I was very touched by this article in Quadrant, the only journal which seems to be publishing accurate articles on Indigenous issues (and I'm a Leftie saying that! what has the world come to ?):

http://www.quadrant.org.au/blogs/bennelong-papers/2013/06/indigenous-squalor-and-the-third-world-cliche

The image of Indonesian kids, all clean and beautifully dressed, streaming out of rat-hole slums in Djakarta, almost had me in tears, it really did. I've seen similar pictures of Tanzanian kids like that, keen, clean, so enthusiastic, and you imagine the work their mothers have gone through to get them ready and how much they invest in those beautiful kids.

And then you know that Aboriginal kids even in remote settlements have so much available and waste it. What a travesty.

Poverty ? Rubbish.

Meanwhile, in the cities, Aboriginal people work for their living, and are making sure their kids will have to do the same .........

Like everybody else. Fair enough.

Joe

About 20 years ago a friend of mine worked in the NT building houses for them at taxpayer expense, within 1 year of the aborigines moving in the houses built were only good for demolition.

They would hire a plane to go and get grog, or pool the money and buy a 4wd for a grog run.

Australian taxpayers do not force them to be drunks but we are forced to pay for there stupidity.

Enough is enough, give them food stamps or food only until they have sobered up and kicked the addiction to alcohol.

The more we try to help them monetarily the worse they get.

There are lots of good aborigines that have made good lives for themselves and there offspring, time the Government said no more for there own sake.

Loudmouth Joe the thought and feeling shows in your post.
I share both.
Often I think the entrenched failure may well,be the out come this country wants.
As a tool to let self destruction do its work.
You do not, believe me, have to go out back to see its just as bad not far from any city.
Maybe we of the left of center are as bad as the ranting right.
While our aims are good the out come is not.
Education is a tool not used enough, not just for the kids but parents to, on going education.

Both previous posts are spot-on observations. I just want to add the huge sums of taxpayers' money that goes to these communities & then straight into bank accounts of the incompetent bureaucrats who are the main cause of those dreadful situations.
Just like in our society it is the incompetent in the communities too who are appointed to the jobs they fail so miserably in.
Education too is failing miserably by sending incompetent teachers whose only incentive is the money & benefits & scope of promotion. The EPA, the licencing units, that fanaticism of football etc all contribute to the appalling situation. The Nr1 cause are the do-gooders who don't even go there. Whenever someone has a great idea to deal with the situation they are called racist by those do-gooders.

part of the problem is the myth of this wonderful peaceful lifestyle in the bush before the wicked whities destroyed such harmony. Must admit though some of these old bushman look at the rat race we live in and don't want a part of it. Unfortunately the kids are the ones who grow up without parents and with no opportunity often hoping they might get some mining money to top up centrelink payments.

Ok, I read the article and accept what joe and others say as correct.

Now, what has not been tried yet? How do they get the kids clean and healthy and to school? How do they stop the violence and stop the abuse?

Is it just a matter of not having grog available?

A couple of years ago, I heard of an Aboriginal community, near Newcastle, that had the worst abuse record of all. That apparently was turned around to be one of the lowest. I cannot recall the places name and I do not know what has happened since, but something must have been done right then. Be interesting to know the name and recent history.