Paul, my comment about 5 star hotels has nothing to do with envy. I have never envied anyone for anything in my life. No, my comment was in frustration at the rorting of money that should be going to aboriginal people struggling in remote areas and lacking many of the facilities and services available to aboriginal people in places like Redfern. We have children starving up here, never going to school, living in dysfunctional families, in conditions that would see them removed if they were white. That money is needed for them, not aboriginal power players far removed from this poverty.
And the reason Joe and I focus on people in remote areas is that they are the ones disadvantaged by being aboriginal, not those in urban areas who have access to all the services and facilities available to white people, in fact, in areas like health, legal services, educational grants, affirmative action in employment etc aboriginal people in cities have even better services and opportunities than whites.
So, the majority of aboriginal people should have no complaints. They live in a western culture with all the benefits available to everyone else, and as many are indistinguishable from white people, cannot even claim discrimination.

Paul1405,
You're well overdue seeking psychiatric help !

Paul1405,
Just out of interest, what do you say to Govt contracts going to companies from Sydney, whilst the local builders are looking for projects on indigenous communities. Then, when the Sydney outfit goes under & then the local companies are engaged to finish the project ?
Meanwhile millions in tax dollars are vapourized & more funding is put on the table so the project can be completed at great cost.
All managed & organised by Public Servants.

Paul,

The overruling purpose of Indigenous organisations is to keep the funding going. And growing, if possible.. Therefore they need a growing clientele. With your help, that will be successful.

In urban areas, Indigenous young people are participating in tertiary education in rates probably much higher than those of non-Indigenous, Australian born working-class people, perhaps close to fifty per cent. They are seizing the opportunities that are available to other Australians, as Big Nana has tried to point out to you repeatedly. Of the fifty thousand (or so) Indigenous university graduates, perhaps 90 to 95 per cent are from urban centres, where they have come from and where, like other Australians, they will seek employment.

So obviously there is a huge task for any actually working programs at universities, those paid to focus on Indigenous student recruitment and support. I look forward when they might turn away from their personal career-building towards having a sense of obligation to our remote and rural populations.

Joe

Hi Joe, Big Nana and Foxy,

"The overruling purpose of Indigenous organisations is to keep the funding going. And growing, if possible.. Therefore they need a growing clientele. With your help, that will be successful."

Joe, that is simply a blinkered cynical opinion (yours) which cannot be argued against.

"And the reason Joe and I focus on people in remote areas is that they are the ones disadvantaged by being aboriginal,"

Big Nana are they being disadvantaged by being aboriginal, or by being in remote communities, or a combination of both. Put a group of poorly educated, dysfunctional white people in a remote community and the outcome is likely to be the same.

There is hope, and Joe you're right, education is the key. Its no accident that as aboriginal people become educated then leadership from within comes to the fore. Educated people understand issues better, disseminate information better, they are more articulate in argument, and are able to make, and follow through with "radical" demands. Things that uneducated people lack.

are they being disadvantaged by being aboriginal, or by being in remote communities, or a combination of both. Put a group of poorly educated, dysfunctional white people in a remote community and the outcome is likely to be the same.
Paul1405,
I can't argue with this assertion, fairly spot-on ! Even in our cities we suffer from too many dysfunctional white people. Drug abusers #1.

as for; education is the key., if you brought in teachers from overseas yes but as it presently stands with education here, things look like getting worse.