Dear Canem Malum,

Here's another poem that's worth checking out:

"The pen is mightier than the sword
but only when
it sows the seeds of thought
in minds of men
to kindle love and grow
through the burnt page
destroyed by huns and vandals in their rage..."
"The pen is mightier than the sword" is worth
a read.

Kevin Gilbert's poem to me came as somewhat of a surprise.
I had expected from him poetry that would reflect the
Aboriginal people, something compassionate, dignified, simple
and peaceful. My own stereotyping I admit. I learned that
this poem was written by a poet, who "happened" to be
Aboriginal. In the poem Gilbert shows not only his poetic intensity, but also
that he has an ear for different rhythms and registers of
language.

Hiya SR

In addition to Joe's fine contribution, I add:

Have you heard of the other organisations Already representing those Australians who label themselves "indigenous" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minister_for_Indigenous_Australians eg.

1. Minister for Indigenous Australians, Ken Wyatt? He administers the portfolio through the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and

2. And the wide range of agencies Already representing those Australians who label themselves "indigenous", including the:

Office of Indigenous Policy Coordination (OIPC)

Indigenous Coordination Centres

Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations (ORIC)

Torres Strait Regional Authority (TSRA)

Indigenous Land Corporation (ILC)

Office of the Aboriginal Land Commissioner

Anindilyakawa Land Council

Central Land Council

Northern Land Council

Tiwi Land Council

3. And you moan about ATSIC being disbanded? Checkout:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aboriginal_and_Torres_Strait_Islander_Commission#Corruption_investigations

and

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-01-22/former-atsic-boss-geoff-clark-and-family-faces-new-fraud-charges/10737648

4. And now you want an ATSIC like body, above Parliament, permanently enshrined under the Constitution!

Dear loudmouth2,

Firstly I invited Plantagenet to illustrate how ATSIC had buggered up our democracy, it wasn't an appraisal of the body itself so why have you diverted off in this fashion?

But I will say there has been plenty of corrupt behaviour from our State and Federal politicians but we never seem to call for the dismantling of them do we.

Under ATSIC at a regional level there were well functioning bodies doing really good work yet many got shuttered when Howard and Latham went after them.

Dear Plantagenet,

Minister of Ingigenous Affairs? The position held by whoever gets the nod from the PM. They are not elected to he role.

“And the wide range of agencies Already representing those Australians who label themselves "indigenous", including the:”

Office of Indigenous Policy Coordination (OIPC) (Disbanded August 2011)

Indigenous Coordination Centres – Housing staff from the various departments providing services to Indigenous communities. How is this a Voice?

Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations (ORIC) – Purely a compliance organisation. How is this a Voice?

Torres Strait Regional Authority (TSRA) – Just that, regional. How is this a Voice for indigenous people nation wide?

Indigenous Land Corporation (ILC) – Actually known as the Indigenous Land and Sea Corporation (ILSC) set up to “assist Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to acquire land and to manage assets to achieve cultural, social, environmental and economic benefits for indigenous peoples and future generations”. How is this a Voice?

Office of the Aboriginal Land Commissioner purely administers the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 and is run by a retired Federal Court Judge. How is this a Voice?

The Land Councils administer and manage cultural matters within local areas. How is this a Voice?

Why are you avoiding my main question though. How did ATSIC bugger up our democracy?

'The pen is mightier than the sword'
Yeah well, but it's not as hard as a 4x2 !

Dear Individual,

And your point is?

Foxy,

You definitely are just so naive.

Isn't it obvious: Some men have blow rubber dolls; individual has a piece of timber.