Col, I wouldn't say that your view is necessarily racist. I have not seen substantial evidence of that in this discussion. Underdeveloped, yes, quite often. Even bigotted perhaps.

I generally only engage in ideas and views, not personal traits. So please don't assign to me opinions I have not expressed or inferred.

It does take quite a lot not to respond in kind sometimes, but that's the price of being a member of a civilised society.

Chek Ling

Col your response did not refute or provide any explanation as to why my ideas and aspirations are 'wrong'. You seem to engage in mud-slinging and denigration than debate - perhaps it is you who is down on the bottom of the pond?

What do you mean by "worlds best practice and how does this negate the 'need' to ensure that all citizens of our country have equal access to health services, equal access to quality housing, equal life-spans, equal chance of having a healthy baby, etc.

The simplistic notion of 'equality' for all is a wooly-headed and fuzzy feel-good idea that has never and will never work.

It is impossible to have equality of outcome. All you can do is provide equal opportunity and let people do what they will with their talents, strengths, weaknesses etc.

In Australia everyone has basically the same access to services - if they don't use them or if they can't use them as well as others that's life.

Not everyone gets exactly what they want.

From what i gather all Col is saying is that if you don't use what youv'e got, no one else should be expected to pick up the tab for you.

t.u.s.

In Australia we do not all have equal access to service. People in the bush do not have equal access to communication technology and we are not prepared to shrug and say 'that's life'. We are fighting for the government to guarantee that we continue to get adequate services.

There are other groups of white people who get 'special' treatment and 'special' access - sugar farmers who have not moved with the times and no longer have an income.

Indigenous people living in ghettoes do not have equal access to services. As I previously stated 'life' and 'achievement' have been and still are more difficult for people who come from these enclaves of poverty and despair, who are regarded as 'bludgers' and 'no-hopers'.

Get off your ideological high horse and consider the 'reality' of the circumstances for an Indigenous person from these communities who wants to be equal to you.

If we do not like the terms of the Constitution then we can always hold a referendum, but unless and until we amend the Constitution, we are bound to follow the intentions of the framers of the Constitution, as time passed does not alter it.

To me, Aboriginals are equal to all other Australians but are wrongly robbed of equal rights far to often.

Their right to education, health provisions, and other basic services, etc, should be as like that for any other Australian regardless of their place of residence. That was the very intention by the Framers of the Constitution.

And, not just for Aboriginals but the same applies for other Australians residing in remote area’s.

Regretfully, governments are more interested in votes then in equality.

Take for example a person residing in a remote area, and wanting to stand for Federal Parliament as an INDEPENDENT. This person would have to travel perhaps for days trying to get 50 signatures for being allowed to be accepted for nomination, where as if he stood for a political party just one signature is enough.
Meaning, we rob eligible people of their equal rights to be a candidate. Yet, people living out in the bush may at times be more experienced to deal with certain issues then some city slicker, who may never have spend a night out in the bush.

The Framers of the Constitution made it very clear that even the “poor” should be able to stand as a candidate, as they held a persons financial status does not mean the person is less competent! As they made clear we all can at times fall on hard time.

If we were to operate within constitutional confinements then most likely a lot of racial discrimination, human rights abuses, and other discriminations would be avoided!
If you accept to ignore constitutional limitations now, fundamental to a society, then who knows you can be the victim tomorrow, if not today, but by then it might be too late to object, as you wasted your time to do so while you could

Mollydukes,

I am indigenous and I live in the bush, thank you very much.

Communication services may not be the best where I live but there is nothing stopping me from moving somewhere that it is better.

I don't move though, because I would have to give up a lot such as the country lifestyle, the low levels of pollution, the clear night skies, the low mortgage, the safe neighbourhoods.

There are certain sacrifices people have to make. Having access to everything does not mean you can have everything.

This is not utopia, if you haven't noticed, it is the real world where there are winners and losers. Most of the winners are the people who make the most of what they have.

I suggest you read Pyjama Boy by Steven Murphy and see what can be achieved by someone who came from a living hell who made the most of their opportunities.

t.u.s.