Indigenous Australians

My parents recently returned from a trip to the Northern Territory. Whilst they were eager to divulge on the exquisite landscape and the awesomeness of Uluru, they were appalled by the poverty and filth the indigenous people live in.

'It's like a third world country' was one comment my mother had to give, with many Aboriginals begging for money, with one woman even coming into a restaurant and sitting down with diners, asking for any spare change.

When I heard about this I was pretty horrified and not a little embarrassed that in a wealthy country such as ours, we still have examples of developing country poverty. Whilst many people may argue that the government gives indigenous people plenty of money, I am of the mind that it is not money they need, but education and a purpose. A lot of these people have a steady income from the government and from the mining industry, yet a lot of them have no knowledge of budgeting or savings, and no reason to work because they are given money for nothing. This is not an attack on Aboriginals, but rather the opinion that the government should do more than just dole out money that is promptly spent without thought of the future.

The plight of the indigenous people has been a hot topic of conversation over the past few months, spurred by the reports of child abuse in the NT. in June the Howard government launched a massive project to take control of the horrific situation, with an increased police presence, bans on alcohol and pornography and compulsory child health checks. On Sept 20 during question time, an update on this plan was given by Minister for Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, Mal Brough. who believed excellent headway had been made, with over 2000 kids checked and follow-ups recorded. Mr Brough had also been liaising with Aboriginal elder Galarrwuy Yunupingu, to discuss the new legislation and the measures that have been put in place. I think it is important that this relationship has been fostered, as Yunupingu is a highly respected person in the indigenous community, who should be able to assist the government with the changes.

Even so, I believe more needs to be done to monitor the changes, this is not something that can be quickly fixed, it is a problem that has been festering for decades, and will no doubt take decades to rectify. I'd like to be optimistic and say things are finally being done, but a large part of me believes this is a knee-jerk reaction to appease people before the election. At least it has spurred action only time will tell if this problem will become something of a compassionate 'we've done all we can' or a genuine, long-term commitment to assisting a population that has never quite been able to overcome a huge culture shock thrust upon them.