What a strange opening. Putting healthy food on the shelves of supermarkets in cities doesn’t make the sophisticated white folks eat it, either.

The entire problems of aboriginal Australians will be solved only when they are brought into the real world, away from remote areas.

We wouldn’t expect Rollo Manning to understand, or want, that though.

He is a ‘consultant in Darwin to Aboriginal communities and organisations in health and social development.”

No dysfunctional communities, no consultancy?

Crikey Leigh, you are a miserable person. I actually read the entire piece and found it fairly compelling. Advocating complete dismantling of existing settlements is about as vacuous an idea as the Ruddster's apology speech. We need to take a loooong view of the problem and its solutions. Giving people the opportunities Rollo talks about might actually empower people to take control of their lives. You seem to be advocating a forced re-settlement (where to? some unnamed urban ghetto, how very aryan of you) while Rollo is suggesting a more enlightened (and realistic) approach.

And from what I see in Rollo's bio he actually gives enough of a damn to be out in the field trying to help people. Since when did it become a crime to help people and get paid for doing so?

Completely agree with bitey.

Interesting article - though all the articles that touch on this are long on the "what's wrong" list and criticisms of everything and short on solutions. Authors knowing fully well the prejudices they are up against with adversarial solution touting.

Though towards the end of the article is what appears to be the author's solution "So long as people from lower socio-economic backgrounds are supported by welfare without any real incentive to exercise their brains or body, poor health and all the associated flow-ons will occur."

Stop the hand outs, I think we mostly agree, but it's not going to happen in my lifetime. There is a huge industry around the handouts, the handwringing conferences, complaints to the UN, endless meetings and consultations. Money without working is a way of life, and he's right they could shower in it so much is thrown at the problem, without result.

I feel very sorry for these people, but what do we do? All the solutions seem too simplistic and trivial fiddling with the edges. No one can made the hard calls and take leadership to get them out of this downwards spiral.

Maybe they need paternalism, call it what you will but clearly this is a people unable to help themselves or be easily helped as is constantly demonstrated.

The alternative to harsh action is for yet another generation to go down the drain. Kindness has not worked, self determination has not worked, consultation does not work, reconciliation is a one way street as they are coached it should be.

There's nothing to do in the camps/homelands/settlements so they are a bored people, hence alcoholism and substance abuse.

Just once I'd love to see an article on a decent solution or even a better range of options than yet more welfare and pretend jobs and less finger wagging at people who have tried and failed.

All the do gooders worry too much about all the tiny little injustices too much to notice a people sadly heading for extinction.

Any true solutions are unpalatable to the Government, the UN and to the Aboriginal industry. We will continue to waste millions if not billions on better housing which will be burnt down or abandoned, quasi jobs which produce nothing and providing education that kids won't show up for and if they do just to run a muck. Many immigrants who have come from poverty stricken nations can't believe how dumb we are in pouring many more millions to feed the same old problems. The sooner the Government listens to the likes of Noel Pearson the sooner we will get at least some progress. Unfortunately to many disconnected academics are blinded by their pseudo historic doctrines which just feeds the problems.

There are genuine concerns including Manning's for the situation of the community based indigenous groups and the 'Closing the Gap' process. What some of the comments either pro of anti is that there is an underlying problem and it does not come down to extinction by natural selection, it has been an attempt at extinction by due process. There is base cultural problem that the urban Aborigines have to face and it lies at the basis of the problem. Runner may have experienced it at some time unless the resides in Double Bay or Toorak. If an indigenous person or family moved in next door to you irrespective of that groups social position, you move out: there goes the neighbourhood! If you and a better credentialled or greater experienced indigenous person applied for the same job, you would always get the job. If you are continually told at primary school that you won't have a future so what's the point in finishing primary let alone secondary. The point is that the position of difference even outside of the communities is based on cultural preference and early societal neglect. the derelict monolith called ATSIC was formed to address this type of problem as urban Aborigines with good education and work histories since 1967 could not borrow personal loans let alone housing loans in the period from all Banks. Yes. ATSIC was flawed, but the main beneficaries from those flaws were mainstream people and commercial interests. Go figure!