Good one brother Ringy,

Here's some more-

If Brough gets -

Accused in Aurukun
Berated in Brisbane.
Chided in Cherbourg
Derided in Doomadgee
Emphatically ignored in Erub
Fobbed off in Framlingham
Given the flick in Groote
Harangued in Hopevale – and you can be sure that-

He still won’t know why.

**

Yes Cornflower i agree that abuse should not happen and should be reported but unlike you I stop short of painting all with the same brush. Its so easy to peer over your newspaper and coffee and 'tut tut; isn't it. Why not get involved so you can you can have a lived and informed opinion? Graham Ring is writing from experience. What's the basis for your opinions besides lazy conjecture?

**

Leigh, try not to hate so much mate, I know you're at the end of your life but hey, its not our fault you turned out so bitter and twisted. That is of your own doing. When I think of all my old people who have passed on and had nothing bad to say about anyone -but every reason to hate - it makes me think - why do people like YOU spend so much time hating us. If you're so damned lonely do something about it and get out from behind that computer and live a bit, even try meeting a blackfella (for the first time).

Rainier

You are in denial, what I related is a matter of fact:

Nanette Rogers
http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2006/s1639127.htm

Sharon Duthie
http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2006/s1704472.htm

This report in the National Indigenous Times regarding accounts by Mr Andrews is also relevant.
http://www.nit.com.au/news/story.aspx?id=7409

The Australian community is exasperated by the experts and freeloaders of indigenous extraction and otherwise, who banged on about Aboriginal issues for decades, while atrocities were committed against Aboriginal women and children.

Why didn’t anyone speak up? Why did it take Nanette Rogers to risk her life and career in coming forward?

After all, thousands of people, black and white have been latched onto the government teat for the past forty years while they claimed to represent Aboriginals and were ostensibly working for the betterment of Aboriginal health and welfare. What about all of those bureaucrats, consultants and Aboriginal representatives funded by the federal government? What about the Department of Aboriginal Affairs?

What practical results did the community really get from the billions of dollars expended on improving the lot of Aboriginals if forty years later a white woman professional had to put her own skin on the line to get some attention for the abuses that were occurring before her eyes?

Then there is all of the $$ that never reached the grassroots because, according to successive auditor reports, it was being misappropriated (read stolen) and wasted. It is no use claiming that the recipients of the money were untrained or naïve because offers of advice, systems and training were rejected as ‘interference’ in Aboriginal self management. Lack of accountability suits the clever and the tough, but it doesn’t help the vulnerable who miss out on much-needed services.

The Hon Mal Brough MP is the Minister for Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs and the Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Indigenous Affairs. He is visiting Aboriginal communities because the Australian community has demanded action to improve the lot of Aboriginals. Regardless of one's political persuasion, he ought be helped not abused while doing that.

Cornflower, Just off the top of my head i can think of 7 national and state based reports that were totolly ignored by government.

That you are not aware of them does not mean people were not speaking out or that such alarms bells did not go off.

See for instance the Robertson Report here:

Queensland Domestic Violence Task Force, ibid, pp198-256 as cited in Robertson, B, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women's Task Force on Violence Report, Queensland Department of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Policy, Brisbane 1999, p97.

or this-

Steering Committee for the Review of Government Service Provision, Overcoming Indigenous disadvantage - Key indicators 2003, Productivity Commission, Melbourne 2003, pp 3.44-3.57.

But hey, don't let you're ignorance of these many bells ringing stop you from blaming blackfellas and feeling wonderfully paternalistic.

and Do you really think the media reports everything? Puleeze!

Rainier

Your personal abuse does you no credit. Abuse is always counterproductive and your encouragement of rabble rousing for the Minister should be rejected.

It is a bit rich blaming the ‘guv’ment’ for losses and assaults in self-managing communities. Between the government and the grassroots there are many levels of responsibility and more than enough devolution of discretionary power to treat the risks to women and children and to remedy the loss of resources that has been occurring.

It was those at the sharp end with the fiduciary responsibility for the safety of people and resources who have been abusing that trust. The Australian community has been shielded from finding out about the problems by the exclusion of the media from Aboriginal communities.

I didn’t blame ‘blackfellas’ as you put it (that is just you putting words in my mouth) and if demanding protection of Aboriginal women and youth is being ‘wonderfully paternalistic’ then so be it.

Cornflower,
Rainier is totally correct about the number of reports that have been ignored by govts.

Bonni Robertson chaired and wrote up the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women's Taskforce on Voilence report, Qld 2000. It then took a white man, Fitzgerald, to report exactly what Bonni had reported before anything was done.

I suggest that you do a little reading up on the issue before you start shooting off at the mouth. You might like to start with a book written by a nice non-Indigenous woman, Anna Haebich, called Broken Circles. You will read in this book how systematically the govt of Australia has ground down Indigenous Australain.

The state sanctioned slavery including the sexual slavery of children. The government deliberately denied Indigenous Australians their humanity, see Warwick Anderson, The Cultivation of Whiteness: Science, Health and Racial Destiny in Australia 2005.

There is no wonder that some Indigenous peoples and communities are still suffering the effects of the not to recent past.

How outrageous that you assume that this white woman is the only or first person to raise these issues.
You should be berating the pollies and the police for sitting on their blots doing sweet nothing for so long.

Before all you aboriginal apologists get into the blame game for past inertia on the part of the government, get yourselves out of the state of denial that there are things that have been done by your fellow aboriginals that you yourselves should newer have allowed to happen in the areas of abuse of children and misappropriation of money.