Northern Territory aborigines imprisoned
This post is not to do with web design but with the indigenous population of Australia (aborigines).
It is an issue which I have been involved with all my life as my parents were also.
Today, the Federal Government has made an announcement that it will legislate to overtake Northern Territory laws and Land Acts concerning aborigines, in order to act on a report which has recently come out about the sexual abuse of Aboriginal children in the NT and alcohol abuse.
In Australia, territories are still run by the Federal Government. The ACT is another territory. They have Chief Ministers rather than State premiers.
The new laws include alcohol restrictions on all aboriginal people in the NT.
Those receiving welfare will have 50 % of their cheques held to ensure that children go to school and get meals. Presumably if that doesn't happen, the welfare recipients will lose those benefits (great).
There will be compulsory health checks of all children for signs of sexual abuse.
All X rated films, and porn on computers will be banned with all computers checked for porn (only for aborigines)
In the remote communities people who work for the dole will clean them up!
Well, well, does it sound authoritarian to you? Or just paternalistic. It certainly sounds like we are going back to the fifties.
Don't all ethnic groups suffer from child abuse? Alcohol abuse?
Is there an assumption there that alcohol and porn causes sexual child abuse?
Our Prime Minister, John Howard, announced these changes today. Already aborigines are saying this is genocide in that more stresses on aborigines will kill them.
I haven't gone into the state of health or quality of life of Australian aborigines. I'm sure most of you know how appalling that is.
So what do you think?
3 comments:
Too easy to disparage '...Don't all ethnic groups suffer from child abuse? Alcohol abuse?
Is there an assumption there that alcohol and porn causes sexual child abuse?...' in recent moves to address fundamental black problems; few 'ethnic ' groups could boast the kind of disfunctionality of aboriginal society, even after land rights 'victories', and billions of $ of well-intentioned aid.
THe state of aborigines on their own land is a kind of elephant in the room - it's undeniable that child abuse, rape, alcoholism, welfare dependence, convenient 'customary law' that surprise surprise, allows men to get away with everything, lack of school attendeance etc etc is rife - yet there's never a suggestion that aborigines need to tackle their own problems without the easy 'blame whitey' cop-out. ATSIC and most other black organisations have done almost nothing to help the situation, showing unwillingness to face problems that they themselves could alleviate. Howard's motives aside, most people would support some kind of drastic action of this kind.
No one doubts the appalling conditions faced by Aboriginal people, but to assume as Julian does that that is the reason for Howards authoritian coup is to show faith that the lying little rodent has suddenly started to care about anyone but the very rich. Howard's moves would have been more convincing and more effective had he at least consulted with the aborigines and had not been talking about privatising native titles lands at the same time. Until they spend as much on Black health as they do on white health and education all such moves whould be viewed sceptically
Interesting widget anon. Is it American based or Euro based? Does Australian news figure?
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