njk435

Yeah, but apart from that, what have the Australians ever done for us??

My view is that there is more to the issues facing the Aboriginal community than can be fixed by Federal or State/Territory Governments. We see the problems daily up here, but I don't think we have a better idea on solutions.

kporte

Perhaps we can learn from the Americans, who have handled the plight of Native Americans with such aplomb......

mohogony

yes the Americans treated heir native people even worse , but no one says white Ameicans are racists becasue of it , but Aussies are accused of being racists.

kporte

The sins of the fathers.... This is no easy situation.

Pomster

In my first couple of years in Aus, I did think "why is not more done for the Aboriginal people?".
However, having seen areas with large Aboriginal population and heard them talk about their own plight, it is something which outside influences cannot change.

People are very quick to judge and say more should be done/government is racist. Couple of examples where criticisms have been raised for various actions:[LIST][*]Some elders in NT asked for assistance with to curb petrol sniffing. Petrol giants came up with a non odour alternative to petrol, which is sold in aboriginal areas. Condemned as racist ("assuming all sniff petrol")[*]Couple of years ago in a remote area, a petrol bowser was agreed to be installed IF the parents would get their kids to wash daily (thus reducing infections and reducing infant mortality from simple infections). Outcry as everyone assumes they have poor hygiene. Request for this whole scheme was from elders of the settlement.[*]Around Alice are signs asking that visitors do not buy grog for Aboriginals (issued by the Aboriginal Councils). Tourists think they are helping them out by buying cases of beer. ....

many Aboriginal people realise there are huge problems which can only be resolved from within, but how can you do that when not all people support the actions?

DBinLondon

I actually agree with a fair bit of what has been said on this post, particularly by Paddyo.

I am an Aussie living in the UK and can see both sides to the argument so I have a more rounded view than most. Here is what I reckon:

Australia is a multicultural society, but in many areas you could argue it is still 'monocultural'. I grew up in Brisbane and then moved to Sydney and the difference culturally when I moved there was quite marked.

Sydney, for example has a large Asian (i.e Chinese and Vietnamese) community whereas non-Anglo Saxon groups were definitely in the minority in Brisbane. That sort of upbringing does breed a certain contempt for other cultures simply because they do not form a large part of the society you live in. So yes, I do think Australia has an underlying current of racism (which is too harsh a word I think) in it due to the naivety of many people who live there. This is reinforced by the fact that Australia is such a large country with no close neighbours which means that the majority never travel outside of Australia to experience other cultures (and no a trip to New Zealand or Bali does not count!). It's easy to do this in Britain given that you are next door to Europe, which is only an hour and a half away by plane. That trip in Oz only gets me from Sydney to Brisbane so no wonder Aussies can't nip away on a long weekend for a short break overseas!

Britain does face some similar race issues though. Just look at places like Birmingham or Leeds with large Asian (i.e Indian/Pakistani) communities which many Anglo-Saxon people privately resent. The British National Party have won a seat in the European Parliament as well, which is just like when One Nation (under Pauline Hanson) one some seats in Oz in the late 1990s.

Australians are also (shock horror) arrogant when it comes to sport, thinking that they will win everything and yes, can be poor loosers. Most Aussies would argue that this is just confidence in their own ability but that rightly can be interpreted by the other side as arrogance. The interesting thing with the UK is that they are too 'hot and cold' when it comes to Sport, one minute thinking they are going to win, then losing the next. Brits are not as confident as such compared to Aussies.

With regard to indigenous Australians, the plight of many of them is terrible and I am ashamed that in this day an age there are people living in third world conditions in some parts of Australia. The Government has spent billions of dollars over the past 20-30 years to try and address the problem but simplying throwing money at something will not solve it. These issues resound around the world in places like the US, who have similar issues with Indian Americans.

jad n rich

There was an article in a lifestyle/travel magazine by an Academic, Professor someone or other... anyway, he had just returned to australia and was banging on about his travels..

How he saw so much poverty overseas and how wonderful australia is ( those who live here will know the style of rant ) and how Such Poverty and Ill health does not exist in Australia

I am like WTF, this guy is bragging about his travels, bangin on australia is wonderful and the idiot has never thought to drive far enough around his own back yard to see the third world poverty/health many australians live in/with.

So yes the OP does have a point, many aussies do forget whats on their back step, and lifestyle surveys only apply to the lucky few anyway.

mohogony

Perhaps Britain never should have colonised OZ, l'm sure the indonesians , Japanese or Chinese occupiers would have really been really nice to them, like they were to the East timorese and Tibetans and the japanese to the people they invaded during WW2.

king kong

The fact is the Australian aboriginal is distrusted and despised by i would say the majority of white australians .I hear the term ''oh the bloody abos'' all the time ,they are seen as a lost cause within white society because of their family belief system and lack of belief in the white mans materialistic ways .
The solution from my perspective is there has to be a huge ground swell from such places as small business and give the aboriginals a lift by giving them the chance to be at least employed and that just maybe the white mans system isnt too bad afterall .
But the fact of the matter is they were robbed of their land after thousands of years of only inter tribal fighting the white man took it all ,i think id be a bit peeved as well .
Sure the politicians say the right things and pump money into communities and sure there are well meaning people who want to help , but maybe somekind of legislation country wide for all businesses large and small to hire aboriginal people , may be that exists i dont know im just assuming .I know the mining companies are doing it then why not the rest .

fish.01

I believe the majority of Australians don't despise Aboriginals. I have not heard someone say ''oh the bloody abos'' in years though I'm sure some still say it.....like anywhere it depends who you work and play with.

I think the proposed solution (legislate to force all businesses to hire aboriginals) has very many holes that would take some plugging. Just proves that when people know little about something it all seems easy.

fish.01

I think the OP's implying that Australians are more ignorant of this and uncaring than the average Brit would be in the same context. I think this is false.

fish.01

Welcome to the forum. After a while on this forum I think you'll find it takes more than being an Aussie living in the UK to give well roundedness. Most Aussies, and Brits, on here have lived in Australia and the UK and it hasn't always worked for us

Agreed. Sydney is one of the most multicultural cities in the world. I'm surprised you chose Asian as your example for Brisbane as this is the one ethnic group that has always had a large population in Brisbane and has expanded enormously in the last 10 years to the point where some bus routes are now, I would guess, 75%+ people of an Asian background. Did you leave in 1976?

The majority do travel....have you not been to Earls Court yet The amount of people born overseas or with parents that were has always led to a large travelling culture in Australia. This culture expanded to include other Australians through peer example. Of course there is a chunk who don't but no way near the majority.

Bit surprised you suggest the majority Caucasian Aussie would gain no benefit in reducing racism by travelling to Indonesia or New Zealand (or other Pacific Islands) where other races live but Caucasian Brits "would" benefit in lessoning their racist leanings by travelling to Caucasian Western Europe where it is predominantly the same race? I think Brits would learn more staying home and popping over to London given the great mix of nationalities

Poles, Romanians, West Indians, Africans etc. Or look at nationalist tensions within Scotland and NI and tensions between all countries of the union. Every nation has its challenges that it doesn't always have all the solutions to. Many things are a work in progress.

Hang around here and you'll see poor losing, poor winning and everything in between exhibited by all nationalities. No-one wants to believe they're guilty of it but can see it clearly in others.

So you agree with the rest of us, not Paddyo. Good

paddyo

Methinks apathy is the word here, its not that Ozzies don't care, but simply that its been going on so long that it has lost its 'cause appeal'.

Look, I am very flippant about things and have been so on here, but, I do agree with some posters that help has to start from within and also that help from outside has to be more than money. But, getting back to the OP, aboriginal people 'think' differently to non indigenous people so therefore the mindset and comprehension is different. Thats not a criticism, not a racist remark, but a well agreed understanding. There will be some elders within the Indigenous community who are disgusted with their alcoholic counterparts but, their nomadic lifestyle does not care about outside concerns or views, what happens in the tribe stays in the tribe.
I still think aussies are bad losers though!!!

paddyo

Just one point, this is the British Expats forum, where british expats share views etc, your response implies you are not British therefore why are you on here???
If you are British then damn your hide sir!!!

paddyo

Agreed. Sydney is one of the most multicultural cities in the world. I'm surprised you chose Asian as your example for Brisbane as this is the one ethnic group that has always had a large population in Brisbane and has expanded enormously in the last 10 years to the point where some bus routes are now, I would guess, 75%+ people of an Asian background. Did you leave in 1976?

You guess??? Maybe thats because Asians are not paid as much as their australian counterparts and thus can only afford public transport. 1-0

Hang around here and you'll see poor losing, poor winning and everything in between exhibited by all nationalities. No-one wants to believe they're guilty of it but can see it clearly in others.

You are right, I see it in the ozzies all the time!! 2-0

So you agree with the rest of us, not Paddyo. Good [/QUOTE]

Thats not good!!! The response was well written, concise and had good points. Agreeing with me is not the purpose, its having a voice. 3-0