I was just wondering that since so many of the topics have been so focused on animal welfare and religion , could we perhaps change the tone a little to discuss our own beliefes and life philosophies.

To start with I believe that the government has an agenda that still carries on from the old days.I believe that it gave up on Aboriginal people a long time ago and there is an insidiuos and not so subtle undercurrent of" genocidial intent' being delivered with every welfare handout these people receive...

You cant tell me that by now one of these so called experts and administrators hasnt come to the conclusion that Aboriginal,Indigenous people, simply dont know how to handle and use currency in their everyday life to take of and feed their children, who are the 1st to suffer from this misuse by Abl people of their income..
No nutrition,Alhoholism,domestic violence,death from preventable illness as a direct result of improper nutrition and on it goes.

I belive the Governments thinking is 'let them wipe themselves..we are doing the 'right thing' look how much money we give them?'..if they have no education to help overcome this huge cultural divide, how are the Govt REALLY helping.They need training ,jobs and a real income..most want it.

The assimilation practices of the past with remote communities simply didnt work and the problems such as I see here are horrific and heartbreaking,especially the way I see these little children suffer and in may cases die , assimilation didnt work..it is just not acceptable in mainstream society and mainstream would never allow this cruel and patronising, racial practices to erode away at their basic human rights this way...these people arent argueing over "abortion pills' and and the like..they just want their communities safe from child sexual abuse, domestic violence,death and mutulation by alchhol abuse, respect enough that they will be given real employment from which their standard of living and self esteem comes..when does a childs life and well being cease to matter?

“For all of Noel Pearson's eloquent denunciations of welfare dependency as "poisoned flour", far too few of the social welfare salariat seem to realise that's really what they're doling out.”

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20876,20376233-7583,00.html

Yes Seeker, this is exactly right, and I had in mind a much broader range of welfare problems not just effecting sole parents...however your link is very relevant as part of the problem at least.

Does anyone here believe as I do that the Government really have 'genocidal intent'?
Or is just an apathetic approach to a problem they have no comprehension of?

These problems exist in all parts of Australia and around the fringes of a lot of our larger centres...out of sight out of mind.

Why afetr all these years has no progress been made at all?

OZGIRL

I couldn't agree more. I think it is intentional and incideous.

For a country as rich as Australia to have a whole section of its citizens with life expectancy upwards of 20 years lower, huge un-employment, alcoholism and social problems is absolutely disgusting.

I lived in London and around Europe and the US for over 6 years and I can tell you that people from O/S are much more interested in Indigenous Australia than they are of Opera Houses or Football Ovals. We should celebrate our indigenous people and help them to thrive within the tourism industry.

OZGIRL, I've not seen amything that leaves me to believe that many in any recent australian government (past and present federal and state governments) seek a slow form of genocide.

It seems more likely that the issues are in the too hard basket. It's easiest to be seen to be doing something (some money and programs) without the political risk of radical solutions.

We tend to want something to be done to fix the problem but don't want
- much more money spent.
- anything that looks like official racial discrimination against indiginous people
- anything that conspicously breaches indiginous civil liberties
- the problem on our doorstep (much nicer out in remote communities and inner city parks than in our suburbs)

I don't have the answers.

R0bert

Please? Why not treat each race equally? To do other is simply racism!
If I get out of work and need the dole, etc, etc, then what difference does my race make?
Why should I be treated differently because I am of aboriginal descent?

I do not think that the Government has a 'let them wipe themselves out' attitude to aboriginal people. The massive amounts of money and indulgence all governments have given them is a stange way of 'wiping them out'.

Had the meddling do-gooders allowed nature and evolution to take its course over the past 200 plus years, aboriginal-Australians would have passed peacefully into history long ago. The Mayans disappeared. The Incas disappeared. The Roman Empire disappeared. All of these cultures had had their time, and were unable to adapt to changing times. Nature has this in store for all of us who cannot adapt to change. With no malice towards Australian aborigines intended, it must be said that this is what should have happened to them in the natural way of things.

The aboriginal 'problem' has been caused by arrogant social engineers who think that they can play god with nature, and get away with it.

The Government does not have to do anything - Indigenous people are wiping themselves out quite successfully. The problem is that the rest of the country is forced to watch as they undertake their own eradication program.

The so-called Aboriginal leaders are silent on the very issue that is behind the problem - men.

The stand-over tactics is endemic in Aboriginal communities. Women and kids are subject to levels of abuse committed by men that if committed in a white community would have had self-appointed advocates screaming through the media which governments would ignore at their peril. Yet from Aborigines - nothing but stony silence because to complain is seen as being 'like whites'. A process of learned helplessness is pervading Indigenous communities.

Leigh ,
Suppose you consider your Aboriginal neighbour's boy, who plays with your son, almost one of the family.
Now if he had contracted a deadly disease would you let him pass into history or would you tell his father about the new antibiotic that is available to cure him ?
OK , so you never let your son play with Aboriginal kids .