Aboriginals will, like any other person regardless of colour, or ethnicity, or culture, achieve or fail by the effort and ingenuity they bring to any endeavour as individuals, and collectively as an expression of community. However, for as long as they wish to be seen as victims, they will be seen and treated as such and exploited as weak and inattentive people are everywhere. Usually from with in and by their own. What we see in Aboriginal communities is a reflection of what is happening in the broader community that is Australia. One can not turn back the clock. Desiring to do so leads to disaster as such people are never prepared for the challenge that is change.

Punter, thanks for some insights into some fairly horrible problems .

What is the best way to help the alcoholics in these Communities without sending them hundreds of Kilometres away - to what ??

Gawd Punter, i didn't know you had a doctorate in law as well as a diploma in BS.

And you're so humble too!

As for Col's unremarkable contribution, I'd rather read the words and ideas of a jurist than those of a door to door salesman.

Mabo and the now recognition of native title proceeded on the broader proposition that British law recognised pre-existing relationships to the land, subject to it being overridden by the introduced law. The fundamental myth that the introduction of these laws was based on was a non recognition of existing jurisdiction and occupation by Aboriginal people.

Countrygal, The tendency to paint history with the broad brush of inevitability may give some comfort to those who benefit from such nonsense but it’s clearly an illusion.

As someone once said:

'It is the strangely irrational notion that there is something in the very flow of time that will inevitably cure all ills.

John j- "Europeans mattered because they had the guns to enforce territorial claims." We surely have to leave this attitude behind."

Territorial dominance by the strongest is the law of nature on this planet. Nature is a strong girl. You try standing in the way of a sunami. Man has some control over nature with immunisations, and some modern inventions and weapons but it is a battle that is never won and we are not as much in control of the forces imbued by nature as we like to think. Even the flu bug constantly mutates in defiance of our attempts at control.

The sexual and territorial instinct are the two big survival instincts burned into the brains of every animal (including mankind) on this planet and history shows that mankind has always danced to natures dictates. Look at the way sex dominates mankind around the world. The never ending taking of other peoples countries(territories)by constant global warfare across time. By every race on the planet not just the Europeans.

As one post up there says even the Aboriginies didnt like other tribes of Aboriginies on their territories. We need a change of attitude in a practical sense,of understanding the forces we are dealing with and trying to think of practical measures to dampen down the natural territorial hostilities that exist in multi-tribal societies.

RAINIER; If you were an out of space David Attenborough sitting up in space watching mankind for a thousand years what reason would you give for the constant warfare by mankind taking other peoples land and territories by the strongest conquerors? Tell me, why is it so?

It would seem that territorial conquest has some huge benefit for the species of mankind. After all when the Romans and Ghankis Chan and the prophet Momhamed engaged in territorial conquest they risked their own lives on the battlefields to do it