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Thu, 03/07/2008 - 14:02 — Angeline Penrith
A bit more knowledge of Aboriginal history would go a long way in taking down the assumptions and stereotypes against which Aboriginal kids struggle every day. I don't play sport, I just don't enjoy it. I don't know the rules to footy, and wouldn't know what to do with a cricket bat, and don't want to spend hours running in circles around a field. But that's not what people assume when they meet me. I come from a really successful family. We've had sporting stars, school captains, school duxes, readers, thinkers, leaders in all kinds of fields. But that's not what people assume when they pass me on the street. I come from a proud people, an ancient nation, and a strong community that's survived genocide, and forced removal, and grand theft, but that's not what people think about when they shake my hand. That's not what they think about, because they are ignorant.
Thu, 03/07/2008 - 13:35 — Bronwyn Penrith
 If the current government really wants to make a difference, it should be going into the community and building on existing success.
It's hard to explain in words how the policies of removal and dispersion are still being felt amongst by Aboriginal people. It's hard to explain to people who weren't part of the stolen generation the intergenerational effects it's had and is still having amongst Aboriginal people today. It's frustrating when you see decisions about native title built on a continued connection to the land, when then connection was forcibly broken in most cases. It's crazy to see the way non-Aboriginal people, who are ignorant of Aboriginal history, language and culture, make policy decisions that just don't make any sense in the real world. But there's also another story I want to tell. Aboriginal culture isn't just about dancing and art. It isn't about the stereotypes that non-Aboriginal people so often refer to, it's about what's happening now within our communities.
Wed, 02/07/2008 - 14:45 — Kevin Fong
 We need Government to understand that Aboriginal stories aren't all of crisis and despair, but also of growth and renewal.
In February this year the Western Australian Coroner Mr Alistair Hope, handed down his findings into tragedy caused by the abuse of drugs and alcohol in the Kimberly region, and again the focus of mainstream media and many of our politicians was narrowed. The problem being, when their vision narrows they lose sight of all the other stories that are going on, stories of hope and rebirth and opportunity. We are facing a crisis of drugs and despair which is decades old, but we are also experiencing a renaissance that is decades old. If you look at the mainstream media you'd be forgiven for thinking what the entire indigenous nation is in a state of complete collapse, when in fact through out the country indigenous people are standing up and using the power of education to retell their past and take control of their future.
Tue, 15/04/2008 - 10:55 — gapadmin
 By Greg Eatock
Little children ARE sacred, which is why the NT intervention has to stop. The Howard government's decision to create a blanket punitive approach to instances of child abuse in the Top End has been a disaster for Aboriginal communities throughout the Northern Territory. Garnishing welfare payments, and returning to a system of ration cards has forced a tremendous upheaval and heartache. Not only is it degrading and humiliating for many Aboriginal people to be using the cards rather than controlling their own money, it is also forcing thousands to flee remote communities for urban settings, which were already over crowded and bereft of basic services. Community stores; the only viable business in many remote communities, are losing customers, as the payment system forces people to use large chains like Woolworths and Coles, rather than their local stores. The Community Development Employment Program, which funded the delivery of basic services in many communities, has been suspended, leaving hundreds of people without an income and communities without resources to fund services like rubbish collection and maintenance.
Thu, 25/09/2008 - 18:24 — JoeyPin
Dear Openforum members and guests, Please be advised that the results to the Social Justice Survey project entitled "Houses and Humpies" is now complete. A great big 'Thank you' to all who participated. The completed surveys were received successfully by us, and they were all of great instrumental value and insight to the project contributor. Your answers were all highly regarded in the study and were of extreme value to us, and they contributed well as a whole toward the analysis of the area of 'Housing' in a big way. If you would like a copy of the Project, please email me and I will send it to you electronically. Otherwise please do look forward to it being posted online soon. Yours Sincerely, Giuseppina
Tue, 26/08/2008 - 13:22 — Tony Abbott
 Thanks to the humane realism applied by people like Pearson and former ALP national president Warren Mundine, there's now more ground for optimism about Aboriginal policy than for many years.
Aboriginal policy has been the graveyard of good intentions. Over the past 30 years, there has been so much goodwill, so much money and so many new programmes yet so little change for the better in the way many Aboriginal people live. Australians want nothing but good for Aboriginal people and are perplexed and frustrated that it seems so difficult to achieve. It would be the be presumptuous, even by the standards of politicians, to draw too many conclusions from a three week stint as a teacher's aide in Coen on Cape York. Still, politicians can't avoid formulating policy and often do so on the basis of an even more slender personal acquaintance with the relevant issues. My strongest impression, based on much more of an immersion in Aboriginal life than before, is that making a serious difference to the key indicators of indigenous disadvantage can be expected to take decades rather than years. It's a generational task.
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