Question for the Aussies

[Hagar]

Originally Posted by footfootfoot

... Are they still getting the shaft? Are you seeing a lot of them in suits and ties working in brokerage firms...

I think that they're a long, long way from any sort of equality. It's very rare to see any aborigines working in any white collar job. As Aliantha says, it's a huge and (at the moment) insurmountable problem. Reservations/homelands/reserves (or whatever you want to call them) are often poverty stricken and offer a standard of living that's barely better than the third world. There have been recent calls by politicians to abolish the traditional tribal law codes which are still used in certain areas, because they're being used as an excuse for all sorts of crimes, including rape, incest and assualt. These calls were met with the usual accusations of racism.

The recent Palm Island death in custody inquest has me baffled. How a police officer can be found to have caused injuries that led to a man's death and not be charged (or even stood down) is beyond me. How must that man's family be feeling - to be vindicated by the coronor's findings, but still, two weeks later, nothing has been done by the police or the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Aboriginies are still a relatively rare sight in Brisbane and most suburban areas. My experiences with urban dwellars have been poles apart. The first was a mother and daughter who lived in my street when I was growing up. The house (housing commission) and garden was immaculately kept, and they kept to themselves and were perfect "normal" neighbours. Mum worked and the daughter went to school.

The second was a few years later when I was working in a house rental office, and we received an application from a local aboriginal man to rent a house we managed. The application came in on a Friday, and on the Saturday, a couple of the other residents from that street presented me with a petition urging us to decline the application. We presented the owner with all the information, including the petition, she accepted the application. Three months later there were numerous unidentified "cousins" living on mattresses in all parts of the house, the rent was very late, there was substantial damage and the neighbours were all unhappy. It took several weeks to get them out, and cost the owner thousands.

There is a distinct feeling among urban anglo folk that aboriginies would rather get drunk on their free (measley) government handouts than look for work, and that any attempt to challenge or change this sort of behaviour is an assualt on their culture.

Aspects of Aboriginal culture survive in that there is extensive respect of sacred sites, the national broadcaster dedicates a fair bit of airtime to indigenoulsy (sp) produced radio and TV, and tourism helps to maintain an international interest.

These are only my experiences, make of them what you will. I think it's criminal and a national shame that so many live in third world conditions, but I find it hard to be sympathetic when you're spat on and abused by drunk teenagers in the Brunswick St Mall at 10am on a Tuesday.