Don't wish to start a Blackfella  bashing hour as I know and respect a lot of black fellas  but after reading the GAFA  whale watching post ( posted while I was away  in the NT )  it brings home how much we give up and get bugger all in return. 

While visiting the Darwin Casino I was installing my obligatory  $10 donation to the NT's Internal Revenue coffers  via a 1 cent machine  , and spitting chips while doing so I might add. Along side was  the  black  brothers and sisters  putting $50 after $50  notes into a similar machine playing max lines max bet .  Asking those in the know  where they get that type of money to waste I'm informed it's mining royalities and dole payments  and believe it or not  this goes on every night of the week .

Asking one's self ( as you do after a beer or two ) why, I as a tax payer  allow Kebin 747 lead by the bleeding hearts of the world to provide my taxes to fund  what has been  decreed by outsiders like the UN  to be  a desperately needed seperate health care and eduction system for the  brothers and sisters  while mining and fishing royalities go untaxed directly to the "landowners"  I, like many other Australian tax payers are lost for a logical answer .  Maybe some of the do gooders and bleeding hearts and pollies  need to get out and take note of what goes on in the real world not fly in shake a few hands and fly out same day when they need the votes .

I extend an open invitation to any pollie of any political  persuasion "Come with me and drive in and stay awhile as a baggy arsed traveller on a billabong or river bank without any fanfare  or hype  before we go to town  and just watch ,listen and see where  our dollars go.   I'll even feed  and provide  tented accommodation to any willing pollie .  

No wonder the  ex tax paying  pensioners got their pittance of a  pension increase knocked back. 

So much for the old saying "To the victor goes the spoils " Cookie you "B"  you got it wrong.


Soapbox  now turned over .  I do feel better for having a say

Wombat I lived in the Alice, and then Darwin, and finally (for the Territory) Kakadu. I saw what you are saying. I was also a councilor, and "saw" how the system worked. Bottom line - the problem with black fellow, is WHITE fellow. Talk with the indigenous, and they just want to get along. Talk with the white fellow, IN CHARGE, and they say WE need everything. Its a problem getting the balance, how to get everyone heading in the same direction, on the same path. But as you say - money is not the answer. OK identify a problem, but what is the solution? I believe that indigenous society is suffering from the same as white society, but to a greater extent, and before its time. That is respect for the elders, those with knowledge. They tried to issue the community leaders with the "dole/royalties money", who would then decide who got what for whatever reason - white fellows stopped that, and these same people now reside elsewhere Let the indigenous decide their own future, on the basis of what works, and only assist, where absolutely required

Wise words, twobob. The problems are relatively easy to identify. Not so the solutions. I used to think that I had some answers, but since then we have spent a lot of time in and around communities and now I know less about the solutions than I did before. Somewhere in the answers is education, for all. What sort of education and how to deliver it is not so clear. Cheers, Peter

Hmmmmmmmmmm yep the problems are easily identified but solutions are not so easy. One thing I would say though is maybe treat the indigenous people as equals, allow them to live the white lifestyle IF THEY WANT IT but make sure they live the white lyfestyle by the established rules that the whites have to live by. I think many of the problems are caused by a few, the one rotten apple syndrome, along with alchohol, drugs etc (they screw up the whites as well). I know quite a few indigenous people, used to work and train them and they are really decent people, but they often told me that they felt singled out as they were entitled to so many extra benifits simply because of their skin colour that they were embarrassed andf they don't cope with "white emotions".
Throwing money at the problem won't make it go away....neither will puting the indigenous people in charge of the cookie jar as we have seen....

I believe in the treat "all equal syndrome" I have seen the wads of cash talked about and the injustice to some whilst others are rolling in money, be they yellow black or brindle, let the law be the law for all, let the tax system be the tax system FOR ALL, I believe in equality, not the rubbish touted today by many, I've been to these missions, filthy dirty slovenly, by choice, some are top blokes that came down worked for a while, got lazy or whatever and went back to the missions because life was simpler, David Gulpilil gave up a fantastic film career because the grog got him, redfern another example, we are too frightened to lock them up for offences that if a white feller commited would be thrown in to port arthur and never released, the gang of 49 in adelaide, robbing, stealing, raping, breaking in to peoples houses, stealing cars, they caught one and within 24 hours he was out on bail and committing again (cant hold them in a normal cell, might hang themselves) more whites than blacks have hung themselves in cells all over our country, where is the equality there, in port augusta it took a lord mayor ( a good freind of mine) Joy balluch to install new laws to try and control the lawlessness, and it worked, other towns all over this fantastic country are falling victim to this garbage, install somebody that will reign these people in and only then will WE get equality, at the moment they are out of control parentless little kids, I dont taint all aborigines with the same brush, I hold many as good freinds and travelling aquaintences, and ex work coleages, but somebody somewhere must do something or there will be an interracial war with dire consequences, I hold the aboriginal responsible for a lot of prejudism,  they bring it on themselves with their lawless behaviour

-- Edited by dave06 at 14:38, 2008-09-28

Hey Dave I'm a beleiver in all you have just said, we are becoming a nation of piss weak justice with too many do gooders. Bail should be for very minor offences and perhaps the army should be used to re train some of the young undisiplined offenders. The police must despair when so many are let off for quite serious crimes withonly a slap on the wrist. Perhaps we need to go back a step and hard labour should mean just that, not a cosy little cell with TV and three meals a day, which is a lot more than street people get. Keith

kesue wrote:

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Hey Dave I'm a beleiver in all you have just said, we are becoming a nation of piss weak justice with too many do gooders. Bail should be for very minor offences and perhaps the army should be used to re train some of the young undisiplined offenders. The police must despair when so many are let off for quite serious crimes withonly a slap on the wrist. Perhaps we need to go back a step and hard labour should mean just that, not a cosy little cell with TV and three meals a day, which is a lot more than street people get. Keith

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Ahhhhhhhh Yes bring back National Service, instill some self dicipline into the wankers....Seriously I would have been overjoyed had my 3 sons been made to do some National Servce, it would not have had to have had to go to the extremes of fighting some war for the Pollies to get off on but look at what benifits would be gained by having a nation of people, male & female ready to defend us against attack from either Indonesia or NZ who had the sense to realise that if you leave for work 30 minutes earlier than you really have to then you have time to deal with a flat tyre or duck into maccas for Breakie (not reccomended)....

No Basil , as a long tream servicemen I don't want conscripts  1 volunteer is worth 100 forced to serve ,  The army doesn't want them the Navy doesn't want them and the RAAF certainly hasn't got the numbers to train them.  I have fought in a number of crap holes around the world  alongside many regular ADF  Australian  black  fellas  an stand pround to have done so because they wanted to be there. 

As for resepect go onto a reserve and see if the elders can get the respect  NO Bloody Way, the young just stick up them as they do the police forces around the country.

One system for all not all these seperate wedges  that neither party gets the full value from.  Equal rights, No Such Thing   

it's a shame that these people are seen like this, in all honesty I have met a lot of fantastic blackfellers and have been and still am a proud man to call a lot of them freind, I have stood shoulder to shoulder, not at war thank christ, but at many construction battles knee deep in concrete and mud and covered in sweat, to construct things like the morgan to whyalla pipeline replacement and the baroota spillway, what a shame is all I can say, just a little respect from both sides I feel would be the key