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.