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It's long fascinated me that it tends to be the conservative side of politics that has delivered many of our Indigenous political firsts. Perhaps it's simply because Indigenous conservatives are, by virtue of their politics, no real threat to the status quo. Our Minister for Indigenous Australians Ken Wyatt is a case in point.
The sole purpose of bringing up Aboriginal women who are victims of abuse in political discussions is often to further oppress our populations. It's certainly not to give those women a voice, empower them to build solutions and ensure that these solutions are funded adequately.
In an age of 'budget repair' when both sides of politics are trying to contain the welfare budget, the search for savings and silver bullets is relentless. If Ministers Porter and Tudge are really seeking 'a way of assisting people to get off drugs and back into work', they should convince their cabinet colleagues of the need to increase the Newstart and Youth Allowance so that it might provide a real start for assisting people to survive with dignity while preparing for and getting back into work.
The current kind of content-free campaigning, appealing to popular biases and stereotypes, has real consequences for the social services sector and the people they serve.
If there is any vestige of democratic socialism left in Labor, the Gillard Government needs to raise taxes without apology, knowing its social welfare policies are just and necessary. It also needs to remain committed to redistributing wealth to eliminate huge discrepancies in living standards.
If we look at income quarantining as an ethical and not as a political question, it raises many questions. To answer them we would need to look beyond its effectiveness in preventing excessive expenditure on socially undesirable goods like alcohol and pornography.
Governments are likely to grasp at feeble evidence in order to support preferred policy positions. When reporting on issues such as welfare quarantining as part of the Intervention, The Australian and the ABC ought to read further than the Minister's press release.
Reforms need to be proposed with an eye to compassion, providing real skills and training, and dealing with the underlying issues of racism, mental health, poverty, and education. These have a far greater impact on workforce participation than bone laziness.
We are now entering a new phase in Aboriginal policy. It is not just about protecting the children, and the latter phase will challenge taxpayers. Real jobs and real services don't come cheap in remote Australia, regardless of the community's racial identity. From 22 August 2007.
We are now entering a new phase in Aboriginal policy. It is not just about protecting the children, and the latter phase will challenge taxpayers. Real jobs and real services don't come cheap in remote Australia, regardless of the community's racial identity.
Flawed process and flawed substance characterise the Northern Territory emergency response legislation, which has been rushed through Parliament in the past fortnight. It raises major questions about whether our parliamentary processes ensure adequate scrutiny of poposed legislation.