Paul1405, "There is a high degree of cynicism and negativity towards Aboriginal people in general by some on forum, and in the broader community as well"

False and you know it. Dirty tricks aimed at muddying the waters and playing the race card.

In fact the Australian public is overwhelmingly and very generously supportive of Aborigines as evidenced by the billions of taxpayers' dollars set aside for their education, counselling, welfare, housing and advancement. Here are the facts,

2014 Indigenous Expenditure Report of the Steering Committee for the Review of Government Service Provision
http://www.pc.gov.au/research/ongoing/indigenous-expenditure-report/indigenous-expenditure-report-2014/indigenous-expenditure-report-2014.pdf

"• Total direct expenditure on services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians in 2012-13 was estimated to be $30.3 billion, accounting for 6.1 per cent of total direct general government expenditure. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians made up
3.0 per cent of the population in 2013.

• Indigenous expenditure increased in real terms by $5.0 billion (19.9 per cent) from 2008-09
to 2012-13, while non-Indigenous expenditure increased by 9.0 per cent. Expenditure per
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander person increased by 10.3 per cent, and expenditure per
non-Indigenous person increased by 2.2 per cent.

• Estimated expenditure per person in 2012-13 was $43 449 for Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander Australians, compared with $20 900 for other Australians (a ratio of 2.08 to 1 — an
increase from a ratio of 1.93 to 1 in 2008-09)."

What the public are concerned about however, is reports such as from Marcia Langton of a ‘national crisis’ that Indigenous women are 34 times more likely to be hospitalised as a result of domestic violence than their non-Indigenous counterparts.

There have been numerous reports, recommendations, advice and best practice guides over decades State government and federal auditors, eg ANAO, that have identified large scale wastage, misappropriation, misdirection and fraud affecting the huge sums allocated to indigenous, to indigenous communities and to their representative organisations, and for very little discernible positive effect.

Self management? Tried time and time again and the rorts are immediate and wholesale.

Hi Paul,

Runner beat me to it :)

"There are many successful Aboriginal people in our modern European style society."

And how many of their kids end up in Don Dale etc. ? None ? My bet is that not too many of the Aboriginal kids who end up in Don Dale are actually from urban, working families, but a very high proportion are from remote 'communities', and have been the subjects of social work notifications, time and again.

We all seem to be agreed that kids who end up in Don Dale have committed offences, sufficiently serious enough to warrant their incarceration. 97 % of kids there are Indigenous, 3 % are not Indigenous. 65 % of the Territory's population is not Indigenous. If the Indigenous kids there committed as few offences as non-Indigenous kids, there would be only a tiny fraction, a twenty-fifth, as many kids in Don Dale as there are.

So it's a bit disingenuous (look it up) for you to claim some sort of mitigation of the problem by citing children of working and urban families. You know very well, if you know anything, that NOBODY is suggesting that ALL Indigenous children from ANY background are equally likely to end up in care, or detention. You know very well that the problems lie elsewhere. But clearly you don't want any of these problems ever resolved. Not while they can provide an endless supply of sticks to shove up the arse of the 'system', whites, colonialism, whatever works.

Here's a suggestion: that the parents of any kids in detention, or care, lose any relevant benefits for the duration.

Joe

In another, concurrent thread, 'Australia's Shame' I posted a link to a video documentary on juvenile offenders, specifically juvenile sexual offenders, although the delivery system would be the same for juvenile offenders generally. The URL again,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUAljuxNUu0

One of the reasons I am posting it again here is to challenge the default fatalist position of the compo lawyers and other apologists for the 'Boys' that they had no control over their own actions and society is to blame. That is of course the usual refrain of convicts.

In the video linked to above, one of the very clever manipulative juvenile offenders boasts that he "knows the difference between right and wrong, but he chooses to do wrong".

A comment not to be forgotten in the present debate in Oz. Or that juvenile offenders like their adult counterparts can be highly skilled in manipulation. -As evidenced by the number of warders, counsellors and others who are taken in by them.

Beach, I fail to see the relationship between child sex offenders in the US and Aboriginal children incarcerated in the North Territory of Australia, I am sure you will be able to establish the relationship very shortly, and post it for all to see. Just to note, I'm not suggesting young offenders in the NT did not at any stage know they were not doing wrong.

Not since the time of the Whitlam Government some 40 years ago can anyone seriously claim that federal government funding in the area of Aboriginal affairs is insufficient, or an issue, I don't. As for the funding provided by the MT government in the area of juvenile justice that may be questionable.

"that NOBODY is suggesting that ALL Indigenous children" I never used the word "ALL" I used the word "some". Unlike you Joe I do not claim to be the forums guru (your use of the word "disingenuous") on all matters Aboriginal. I do have knowledge of matters Aboriginal, particularly the inner city of Sydney and surrounds. I see good people, I see bad people, and yes some are Aboriginal.

"Here's a suggestion: that the parents of any kids in detention, or care, lose any relevant benefits for the duration."

Can I put this to you. Mary, a single mum, the father disappeared before the kid was born. Mary has a son Max, now about 30. Max has been an habitual criminal since he was a kid. He has spent more time in jail than out, in jail at the moment. Max has been a non productive drain on society for his whole life. Mary has basically done the best she could for Max over the years, making many sacrifices and suffering a great deal of heartache for her trouble. According to you punitive action in the form of denial of social benefit should have been Mary's lot. BTW both Mary and Max are white.

Hi Paul,

Like you and most posters on OLO, I see " ... I see good people, I see bad people, and yes some are Aboriginal." That's agreed then.

Yeah, my categorical statement was a bit over the top. You're not claiming though that Mary should still be getting benefits for Max ? Is he mentally disabled, and she is his carer ?

If only some on the pseudo-Left could spend a few days in a remote 'community', from say the Tuesday before pay-out day until, say the next Monday: a solid week. You would see starving kids, fat adults, bickering, humbugging galore, everybody bored sh!tless, in the lead-up to the big day, then on the Thursday, splurging, much indulgent love for kids for a cou0le of hours, much grog-smuggling activity, gambling and general merriment and brawling - until about Sunday. Then the starving and neglect begins again. At any time, the kids will be wandering the streets at two and three in the morning, knowing that 'Uncle' is waiting at home. And around and around it goes.

Really, is that a life that anybody should be condemned to live ? For their short thirty or forty years ? Stuck in remote hell-holes where there never will be any genuine work for anybody, certainly not for the fathers of those neglected kids ?

Of course, now that any boom is over, anybody looking for work now has missed the boat. So another generation will 'learn' that there is no point to any schooling. And we'll get some other moron going on about 'strong culture'. Yeah, right.

Maybe one day, someone on the pseudo-Left will have the courage to 'deconstruct' 'culture' too.

Joe

Paul1405,

Your reading comprehension always fails you.

However, since you raised it, from court reports in Australia there is every reason to believe that sex offences among youth offenders and especially aboriginal youth would be as high as among youth in the US.

In Australia, rapes of aboriginal girls is excused by the extreme multiculturalism and political correctness that says that such offences are part of traditional culture. The offences are underreported.

Here is one example where the broader Australian community, in this case Queenslanders, were outraged and forced review,

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/archive/news/child-rape-sentence-pathetic/story-e6frg6oo-1111115072997

On a recent Late Night Live, Indigenous academic Marcia Langton declared it was a national crisis that indigenous women are 34 times more likely to be hospitalised as a result of domestic violence than their non-Indigenous counterparts.

Why would you and the NSW 'Watermelon' Greens be wanting to conceal sexual offences committed against indigenous girls and women? Your extreme multicultural political correctness traps indigenous girls and women and denies them the right to the full protection and remedies of Australian law.