Listening to Tony Abbott on the ABC'S AM this sat. morning when asked how much money he would spend on Aboriginal Health to overcome the child abuse problem and one assumes those affected by the disease of alcohol , he would not say.

It would have been nice for him to say "whatever it takes" but no , political double speak again - it sounds like one truth for the press release another truth for the reality .

Interestingly the Government is going to give the NT labour government the prickly political job of administering liquor licences.

Travelling to Wyndham in north west WA in 1994 ,I was shocked to see alcohol outlets built like Fort Knox - it's the same all over the north - "Get them hooked and rip their money off them - Someone else will pick up the enevitable cost of the ensuing child abuse and violence ".

All Australian governments should immediately make liquor outlets responsible for the health damage their products do to all our society .

Also I think it would be a good idea to make sure those white owned stations that are on the most productive ex Aboriginal land employ a large number of Aboriginal youths to enable them to get the managerial skills necessary for the management of their own land.

Like the Anz Bank's worthy effort of making 3% of it's work force Aboriginal- more needs to be done by big business and all australians.

k-Jim raises an interesting point. Grog outlets are not going to just pack up and go home for the good of indigenous people's health. And a government that won't ask junk food companies not to advertise during kiddy TV shows is unlikely to interfere in the booming business that is alcohol in NT.

You're not going to find doctors and specialists stampeding to remote communities where money is much harder to find. And you're not going to come across a whole lot of doctors who will be happy about checking young kids for sexual abuse without their parents' permission.

After the Chris Hurley episode you're also not going to find the needed number of enthusiastic, rosy-cheeked police officers longing to demonstrate their sensitivity to Aboriginal people. Critics will have a field day with the first sign of police brutality.

I agree with people who say it's a mixture of election strategy and land grab. If there's one thing Howard has wanted all along as much as he's wanted power, it is the power to undo land rights legislation. He's just found a way to do it that makes him look good in the short term.

Yeh righto OZbob, we can build a big white solar tent in the middle of nowhere which we will have to fund, maintain and evenually shut down just like everyother dogooder scheme aimed at the blacks that didnt involve dot paintings or boomerangs.

Kartiya maybe we could get them jobs on white owned stations, who obviousley have the best land and train them in station management. ooops sorry its been done before with very limited success.
Are your experiences limited to a trip past a fortified grog shop in the Nth West. Do you ever wonder why they are fortified? Because they go bloody nuts after 2 beers and the poor prick behind the counter values thier life.

"If conditions are improved, and abuse lessened that is a good thing. Lets hope that the porn capital of Australia, Canberra also has the same strong actions ie. ban x rated porn."

What the hell are you smoking? To advocate authoritarian control of OTHER people's lives? Do you think you live in a Democracy or a Dictatorship, because I sure know where the hell you do belong.

Notice we have three active threads here on this subject? plus a live one that has slipped of the page but still lives.
And one in the posted articles section, pity we could not have one.
Yes you do not need to go far to find the grog shop is fort Knox.
We have to confront the fact it is a nation wide Aboriginal issue.
And that some Aboriginals are racist,
Some ,far too many have no intention of ever working.
Or ever being part of the mainstream.
Some great leaders exist in that community but if the plans they have include work, accountability, and education for Aboriginals they are ignored.
If the hand full of hand out give me the money Aboriginal leaders can get out of the way a chance exists we an do something Howard, I would never shake your hand and look forward to your humiliation on election night but you got it right this time.

"He genuinely cares about the terrible state of our indigenous communities."

If he did, he would have done something prior to this election.