Great article about a family that had the get up and go.

What does the author think
of the current regime that forces CDEP participants onto the dole?
about the compulsory acquisition of aboriginal assets worth more than $400,000?
employing KPMG to manage aboriginal businesses?
providing breakfasts and schol lunches to encourage kids to attend school?

Does any one else wonder if the federal government wants all remote area aborigines to shift into existing population centres like Darwin and Alice Springs and leave Arnhem Land depopulated so the overpopulated Javanese can "transmigrasi" to northern Territory as well as Irian Jaya and Timor Leste?

billie,

No

Stephen, thanks. Positive suggestions that would seem to be achievable.

R0bert

A very refreshing article -it's great when people take responsibility for themselves and don't resort to scapegoating outsiders.

Cheers

Stephan,
What is of considerable concern to me is a sort of "one size fits all " solution to the NT communities problems .

Many of these communities have people that can speak several languages well, but English is not one of them .

They really are a different Race of Australians.

For Howard to expect these great people "to join the mainstream or their future will be bleak" is a poorly disguised admission that he and his ignorant Government are not seriously prepared to help in a way that these communities can happily agree to, bearing in mind the cultural sensitivities and social implications of what is expected of them .

Stephan, It could be that your great grandmother would feel at home with them .

Let us imagine If it was your full - blood great grandmother and nominal tribal great grandfather living relatively happily in a better run camp ,would your attitude and means to get them to "the impossible " take a different tack or does the Howard Brough modus operandi sound fine to you ?

Jim, I dont normally agree with Hagan, but in this case I think his point is valid. His story and that of his family points out that aboriginal people CAN live in a Westernised way and profit from the benefits that our modern lifestyle can offer, and still keep in close touch with their cultural heritage and identity. The point I think is that to get to where we need to go is not easy, and will take a significant amount of time. The first step is to remove the children from harm. Now this may mean a mass jailing of offenders (and I hope it isnt the subject of much crying over lost human rights just because they are black), OR it may mean relocating those with children. If the latter is the option, then we need to make sure that we are not moving them from one misery to another. But our fear of such should not be a reason for inaction. Whatever approach is taken is likely to have at least some unforeseen negative consequences unfortunately, but we cant operate with the benefit of hindsight - we can just try to do take the best option at the time.