The Australian of tomorrow will always welcome you with a big Aussie "Ni Hao Mate!"

Mr Opinion,

the CCP will never take over Australia, although one day we may have a PM of Chinese descent.

We can expect many more policies in Australia and around the world that will temper China's rise, including a military build up if need be.

What is the future of Australianness?

We cannot dismiss the issues of public policy that
will bedevil us in the future. Amongst
the policies will undoubtedly be - lifting Aboriginal
people into the mainstream of Australian life,
the ageing of our population, water
management, energy resources, and transition to a republic.
To name just a few.

There are and probably will be many more unresolved
problems that will face us in the future, especially
addressing Indigenous disadvantage. We will have to deal
with these to move forward as a free, fair, and vibrant
society.

I have no doubt we can find the solutions that suit us,
provided we do not succumb to the siren calls of demagogues,
charlatans and ideologues.

Robert Menzies wrote an article for the New York Times in
1948. Here is an excerpt:

"I believe that politics is the most important and responsible
civil activity to which a man may devote his character, his
talents and his energy. We must in our own interest
elevate politics into statesmanship and statescraft. We
must aim at a condition of affairs in which we shall no
longer reserve the dignified name of statesman for a Churchill
or a Roosevelt, but extend it to lesser men who give
honourable and patriotic service in public affairs".

The achievements of the past have laid a foundation that we
need to properly build on now. We have the opportunities
we never had before in Australia's history. The best years
for our country are still in front of us. We can become
the Australians we aspire to be and more importantly
the, create the Australia we aspire to live in.

Toni,

Read these and learn.

"A NEW report has called for the outlawing of traditional Aboriginal customs in remote communities that sanction violence against women and children and the promised marriage of girls as young as four[Get that? Four.]

The report, by Sydney academic Helen Hughes, calls for the age that girls can marry in remote communities to be raised to 18, the age that both the bride and groom must be to marry in the rest of Australia.

Professor Hughes' call follows a controversial decision by the Northern Territory's Chief Justice, Brian Martin, last month to sentence a 55-year-old Aboriginal elder to only four weeks' jail for hitting his 14-year-old "promised wife" with a boomerang and having forced anal sex with her."
http://www.theage.com.au/national/aboriginal-child-bride-laws-attacked-20050922-ge0wxu.html

http://www.alrc.gov.au/publication/recognition-of-aboriginal-customary-laws-alrc-report-31/12-aboriginal-marriages-and-family-structures/marriage-in-traditional-aboriginal-societies/

"An Aborigine's jail term has been lifted on appeal to 18 months for having sex with his 14-year-old promised wife.

The case has flamed debate about the role of customary Aboriginal law in the wider Australian legal system, as the traditional Aboriginal man believed his actions were allowed under tribal law.

The man - who speaks English as his fourth language and lives in the remote NT outback - also did not know his actions were illegal under NT laws."
http://www.smh.com.au/national/aborigine-jailed-18-months-for-child-bride-sex-20051223-gdmocn.html

so now you know.
Where have you been hiding that you didn't know?

Instead of simply pointing out problems and dwelling
only on the negative. How about offering solutions
instead.

We can influence our politicians by leading public opinion
and transmuting it into laws that shape our society and
our country. We can make changes for future generations
by addressing the unresolved problems that face us,
especially Indigenous disadvantage.

We need to do so not by merely pointing out the wrongs
but by fixing these wrongs. We must deal with these in
order to move forward as a free, fair, and vibrant
society. Carrying on with negativity helps no one.

Is Mise- I find this concerning but I am not Aboriginal so perhaps I don't have a right to judge it based on an arbitrary kangaroo court- so called universal ethics. Also a 14 year old girl is not a 4 year old girl- still concerning- My understanding is that in Traditional Aboriginal culture the girl is pledged to a twenty year old male at birth but sexual relations don't usually occur till much later. Maybe Aboriginal Traditions can hold in Aboriginal Zones but European Traditions in European Zones similar to drinking in Arab nations.

I suspect that you have a bit more of a stake in Aboriginal affairs than I do. I think most Australian's want to look forward to more normalized relations with the neighbouring Aboriginal diaspora. It can't be an excuse forever that because we are next door we are completely responsible for people that come over the border.