As I said before, I believe that Howard will be seen to be 'reasonable' about Aboriginal issues and continue to allay any misgivings until the Olympics are over. Then, the 'turning point' will be shown to be a mirage when he goes for the racist vote. I think today's news from the Lib convention adds strength to this supposition and ATSIC and CAR would be well advised to be very, very cautious! Quotes from the convention as reported in the SMH: "A senior Federal Government strategist has told business the Coalition must offer bold new policy directions if it is to win voters, particularly the one million from One Nation who are now looking for a new home at the next election.... ....He [Minchin] did not argue that policy for the next election should be subverted to appease One Nation voters, but instead that such voters would return to the Coalition if it offered tough policies which challenged the electorate and demonstrated leadership.... ....But it's no wonder that plenty of Liberals are nervous about just how persuasively the Prime Minister will be able to sell that message. Their anxiety is not just a reaction to the recent brawl over mandatory sentencing in the Northern Territory and an official Government submission denying the reality of a stolen generation of Aborigines. It's the broader question of whether Howard can ever finesse his way through selling a social policy that doesn't sound like the polite version of Hansonism. "We're going to get the voters back who voted for Pauline Hanson," says one senior member of the Government. "John Howard's approach to dealing with Hansonism has been totally vindicated." "Totally vindicated".....I hope with all my heart that s/he will be made to eat her/his words! Trudy -- _________________________________ Truth is a pathless land. --- Krishnamurti ------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------ RecOzNet2 has a page @ http://www.green.net.au/recoznet2 and is archived at http://www.mail-archive.com/ To unsubscribe from this list, mail [EMAIL PROTECTED], and in the body of the message, include the words: unsubscribe announce or click here mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20announce 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." RecOzNet2 is archived for members @ http://www.mail-archive.com/recoznet2%40paradigm4.com.au/
