I believe you are right Australian “Balanda” culture has some big problems, largely due to a sell out to consumerism and an extreme form of individualism. And the negative aspects of Balanda culture have their greatest impact on the minority groups. Many of challenges the Yolngu people face as they try to make better lives are an out working of problems in our larger society. Especally when it comes to the influence of media and how the Government treats people. Our Government no longers know how to respond to the needs of people only statisics and media enhanced retoric. There is a genuine need for Australians to respond to marginalised Indigenous people as humans and friends, rather than objects to be fixed. Unfortunately this requires us (as individuals) to do some hard things that involve a commitment to sharing the burdens people carry and as governments and organisations to give up some power. It means giving up some of the comforts of the mainstream to truely be with the marginalised in their struggles, and letting go of some of our beloved ideologies and rules. It means … well perhaps I should leave it to another artilce.

A regular visitor to Australia from the UK and later from the USA since 1985, living here (WA) since 2006, I am appalled at my own earlier ignorance, my stereotype view of the Aboriginal culture. Another point I will make about the non-Indigenous population is an opinion based on a working life of years spent conducting international business which crossed numerous cultural divides. We are witnessing the slow self-destruction of the European descendant family value system. Whole families here are preoccupied with material possessions, maximum comfort for minimal effort, with daily public displays of ‘me-first’ attitudes. Greed is this society’s prison.

I do not see happy white people here, for all their wealth, for all their advantages. Rudeness is almost guaranteed to show itself during shopping trips, and there is no age or gender limit ito those responsible ill manners. It has been quite a shock to my family when compared to the much more thoughtful, civil and generous community culture we enjoyed while living in the United States. I am left wondering, again drawing on longstanding cultural experience, whether the British psyche is at the root of it, because this is the dominant influence where I and my family are living and we had seen this emerging trend when we moved from the UK in the nineties. (BTW – I am British born).

The point I am making is that the dominant ‘Balanda’ culture has virtually lost its soul. It has been up for sale to the highest bidder for too long – but please permit me to suggest that in spite of all the sad history of injustice, the hardships and the pain, there is reason to believe that the Aboriginal soul is much more resilient. Perhaps my word instead of ‘soul’ should be ‘spirit’ and this is a white man’s perspective so I hope it is OK to express it in this way.

The following is a familiar quotation to many white people of European descent, but it does no harm to remind ourselves of the words of Edmund Burke (1729 – 1797) an Irish born orator, philosopher, and politician who lived for many years in England. It is sad to reflect that his shared wisdom had insufficient impact on those who had and have so much authority over others

All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.

Ani in her March 2010 comment used the words ‘Wake up’. Some of us white fellas are waking up but it has been a long sleep and there is serious communications work to be done in our communities. Enough of us want our souls back. We are going to need Aboriginal leadership and skills to make a difference – because our forebears failed to learn from you in the first place. The search is on for good men – and women and children, regardless of ethnicity – to do something.

Something has to be done about the heavy drinking in Aboriginal societies. Something also has to be done about the heavy drinking in White societies. Something has to be done about the pornographic images on government computers in remote communities, what about the pornography on government computers in government offices all around the country? Something has to be done about the prevalence of STD and sexual abuse in children. In all societies these shameful practices occur behind closed doors. The cowards who indulge should be castrated – no matter where they live.

A measure of our civilisation is the way we treat our most vulnerable citizens. Our beloved country has a woeful record on mental health, children’s safety and alcholism. The useless prevailing philosophy is ‘blame the victim’. It is much easier to stand on high and chuck money at problems than to make a real difference. Self determination is the way through the welfare maze, consultation, deliberation and considered, respectful action is needed, for all of Australia.

Some communities have millions thrown at them, willy nilly, women’s centres built on flood plains and washed away by the following year’s wet season, then eaten to a shell by white ants, expensive equipment rusted out where it was dumped by the flood – useless. Houses built yet not connected to electricity and water because there is no channel for complaint of shoddy builders.

Millions are spent on community shops yet fresh food is still not available. There must be better ways than hand outs to businesses supposed to support vulnerable people. Where is the money for community food gardens, small industries, farming endeavours. How can the government expect their expenditure to do any good on the ground when most of it is spend on compliance eg fulfilling the needs of the beaurocratic process.

WAKE UP, there are people needing work they can be proud of, there are people needing real skills (not bits of paper), there are people needing to be valued for the contribution they can make. As a country we cannot afford to throw away the riches that cultural diversity brings by nonchalantly tossing money around without stopping to think about where it will land.

Where are the media reports on the successful communities? Where are the TV programs that show how functional communities live? Where are the articles on the incredible advantages of a rich cultural diversity on all sectors of our country? We should all be asking our policy makers for more positive stories. Lets see more pride, lets build on the achievements of the awesome men and women who stand up to be counted.

Where are the programs for schools down south to visit remote communities to foster the respect and friendships across all groups in our country? Why do school visits go overseas when they could have a unique cultural experience in remote Australia.

Respect starts with just one person opening their mind and talking about the wonders of the ‘hidden’ magnificence of cultures in our own country, will it be you?

Yes, I am white with German/Irish ancestors but was born in Murgon, near to the aboriginal township of Cherbourg Qld. I love our rich aboriginal culture, the art, the dreamtime, the intuitive knowledge of our beautiful country.

I do not blame many of aboriginal people for being confused, angry and lost. It has been only just over 200 yrs since white people came to Australia and only a short while since the stolen generation stopped being stolen. I am sure that many aboriginal families could still tell you stories about their mother, father, aunty etc. even themselves being taken from their family purely because of their race. There is still a lot of hurt and loss of presence being felt that only time hopefully can heal for some.

Why is that we are forcing the aboriginal people to take on our white man’s ways? Why are we not recognising and respecting fully the rich culture around us? I would love for my children to be taught aboriginal culture within our schools and have exposure to the languages, tribal regions, beliefs, practices and most importantly the spirituality – a spirituality being suppressed by white man’s ideas of what they should be thinking.

To Liz, you seem to be a very strong woman and thank you so much for sharing your feelings. Don’t ever stop your passion!! I’d really love to hear what you’re thoughts are on how we could be doing to move forward and come together to empower the first australians.

Kindest regards.

Please, try to forgive us “Whites” for the sins of our peers and our ancestors against the aborignal people. But please do not hate us by labeling all “Whites” as part of the corruption. There are many “White” people who do try to help. There are many “Whites” with a good attitude, who work to help Aborignal people. That includes our readers who are reading these artilces, and your comment, to understand better how Aborignal people everywhere can be empowered. We are fighting hard against the Dominant culture of Australia to improve things. While I do not love the Government and I know much racism still exist there, I think that they continue to hurt aborignal people mainly because they just do not understand the real experience of Aborignal people.

Your comment is quite long, but as there are no other comments at this time I will leave it in full.

Thanks again