I think that his tenure so far shows exactly the opposite as well as highlights the fact that Labor over the last 10+ years has been the most dysfunctional opposition in the history of Australian politics...and that's something that doesn't look like changing.   


mantra, IQs statement was a "no brainer"and thats how she likes it..nuff said!!!

Anyone could see the oppostion has offered up no real alternative ..the only reason Libs keep getting back in. Go figure!

Generally, a poor opposition party also leads to a poor government. It is competition that keeps poilitical parties on their toes.

cautious connie wrote on Jun 29^th, 2007 at 8:12am:


Well... whilst I support Howard's move... I think it will be short-lived.

Rudd is more clever than a lot of people think. If anyones gonna beat Howard.. it's Rudd.

Rudd is a flake. His past history has shown that. He stopped a dam being built in QLD years ago, saying "we will never have a drought.".
he has lost his honeymoon with the media and now is in freefall.
Good riddance to the danger of a smirking self serving porky shadow.


making kids go to school and banning alcohol from camps is a good start to helping aboriginals.
These people are getting drunk all day on my taxes then preying on kids.
If you want to oppose actions to taken to cease that behaviour, up to you.
My kids go to school and sleep safely.  many others do not.

If the kids were going to school regularily they have the wild possibility of escaping poverty.
They might stop sniffing petrol and might live past 42 years old. 
If kids are being abused and uneducated even though they are given the money to, it is up to us to try something else.  maybe 1/2 the welfare in food. 1/2 in cash.
There is nothing to spend it on there anyway.

Sexual abuse is the most damaging crime. It haunts the victims for decades later.

Well said Connie - I agree.  The tough new measures will help very little.  The law enforcement may initially see some results - but cutting welfare in half and providing coupons will still lead to corruption and definitely not help a mother raise her children at a higher standard.  Now that the permit system is to be abolished there will be no reason why peddlars of alcohol, drugs and petrol will not be bartering with the remainder of their cash.

There are too few schools nearby in many remote settlements and a shortage of teachers.  Health & welfare services have been crying out for help for years - but there has been no-one listening.

I find it difficult to imagine Howard suddenly coming up with all these social workers, doctors nurses and teachers to help these people get back on their feet.

What the government and the mining companies are doing though is taking control of their land - building modest homes on a plot of land and leasing it back to them for 99 years.  As far as the rest of the native title land goes - well that is up for grabs to the highest bidders - and it won't be our indigenous people.

mantra wrote on Jun 30^th, 2007 at 9:41pm:



This is whole exercise is a disgusting ploy to boost his election chances.


There never was any serious intent on behalf of Howard to address this problem .

As you say Mantra there are scarce resources out there ie the Social Service workforce, so yes where will he come up with all these skilled and needed pple at such short notice? the short answer is , he cant and wont find them..they simply aren't there. There is National shortage of Social Workers and nurses have been scarce for years. He hasnt supported the training and skills shortage you see.

Cutting welfare payments will not work..it is forcing a mentality of compulsion upon a minority pple already controlled and compellled to the endth degree for the longest time. It hasnt worked in the past and will only work for as long as the 'presence' ie Police etc are there to enforce it. And the Police simply arent that plentiful .

The banning of alcohol will only bring out the opportunists who will supply grog and weed to them..they ,who sell weed to communties , Aborigines and children  are theyre main customers.

They , the whites,arrive at the Ind camps on payday and most of theyre pay goes on weed and grog.





As for sexual abuse..young Ind girls will trade sex for a cigerrette,  a beer weed, petrol etc, you name theres nothing they cant buy with sex.Mainly oral for the taxidriver who deliver theirr weed or grog.These are white men who receive these sexual favours from children and young girls. They are abused by black and white pple.

The Police know and in a large number of cases are involved in the illegal drug trade and receiving payments from dope growers for turning a blind eye.

Howard has absolutely no idea what he's dealing with.He wants to make a quick name for himself  at the expense of Ind. pple.

The children are, a lot of them sold into prostitution by parents to secure mainly grog for parents or whoever...Children out here are raped and noone reports it in the newspapers or media, its only Aboriginal children-who cares? They are left with stds and the side effects of abuse. It is not a one off thing it is repeated.



Forcing children to go to school..will work for as long as someone is there to Police the situation.

Out here in this community , kids get to the school gate and turn around walk right out., wagging for the day again..Ind kids wander the streets all day and we all know they should be at school. Schools arent equipped to meet theyre needs anyway.And they experience a high degree of rascism from kids and teachers.

The Government has neglected to take a systematic and sincere approach to this problem.. The police cannot cure a Social illness..these problems are Social..how can the Army and the Police and a huge dose of intimidation and fear cure the problems of the psyche? The built up poison of 200 yrs of the depths of depression, deprivation, loss of human rights  and lack of recognition as a pple and the right to have a job and build a future for themselves without the institutionalisation of every aspect of theyre lives , leftover from a system that stems from the the 1700s,?

Welfare legislation is only just being reworked and Ind pple are certainly no better off under the new legislation , from what Ive seen as they were previously., in some cases its worse. More compulsion and punishments.

Its a joke. It will further marginalise and hurt Ind pple and the biggest hurt of all will be the humiliation of being Nationally held up for villification as a disgraced pple by a Government who has absolutely no idea what they need or how to go about it.

IQSRLOW wrote on Jun 30^th, 2007 at 11:48pm:



The left is vehemently rejecting these measures because accepting them means confirmation of the failure of their ideology. It's sad that they put children at a distant second place

empty.

correct connie..

and simply making predictable noises about the failure of the left, a bit of meat in your comments IQ  would be a nice change.

The Liberals have been undermining the success of education in Australia since its inception or re election, as it has with every Human Resource area for the last 10 yrs.

This is why there is a national shortage of Nurses, Doctors, Teachers and Social Workers.

Howard has little concern for the Social Welfare of this country as a whole., including the Ind pple. It is showing up now just how under resourced we are when it comes to a' crisis'.

Simply saying its a lefty mentality is too simplistic and predictable.

It has been demonstrated that the fact that Howard chose to over ride state jurisdiction in the Nthn Territory would tell us all that it IS a Federal responsibility when we cut to the chase.