Indi, do you have to politicize this with your "it's all about extracting more funding for chest-beating exercises by integrity bereft lefties." and "the bull dust of leftist do-gooders" You hate to see stories which show indigenous people in a positive way, it doesn't sit well with you blinkered view that likes to portray aboriginal people in the negative.
Thanks for that Joe, good to see there are positives, and there are many positives with indigenous people trying to make their way in what still is a very discriminatory white society.

Got to fly Joe, literally....but a quick thanks for this thread.

Dear Joe (Loudmouth),

I watched "Q and A," last night.
It was filmed in WA - and in one part of
the show an Indigenous professional (female)
told of the numbers of Indigenous youth that
were in WA jails. She stated that females in
particular were safer in the jails than they
were in their own homes. What a shameful thing
to learn. And that many actually learned literacy
skills in jail. She spoke of conditions in
these communities that could not be ignored -
and I coudln't help but wonder - why nothing
is being done to solve these problems - or for that
matter - what can be done that will actually work.
Education, seems to be the key - and this leads
to employment - but in this day and age in our
country surely we can do better than what we're
currently doing?

She also told of a two year old child who had been
penetrated so many times that the child will never
be able to have children. Can you imagine - a two
year old child? I've got a two year old grandchild.
That is horrific.

Joe enjoyable reading that good news.
I wish I could point to some of that coming from my area.
Seems suburbia is producing the best results.
Yet we have integrated housing and separation here and seem unable to make much ground.
Will watch thread with interest.

Thanks SoG, Belly, Individual, I'll have to get back to you.

Thanks Lexi,

Yes, that sort of thing was why Howard brought in the so-called Intervention, and thank Christ he did, it might have stopped some dreadful abuse in the outlying settlements, where -literally - nobody can hear you scream or, to be more precise, everybody can but nobody does fu@$-all.

Back in 2007, my late wife wrote an article about what she called the 'two Indigenous populations' - one which was work-oriented, and therefore education-oriented, and the other which was welfare-oriented and therefore grog- and abuse-oriented. Sorry, that's how we saw it. One population had decent health, education, employment etc. stats, the other had shocking stats.

The two populations overlap, of course, and in, say, a graduate's family, there will be drop-kicks and boozers, and occasionally, vice versa. But the two paths are moving off in different directions and it is up to the people - not that outsiders can do much at all - to decide which path to take. Dropkicks make their own decisions too.

But they are not puppets, or twigs in a stream, being driven hither and thither - they are agents in their own lives, and make their own stupid and disastrous decisions. Seriously - such people THINK they are being smart, clever, tricking the system, by avoiding education and skills, and therefore work, and staying on welfare and in that semi-criminal zone. Yes, there's a lot of violent death in that zone, but it's a bit late to think about it until afterwards.

So I don't bother much about them. There are many, many others who want to make a go of their lives. They are the precious ones, the people who will make a positive difference, who make an effort to contribute. They make up, i reckon, around two-thirds of the Indigenous population, are very often inter-married, and are raising their kids to a work ethic. They're not the dung beetles hanging around the @rse of the last giant Diprotodon. To me, they are the future of Indigenous people.

Love,

Joe

Lexi,

There is a bifurcation in aboriginal culture. Those who want a better future and will take up the opportunities to improve themselves are doing so. It is only natural too that they would want to find a life in middle Australia, a well-ordered 'burb with schools and safety from the long-grassing relatives who threaten them and molest their loved ones.

The others who want to be dependent, see no worth in making an effort and make excuses for their own sloth and lack of respect, will slouch along on guvvy benefits while being serial nusiances and threats to themselves and others. They need it to always be someone else's problem. But they make choices every day.

Caring parents and prospective parents need to get themselves and their families away from dangerous people who perceive benefit from a dysfunctional lifestyle and are going nowhere through their own choice.

Offenders do not end up with a custodial sentence for minor offencees. It takes some very nasty anti-social behaviour against other people to end up in gaol.