Today on ABC Radio National I have just heard Fran Kelly talk to Aboriginal Community members at Papunya in the Northern Territory .

They want the scourge of child abuse, violence, the results of alcoholism and poor health outcomes gone from their homelands and community . They want help .

All this in a community that has a permanent police presence.

What they are also distressed about is the thought that their land and society will be under threat by John Howard's removal of their permit system, for what appears no real reason other than to give us whites unlimited entry to what is their Aboriginal owned Land .

As a law abiding white man or woman owning land I can and do decide who can or cannot come through my front gate and affect my life and family , be it a house block or a million acres .

It is a gross violation of my Human Rights if I cannot... but then they are not legislated for in Australia are they ?

kjim, there is no such thing as human rights. there are political rights, which are those freedoms enjoyed by the masters of any society. in australia that group is the politicians guild.

the rest of us get along by keeping our heads down, not attracting the attention of the pollies. they won't bother us, as long as we don't threaten their comfortable position.

the first ozzies are not a significant group of voters and consequently don't play a role in oz political society, except occasionally as an 'issue'- something to talk about that doesn't need real action.

bad luck for them, but the pollies are just doing what comes natural. the structure of oz society leads to this result, which is why it just festers for a hundred-odd years now, and will continue. if you want a better result, you have to change society. i'm not holding my breath.

"As a law abiding white man or woman owning land I can and do decide who can or cannot come through my front gate and affect my life and family , be it a house block or a million acres ."
But I am not law abiding if I intefere with children on said property. My rights disappear when the law comes a knocking...

"for what appears no real reason other than to give us whites unlimited entry to what is their Aboriginal owned Land"
I actually can't see any logical reason for why Howard would want this? Its a furphy. Its more likely a political stunt for the upcoming election.

Howard has ignored Aboriginal people all the years he has been PM, and has consistently defunded sensible grass-roots programs to protect children. Now about 6 months before an election (which he knows he is likely to lose), he pulls this stunt, charging into Aboriginal communities on the pretext of caring about the kids... you're right, it doesn't make sense on this level, there are sadly not even many votes in Aboriginal well-being, so there logically has to be another agenda and I believe that amid all the confusion and controversy Howard will be quietly revoking land leases and securing mining companies' access to these locations. I haven't looked into this deeply yet, but that is my suspicion at this point, what do you all think

"I believe that amid all the confusion and controversy Howard will be quietly revoking land leases and securing mining companies' access to these locations"
Can't see how this would get around Native Tite laws either. Land leases are still subject to claims.

People enter our land all the time. They come and demand money (in the form of collections for charity), to do surveys (designed to try and sell you something) or they try to change your religion (those nicely dressed types who hunt in pairs).
We can ask them to leave and, if they do not, then we can sue for trespass.
Indigenous Australians also have the right to ask people to leave. There is a vast difference between that right and being told that, as an Australian citizen, there are parts of your own country on which you are not allowed to set foot because the people who live there have a different skin colour.
One of the many causes of the current situation in indigenous communities is that they have been encouraged to be separate and feel different. We and they have been told that this is the only way they can preserve their culture and lifestyle and language. By failing to ask the children to learn English we fail to provide them with the basic tool to fully participate in Australian society.
The same is true of other ethnic groupings in Australia, although at present it is to a somewhat lesser extent. However if we allow and indeed encourage such separatism then we have to acknowledge the consequences.
If people could accept the need for integration we might actually manage to keep more culture, lifestyle and language than we will if this sorry state of affairs is allowed to continue. Rather than criticise the actions taken we should support them and make demands for more integration so that those involved can fully participate in Australian society. Past policies have failed in part because we have failed to integrate groups as opposed to individuals.
Present policies will fail if we keep getting negative comments and a failure to cooperate from those who have made a living out of being 'activists'.