Clear the remote communities

ABORIGINES in the Northern Territory should be encouraged to leave remote communities in the next phase of the federal Government’s intervention to normalise indigenous communities. Hoo-bloody-ray, someone finally agrees with me. I previously posted on this exact issue in March 2004;

I don’t think anyone is talking about forcing them off their tribal lands, just encouraging them to move to where the action is. Move to town, go to school, get a job, earn and save, buy a block of land, build on it – eureka – you have equity in the land. something you will never get in the desert. Stay where you are and even with land rights you are left with no equity in shit country. Sit in the sand, teach your kids about the dreamtime, watch them sniff petrol, grow up, beat the wife, stay drunk all day, die, get buried, get nowhere in life, didn’t improve on the last generation. No hope for the next.

I watched the 4 Corners report titled Educating Kimberly and couldn’t help but think it reinforces the issue. Clearly education is an answer, and arguably the prime answer, but the current structure inhibits good education.

A current principal laments trying to teach 13-year-olds with reading ages of less than six. Put it down to any number of things: chronic absenteeism and lack of motivation springing from family dysfunction, violence, substance abuse, sit-down money, too few role models, no jobs, not enough teaching in English, paltry government investment in schools and teachers.

We need to stop accepting the words and deeds of Whitlam and Nugget Coombes as gospel and offer them some hope. Lock them away, out of sight out of mind…do nothing…reinforce failure or actively encourage them to join our society. It’s a no-brainer – surely.