The Canberra Times Letters to the editor Feeling the heat Rolf Kohnert Wednesday, 30 January 2002
It has been a bit hot lately, no wonder it affected the tent embassy occupants Abusing their own heritage gary russell Wednesday, 30 January 2002 The big bigots in Australia are people like these. They abuse their heritage and if it is not in their favour they are claim discrimination. To give the Aborigine a feeling of self worth, let then work for a living and pay taxes. They won't have time to steal any Australian sysbols. Now they've laid claim to this? Christopher Willis Wednesday, 30 January 2002 Well, looks like the Aboriginies have finally found something else to lay claim to. I'm surprised they haven't asked for Canberra to be re-named considering it's an Aboriginal word. Half the street names are also from Aborignial language, maybe we should hand over the rights to that land too? It's been proven that the majority of the Aboriginies are on some sort of social security payment, perhaps we should lay claim to the clothes they wear and the food they eat, after all, we did pay for it. Who else will sue? Richard Goodstein Wednesday, 30 January 2002 Perhaps we can also get the American Indians to sue the US to remove the eagle from their symbols. I thought the animals belonged to a higher being and not to any people. A law breaker is a law breaker Chris Edwards Wednesday, 30 January 2002 Why do we tolerate the ongoing disgrace in the parliamnetary triangle of the Aboriginal embassy and it's associated shenanigans? If I was to pitch my tent on new Parliament House, light up a camp fire, invite a few mates to stay and desecrate a monument, I would be removed and charged very quickly. Why aren't the people who are there now? This morning when I drove past on my way to work there were five poor AFP officers stationed there to keep an eye on the protesters. Those officers would be better employed chasing criminals like rapists and armed robbers rather than baby sitting fools grandstanding for the media. Why aren't all Australians treated the same? A law breaker is a law breaker regardless of color, surely. Coat of Arms should be inclusive Karen McGahey Thursday, 31 January 2002 I thought the Aborigines would have been proud to see part of their heritiage in the emblem of the Nation. Isn't it better to the National Coat of Arms as a combining of the country's different inhabitants and a symbol that we can live as one? A privileged minority Christopher Willis Thursday, 31 January 2002 The Aborigines are claiming they are a society and they are discriminated against by the white community. This is their basis for constructing the 'Tent Embassy' on the grounds of Old Parliment House. They are permitted to construct their embassy on Commonwealth land, light fires in a total fire ban and steal the Australian crest and not be arrested. Well I am an openly gay man, and I feel that the Gay and Lesbian community is a society of its own. We are discriminated against constantly in employment, superannuation, marriage rights and medical juristriction of our partners. Maybe I'll go erect a tent on the grounds of a Commonwealth building, pitch a gay flag out the front and claim a Gay and Lesbian tent embassy. Let's see just how long it is before the police and media turn up to ask me to move on or be arrested. I'm not trying to push a gay and lesbian issue, I'm pushing the point that the aboriginal community is being treated differently from the rest of us. Didn't they want equality? Kangaroo action amusing Mike Desmond Thursday, 31 January 2002 I find the recent comments of Mr Buzzacott very amusing. While on TV last night compling of being 'terrorised' by police who re-claimed the Australian coat of arms, he stated that he does not recognise our laws, our police and our courts. If this is so, why does he want to lodge writs there? The kangaroo is not the sole province of the Aboriginal people. In fact, I am sure many Aboriginals would assert this. After all, was there any comment from Cathy Freeman when her fellow athletes wear the coat of arms, of course not? Has there even been a hint of this so-called sacrilige over the past 200 years? No. Has there been any Aboriginal outrage when whites have culled kangaroos in the recent past? Not a peep! Now, on the whim of this one person (Mr Buzzacott) are we to stop using the kangaroo a our national symbol? Is the Army to stop using it to represent the Royal Australian Regiment? Are zoos around the world expected to hand the animal back to Australia? The rent-a-crowd that man the shanty town outside OPH finally need to sit back and say, "OK, we made a mistake on that one". Unless they do, they will continue to lose support and set their cause back 30 years. Old Parliament grounds a dirty mess Del McCoy Thursday, 31 January 2002 Having been a recent visitor to Canberra, and being absolutely disgusted at the dirty, untidy mess on the lawns of our beautiful old Government building (when I say our - I mean all Australians both black and white) it just amazes me that our Capital's government allows this to continue. It is a blight on our country and all Australians' heritage. As for the emu and the kangaroo - they most certainly do not belong to the Indigenous people of this country - they belong to our creator and are there for all humans to enjoy. For goodness sake stop pandering to these people and wasting the taxes of those of us who work in an endeavour to pay for a home for our family. Let them have the roos and emus Leigh Mortimer Thursday, 31 January 2002 So they took back what was theirs? The animals may belong to them as a belief, but that surely doesn't mean that every physical item portraying those two icons also belong to them. Otherwise, they had better send a party to search the globe and reclaim every Oz souvenir picturing or portraying these icons, as well as koalas, Tassie tigers and devils, the platypus, the list goes on. Does this mean that every fifty cent piece minted with the coat of arms belongs to them? That would be worth millions of dollars - would they simply reclaim them and bury the coins - or would they hypocritically recognise them as legal tender to support a new indigenous welfare system? If so, that would reduce the burden on hard working taxpayers like me. Their presence is a disgrace to honest, Aboriginal citizens. Remove them and treat them like the squatter criminals they obviously are. Theft was plain Greg Bardwell Thursday, 31 January 2002 What a miserable triumph for legalese is perhaps the first of my less obvious observations about your aricle on the recovery of stolen property, namely the Old Parliament House coat-of-arms. Peoples' insistance on cowering behind the phrase "alleged" when the facts were apparent with everyone present with eyes to see and ears to hear. The coat-of-arms was stolen in plain sight of a multitude of government officials, conspirators and by-standers but everyone quoted insists on the ridiculous practice of calling it an "alleged theft". I see that gone are the days of the plain speaking and impartial journalism as the legal profession succeeds in further confounding reason in the public forum. My second observation is the disturbing fact that on crown land, the ACT-based Federal Police felt the requirement to arm themselves with a warrant to search the so-called Aboriginal Tent Embassy. These grandstanding native representatives seem more able to test the boundaries of social acceptance and the resolve of the authorities than the government and its servants' conviction to impose the rule of law and order without fear or favour - especially the fear. One wonders why the act was not prevented in the first place. After all, it was my impression that crime prevention was both a police and governmental policy. It appears that no one player in this little farce comes out looking good. The instigators of the act at least show gumption, and contrary to my general view on the whole business, I find myself admiring their misguided actions in support of what they incorrectly perceive to be right. Give us our treaty Paul Brandy Thursday, 31 January 2002 To all the clown haters, your people came out on long ships, and stole our land, our culture and our spirits. Australia as you call it was founded by convicts made up of theives, robbers and murders, who killed and raped, and desecrated our country dry. We have survived and now reclaim our sovereign rights. Give us our treaty. -- ------------------------------------------------------------ "The power of accurate observation is commonly call cynicism by those who have not got it." - George Bernard Shaw ------------------------------------------------------------ --------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. 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