Leigh,

You can't be serious .

You complain of Indigenous people "wanting to hog thousands of square kilometres of land rightly belonging to all Australians ".

Where were you in the big land grab that disposessed indigenous AUSTRALIANS of the best of the continent ??

You must have missed out and now you want a cut of the bit they have left .

I suggest that you go out and buy some of the good stolen stuff.

Before native Title we had a saying up north , when we came across fairly ordinary country; it was "Give it back to the Blacks !"

i lived on navajo land for three years. it wasn't paradise, but they were vastly better off than any aborigines i've seen. nothing like seeing your own people as law officer, legal officer, school teacher- on your own land. it was an ordinary part of america, except if caught speeding the bloke who said: " i need to see your license, sir" looked like geronimo, if geronimo ever wore highway patrol uniform.

but even white ozzies are the cattle of parliament, not likely that parliament is going to give up power over black ozzies. so they will remain basket cases, propped up more, or less, according to political convenience.

let's hope the rudd gov is in 'more' mode, it's the best the old ozzies can hope for.

Permits are like a front door for a whole community of people. They're like the doorbell announcing your visit to a community of families, some who may or may not want you in their private space. Imagine you're living in a home without a fence where people could end up wandring around your backyard. This is what life would be like in remote communities without a permit system.
Why is it that in many suburbs around Australia there are gated communities? It's because people living in homes that share the same piece of land want to know who is coming into their community. We don't stop them putting up a gate or security system so why should we expect remote communities to have a free-for-all in their backyards. It's not rocket science!

Irene, perhaps you are using the word 'backyard' metaphorically but there is no evidence that, in the absence of a permit system, anybody would be allowed to wander through someone else's backyard at Indigenous communities without permission from the householder: where on earth do you get this idea ? Who has proposed it ? At settlements without permit systems, does this occur ? I think not.

The bottom line is that publicly-funded and -maintained roads are usable by the public, as would be public schools, clinics and other facilities. Perhaps stores at Indigenous settlements which are publicly-funded in some way are open to the public as well. Use of such resources does not mean that non-Indigenous people own them, only that they are available for use by members of the public, going about their lawful business.

Joe

Loudmouth,
Private hospitals and Private Schools receive a huge amount of public funding - this doesn't give me the right to use their facilities.They decide .

Permit Systems are used to enable Indigenous australians some peace from the prying eyes and lack of respect that many white Australians accord them . Genuine visitors on legitimate and friendly visits will be welcome.

The sooner they can own all the resources of their country such as they do in Northern Canada the better off they will be .

Kartiya Jim,

Of course it does, if you can afford it. You are certainly not barred from entering a private hospital, but of course, as in any situation, you would have to have business there: I am certainly not suggesting otherwise. For example, at Indigenous settlements, people entering a medical clinic, Black or White, would have to have business there, or be caring for, etc. somebody who does. If you come onto the premises of a public school, you have to have legitimate business there, in relation to a child.

Public roads, being a bit more open as to purposes, would be freely available to any member of the public, wherever they are. By definition, a public road does not go through anybody's backyard, Irene.

In any case, in my experience in Indigenous settlements, non-Indigenous people taking a wrong turn and driving in usually beat a hasty retreat as soon as they discover where they are. Mind you, somebody greeting them with a bundle of spears would hasten their departure. They do tend to drive out a hell of a lot faster than they drove in.

Joe