We are not about to give
it back. So the least we can do is oblige ourselves to
listen when Indigenous people ask to be heard."

The ultimate hypocrisy !

Dear o sung wu,

Thank you for the measured reply. They seem in scant supply in this thread.

You wrote;

"In principle, I would support the proposition one hundred percent. My main problem, I don't have much faith in many of those groups or organizations entrusted to 'fairly' distribute the money amongst the neediest of these 'Beggers' as you so quaintly describe them?"

Well I think they would have to work pretty bloody hard to do any worse than the situation diver dan quotes in another thread;

"The government's Home Ownership on Indigenous Land program spend A$10 million on administration to provide A$2.7 million for just 15 loans. The program's target were 460 loans."

I would much rather see the money spent be in the form of rent or lease of land which was never ceded nor freely given than as welfare.

it is not going to right all the wrongs but it acknowledges the land was taken by force and will give proper dignity to the original owners.

Dear Foxy,

Thank you for the post. Yes the movement toward a treaty is indeed gathering pace an is the just thing to do. Having a voice in parliament for our indigenous Australians is part of that journey and is also the just thing to do.

Victoria looks like it will be the first cab off the rank and it will be very interesting to see how it takes shape.

Better times ahead me thinks. It is a credit to all those involved.

Dear Steele,

Thank You for your comments.

The historic consensus achieved at Uluru shows Indigenous
Australians have guts, ambition, determination and smarts.
They have done the hard work to form a unified position.
They have asked for a voice in their affairs.

It is a modest and moral request. And as stated previously it
is not beyond this great nation to make it happen.

Foxy, reality check.
The blacks are Australians, if they want to form a group for social reasons they can, just like ALL the other races and creeds here.
But also, like the other races and creeds, they MUST NOT have preferential treatment over the rest or the majority of the people.
The blacks have done NOTHING to make them a stand out/stand alone people.
In case you missed it, they are Australian, so unless they have done something of a humanitarian or other socially praised nature, they can just piss off and sit back and suck it up, like the rest of us.
Special treatment, indeed!
Want to be heard, we're sick of 'hearing' them.
Another wake up call Foxy, most of Australia, really doesn't want to hear another demand from the blacks, and whether you like it or not, we just don't care.
Remember, the little boy who cried 'WOLF', once too often?

One of the few sensible things Turnbull did was to knock this decisive, undemocratic and racist nonsense on the head. Now that his half-witted successor is actually promoting it, we will have to rely on the commonsense of the Australian people, few of whom are like the nasty Left ratbags infesting OLO.

Are there any Indigenous TV stations ? NITV, etc. ?

Are there any Indigenous radio stations ? Imparja,etc. ?

Are there any Indigenous newspapers ? The national Indigenou Times, etc. ?

Are there any Indigenous organisations ? Five thousand is a figure I've heard.

Are there any Indigenous members of parliaments around Australia ? There have been forty so far, in most parliaments, as well as ministers in State, Territory and Federal governments, including a Chief Minister, a current Treasurer, and a current Minister for Indigenous People.

Can Indigenous people drop by their MP's office and express their opinion ?

Are there peak bodies in health, housing, education, etc. ?

Are there Land Councils around the country ?

Is there an Assembly of First Nations ?

Is there a Prime Minister's Indigenous Advisory Council ?

Clearly, if these don't represent 'Voice', then there is a desperate need for one to be legislated as soon as possible, and one which won't implicitly act as a veto on proposed legislation.

Joe