Howard doesn't seem to understand that governments do not have a 'moral obligation' - as if it was charity - but a legal obligation. He couldn't be clearer on what he thinks is the 'problem' with Aboriginal communities ... Trudy ================================================ THE AGE PM backs Abbott's poverty comments Wednesday 11 July 2001 Prime Minister John Howard today defended Employment Minister Tony Abbott over his comments that some people were responsible for their own poverty. Mr Howard said it was true that some people's behaviour contributed to their circumstances, but Mr Abbott's comments had been misrepresented by the media. "What Tony Abbott said was in some circumstances people through their own behaviour contribute to their own poverty," he told the Nine Network. "Now that is true. And if a person in public life can't say that without being belted around the head and misrepresented I think public debate has reached a very sorry pass in this country." Mr Howard said neither he nor Mr Abbott had ever suggested the government did not have a moral obligation to help the less privileged. But if people were able to give something back, through work for the dole or mutual obligation, then the community ought to ask for it. "The important thing is that you have a strong social security safety net to help the genuine poor," Mr Howard said. "But over and above that, you have got to encourage in people a sense of personal responsibility. "We cannot have a society where people do not have any sense of personal responsibility. I mean we have got to develop self reliance in our community. "This is part of the problem with Aboriginal communities." http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/2001/07/11/FFX4BSKZZOC.html -- ******************************* A threat to justice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. -- Martin Luther King http://www.green.net.au/arp/ ******************************* --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] --------------------------------------------------------------------- RecOzNet2 has a page @ http://www.green.net.au/recoznet2 and is archived at http://www.mail-archive.com/recoznet2%40paradigm4.com.au/ until 11 March, 2001 and Recoznettwo is archived at http://www.mail-archive.com/recoznettwo%40green.net.au/ from that date. This posting is provided to the individual members of this group without permission from the copyright owner for purposes of criticism, comment, scholarship and research under the "fair use" provisions of the Federal copyright laws and it may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner, except for "fair use."
