Sorry Individual you have shown me not to expect too much of you ,and that is what I get.
This morning I watched a story of an old gentle man,white being bashed by Queensland police.
This thread came to mind, a poster rather proud it seems, told us of being in prison with Aboriginals as fun.
It may have been the same one, not sure, that denigrated ALL police.
I am aware, have seen it,SOME police are thugs, bash many for nothing.
I also am aware of taunting and a sport some, of every race,play,lets up set a cop.
I truly want US ALL to think about this,we brand people like me racist,we do not wish to see the very real ugliness that is ON BOTH sides here.
But as a cop can be trained by the spit running down his face over and again, we MUST confront the racism of these folk,some not all, is based on not understanding not being educated.
Indy in another thread I highlight it was my party too that got rid of laws we once had to stop street drunkenness and bad behavior.
Your constant jibs about the left? seems you find it ok.
Can I then call you what I think you are? no will not bother not worth the effort.
We must improve the life of our first Australians if it means spending more spend it, if it means making real jobs make them,but let us all undertake in the next couple of generations no more to see quality in opportunity and lifestyle education and what ever else is needed comes.

Belly,
Sticking your head in the sand whenever Labor makes a bad move is not very sincere. Your comments about the Police are just as flat-footed. Why, tPolice are no different to Union delegates, you get good & bad. If you're tiring of my constant jibes at the left then all you have to do is to tell the left to stop being an expensive, disruptive nuisance & all will be well. The ball's in your court !
You talk about improving the lives of indigenous. What are you doing about it ? I work in communities for the past 30 years & all I can say that all our efforts to help restore some dignity in communities were & still are constantly ruined by yes, you guessed it, the lefties.
Belly, as long as you find it too difficult to accept the cause of so many problems in our society, you should refrain from commenting as it only makes you a nuisance. I won't call you a hypocrite because being hypocritical is deliberate, I'm prepared to give you the benefit of doubt.

I'll share a personal note, one that is based upon my own observations. Where young Aboriginal Men from communities have been actively recruited to serve in the Armed Forces, they tend to be left alone by Police. They also tend to be able to take care of their communities a lot better than anyone else. The majority of instances where I have seen this in action are based upon people who served during the late 60's, early 70's, when we had a full Brigade (virtually) overseas.

The benefit of the Army is that these individuals had to learn to trust and interact with non-Aboriginal men. They also earned the trust and admiration of the same (young blackfellas make VERY good infantrymen, particularly those from communities who have learned to hunt).

At the current time, with massive numbers of soldiers needed, with declining induction rates, etc. perhaps it might be an idea for the army (especially) to consider actively recruiting from communities. In order to do any good, they'd be forced to work around minor criminal records, as well as providing bridging courses for educational purposes, but if 90% of the men in a community were trained soldiers, including trades, then the problem will change in a very short period. No more would corrupt outsiders get to tell them what was happening, no more would CDEP (or the like) be implemented.

I am proud to know quite a lot of ex-Army Indigenous Australian's, they are stalwart protectors of their communities and a force to be reckoned with by the Authorities.

However, in order to effectively recruit, people who were not just accepted by the Community, but those who are respected by the same, would be needed. That would not be Police/Judiciary, but quite probably ex-Army Relatives, or people who are capable of being regarded as Uncle's. People like Mr Payne VC OAM, Mr Donaldson VC & Mr Roberts-Smith VC MG, as well as other decorated soldiers. The likelihood of getting killed on overseas deployment is frankly lower than that of getting killed on most communities.

What would also be good, is if the Australian Corps of Infantry (RAInf) and the Australian Corps of Engineers (RAEME) could, perhaps as the leadup to deployment to Afghanistan with the purpose of rebuilding communities which have no respect for/knowledge of, the "Rule of Law", which are dysfunctional and have major issues with housing, public amenities, etc. while under fire. Quite simply, if we cannot fix such communities at the end of a long, involved supply chain, here - we've got Buckley's of getting the job done there.

Wherever the Army (RAInf/RAEME) were deployed would be Policed by the AFP for the interim, allowing for a complete change from the current situation. Helping such communities rebuild, training them to be self-sufficient and self-governing, within the framework of law & order imposed by a central government is the mission in Afghanistan. Realistic training with the full range of problems imposed by lack of governance, lack of respect for the law, language problems, etc. is possible within this Country (not something to be proud of, but all the same). Failure to make use of it, even if it involves medium-long term commitment and building materials, training for the Indigenous Inhabitants of the communities, etc. will mean that we are unlikely to succeed in Afghanistan. Any problem in training will be magnified under fire.

Cost-wise? Well as a bonus the Army would be in a perfect position to save money on exercise/training commitments which should be offset against the cost, as well as being able to recruit semi-trained individuals through shortened courses, so the overall cost (offset) would be minimal. Paying people to work should be a good alternative to CDEP. Training them to work, while teaching them the benefits of discipline, consistency and teamwork, with the carrot being the potential to be chosen for recruitment as a soldier. That might just be enough, especially with the use of assets such as our most highly decorated soldiers, as well as ATSI veterans, as role models.

IF it were possible to do so, perhaps under the Aegis of a Registered Charity (Tax Deductible) for the purpose of funding the initial Organisation and sufficient qualified personnel were to step forward (while those who are needed could be contacted and asked to help), there is the possibility that "Manhood" & "Initiation" could be changed from the current "Jailhouse" variety to the "Right to Wear" a Uniform. As such a concept would make it an imperative for Indigenous Youth to measure up (which would take a great deal of Community & Role Model Support), allowing them to wear a Cadet Uniform.

Of necessity, such a course would require minimum standards, of drill, teamwork, fitness, literacy & numeracy, etc. Surely the ADF could be approached to give advanced standing to those who measured up to the "Cadet" standard, which would entitle them access to Kapooka & Singleton, thereby entitling the Graduates of those two esteemed establishments, the "Right to Wear" the uniform of the Royal Australian Army.

It would take quite a lot of organising, but I'm wondering, who has a reasoned suggestion or criticism of the proposed scheme? I certainly don't promise I could make it happen, but I may just know sufficient people who could.

Here's something to think about:

On May 27, it will be 44 years since the historic referendum on counting Aboriginal people in the NATIONAL Census, and passing over responsibility for making laws in respect to Aboriginal people from the STATE governments to the NATIONAL government. As I recall, you had to be twenty one to vote in those days.

So as from May 27 this year, nobody in Australia younger than sixty five participated in that referendum. Anybody who did will be sixty five or older. Or, of course, no longer with us.

In fact, when you think about it, if half of the Indigenous population is under the age of, say, twenty five, then half of the population does not really have any memory of political events of fifteen or more years ago.

Conversely, with very few Indigenous people over the age of sixty, i.e. born in 1950, too young for the Referendum, almost no Indigenous people would have first-hand memories or political understanding of anything much before 1960.

Aaron,

I'm sure that Individual would agree with me that when you have to specify more than one 'IF', your chances of success are indeed approaching Buckley's.

Joe