I believe John Howard has done the right thing in acting toughly in this case. It was reported that a lot of the men in these communities spend the day drinking and it appears the mothers are also drunk or else cant defend their children from these men. Its like if a husband and wife in any society are constantly having drunken parties where the mother and father are drunk and there are drunken men constantly roaming around when there are little girls in the house the outcome is usually sexual assault of the children.
In these Aboriginal societies where there is this mass drunkenness on a tribal scale with the exception of a minority, the sexual assaults on young girls is on a massive scale and out of control. The aboriginies have had decades to address this problem in their tribes but they have failed to protect their children and so the children must be protected by the authorities of the country. This is just mass predatory rape of defenceless children.

SHAME TO THESE ABORIGINAL COMMUNITIES FOR ALLOWING THIS TO HAPPEN TO THEIR CHILDREN. Stop blaming the white people and take some responsibility.

When are the men in these tribes going to stand up and lead their people with pride and diginity instead of spending the day drinking and depending on welfare. The racism card doesn’t wash anymore. How do you explain all the other races here who get jobs and make a good life for themselves. The days of living in the stoneage like these people want to do is long gone, history has turned the page. Its their non acceptance of the reality of this that is at the root of all their problems. Blaming the white man after 200years is not going to solve any of their problems. Only they can stand up and lead themselves out of the past and into the future. Making sure their children go to school would be a good start.

Communicat ,

How do you propose to convince our First Nation descendants that the very people whose white ancestors possibly pillaged their land and Sacred Religious Sites [and as miners are still doing it] ,raped and murdered their families, stole many of their children, not all that long ago, are all good people with ONLY their interests at heart and that they should invite them into their homes for a cup of tea and a yarn to work out the best way to get the job done ?

Howard's absolute inability as a leader to genuinely say "Sorry" to Aboriginal People for the ongoing worst aspects of White Australia's Invasion,Settlement and Dispossession leaves him and his plan on shaky ground and all Australians with important unfinished business as a Nation .

With Army and Police marching in unannounced, Hard won Land Titles now insecure ; the huge historic policy vacuum that has represented Howard and his squatter mates' thinking on Aboriginal Affairs is all too evident .

Will this be another ugly chapter in our Black Armband History or will the wise men of our nation ,many whom are black and are the recepients of Government[s] abuse finally be listened too before it is too late?

Point of order on the separatist myth.

White government created many of the reserves in the hope we could die off peacefully and not provide white inudstrial growth with a hindrance. Read and understand your own bloody history for gawd sake!

The thought that this is a government land grab is so wrong it is funny, sad too however.
ABC radio has from the very start of this let any rat bag idea get air.
Some of those ideas prove my honest wish that real education is badly needed in some of these community's.
And the history of pre white Australia clearly reminds me at least that accountability is no longer part of the culture of some in the community's we speak of.
land grab? it is so very funny isn't it?

Belly,
with a mindset like that,all I can say is thank God for the Mabo High Court Decision and the Laws that followed .

Howard has been trying hard to pare back that historic Decision's liberating effects for Aboriginal People ever since it was made into Law.

First, the Wik Task Force Amendments, [remember them] and what other Land Mischief Laws will come next from the present "Task Force " ?

Mal Brough still can not give a creditable reason as to why he would get rid of the permit system for Aboriginal Land .

White Governments generally have an apalling lack of ability to see what Aboriginals need and let's face it, for every one vote they could get from Aboriginal People for putting up good programs for their help and "Advancement" they would lose far more from that large section of Racist Australia that continues to live in the 19th Century and thinks that they owe the Original Owners nothing .....but more trouble!

kartiya Jim any room for truth?
Want to come with me down any country town street next weekend?
You will hear drunks who call me a white *&^%$.
You will see kids who have no love in their lives stealing.
You if it is the right town hear kids call me uncle.
Elders stop to talk.
Can you continue to use terms that implies this task force is an invasion and still claim to care for your people?
Some of them are RACIST some are pedophiles, some are criminals, and far too many of them live in fear of those type within the community.
Aboriginals once would punish them from within the community and put an end to the problem.
That once proud culture is hard to find in this days community's how do you blame whites for that?
Any action is better than no action, it is far past time for debate like that you put in the way of stopping child rape.
It is time for action from every Australian, and time your community took its share of the blame.