

More depressing evidence of rorting and feeding at the bottomless tax payer trough. Whoever ticked this one off, should be charged with fraud!
And there lies the seat of the problem; Government accountability.
The problem with the Aboriginal "problem", is the irresponsible Government handling of Aboriginal issues.
This hairdressing example is, quite frankly, the micro view of the overall debacle.

If the author is following the discussion, he may find it profitable to refer to previous discussions on OLO.

To the posts from Loudmouth and Big Nana especially, here,
http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?article=18502&page=2
and here,
http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?article=18502&page=3
as examples.

Also, the relevant reports and best practice guides over the years from the government's own auditor the Australian National Audit Office.

Unfortunately for you and the free market acolytes on this forum there is no such thing as a free market and there never will be so stop kidding yourselves

John Ryan, maybe you would comment sensibly on this issue, and elaborate on your views which appear from your two liner, opposed to market forces!
This example of a hairdresser for Warburton, is actually a training exercise for local youth. which makes the enterprise one primarily of training not marketing.

It is condescending. What it effectively teaches youth in Warburton, is to sit in the back blocks of Australia, and wait for the real world to catch up.

The vast majority of youth growing up in rural Australia, will rise to the challenge, and move to larger towns for work and training. This is how things work from the practicle application and expectation of entering the workforce at the bottom.

The realistic market forces are, with this example, intercepted. The author is correct to criticise.

I can't get my head around why someone needs $ 260,000 to start up a hairdressing business. Surely there would be a room available in the council chambers or elsewhere at Warburton, so there's cheap or even free accommodation for a start.

I suppose my thing is vegetable gardens and orchards: I tried to get one going after work on one Mission, but nobody else was interested. But for all the bleating about fresh vegetables, why not ? I wouldn't be surprised if there is not one anywhere in remote communities - and please don't talk about lack of resources: check out Google Earth, any remote community with more than 20 or 30 people and you will see sewage ponds a mile or so out of town, which means running water, which means the possibility of watering gardens.

How much would it cost someone to start up a vegetable garden , say a mile out of town, to discourage 'borrowers' ? Even with a walk-behind cultivator, plus spades, forks, piping, etc., you could probably have change left over from five thousand dollars.

As my son says, "Just add the miracle ingredient: effort !"

And those sewage usually come in two, one filled and drying out, the other being filled. Treated, that would be excellent manure for a garden and an orchard.

But don't hold your breath.

Joe

' But for all the bleating about fresh vegetables, why not ? I wouldn't be surprised if there is not one anywhere in remote communities'

well Loudmouth for a short time in Wiluna they had a very fruitful garden. Problem they ran out of workers. The folk of Warbuton travel across to Alice Springs or down to Laverton/Kaloorlie so at times the community empties out. Unfortuntaly 40 degree temps and walk about don't make for good market gardens unless you employ a few whities to stay and water.

If it was for training? Then $266,000.00 would have been better spent, in my view, on a workshop that taught rudimentary metal work, welding, blacksmith, cabinet making, tiling, plastering, plumbing and competent wiring/electrical skills! And all the ancillary skills needed to build houses and repair existing dwellings!

Once folk can build and maintain their own villages, time enough to focus on cosmetic service industries? A nicely piled hairstyle is not going to keep the rain off your head, nor allow you to sleep in your own bed safe at night!

There's a lot of cart before the horse here, and typical of bean counters with no practical real world experience? Then there's the obligatory diesel engine and off world fuel bills!

Better we set up sewerage treatment plants that turned raw waste into fuel that could be consumed on site in ceramic fuel cells! Which in turn would allow light, night time study with laptops etc. And maybe, with the assistance of a few solar panels/battery walls, get some cottage industries going, making or processing stuff?

Needle craft, leather craft, whip and saddle making, dressmaking, spinning, dyeing, weaving. Some of which could be exported as finished products to nearby larger centres?

There was a time when most rural fuel stops carried hand sewn moccasins! And nice as comfortable slippers you could pad around the house in. Just not out there anymore?

Other practical stuff would include market gardening and food production? Most of which would be marketed via a locally owned and operated community store.

A few igloos and shade houses, would empower practical self help assistance? There could be a low care nursing home, which provided employment for a few younger members; helped by regular fly in and fly out training day clinics, Dental, and Doctor's? There's much more but you get the picture?

By the way and off topic, laptop is now repaired and doing duty once again. Five days to disinfect! Whew!
Alan B.

Obviously runner joe and I at the least have some first hand knowledge of how the practicality of Aboriginal enterprise works. Runner hit on a solution inadvertently by suggesting a mixture of whites and Aboriginals working on projects with practicle application and positive outcomes.

In my situation at the time in the NW of NSW, the closure of the CDEP floored working and successful enterprises in predominantly Aboriginal communities. God knows who was advising John Howard, but he got it totally wrong in closing the CDEP.

The working mixed race gangs from the area, worked harmoniously on market gardening and residential housing maintenance, wood carting to service pensioners particularly, in towns in the area.

Local (mostly Aboriginal) women were employed in administration and coordinating work gangs. Charges for services were kept within the economic capability of the clients, and all was sweet.

An obligation for mostly Aboriginal youth existed, to work on gangs for a set number of hours, for which they were paid an hourly rate, and enforced by Centrelink; TAFE was onboard to improve skills of the workers, and the application of a work ethic was learned over time.

The CDEP was an interconnected Aboriginal working enterprise: it worked well because this is how Aboriginal communities are normally connected to each other. Word of mouth, and who you are, not what you are!

Don't you blokes ever stop for a moment and think there must be more to the story? Or is that just a little too much work for the keyboard warriors? You really have become the chattering class haven't you?

The 'social change' hair salon in Warburton is the culmination of many years of work by a real character who goes by the name of Starlady Starlady and boy is she going to get you old farts in a lather, especially runner.

Here is a link to an ABC story done over 3 years ago;

http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2013/07/09/3799232.htm

“Warburton has been one of the more challenging communities to work with, Star Lady said. She visits three or four times a year to run hairdressing and fashion workshops. Star Lady passes on practical hair dressing and beauty skills, but also works with organisations to promote healthy lifestyles and talk about drug and alcohol issues as well as sexual health.”

Here is Starlady's facebook page where she celebrates the news of the funding;

http://www.facebook.com/starlady.nungari/posts/906455559483323

I first learned about Starlady after seeing a 360 Degree documentary about her work a few years ago. It isn't available online but here is a link to the distributor with a short clip.

http://360degreefilms.com.au/productions/queen-of-the-desert/

Starlady's full on personality is admittedly a little confronting to start with but the way she interacts with the community soon wins you over.

I thoroughly welcome the funding. Starlady's efforts over many years have obviously been deemed to have had a positive impact and been able to engage youth in these communities where others have struggled. She should be proud of what she has initiated and I wish her and the Warburton community every success. Good on her.

In all seriousness, I think these indigenous folk have to decide whether they want to be Australians or not. Being half pregnant is no longer an option.

Let's face it, to invest in a hairdressing salon, with just 800 people, less working than not, just does not pass the test. The bank would not lend the money, so why should the tax payer.

We need to dismantle these remote Indigenous communities, or at the very least, stop throwing money at them. If one chooses to live like an Aborigine, then go right ahead, hunt and gather all you like, but not at Centrelink.

The time has come for tough choices to be made, like it or not because we have wasted far too much and have far too many worthless causes to fund now and the cash cow has dried up.

Add the billions wasted on Indigenous issues to the billions on illegal arrivals, and its little wonder we cant fund our services.

Time to wake up folks.

Hi Steele,

Long time no hear :) I guess, if someone dropped $ 260,000 in my lap, I would suddenly develop a full-on personality too. At that rate, I would hone up my skills as a mechanic, fireman, plumber, geologist, and brain surgeon.

$ 260,000 ? It would be cheaper to send a hairdresser from Kalgoorlie or Alice Springs by helicopter, weekly. As Butch says, for 800 people ?

I wonder what else one could get out of $ 260,000 - as well as a hairdresser's salon - at Warburton ?

Call me racist all you like but I used to say to my late wife, about her community's twelve thousand acres of good, drought-free country - that instead of winding it down and running a couple of hundred head of beef cattle, they could lease it out to a thousand Vietnamese who would have the entire 12,000 acres under some form or other of economic activity within a year.

One problem with a Cargo Cult is that there may be no way out of it. Why work ? Welfare. So why should kids bother to go to school ? Why look after your kids if there are enough social workers to do it for you ? As one bloke said to me, why water your yard and grow something like a lawn if the prickles will just come up too ? Yes, indeed: why put effort into anything ?

Does anybody remember Oscar Lewis's notion of a self-generating 'Culture of Poverty' ? I don't know about the 'Poverty' bit, but the intergenerational transmission of a 'Culture' certainly seems to get more entrenched, with each generation. Time for another look at Lewis, my kind of Marxist.

Meanwhile, statistics are no out on Indigenous higher education for 2015: commencements, enrolments and graduations all up by about eight per cent: bearing in mind that an Indigenous university-age age-group numbers about eleven thousand, six thousand commenced study last year; sixteen thousand were enrolled; 2,190 graduated. Total graduates now: about forty thousand.

No opportunities ? Poor bugger Black fella ?

Joe

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-02/social-change-hairdressing-building-communities/7131418

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-07-30/remote-fashion-festival-drives-social-change/7675034

My initial thoughts were of Australian taxpayers being ripped off but theres more to this hairdresser thing than meets the eye.

Now looking at the costs, I don't think this wasn't a grant for a hairdresser to start their own business (which I already made the case would not cost a lot to get started).
This seems more like a grant to a SJW who came up with an idea to hire a hairdresser and bring this service to the town.
So I'm assuming a large part of the costs is going to pay the white hairdresser and maybe the SJW for 'management'.

I want to change my original stance, slightly.
I do feel that this hairdressing thing is beneficial to the town and I support it, but certainly not to the tune of $270,000.
Maybe 10 or 20 grand tops, plus a contribution towards the cost of a qualified hairdresser would be more than sufficient.
And preferably an unemployed indigenous hairdresser who's willing to teach others.
I'd also support real measures that gave these people jobs.
How could the same thing have been achieved for less?

Ultimately it's a band-aid treatment, and I'd really like to know how much went into white peoples pockets.
Theres no point wasting money improving peoples peace of mind of you don't provide them with jobs and an opportunity to do better for themselves within their community.

Fellow commenters are outraged towards the indigenous on this topic, but the ripoff scams actually being pulled by whites, not blacks.
Please do not disrespect the indigenous for what whites do.
I want to see a breakup of where the $266,000 was spent.

Question.

Why do the theses towns continue to exist.?

Historically a Mission , usually run by a Church ,gathered in the locals to form a 'new' Town that could not support itself. This was Warburton 80 years ago

Where does their internal income come from , the income a town needs to continue to exist.?

If this was a typical Western Queensland town of 471 (as Warburton), it would long ago have shut down.

Incidentally , Warburton is 'dry'

Armchair critic: As a fellow commentator you referenced, you obviously failed to read my comment correctly, arriving at the conclusion I blame Aboriginals entirely,
But certainly some blame for their own dilemma lies with them.
The whole of the Aboriginal salvation industry is motivated by Government "thought bubbles" and knee jerk beuracratic reactionaries!

I subscribe to Rectub's view, but it goes too far, and thus follows the form of beurocratic reactionaries...no, there is simply a need for Goverment suppliers of funding for thought bubbles, to stop their compliance to lobby groups from NGO's, and whoever else chews their ear off for personal benifit.

Steele Redux. You must be joking! Your either of two things, ( judging by your comment), totally stupid believing your TV set is delivering you the truthful message, or your one of the Aboriginal brigade, who are very happy in a life protected by Government stupidity, and an endless supply of hardworking tax payers money, streaming in to support a budging lifestyle! Which is it?

There is an additional problem surrounding all this.
On TV last week there was an "aboriginal" youngish woman talking about
I have forgotten what, but it matters not, and she was putting an
aboriginal point of view and claiming to be aborigine.
She was whiter than any of my sons and had green eyes.
The point I am raising is when is an aboriginal not an aboriginal ?
I have no idea whether she was 25% aboriginal or 12 1/2 % or whatever
but as the years go by aborigines will become less and less so.

Genealogy shows that those here from the UK are almost certain to be
descended from Richard the Lionheart or Richard the 3rd or some other
King of England. If you go far enough back we all have common ancestors.
So, why should those that can trace some aboriginality be able to
carry through the entitlements forever ?

There has to be a limit, otherwise in a hundred years or so almost
everyone will be able to claim to be an aborigine.
It is this factor which is showing an increase in their numbers.

Now if those comments were on Twitter or some facebook there would be
an absolute rage going on and this is why no one but me has raised the question.

Dear Armchair Critic,

Thank you for at least taking the time to learn about the issue. I would make the point that neither of us are close enough to truly assess the legitimacy of funding amount, but this program appears to have been road tested in many countries with notable results and I for one am happy to see it get a start in Warburton.

Having lived in the NT for nearly three years I have fond memories of going to school with loads of indigenous kids but that was in Darwin proper. I didn't experience the challenges more remote communities face in engaging youth.

I live in a rural township two and a half times the size of Warburton (with two large hairdressing salons) and we recently spent as much on a skate boarding park. I don't begrudge the park one bit but the funding in Warburton would seem to have a far greater chance of doing some real good. The teaching and empowering of particularly aboriginal teenagers may well build confidence and set the foundations for seeking meaningful employment in the future. I wish it every success.

Dear Joe,

You wrote;

“I guess, if someone dropped $ 260,000 in my lap, I would suddenly develop a full-on personality too. At that rate, I would hone up my skills as a mechanic, fireman, plumber, geologist, and brain surgeon.”

You paint yourself as a researcher yet you did not bother to look at the facts even when I spoon-fed them to you. Starlady is not the one who gets this money.

Come on mate, you can do better. Go have a look at the program properly and then give us your opinion. I would be interested to hear what you think.

Dear rehctub,

You wrote; “I think these indigenous folk have to decide whether they want to be Australians or not.”

Mate, there are times when you really do leave me shaking my head. These 'folk' were here a long time before your or my ancestors came dragging their chains. You are just a newbie my friend.

Hi Bazz,

Are you suggesting that people are 'renting out' their Aboriginality, and wringing as much out of it as they possibly can ? After all, if they can get it recognised, it's recognised for life ?

That's a very serious and valid point - in fact, a danger for many Indigenous people. Indigenous people have been coming to cities for at least three generations now and inter-marrying with non-Indigenous people, and their children probably inter-married, as their grandchildren are currently, so both genetic ancestry and shared memories of community or 'culture' have become pretty stretched. I recall a friend who had, like me, married an Aboriginal woman and was agonising over their blue-eyed kids and if, and to what extent, they could, in the future, put their hand out for benefits - this was back in the late seventies. Sadly, he was right to be worried.

There are enormous pressures on Indigenous people to exploit their Indigenous status, and of course many actively seek such opportunities. But many, I'm sure, just want to be 'human beings', to be recognised for their skills and willingness to work, regardless of their ancestry. In fact, it is often very difficult for Indigenous people to do that: they get pushed into Indigenous units, or programs, like it or not.

I remember a graduating student in Secondary Science Teaching, looking for work; I got onto someone in the Education Department who explained, with deep regret, that there weren't any Aboriginal secondary schools in SA, gosh they were so sorry. She became a social worker. Utter bastards.

I fervently look forward to the day when Indigenous people can be recognised for the quality of their skills rather than their ancestry. With forty thousand university graduates now, overwhelmingly in mainstream courses, this racist problem will only grow.

I agree with Sara Hudson, that 'need' should be the criterion for any government support, not ancestry.

Joe

Hey Bazz,
It wasn't this young lady here was it?
http://independentaustralia.net/profile-on/natalie-cromb,327
Read what she has to say here about the racism she's experienced because shes white and identifies as black.
http://independentaustralia.net/australia/australia-display/im-not-racist-but,6598

I tried commenting on that website but they instantly deleted my 2 comments then banned me.
Obviously they don't like people questioning their leftist views.

Well her indigenous ancestry dates back to 1840's when an Irish family member came to Australia and got together with an Aboriginal.

I have an almost identical story as (just one part) of my family tree, only my Irish / Aboriginal descendant goes back to 1820's.
My grandmother was half aboriginal, but I don't claim to represent aboriginal people, though I will stick up for them as human beings.
My fathers side of the family goes back to the third fleet and came from wee Scotland.
But I don't claim to represent the Scottish people either.

I take offense a little, because I've read stories from my own indigenous branch of my family, and know that there were disagreements within the families as some sides of families over time became more 'whiter' than others.
The whiter sides of the families tried to assimilate while the darker ones would experience more racism and discrimination (I assume) and rifts within larger family units developed.
So I feel like this girl doesn't have a clue about some of the realities of what actually happened in the past, though I do not begrudge her willingness to support indigenous people.

Anyway, just thought I'd share that.

Diver Dan,
Sorry, it was a blanket statement regarding the general consensus of comments so far and not necessarily directed just at you.
I agree the indigenous need to help themselves more, they won't get a free pass from me, but I do acknowledge some of the injustices and hardships and discrimination they've endured..
That said, I prefer a carrot on a stick policy to help them choose a better life for themselves than the foot in the backside policy.
More often than not I do agree with Rehctub's opinions on things though.

No Armchair it was not her. She was much lighter and had noticible green eyes.
Also her hair was a light brown colour.
I can understand what you meant by tension within the family when some
want to say they are white and others who are darker complain.
That shows how silly racism is when it is within a family.

You yourself point up the argument I was making for there to be no
special legislation that gives rights to some people.
Just today I lodged an information on a government scam reporting
website and had to fill in a section about myself and one of the
questions was, wait for it;
Are you an aboriginal ? Yes No.

Steel, I have never questioned your entitlement to having been here longer, although like Bazz, I too question the legitimise of being an Aboriginal. Surely the line must be drawn at a reasonable percentage, not 1/16th.

Furthermore, if one wants to rely on their heritage, which was in fact 'hunting and gathering' in this case, then by all means continue, I'm just saying that the local centerlink office should be off limits.

As for the funding, no matter which way you look at it, pouring this amount of funding into anything achieving such appalling results is nothing more than waste.

So I ask you Steel, when are the likes of yourself going to accept that small unviable communities must go?

How many more billions do you think we should pour in knowing how much is being wasted?

Surely projects in such communities should have to pass the 'cost benefit analysis' as they do in non indigenous communities, otherwise the non indigenous communities are being disadvantaged.

Surely if what the indigenous folk want is equality, they first need to play by the same rules.

Tell me they are not playing the victim card for all it's worth Steel?

Rectub...I was under the impression that to be classified an Aboriginal, it was necessary to be accepted for membership of a land council. To be eligible for membership of a land council, it is necessary to be identified as belonging to a local Aboriginal community: And to confirm an applicant is accepted by the local community as a community member, an application is submitted at a land council meeting, where three independent members of the land council, confirm the legitimacy of the applicant.

So that outlines the real McCoy Aboriginal. What you describe, is what I complain about also, the non bona-fide, IE the "tick-a-box" Aboriginals.
Evidence of legitimate Aboriginal status, is readily available by proof of Land council membership.

I fail to see why this criteria is not enforced through an ID process when ticking a box.
So thus the question; are you Aboriginal or TSI? If yes, then what is your land council member sip detail?...simple!

Err, Diver Dan, that method would seem to be wide open for abuse.
I suspect that aboriginal privilege is being granted in many places
such as universities just on say so.
However this bit of the discussion points out the racism that is
involved in it.
If it must be done, then a DNA test with say a 50% or greater means
you are an aboriginal. No special privileges then granted except in
very special cases.

True Bazz, the regional mobs are savvy. But the system I outlined, in spite of the obvious floors, would overcome non-Aboriginals from capitalising illegitimately, by ticking a box on a form.
Confining the dogs breakfast to strictly Aboriginals displaying cultural connections to their tribe, would be a big step forward!

Bazz...as far as I know, educational institutions will not question the bona fides of applicants.
Closing the gap applicants do, in my experience!
My conclusion is from personal observation, so I may be proved wrong; but I'm confident!
Membership of Land Councils are hotly contested, also in my experience. I've observed the light skinned Aboriginals resisted, and put through some tough hoops proving linage. Especially so, if entering an area from another clan.

Hi Dan,

When I was working in Indigenous student support, I certainly checked people out if possible, it often wasn't that difficult. Of course, sometimes it certainly was.

This is back in the days when there were few Indigenous people finishing Year 12, so special entry procedures were in place. As you may know of applicants, a simple question, something like "Where was your mum from ?", usually brought an answer within seconds, placing that person in relationships that were well-known to at least one staff member.

One bloke was eager to enrol until I asked him that, and he hedged a bit, choosing a town where my wife's auntie had lived for fifty years. No, she wouldn't know anybody there, she was a 'Stolen Generation'. But of course, that meant he couldn't name anybody or any place, very convenient. So I asked him to fill out a family tree, and never saw him again. He got into a much slacker Indigenous program and was their Aboriginal Scholar of the Year, moving on after graduation to a high position in policy in Canberra.

Sometimes applicants claimed to come from a long way elsewhere, usually Tasmania or WA, but if I had been in doubt, a few phone calls to local organisations would have cleared that up.

I'm sure others got through the net. My wife, in another support program, was suspicious about one woman and asked her about her Indigenous status; she told my wife that if she ever asked that again, she would take her to court. My wife was told to back off by her boss, eager to pad the figures, and that person now is in a high position.

So it happens. The 'Stolen Generation' story has opened up many opportunities, probably all over the country, and boosted the careers of many people. Enough said.

Cheers,

Joe

Joe (loudmouth)...

I do understand why the system is rorted. In the educational context, if Aboriginal programmes are run specifically focused at Aboriginals, then imposters are less likely to attempt to hitch-hike the course!

Enrolling in educational courses fraudulently, demonstrates one aspect of corruption; but for the educational institution to turn a blind eye to a corrupt practice, simply to gain funding for their campus, then corruption is implicitly condoned.

Isn't this what people are objecting to. Layers on layers of corruption, which brings the whole endeavour of Aboriginal advancement under a cloud of suspicion.

I mean to say, it is easy to stop this. Turnbull with wisdom, needs to unhitch the whole kaboodle of Government assistance programmes and inspect its entirety in fine detail.
There will be huge savings to taxpayers for starters, but secondly, it's most important to legitimise tax payer investment into Aboriginal disadvantage, in a way that keeps the community onside with the worthwhile cause it is intended to be!

When Aboriginal organisations such as the land Councils, which refuse permission, for example, to allow infrastructure projects such as electricity grid lines to pass through their land, without payment of a less than subtle bribe of multiple thousands of dollars, to inspect for artefacts which may or may not be present,is a standing joke among the broader community in regional Australia.

A sensitive approach will do, not a John Howard full frontal attack, inclusive of the AIF. That is overt demonstration of unfairness and racism of the worst kind IMO.

Dan,

I have to point out that, at least at the multi-campus uni I worked at, all of Indigenous students were enrolled in 3- and 4-year straight, mainstream courses. Nationally, at a maximum in the mid-nineties, a quarter of all Indigenous students, many enrolled externally, were doing Indigenous-oriented courses. Support staff were on each campus and at off-campus Study Centres, but we were all dragooned into an Indigenous Faculty with an implicit instruction to channel students towards Indigenous-focussed courses. But that was impossible out on my campus: so I was 'let go' ASAP.

Happily, since then, the arse has dropped out of Indigenous-focussed courses: perhaps only five per cent (perhaps only two or three per cent) of Indigenous students across the country are enrolled in such courses. Wonderful. Of course, those changes, around 2000-2005, wiped out the external Study Centres, so rural students now have far fewer educational options. The vast majority of Indigenous students currently enrolled have been born and raised in the cities. Half are women. So a typical Indigenous university student is female, urban-born, in a degree-level mainstream course, who intends to work in an urban environment.

Strange, the Indigenous education elites have no interest in under-graduate, or mass, enrolments, but fuss over Ph.D. students, those who are few enough in number to be eventually sucked into the elite, fussed over, 'mentored', advised, cosseted, while they learn how the elite works. Sixty-odd years ago, Ralph Turner wrote about what he called 'sponsored mobility', meaning mainly the British system of reproducing an elite: in Britain, the 11-plus, the exam for all 11-year-olds, separated the promising would-be elite kids from the dross and set them on the road to elite membership.

No: twenty-odd years ago, I wrote an article on 'Mass Indigenous Higher Education' (MITE), full of optimism about future growth in Indigenous university numbers. And how right I was: last year, participation grew by 8 %, and has doubled in ten years. Indigenous women now participate at a higher rate than non-Indigenous men. NON-Indigenous men.

If they could read spreadsheets, the elites should be sh!tting themselves.

Cheers,

Joe

It's a tough one isn't it Steel!