Banjo

The answer is regrettably that all things are relative and the 'good' communities, while showing for example the benefits of increased safety for the young and families, are more rightly called 'better' and may still have a long way to travel to become fully functional.

From the 4X4 travels we do with others around Oz and that involves getting approval from traditional landholders to go into or cross their land, I would have to say that we have never come across a completely functional indigenous community. But then 'fully functional' doesn't really apply to the good citizens of some of the 'burbs of many cities and towns either. My definition of a completely functional community includes such markers as most children regularly attend school and there is evidence of accountability for and care of assets, eg the new guvvy-donated Landcruiser appearing serviced and cared for.

I cannot see how young mothers and children (or youth generally), can possibly live to enjoy the rights, safety, health and opportunities we take for granted unless they have full freedom of choice. That freedom of choice is denied where they are raised in an environment where it suits others to force idealised or otherwise limited beliefs about their proper 'natural' lives upon them. For example, the lack of basic English literacy and numeracy, or basic understanding of mainstream culture and government, while not seen as 'essential' by older relatives and advocates, hobbles them from the start and discriminates against them in a modern world. Noel Pearson and others know that.

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//contd..

This might come to you as a surprise, but from what we have seen and others have related to us over the years have led us to firmly believe that regular independent audit can do more to improve things than an army of advocates and counsellors with their snouts in the public trough.

Surely anyone can see that a cost in excess of $2,000,000 per house for a couple of hundred houses is excessive. Yes, that has been the cost! Then there is the very real doubt that those houses will still habitable after five years of trashing by the owners.

We need a Stretton, not a host of advocates to get housing done and we need private enterprise managing the projects with auditors from smaller companies doing the regular checks, with reports published on the Net for public access. Why auditors from smaller companies? Too easy, they are much less likely to take pollies to dinner and nor might they go to bed with them so readily later.

I think cornflower your ideas would work, are the way to go, and MaryE your last post tells it very much as it really is.
I hurt to think of the grubby trashy people white and yes black who feed from the money meant to improve life for so many.
But am heartened that in this thread we have been able to see the truth in print with a minimum of being called racist for being honest.

Cornflower,
I regret too that you are unable to come up with names of some 'well managed' aboriginal communities. From the way you spoke I was of the opinion that you knew of some. Even 'better' would be something to learn from.

However, back to the housing issue. The aboriginal people of the NT were promised 750 new homes and renovations to existing homes at a cost of $672 milion. That in itself seems a very high cost of nearly $1million for each new house. Now the latest revelation is that the number has now dropped to 300 new homes, and as you say that cost is over $2million per house. It seems the money has been eaten up in bureaurocracy.

IT appears the NT government is responsible for this scandalous situation, and Minister Anderson has resigned in protest.

I do not blame her. Her speech is here below.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25930476-5006790,00.html

Her anger, dissappointment and frustation is revealed.

In any other country the people would be rioting in the streets over this and, while I do not advocate violence, there should be protests in Darwin and Canberra.

It seems there should be another NT intervention, to oust the current government and install, at least, some compedent people.

What hope have we got when this type of incompedence is allowed to take place?

No blooy wonder I am cynical of governments and politicians!

Only a week or so ago the PM took time to express his concern about some stupid talkback radio programme.

His time would be far, far better spent being concerned about the 450 new houses in the NT that are not now going to be built and the loss of the hundreds of millions of taxpayers dollars that was ment for that project.

Kevin, the homes will not be built and the money is gone. Not one house so far.

Banjo

Maybe I should have been plainer in what I said. It would be unreasonable and divisive for me to nominate a few communities where I reckon they have got it together better than most without making the same comparison with non-indigenous communities. Then there is the usual, 'Which are the worst?' Again, my criteria will be different to others.

However you don't need to give examples to the Hon Jenny Macklin MP because there is a huge pile of reports that already give the necessary information and all she has to do is get a quick run-down from her senior bureaucrats along with a list of what minimum standards of health, education and so on should apply to any sector of the Australian community. For instance, law enforcement is the right of any Australian regardless of where they live, so is a certain standard of education.

I agree with Alison Anderson's sentiments, but what she has not said is that the maladministration and corruption (what else can it be called?) goes from the top right through to the bottom. For example, it wasn't the well-meaning politician who trashed the new $70 000 guvvy Landcruiser that was supposed to be used to be used to fetch supplies and take people to the doctor.