GST slice-up rooted in historic wrongs

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2601 Sydney homeless 2 OK
 
2601 man in gutter in Sydney 2 OKBy ERWIN CHLANDA
 
In my note to thank Bob Beadman for his incisive comment I put the following question:-
 
“Given, as you say, there is a case for determining “relative need” between the widely divergent circumstances of First Australians in different parts of the country, what is the case for treating First Australians as a separate group in the first place?
 
“With the 1% smiling at the rest of us from up high, there are circumstances in the general community that are growing more widely divergent by the minute, in all parts of the country.”
 
Mr Beadman replied: “It probably goes back to the way this country was annexed to Great Britain. Terra Nullius indeed! An historical lie.
 
“I don’t think the issue of reparations has been finally settled either, given the way Native Title emerged from the High Court in 1993.
 
“The issue of Treaty won’t go away, and various States are committed to the process. Constitutional recognition will not go away either,” Mr Beadman emailed.
 
“Or to the way the Crown’s instructions to Governor Phillip (to ‘protect’, or whatever, the Indigenous occupants – historians could quote chapter and verse) were not complied with.
 
“Or the shameful way the brutal frontier dealt with Aborigines.
 
“Then there are the various international covenants on the treatment of Indigenous peoples that Australia is a signatory to, and is being judged against.
 
“I also think there is evidence of “shame” in our collective psychological framework.
 
“All that aside, I think it is only proper that we give a hand-up to disadvantaged groups. But one-size-fits-all national policies will always miss the point, and attract a backlash.”
 
PHOTOS Alice Sprigs News Online: White man in the gutter in Sydney tonight – no monopoly on trouble for Aboriginal people. Below and above: Signs of poverty and homelessness in the nation’s biggest city.
 
2601 Sydney homeless 1 OK
 
 
 

5 COMMENTS

  1. Hence the need for treaties (plural) by language group – not a “hand-up” but to enable regionally developed solutions to regional issues.

  2. No responsibility for past Governments [and] international law. Only full blood Indigenous should receive benefits.

  3. I agree with Psuedo Guru but only if it is needed. I can personally remember the case of two mothers, one an Aborigine married to an European man on more than excellent salary, parents of two girls, obviously not full blood; and one Australian white mother of four children raising them on her own. The two mothers worked together on the same salary. All school expenses / uniforms / excursions were paid by the government (taxpayers) for the two part Aborigine girls, but no subsidy / help for the single mum and her four children, her income deemed enough.
    Fair? NO. Help should be given when and if needed but not on racial basis.

  4. Great example Evelyne, unfortunatly many people scoff at you when you use an example like this, as those from outside the Territory simply don’t believe it.
    A good article by Bob, however his statement in relation to the concept of Terra Nullius intrigues me. Is that what he is referring to as a lie?
    The concept goes back to the Roman legal principle of Res Nullius, and the concept can also be attributed to the Papal Decree of the Doctrine of Discovery.
    It is also referred to in the Mabo decision so although it may be an uncomfortable doctrine, it certainly can’t be referred to as a lie. Apart from that, a very good read.

  5. All tax payers’ money allocated to assisting the vulnerable in our country should never be based on race.
    Australians should be treated equally and fairly.
    Non Australians should not be permitted to apply for legal aid, Centrelink and Medicare.
    Refugee payments should be paid by the Immigration Department until they become Australian citizens. Migrants should be required to work and support themselves until they are Australians citizens.
    The divisions that orchestrate themselves by way of the government departments who support apathied and racism must be closed down.
    There is no room in Australian for racism. Equality and freedom of opportunity should always be our objective.
    Close down every department that is racist. Aboriginal v non Aboriginal is racist by its very presence.
    We are freed from histories of enslavment and British tyranny.
    We have struggled worked and fought to get to where we are.
    Our histories should not define who we are. As a country were we are should speak loudly of our journey.
    To view history as a reason to demand special treatment is wrong.
    During the journey we have been doing that together.
    To say to a fellow Australian that they must be sorry or be punished for the deeds of their forbears is rediculous.
    Wake up people. Racism finds its birth in living in the past and making today and our future a prison built from the bars of history.

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