Yes Trudy, The Bjelke-Petersen Govt. no doubt intended to cause the annihilation of the Aboriginal communities. Another step in that direction was to legislate so that , if an Aborigine was registered to vote in an Aboriginal Council election, that person could not vote in a Local Govt. election. We are left with a situation where Local Shires do not respond to Aboriginal needs because those people are not eligible to vote in Local Govt. elections in many areas. All power resides in the hands of the Graziers and Miners and their non-indigenous supporters. The Labor Govt. is looking at the situation, but to date has done nothing----Goss did nothing in the 6 years he was in power----no surprises there---Goss spent his early years in South-west Queensland under the guidance of the ''Bludgers in Grass Castles" and their serfs. Laurie Laurie and Desley Forde [EMAIL PROTECTED] -----Original Message----- From: Trudy Bray <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: news-clip <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Saturday, June 12, 1999 11:30 AM Subject: The Courier-Mail: Premier set to take up Aboriginal challenge Who set up 'self-government' in that way? Was this meant as a cruel and slow annihilation? --- Trudy ======================================== Premier set to take up Aboriginal challenge By Chief reporter TONY KOCH 12jun99 PREMIER Peter Beattie yesterday pledged State Government support for controversial reforms to Cape York Aboriginal communities to reduce welfare dependency, violence and alcoholism. The reforms aim to end welfare payments not linked to "meaningful work". Mr Beattie said the Government "supports absolutely" the philosophies of Cape York Land Council chairman Noel Pearson which aimed to break the welfare dependency of indigenous people and make them responsible for their own lives. The backbone of the Pearson proposals, outlined in The Courier-Mail on April 30, is to control alcoholism and alcohol-induced violence on communities and to give indigenous people a purpose in life. Mr Pearson challenged fellow Aboriginal leaders to stop disempowering their own people by continually depicting them as "victims". He said there was a defensiveness about Aboriginal people accepting responsibility along with the rights they had. Mr Pearson backs a system in which money coming into the 13 Cape York communities, which are home to about 12,000 people, is controlled by "a new interface" between the federal and state governments and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission. "Welfare is laced with poison and the poison present is the money-for-nothing principle that we have to put behind us if we are to survive as a people," Mr Pearson said. Mr Beattie said the issues were discussed with Mr Pearson in Brisbane on Thursday. "What Mr Pearson proposed is a partnership involving senior government ministers and community leaders, and I would be proposing that we get senior representatives of the business community to lend expertise to find real solutions," Mr Beattie said. "I am prepared to recommend to Cabinet we establish a taskforce to get this off the ground, and that would involve a cross-section of government departments. "What is also necessary is the co-operation of the Federal Government because Mr Pearson's proposals involve a different method of welfare payment where it is necessary to perform meaningful work for the money. "Welfare recipients also must accept other responsibilities in care and protection of women and children, education and health. We are particularly looking at violence and the tying of community funding to the sale of alcohol, and the misuse of welfare on alcohol." Under the style of "self- government" given to Queensland Aboriginal communities, the local councils have no means to raise funds other than from profits from the alcohol canteen. Aboriginal people are encouraged to spend welfare earnings on alcohol so the councils can provide services such as water, cleaning and road maintenance. Mr Beattie said $4.6 million had been allocated this year for strategies against indigenous domestic violence. "There is no quick fix, but we have set in train policies to help the communities take control," he said. Aboriginal Policy Minister Judy Spence said the causes of domestic and family violence were complex. "The critical problems of today are a testament to the failure of government- imposed solutions. It is time we used our resources to boost effective grass-roots initiatives," she said. ************************************************************************* 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 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." 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