I found the article a little difficult to follow, but the "racist" incident in Dubbo as outlined by the author I found most unconvincing. Firstly, local residents complain about anything and everything. The fact that they complained about the Aboriginal Housing Office (AHO) purchasing a $400,000 property in their street is neither here nor there. The graffiti on the road is, of course indefensible and regretable.
However, the author then further spoils his case by complaining about the NSW housing minister David Borger stepping in and cancelling the purchase. Although I don't have the full facts, I am not prepared tom condemn the minister until I know a lot more about the purchase. Was it wise for the AHO to spend so much money on one property - even allowing for still very high house prices? I assume it has many families to house and not much money. I await further details about budget and number of families on the AHO waiting list.
If the author wished to prove some overall rise in racism then he should quote national statistics.. I seem to recall that they have been quoted in the past.

I commend the author for mentioning that it doesn't take a recession for racism to rear its ugly head. I for one was racially abused by an Aboriginal in a Sydney pub for wearing the Australian cricket shirt - and the economy was booming at the time.

The general tenet of the article is true. When the going gets tough the weird start espousing whacky ideas that are hard to countenance.

1. Beat up on migrants for anything from rape to taking jobs from hard working Aussies.

2. Aboriginals are dole bludgers sucking heavily from the black tit of Government funds.

3. Young people today have no sense of protest, say the babyboomers

4. There's too many people in the world. Get rid of third world poverty by getting rid of the Third World.

5. Watch out for the 'Is this the end of capitalism?' whine from the Greens

6. Bring back national service.

It's a bit of a cram how all of these things can inhabit a brain space, but believe me, they can and do.

Mr Hagan makes some very valid points here. Fortunately, Indigenous people across Australia will continue to wseize opportunities for higher education and professional employment in ever-growing numbers - in the latest full-year of data, 2007, there were record enrolments and graduation of Indigenous university students. Enrolments exceeded 9,300 and graduations almost reached 1,500. Although it is too early to suggest a firm trend, I am sure that a sort of corner has been turned and that commencements, enrolments and graduations will reach record levels each year from now until at least 2020.

By the end of this year, more than 25,000 (yes, twenty five thousand) Indigenous people will have graduated from university courses, overwhelmingly at degree-level and above, overwhelmingly in mainstream courses. That's twenty five thousand people able to enter the professional work-force, not on the dole, not beating their wives and girlfriends to death, not abusing children, not in jail, not in particularly bad health - twenty five thousand contributing to the benefit of Australia generally.

Twenty five thousand Indigenous people actively closing the gap. Cheers, anyone ?

Oh dear! another silly, convoluted article from this author. I quite agree with him about the srcapping of the ACC task force but the rest is really smacks of a lot of fuzzy thinking.
1. Given the way many public housing recipients (black, white or any other colour) chose to live, I wouldn't want them in my street either.
2. The Cronulla incident, although race was a factor, started from something closer to a gang based problem.
3. To suggest that the average Aussie is going to get all racially heated up because the economy is not doing well is, to me, offensive. And he has the hide to call us racist! Boy, if a white fella levelled that argument against any other community group, he'd be howled down!
4. It's the first time I can recall indiginous groups being singled out in the debate about the Rudd handouts.
5. There was a wave of racial unrest in '96? I bit of debate, but hardly racial unrest!
5. As for feeling sorry for"your mob" for having to get in line with the rest of us, oh please, again this is simply offensive.

Please stick to what is actually happening without attempting to raise racist ogres from economic uncertainty.

I wish it to be known that the person writing under the name Sparkyq is not me!