otb,

I don't believe in having a battle of wits
with a person such as yourself who's so
obviously unarmed. So challening your views
becomes so easy. You're way outclassed old chap -
but keep trying. You amuse me. And I enjoy
pointing out your failings in every quadrant.
And I choose the questions I answer not you.
Nobody made you in charge. You seem to have
delusions of adequacy - but that's your problem
not mine. As for showing you my "bum?"
You wish. In your case - it's simply blowing raspberries
and the middle finger that I would prefer to use!
(smile).

Foxy,

More burns, is that all you've got?

As usual, I will not join you in that.

I have read the last couple of posts by Beach, I can only describe them as 'The Diatribe of a Desperate'. For a raving right winger, and one so politically naive as our dear friend Beach, his deluded tirade against Whitlam and his government defies belief. The fellow excels in delivering the most venomous of posts, and again he has achieved this end, with his daily incantations of hate against those he despises, Progressives, Greens, Labor Socialists and anyone with the temerity to disagree with his wildest of machinations! On reading these Beach diatribes it is soon realised that they lack any factual substance what so ever, they are nothing more than his own distorted delusions. He then has the effrontery to demand others refute his nonsensical arguments. I simply say, why should they?

Paul1405,

You play politics but be aware that game is always played at the expense of the vulnerable.

I believe my assessment of the Whitlam years and the aftermath has been quite restrained and that is thinking of the awful harm and wasted resources and years from from Black Curtain period of self determination by indigenous communities.

It was self-imposed apartheid that benefited the few in the communities and some related as far as I was aware, and provided careers in the public service and as consultants, for a mob of people who made a jolly good living out of money that should have been delivering results out there on the ground, or at least allowing those young children to complete schooling somewhere else where it was possible and where they were safe.

Whitlam created a victim industry for fleas on fleas. He did that inadvertently, but he didn't listen to contrary advice which I am sure he would have been receiving from existing departmental heads. -That was when he was in Australia, of course. He was quite a tourist and Australia was a pond that was far too small for him (a similar comment applies to Kevin707 and Juliawhatsherbloodyname).

I was given permission a number of times to travel through some aboriginal lands, permission I was thankful for, and while I saw only bits of what was happening within and it was after Whitlam, that was enough to reduce many of my party to tears for young mothers, children and youth. Make that tears of exasperation too.

Whitlam, was the first politician in Australia to make a consciences effort to improve the lot of aboriginal people. What had years of conservative rule achieved? Noting but to foster innate racism within Australian white society. Prior to Whitlam the majority were nice raciest, with the mentality that "Oh! Abbos, yes they are decent enough simple people, but they have to know their place." Their place was to be ostracised and marginalised and pushed to the extreme fringes of society. Aboriginals lived in appareling conditions, on health, education and all social justice issues the plight of aboriginal people was abysmal! That is what Whitlam inherited from Menzies and co who had rules over aboriginal people since 1788.
I will not deny mistakes were made by the Whitlam government and subsequent governments on the question of aboriginals but to take the short sighted cynical view that you take is unreasonable.
My own mother who lived to be 84, possessed a small amount of aboriginal blood from her mothers side, something she denied until the very last years of her life, they had created a story to explain their "olive" skin as she liked to call it, it was "Spanish" from the exotic island of "Mauritius". For people to fabricate such a lie for a 100 years, I ask you, how far down has their race been driven?
I'm glad you were given permission to travel through aboriginal land, because every step you take in Australia is through aboriginal land.

Paul405, "every step you take in Australia is through aboriginal land"

Is that so, what tribe then? Because there were dozens and dozens and all hated one another, with the penalty of a cruel death for even a child's accidental incursion, one step, into another tribe's assumed land - territories that were fought over for thousands of years.