Hi Damien,
Wonderful to hear you are coming! I am planning to have a banner with
Recoznet2 on it but it might be a chore to find it in the throng.
I would like some suggestions from others on where we could meet - I
live in Camden so I am not familiar with north of the Bridge.
Trudy
Damien Short wrote:
>
> HI folks,
> I have just managed to scrape some money together to honour my invite to
> Coroboree 2000.
> I am wondering if I can meet any of you for the walk, amongst other things
> it would be nice to put some faces to the names!!
> Thanks,
> Damien
>
> Damien Short (Sociology Department)
> Human Rights Centre
> Essex University
> England
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Trudy & Rod Bray <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> To: RecOzNet2 <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Date: 10 May 2000 01:54
> Subject: [recoznet2] Herron's mentor??
>
> >The Sydney Morning Herald
> >Why there should be no apology
> >
> >Date: 10/05/2000
> >
> >As the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation finalises its Australian
> >Declaration Towards Reconciliation, for release on May 27, there are
> >increasing pleas from those mouthing moral platitudes for the Prime
> >Minister, John Howard, to make an official apology for past
> >injustices to Aborigines, but more particularly for the "stolen
> >generations".
> >
> >However, an apology is not only inappropriate but would do nothing to
> >improve either the welfare of Aborigines or the deteriorating
> >relations between them and whites. The attempt to convey the impression
> >that Howard alone is the obstacle to such an apology is equally
> >astray: the majority of Australians are opposed.
> >
> >Former prime minister Malcolm Fraser is the latest to jump on the
> >apology bandwagon with the claim that other countries, such as
> >Canada, which have apologised are ahead of Australia in their treatment
> >of indigenous peoples. Ironically, his claim follows an outcry in
> >Canada at recent revelations of the sad and deteriorating plight of
> >those in indigenous reserves. Fraser also appears to be unaware of
> >recent evidence that undermines not only the case for an apology but the
> >policies which he has been supporting, including when in
> >government. He has no excuse for failing to do his homework.
> >
> >Evidence tested in proper courts clearly shows, for example, most
> >Aboriginal children of mixed blood were removed by their parents and
> >removals by the government of children were almost all with parental
> >consent. The NSW test case comprehensively rejected the claim of
> >someone described by Sir Ronald Wilson as a typical stolen child. His
> >report, Bringing Them Home, has lost all credibility.
> >
> >Similarly, the granting of land rights to some Aborigines (though on a
> >communal basis only) has created cultural and economic
> >cul-de-sacs and has made them largely dependent on the dead-end of
> >social welfare. The Reeves report on Northern Territory land rights
> >(which Fraser was responsible for introducing) concluded that it has
> >resulted in "hopelessness, despair, and anti-social behaviour, and
> >contempt and hostility".
> >
> >The situation of these traditional communities has been compounded by
> >the accompanying attempts to promote Aboriginal cultures,
> >including languages. One result is that 80 per cent of Aboriginal
> >children are illiterate, as revealed by the recent report on Northern
> >Territory education by former Labor senator Bob Collins, who is married
> >to an Aborigine.
> >
> >Surely it is more important to educate these children so that they have
> >the opportunity of participating in Australian society, including by
> >getting a job. What is important - a job or an apology?
> >
> >Further, policies that encourage separate development and focus on past
> >injustices are major underlying causes of the absolutely horrific
> >violence extant in Aboriginal communities, some of which seem to have
> >descended almost into barbarism.
> >
> >The Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation is doing nothing to address
> >all this. Its draft declaration for reconciliation sought an apology for
> >past injustices and accepted the outdated notion that Aboriginal
> >wellbeing basically requires the recognition of Aboriginal land rights,
> >Aboriginal culture and law, and Aboriginal autonomy. Reconciliation is
> >in fact proceeding naturally over the course of time. Surely, the
> >marriage (de facto or de jure) of nearly two-thirds of indigenous adults
> >to non-indigenous spouses, and with more than 70 per cent of
> >Aborigines living in urban communities and professing Christianity, is
> >evidence enough of that process?
> >
> >For those Aborigines who are not participating in this process, instead
> >of promoting the outdated concepts of separate development and
> >past injustices, an entirely new approach is needed, one which reverses
> >the separatist policies and rhetoric of past injustices and, instead,
> >promotes closer Aboriginal involvement in the wider community. We should
> >be encouraging the movement out of traditional
> >communities and, in the meantime, restoring civil society within those
> >communities by proper policing and ensuring proper education.
> >The Howard Government is on the right track in providing additional
> >resources but it must also address the underlying causes of poor
> >Aboriginal welfare.
> >
> >Fraser says there are also matters of "the heart and the spirit". As a
> >former minister for Aboriginal affairs, with deep concern for the
> >long-term interests of Aborigines and relations between them and white
> >Australians, my belief is that a genuine expression of the heart
> >and spirit would lead both sides to forget the childish demands for
> >apologies and blame attribution. We could then get on with
> >overcoming the serious practical problems caused by the policies of
> >successive governments.
> >
> >Peter Howson was minister for Aboriginal affairs in 1971 and 1972.
> >
> >This material is subject to copyright and any unauthorised use, copying
> >or mirroring is prohibited.
> >
> >--
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