A timely and effective article. Indigenous politics have certainly drifted off the map with successful suppression by the coalition government, and it plainly is not good enough. Hopefully the Labour party can make this a central aspect of their next election campaign to give Indigenous Australians the justice they deserve

Both main parties,by treating Aborigines as a separate race, have been guilty of apartheid.
Aborigines are Australian as we are Australian and they should have the same benefits and responsibilities as we do.
While they are treated as either primitives and/or privileged they will gain nothing.And we are the losers.
Aboriginal children should be entitled to education, health, security exactly as every child in this country.
Aboriginal youth should be trained for a career,trade then we would not be importing strangers whose sympathies are not with Australia.
The sooner all this is done the better.

This is the best piece of writing on Aboriginal affairs I came across for a very long time.

Indeed, we need “the evidence of what works and what does not work in reducing disadvantage. Not ideology – evidence.”

Evidence is available. There is an emerging body of knowledge in the area that can be called ‘entrepreneurship facilitation’. It’s all about helping disadvantaged communities discover opportunities and helping them stand firmly on their own feet.

There are various approaches that deliver amazing results:
• There is the micro-loans concept which has delivered millions of jobs in third-world countries, in a cost effective way (o joy of joys for the treasurer!), where billions of UN dollars were previously wasted
• There is the ‘enterprise facilitation’ – be it the British model, or the ‘Sirolli approach’ which started in WA’s Esperance
• There is the ‘theme village’ concept born in Austrian Alps
• There are successful projects for physically disadvantaged groups, like Association of Mouth and Feet Painting Artists (MFPA)
• There is Community Development Venture Capital creating jobs and elevating poverty in the USA (which are sustainable and profitable institutions)

In a nutshell, it’s all an approach we have heard so many times of: ‘give a man, ad he will eat for a day, give a man a rod, and he will ear for a lifetime. (More precisely, it’s about teaching people how to make rods.)

Entrepreneurship facilitation is the most effective, proven way for disadvantaged groups and communities to regain self-reliance.

In fact, due to a wide range of projects based on business education and financial support for start-up enterprises, Americans achieved something impressive: the business up-take rate amongst their indigenous people is twice that of the general population.

It is much more than just about money. As the Mouth and Foot Painting Artists put it: it’s independence, pride, self-respect and creative fulfilment.

What we need are integrated, well designed entrepreneurship encouragement programs for aboriginal communities - and for all disadvantaged groups.

Paul (Pawel) J. Dabrowski Ph.D. AIMM, RODC,SBSSF

www.creativewinwin.co

Oh dear bleeding hearts again!
I suppose now the indigenous race of this empty land have been found something must be done.
It would be so nice if they would remain largely hidden serving as talking points for those, particularly the politicians who must evidence their true morality.
Mind you all such must be done at minimum cost or better at no cost at all if the Liberals rule. If anyone becomes distressed at being obliged to provide for others at their own personal or political cost it is the liberals. Produce better humans you say proudly intermeshing with, well, Australian culture, you know saying yes to the UK -oh out of date it is the Americans.
So is the point of the post to show that such programmes can be run at almost no cost and large profit? No I am not talking about the human condition, not about helping a rounded human to form. Do we need more trained people for the work force? Cheaper than already prepared, imports? Do we need coast watchers, surely not, over the horizon radar and electronic surveillance hopefully aided by increased joint facilities should suffice. The new structures in the Cape will help perhaps another American base in say Broome would be a better investment.
They are already there, go on that is a rumour.

The A.L.P. are as lost at sea as anyone else on indigenous affairs, for exactly the same reason. They don't understand, yet they are making it up themselves rather that moulding their policies towards Aboriginal will, opinion and sociology. All the Parties from one-nation to the greens operate within European frameworks of politics and economy and as such are just added weight to the ballast of colonial society.
This does not mean there is nothing the political parties can do, as appears to be the real attitude behind the plethora of white commentaries. "Aboriginal affairs portfolio is like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic"
There is much that all the parties can do, the ALP can do the most as it can actually govern federally and in the states are now, unfortunately in Beattie's Queensland where I live at least, governing by way of colonial administration and policies. see http://www.kalkadoon.org/index.php/palm-island-housing-report/
Any party must transcend colonial policy and public service culture in order to be able to begin to scratch the surface

in the article the comment was made "Pearson forces us to confront difficult issues, and this in part explains the failure of many in the Left to respond." This is a rubbish as the left has failed to respond to all Aboriginal voices, not just Mr. Pearson. It is interesting that Mr. Pearson has been widely criticised by Aboriginal leaders around Australia for his views yet "the left" and others for some reason see him as a lone voice for Aboriginal Australia. With all respect to Mr. Pearson, his positions on punitive welfare strategies and deconstructing remote communities are just one of many positions within the Aboriginal debate about Aboriginal futures.
Mr. Pearson is doing a good job stirring the pot and I have no doubt in his own community and elders he is providing a solid power base. However we must allow Aboriginal Australia to resume the discussion, itself, that was abruptly halted with the abolition of ATSIC. The most articulate blackfella gets the jelly-beans? No we should learn to listen to Aboriginal vocabularies instead of just listening to those who have become masters of the language that we speak.