Mal Brough’s proposal had “dog whistle� written all over it.

Anthony, you said

Textbook work by Brough, take a complex problem and pick out every bit that can be thrown at the communities, wave the welfare stick, and release it to the press.

My oath!

Everybody:
Alright, foist them all on their own petard ……. and demand compulsory bilingualism for ALL Australian students

A search of [Brough funding] in any search engine (except google) is instructive in how spectacularly hopeless Brough has been in gaining adequate funding for anything in the past few months. Another dud Minister who deserves to be turfed at the Federal election.

There’s one Maori language, compared to hundreds of Aboriginal languages, which have now shrunk to about 60.

It’s much easier to support and sustain one indigenous language.

There is no doubt that when Brough’s performance is examined that voters will desert the coalition in droves.

When are we going to stop denying people access to universal services on the basis of race?

But giving the appearance of arguing against English literacy is just letting the government use Aborigines as a political punching bag, as usual. And I cannot see how that can possibly be helpful for any indigenous community.

At least I hope it’s just a wedgie. If not, the next step is an attack on bi-lingualism (ie ‘teach em English until they can read Shakespeare: then teach em their Mother tongue like a second language’).

There’s nothing ‘bunny’ like nor ghettoised about the following frustrated response quoted in the ABC report:

“Central Australian Native Title holder Rosalie Kunoth-Monks says Mr Brough needs a reminder that he is not God. She says Mr Brough should stop putting Aboriginal people down.

“To have the freedom in an affluent democratic country to speak your language as well as access that which is outside that will enable you to get jobs and so forth, we’re well and truly aware of that,” she said. There’s no need for him to preach to us. Mal Brough is not God.” “

firstly he was unable to get agreement on the Commonwealth and state disability Agreement because he couldn’t work out how to fund it properly. It remains unsigned and unfunded to this day as far as I am aware.

During the week the Alice Springs Indigenous community knocked back his cash offer for housing because they didn’t like the strings attached to the deal.

Now this. That makes it three strikes Mal. Another bright idea with dubious funding no doubt.

However, Sam’s number one priority is Murri people, and you wont find him apologising for it.

As such, Im afraid he just wont be thinking first of ALP strategy and the ‘counter-wedge’ potential of his response.

He wont lose an iota of Murri community support over it either.