Thread: Permit system for access to aboriginal land to be abolished

Originally Posted by Jamo

To my mind, if the States/Territories can't look after their people, then the Commonwealth should intervene.

Failing to do anything about child abuse, is child abuse

Thats exactly it ! Something has to be done to look after the kids as things aren't working currently.

As for the permits - I have been paying for entry for the last eight years at different times and no one cares about them. Never get stopped or questioned and the people taking the money from me have no idea why I would bother making the payment. I reckon someone would have cared if I was caught without it though.

I have read what "olbod" has written and he's pretty well spot on. We cant make them agree with our ways or live as we do; and either way things must be taken wisely and carefully.

For years I've seen us (as a people) maligned as racist and uncaring of our indiginous people..... Finally someone says 'Enough'! and the first to stand up and object is our old Greeny mate Bob Brown....... Is there ANYTHING a Government other than of his (God help us all) can do that is POSITIVE?
Everything that has been tried so far has failed.........
So we have 2 choices...... try something else... or STOP trying.
The latter is something I would rather NOT have on my conscience. That indeed would be child abuse, further... it would be racist!
I'll get off MY soapbox now

Remove the alcohol and the drugs and you are half way there. The other half is to wait for the alcohol free generation to grow up. A baby who is given petrol to sniff by its mother to keep it quiet hasn't got a hope in hell. The average person couldn't even begin to imagine the activities that happen in some of these communities. I include myself in that group. I look after some of the perpetrators, listen to their phone calls and observe how they relate to each other. The change after the alcohol is removed is quite remarkable. Generally these people want the same as everybody else for there kids but a mixture of alcohol drugs boredom from unemployment and traditions from another era make fitting into the 21st century difficult. I don't have an answer and I doubt anybody else does. Its up to each individual to make the right decision and staying sober is a good place to start. Thats my opinion from my experience and I dont think I'll see any change for the better in my lifetime. It's to far away from most of us and not in the general populations face, but there are a large group of Australians who face violence on a daily basis that is mind boggling.So endeth this years sermon.

Aren't you all lucky.

I wrote 850 words of rant and decided better of it.

Phew, wasn't that a good idea.

I'll leave you with this.

John Howard announces he will discontinue the permit system of entry to remote Aboriginal communities to combat child abuse.

How does one fix the other?

Cheers
Simon

Coupla things - first off the ADF doesn't need any more experience in disaster relief, the're busy - leave them alone!. Second off, using NORFORCE for logistics makes some sense, assuming that it will be light scale medical supplies etc... into very remote areas. Third off, getting rid of the permit system makes the plan enforceable - without access to the communities how do the medics etc get in to do their thing? Some of these communities "leaders" don't want outsiders coming in and seeing what a sh!thouse job they are doing.

Agree they ADF don't need more experience, but at the risk of sounding harsh, let's get our own backyard in order before we worry about commiting ourselve's overseas. We are quite happy to discuss human rights issues in other countries (especially those on our doorstep) and send the ADF to assist whilst ignoring what is happening here and hoping it will go away

There are other ways around the permit system and I think a few have made valid points that removing the permit system especially in the early stages of attacking this problem could be counterproductive.

Ron, yes the white miners have been sexually abusing kids in some areas !
Parents have been letting this happen in return for grog !
People have been trying to report it but have been charactor attacked and maligned.
The latest report that Howard asked for revealed the extent of the problem, this is what got his dander up.
The alcohol ban will include the areas where these scum white miners
are. If these jokers dont like it, Stiff. The kids are more important.

At the end of the day, I dont think custodial sentances would be desirable
for the drunken black perpetrators except for the real nasty hard core
cases.
Dry them out, rehabilitate them and try to improve the living standards
in the community will be the way to go.

I also think that reintroducing and allowing some of the traditional Aboriginal laws to be enforced by the elders will help to stabilise the
situation. What is needed is respect for Elders and tribal law. Once that
happens, then with time and education they can be assilated into all levels of our society, with great benifets for all of us.
If that means that sticking a spear in an offenders leg is whats needed,
then so be it. While we live in the 20th century, the bush Aboriginal
has to be eased into it. Dont forget that there are still many people alive
today that had never seen a white man untill just a few years ago !
Cheers.

I mean the 21st century dont I.
Cripes time flies when yuh havin fun eh.