Thanks Jim for pointing that out,

Oliver, really! Such a precious fellow it seems. I knew Waitagi was ratified in 1970 but hey, what’s the point in discussing this with something who was not even aware of the common law arguments that underpinned the Mabo case?

Any time you'd like to come to my uni and give a guest lecture let me know through OLO.

My legal, anthropological, literary, sociological,and philosophy mates all need a good laugh.

Seriously let me know!

Response to Robert:

Yes. Citizen and Resident have different meanings. To discrimate against non-residents (eg Medicare, Social Security) is also not racism either.

AMEL just a quickie....what term do you use for those who discriminate against those who are intent in subverting their culture and political system ? :)

Another.

How did Mohammed and his companions intepret Surah 9:20 ?

YUSUFALI: Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, (even if they are) of the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued.

Hadith Bukhari Volume 4 Book 53, number 386 should help you out there.

I'd be most interested in your response to this. It will answer a fundamental question about 'are immigrants racist'.

Cheers

Boazy: "AMEL just a quickie....what term do you use for those who discriminate against those who are intent in subverting their culture and political system ? :)"

I'll have a go: how about "paranoid bigot"... "fascist"... "totalitarian" etc. Your description fits exactly with e.g. Chinese suppression of Falun Gong, the Soviet suppression of Hungarians etc.

Like most religious extremists, Boazy is a closet fascist, and in that respect is no better than the Taliban.

Our culture and political system tolerate dissent, free expression of ideas and peaceful change from within. It's called democracy.

"Ever looked for a dentist in the bush?
Ever looked for a doctor in the bush ?
Ever looked for cheap healthy food in the bush? " Kartiya Jim, I hear you! Where I live now, all are reasonably easy to come by, but it hasnt always been so. The more remote you get, the worse it gets.

Whilst we cant provide city infrastructure to every person in this country, we should be able to provide reasonable access. Fly in visits from health professionals is a must for communities (again, black or white). Food is a harder one, but the more remote areas should be encouraged to have communal gardens, with necessary training provided.

But aside from this, what was the life expectancy of an aboriginie in 1788? Have we gone forwards or backwards? Whilst I will not deny that most blacks live under worse standards than most whites, they still have better shelter, clothing etc than 200 years ago.Does this make things right -nope. My point is simply that there seems to be some small improvement.

I do actually understand the connection to the land and the need to recognise that connection - the feeling of belonging. I am from an old farming family (have owned the land for well over 100 years). My husbands family owned their land for 1 year less than mine (although completely different area). I have my own strong sense of belonging - whilst neither myself nor my siblings will ever return to farming ourselves, we have all agreed never to sell. It is US. It is what makes me who I am. My husbands family has lost their land, and I see the ongoing grief that the younger generation suffers as a result. They cannot let go. So, you might find, particularly amongst the 4th, 5th and 6th generation farmers, an understanding, at least at a deep level, of the idea of connection to the land.

R0bert, there are also temporary residents compared to permanent residents. Temp residents have to pay for their kids to go to a public school (around $10k/pa in NSW). Permanent residents do not. There are a number of other things, but this one springs to mind. A client of mine had huge financial difficulties in moving to Australia on a skills visa (with the intention of staying permanently). He had to leave everything he owned in his home country (due to their laws) and then had to fork out $20k/pa for his kids to go to the local small town public school, on top of building some cash reserves, learning the tax system (never underestimate how hard our tax system is until you try to explain it to someone who doesnt speak engish well!), buy a house etc. I'd have suggested using the local catholic school as it would have been cheaper, but wasnt really appropriate given he was muslim (a good muslim though - he has given me and my staff a christmas cake every year since he moved to the town!!). Heck, re-reading this before posting, I am not as redneck as some other posters would have you believe.