Frank,you are offended by the truth and reality.Many of the people who write articles such as these have their own agenda's ie to obtain a Govt grant so they can just amplify the problem with more bureaucracy and sit down money.With the $billions the Aborigines were given,they are now worse off than when they had real employment.

What dsyfunctional societies need is purpose,ie put in a survival situation,given skills,education,discipline and family cohesion.It will take many generations to change but money and soft options are not the solutions.Mal Brough is on the right track.

ARJAY GET A LIFE, you are coming into a disscussion where it involves real people that are still living with the effects of what has happend to them while they where in run state intitutions, we are in australia not africa, we know that the abuse occurred world wide so don't play games with peoples minds to start conflict we are the forgotten australians something you don't seem to know about , like frank said read the senate reporst that were done then come back and give your opinion with some honesty not the dribble you are talking about, we are the victims that were raped and abused by the employees of the goverment ,they employed these pedophiles , ,so they are responsable, i guess you really wouldn't know what it is like to be a victim, and if you are a victim you sure are saying the wrong things, its best you know about something before you type your mouth off ,, the goverment is resposable for what happend to us as children and they know it ,if you want to be one of the one's that run ya mouth of for the sake of just having a say ,you best jump into bed with the goverment cause you don't seem to care as to what the forgotten australians are about ,regards micheal

Well, FrankGol "This is not a debate about trade unions and Labor Parties"
Then we should cover up for their crimes? Offer up some spin for them? Tell us they are not responsible? The Labor Party (the political arm of the trade unions) fought for precisely this and passed acts in Parliament, then issued instructions to the police to round the aboriginal children up. If you are serious about the issue they should be named. The Labor Party in Western Aust. was the first to promote and grab 'the stolen generation' offering them up as servants for sheep, cattle stations and mining. The orphanages and church played a despicable role as well.
As well, 200 years of genocide on the aboriginal race was overseen by the Labor Party and the trade unions, because above all else, they defend the profit system and all its inequities! None of it could of happened without their intervention and blessing.
Now tell us the trade unions do not go along or oversee 600 million child laborers and all their ill treatment around the world.

Arjay, Aboriginal peoples weren't given billions of dollars, the money gained from exploitation of their lands rightly belongs to them. The mining resources in this country belong to aboriginal people they never gave them up they never surrendered their country. You talk as if white Australia has given aboriginal people something. But I agree with hffnpff this article was discussing the very personal assaults inflicted on our most vulnerable people. Australia's orphans. Power to all who are fighting systemic abuse and the perpetraters of it. Migaloo woman Darumbal country.

Arjay, Aboriginal peoples weren't given billions of dollars, the money gained from .........
LAINEE,
Paedophilia is one of the worst human traits. Hypocricy is another one. They are not uniquely australian traits, they're human for want of a more suitable description. you're right the money gained from the exploitation of this land by the EFFORTS of the NEWCOMERS is not simply given to those who roamed that land. What monies & other eagerly coveted commodities have been provided is compensation for the loss of the roaming grounds & associated existence. No-one will ever know how many sick & undernourished children perished in those unrecorded times. reports by the early explorers do state of the wretched condition of tribes encountered. the europeans did not destroy a nirvana in any sense of the word but we do know that the atrocities are greatly outnumbered by the good deeds.

The capacity to abuse 'a fair day's pay for a fair day's work' is certainly still around if the evidence from 'Work Choices'is anything to go by. The authors illustrate the extreme of this. The Howard Government's mutual obligation 'philosophy' has this danger within it and I have experienced first hand how they are ready to apply it. Young people on 'allowances' as low as $5.80 an hour being sent onto private landowners property to do heavy labour at no cost to that owner, all under the guise of doing environmental work. Various governments attitudes toward voluntarism are just plain exploitation.
It disgusts me that NSW just ignores while Queensland quibbles over the stolen wages issue which amounted to outright theft by previous administrations. We must be ever vigilant to this capacity to abuse.