bitey,

You don't even have the ability to avoid old and banal cliches!

And I did 'take time to read the article'; so you are not much of a mind reader either. Not only you are smarted-arsed and abusive, you have nothing to base your abuse on.

Since when did Noel Pearson live on native land? He is doing his best to ensure that 'his' young people do leave their lands to seek an education, then make up their minds about what THEY want without the help of sanctimonious no-nothings like you, waffling on about crap that that I never mentioned.

Many subjects, including this one, have been discussed many times before you came on the scene sonny Jim, and you have nothing new to offer except your ignorance.

While I am a proponent of a social welfare system as a safety net, too much social welfare where the recipients become so dependent on outside help they cannot be self-reliant is not a good thing.

While that is stating the obvious, for some reason the obvious still continues to be ignored. Too much money spent on promoting the image of doing something than actually doing it.

Providing healthy food options are meaningless if those options are not taken up. Education about healthy food including cooking would be more relevant if delivered by Aboriginal people within their own communities rather than by outsiders no matter how well intentioned.

The only way Aboriginal people can improve their lot is to first determine what 'their lot' is? What one culture might seek in terms of quality of life another culture will deem undesirable. Are we putting white man's vision on a very different culture?

Aboriginal people have to be involved in their own destiny in partnership with outside help by all means but until there is some level of self-determination and self respect, nothing much will change. The proof is in the evidence before us - no matter how much government money spent to date what has been achieved?

Sure there have been some improvements for those individuals who have taken advantage of the grants and educational opportunities to forge a different and better life for themselves.

Maybe the reality is that the change will be slow and only achieved through a trickle down effect over time.

Leigh, I can think of several possible retorts to your splenetic rantings but all that would do is perpetuate this silly to and fro.

Suffice it to say Rollo has no doubt moved on to do more good in the community leaving side line shouters like you and me to ponder the fine print.

And on behalf of "sanctimonious no-nothings" [sic] everywhere I say keep up the good work exposing us in all our forms.

blah, blah, blah....

The only real answer to aboriginal disadvantage is quite simply assimilation. When they accept that the only way to obtain the benefits they complain about not having is to embrace the culture that produces those benefits their situation will rapidly improve. In other words "the ball's in their court". Isolating ones self in remote communities in the middle of nowhere clinging to a stone age culture is a guaranteed dead end. My distant ancestors had a stone age culture 40,000 years ago but I'm not trying live by it today.