Australia to vote on recognising Aborigines

[Mr Lick]

8 November 2010 Last updated at 04:45 GMT


Australia to hold referendum recognising Aborigines

By Phil Mercer BBC News, Sydney




Ms Gillard said efforts to help Aborigines could not succeed without greater respect and recognition
Continue reading the main story Related stories

• Notorious Aboriginal ghetto to be bulldozed
• First Aboriginal MP for Australia
• Aboriginal children 'starving'

Australia will hold a referendum on recognising its indigenous people in the constitution to improve conditions for its most disadvantaged community.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard said there was a "once-in-50-year opportunity" to harness public and parliamentary support for greater recognition.
The 550,000 Indigenous Australians make up 2.7% of the population.
They suffer disproportionately high rates of unemployment, imprisonment, drug abuse, alcoholism and disease.
'Change needed'
Ms Gillard, of the centre-left Labor party, said that practical efforts to help Australia's Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders could not succeed without greater respect.
"The Australian constitution is the foundation document of our system of government, but it fails to recognise the special place of our first Australians," she said in a joint statement with the minister for indigenous affairs and the attorney-general.
"Constitutional recognition of Indigenous Australians is an important step towards building a nation based on strong relationships and mutual respect," she added.
"Recognition will demonstrate that we are a country that is united in acknowledging the unique and special place of our first peoples."
The referendum will ask the country to give constitutional recognition to indigenous people. It is unclear when the vote will take place.
Aboriginal leaders say a positive result would have a "dramatic effect" on the community's self-esteem.
Forty-four referendums have been held in Australia since 1901. Only eight have been passed.

ww.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific

[Davis Knowlton]

They're easy to recognize - they're the little black fellas.

[Loy Toy]

WTF................

Has the silly Taff bitch lost her mind...............

[mc2]

i think it is a good proposal.
ill vote yes

[kingwilly]

WTF................

Has the silly Taff bitch lost her mind...............

She never had one

[VocalNeal]

An aboriginal walks into a bar wearing one sandal.
Barman: "What's up Nev. Lost a shoe?"
Nev: Na, mate. Found one!"

[Cujo]

They suffer disproportionately high rates of unemployment, imprisonment, drug abuse, alcoholism and disease.
'Change needed'

Well get a job, don't break the law, stop sniffing glue and drinking port and eat less shit.
problem solved.
Next..!

[Cujo]

Two abos sitting at the bar, one turns to the other and says "hey Nev, you how when you fuck a white sheila ya get all teary eyed and ya nose runs, what is that?"
" I reckon it's the pepper spray" replies nev.

[Thormaturge]

They suffer disproportionately high rates of unemployment, imprisonment, drug abuse, alcoholism and disease.
'Change needed'

Wow!!! To have a disproportionately high level of alcoholism in Australia they must be drunk 24/7.

[Mid]

wot a load of crap

Aboriginals are Australian Citizens and thus already recognised by the Constitution .

[Aussie Tigger]

Agree Mid they already have equal rights to the rest of the population.Tired of hearing the crap they come out with these days.It seems the discrimination is more of the whities than the black population. Oh sorry I meant to say the indigenous sector. Try to get 90% of the indigenous population to work as the rest are doing. Good Luck. Respect as I was taught has to be earned not presented on a silver spoon. Bloody bleeding hearts piss me off.

[Mr Lick]

"The Australian Constitution is the foundation document of our system of government, but it fails to recognise the special place of our first Australians".


I must say that i am quite amazed that Abo's aren't recognised by the constitution.

What will happen if the Abo's don't get the thumbs up from the invaders? Will they then form their own constitution and use their own legislation to force the real criminals from their country?

[Mid]

Will they then form their own constitution and use their own legislation to force the real criminals from their country?

don't be holdin ya breath

[jamescollister]

Typical Government smoke and mirrors, no one cares. Lets vote on something that matters, capital punishment, abolishing the states, immigration, but people are too stupid to be allow to make real choices.

[Mid]

Lets vote on something that matters,

hear , hear

[davearn]

What a disgusting waste of resources and money. Our hospitals are fucked, cost of Govt enforced Medicare (supposed free medical care) keeps going up and what we get for it is going down.

I actually told Medicare I want to cancel my subscription as I felt other organisations were better value for money.

Strangely enough, they said no.

But honestly, a referendum to recognise indigenous Australians you must be kidding.

[koman]

Recognize them as..... what? I though everybody in Australia could recognize an aborigine. How is it going to raise their esteem. I though hard cash, free booze and smokes did that sort of thing.

Waste of money? You have an ex-Brit running things now, so WTF do you expect?

[Thormaturge]

I wonder whether the Aborigines will be allowed to vote in the referendum.

[billy the kid]

shoudn't abos be voting to recognise aussies !!!!

[Muadib]

Oh the irony... What a bunch of racist cvnts...

[Moonraker]

Allright mate
Eh!
How are ya mate
How are you?
It's me, Dave
Oh sorry mate, didn't recognise yah then for a second.


You can see where complications might occur

[mc2]

we need to try something, nothing else seems to be working.

[davearn]

Get the Aborigines to recognize and acknowledge themselves would be a start. Seems a lot fall back one the "woe is me" wagon. Get the rural elders city kids doing tribal rituals and the like. Would help bring a true pride, not just a hand out, back to the next generation.

[mc2]

its like telling depressed people to shake themselves out of it.
almost never works.

[Loy Toy]

^^ Couldn't agree more mate.

In fact I knew quite a few Aborigines 40 years ago that were good as gold, trying hard to integrate and doing fine but these days they just seem to be riding on the "We were hard done by, the world feels sorry for us, Peter "Fucking" Garret's beds are burning bullshit syndrome and don't want to help themselves.

Actually they, or those representing them are playing this "Hard done by" angle perfectly as the rest of the world have fallen hook, line and sinker but in the real world the population is going backwards at an alarming rate which is the real worry.