Spot on Graham and to boot Brough is a bully. Fix child abuse by building more police stations. I don't think he is anywhere near as bright as Clint Eastwood.
And don't you like the way the Howard government replaced ATSIC with Noel Pearson.
Howard's gift to the world - bullying.
Bruce Haigh

Once again Graham manages to successfully mix the aesthetic with the political.

But what films should Mal watch to improve his mind and dealings?

I would humbly suggest he starts with Walkabout (1971)...

Graham, I too am struck by the grim irony of Sheriff Brough's toe-cutting tactics following 'hard on the heels of over 200 years of studied indifference towards Indigenous Australia from governments of all political persuasions'.

He's cracked the whip and is rounding up the posse in the nick of time for the big round-up at the end of the year.

Finally we get a minister who is brave enough to put the indigneous children first and all he gets on this forum is a group of people willing to criticise his methods but have no anwsers themselves. One would think that when it came to sexual and physical child abuse one would lay aside your politics and at least give someone praise who is trying to address the issue. We desparately need more Noel Pearsons who are prepared to put their neck on the line in order to help his people.

Smug, smug, smug article. Not all all droll. Brough is thru training and temperament a man of action So what.
His presence in this portfolio has and will bring about change. How do those who knew about the paedophilia and abuses; those who worked on the ground as police, nurses and social workers live with themselves? My guess is that they hide behind such attitudes evidenced by Ring's article.

Goodness gracious, there is a drug and alcohol problem in the Aboriginal community. A National emergency no less. Who would of thought? I am 48 years of age,and could have been knocked over with a feather when the PM advised the Nation of this sad state of affairs.
It is admirable that he is prepared to deal with it so close to an election. I imagine the PM was fairly shocked by the revelations, having recently advised Parliament, that Australians had never had it so good. I was further rocked this morning when my local rag (newspaper), reported that dirty money was being laundered through our Casino. Who would have thought.

Runner, There are many solutions to the social problems experienced by indigenous communities that do not entail taking peoples land from them or punishing people monetarily for children not attending school. Mal Brough and Noel Pearson are returning to the past and will not be successful. I do not know these men personally so I cannot judge their motives but bully tactics have not worked in the past and they will not work for the future. I have a list of things that could be implemented to improve indigenous living standards in this country.
1. Treaty - Its time Aboriginal sovereingty was recognised and an Aboriginal Government established.
2. Mining - All contracts currently being paid by mining companies to state governments and federal government should cease at once and all monies should be paid to the rightful owners of the land.
3. Primary State schools ciriculm should be adjusted to teach aboriginal language as well as english and aboriginal history should be taught to the same degree as the landing at Botany Bay, Captain Cook and other european explorers.
4.Aboriginal elders in each community should be paid a full time wage to pass on knowledge and make decisions regarding alcohol management.
5. Nuclear waste should be stored in the city where it is produced.
I could go on and on but I think you get the gist of it.....
Leave the Dirty Harry character in the movies we need characters who will change things for the future not return us to the past.

LAINEE,

Get with it mate.
The 1967 Referendum was supposed to make the Aboriginals equal to the rest of us.
To allow them to be citizens, to be subject to the same laws as the rest of the Australians.
They ought to consider themselves lucky that it was the Poms who took the place over. It was British justice that allowed the Mabo and Wik decisions.
There is no place for any treatys, these people are Australian citizens and deserve no more nor no less than what comes with citizenship.

Runner and Palimpsest

This Government has been in power since 1996 and they now decide to act? This is not the first report, or the second, or the third ... They have had numerous reports from medical professionals. They failed to act full stop.

Ise Miseh

You're right. These people are Australian citizens and deserve no more no less than other Australians.

It's a disgrace they've received less in regards to education, health, housing, infrastructure. No other community has been so disadvanted.

Liz,
“It's a disgrace they've received less in regards to education, health, housing, infrastructure.”

Are you seriously arguing that Aborigines receive less than other Australians - IN SIMILAR LOCATIONS?

No service available to a non-Aboriginals can legally be denied an Aboriginal.On the other hand, there are services designed specifically for Aboriginals -which non-Aboriginals cannot access.

The POINT I think rather is that not that they receive less- but their outcomes are less.

Where have most of you been. Indigenous people and especially leaders have been saying that resources (via funding) is required to ensure that Indigenous children have the best options. This has been said for the past 40 years. Why does everyone think this is a new cry just because it (finally) comes out of Howards mouth.

Hedgehog, what rock (pun intended) have you been living under for 48 years. Australia has one of the worst Indigenous living standards in the world. The UN says that our health condition is equal to someone living in Bangladesh.

We Indigenous mob have been complaining for decades that there is a national crisis. Don't trust Howard and Brough because while they state they wish to fix this they have gone ahead without even talking to the communities. They hit upon a NT government report and acted before the final recommendations were given to the communities for discussion. They are grandstanding to get the gullible swing vote to see them as 'social justice' minded politicians before the winter recess.

Where were they during the many other reports and recommendations. If they wanted to fix over the past 11 years then they should have invested it the education programs that were having some success with the (now) teenagers that have bugger all to do in these communities. Instead they canned the funding...

Also, if these children are victims then the news media should be disguising their faces like any other underage children on TV. They don't care because they know they are using just stock footage from past trips to the NT or outback communities. I think I have only witnessed the ABC avoid showing clear facial features of these Indigenous children.

Don't be fooled people, it is purely a stunt. This arose last year and Brough has done nothing in 12 months and therefore, he won't make any progress before the election. This is a trick to continue his hard-nose military approach to his narrow, one sided rights and responsibilities agenda if they get elected again.

I hate being a political football. The CLP gov in NT used the black issues at each Territory election and when the CLP leader lost to Claire Martin he became the Liberal Party President for the Liberal until 2005.

Labor better think of some proactive strategies cause this is heading into a storm and the only remaining certainty will be the Indigenous people... victims of a policital and media build up with no productive outcomes.

Horus

I am serious. They do receive less.

If a settlement in an isolated location is characterised by a largely white population, there is more infrastructure.

If the isolated settlement is largely Indigenous populated, there is/has/and maybe always will be (at this current rate) less services.

Given that blindness in Indigenous communities is a result of easily treated eye disease (not heard of in white communities), this indicates third world health conditions, and I think that is pretty indicative of the lack of funding provided to Indigenous communities. The communities may be isolated. But sometimes the population can be relatively significant.

Diabetes is another health issue in Indigenous Communities. Often because the community does not have access to fresh fruit and vegies as other isolated communities do.

They have higher infant mortality and significantly shorter life expectancy, again, indicative of lack of funding not seen in white communities, isolated or not.

Often when white people live in isolated communities (as I have in the past), they are there for an economic purpose, and have the resources to fly out to access health, education, economic services. Indigneous people don't have those resources. And when they do front up at the hospitals, it's hard for them to face up to white health carers.

Liz
Sounds nice.

However, the major portion of Aborigines live in towns & cities with services & infrastructure.Yet it seems the standards of urban Aborigines (on average) are also below par.

How does this fit with your conclusion?

Horus

That's not true.

The largest Indigenous populations are in Far North Qld and the Northern Territory.

The majority of Aboriginals live in regional areas.

Um Liz! “REGIONAL” is not a synonym for outback campsite.

Regional Australia INCLUDES many, many large cities & town & most of regional Australia’s population ( Aboriginal & non-Aboriginal ) resides in those 'urban' centres.
Regional Australia has services-though less, has infrastructure-though less , than metro Australia.

Try again

Horus,

As an educated and relatively healthy Aboriginal man living in a regional city in North Queensland believe me when I say that many of the large regional towns in far north Queensland do not have the health infrastructure to deal with the health of Indigenous Australians. Diabetes is a good example. If allocated funding for Indigenous Australians (who are in many cases not on Health care) suffer from more chronic conditions then non Indigenous people (check the states)obviously funding allocated is insufficient. The AMA has been saying this for years.

2deadly

When I wrote my above post to Horus, I was going to say remote, because that is my understanding that most Indigenous people in Australia reside in remote communities in Queensland and the NT. Am I right?

I get what you mean in regards to services available to regional areas in Queensland. My sister in FNQ had to come to Brisbane to see a specialist for her daughter. I hear the same occurs for people living in Townsville and Mackay.

Liz,
“my understanding that most Indigenous people in Australia reside in remote communities”
No Liz you are wrong-if your ally wont tell, I will. Most Aborigines live in accessible cities & towns just like everyone else.

“My sister in FNQ had to come to Brisbane to see a specialist for her daughter”
My father had to be taken from regional Nthn NSW to the Mater Hospital in Brisbane -services in our local area weren’t sufficient ( & the govt didn’t pay for it either!)

2 deadly,
“believe me when I say that many of the large regional towns in far north Queensland do not have the health infrastructure to deal with the health of Indigenous Australians”

Do they have sufficient health infrastructure to deal with other Australians?

Hi Liz,
If you look at the ABS stats (says the drowning PhD student), over the past 40 years, there has been a complete reversal of demographic change. In 1970s (first true national census) 70% of Indigenous people lived in isolated, remote and rural locations (meaning town camps, small towns, isolated communities etc) and 30% living in urban and regional locations (towns and cities larger than 20,000). According to the latest stats this has complete reversed.

Reasons:
The literature states that this is due to the need to access things that others take for granted such as, health infrastructure, employment opportunities and better standards of living. Or other more negative means outside their control.

For example, other accounts demonstrate that the 1967 referendum had a detrimental affect in that (like my family) cattle industries pushed traditional owners off their country because with equal rights came equal pay and the redundancy of the sugar, tea and flour payment ration scheme for Aboriginal employees. Therefore removal of whole families to church run communities, Yarrabah and Palm (for my family) was undertaken for many Indigenous families.

Horus,

Of course 'other' Australian are not catered for either in these communities but in many cases they can consider other ways of funding these health emergencies. Although many of the sugar, cattle and other industries in remote, rural Australia are struggling they (many at least) have assets to allow them to meet health (and other) financial needs.

Maybe Pearson and Brough plan for home ownership may help us mob gain some financial stakehold in the future. Will wait and see what they pitch.

2deadly

Thanks 2deadly for that infor.

And thank you for that account of equal pay conditions. I was unaware of that impact on Indigenous families.

Good luck with your PHD. We'll be calling you Dr 2deadly before too long.

Horus

Sorry to hear about your father's health issues and having to travel so far to access health services. People in regional areas certainly are inconvenienced.

It's been nice discussing the issue with you guys.
Catch up with you again another time.
Cheers!