It also means that (quite forgetting this issue) often there are fed funds decreed by Canbrah which cannot be spent for some reason or other. (eg, the State or Territory just does not have the skills any more – a very real problem for small jurisdictions). I cna think of several large projects at the moment where there is a bucket of $$$ and no person available to actually manage that $$. Literally no-one able even with the skills to write up a brief to engage someone from the private sector, or to understand what those private sector people are doing. This is part of the problem with the indigenous housing initiiative I suspect. Nothing to do with racism, and everything to do with public sector cuts so deep that the lights are off and no-one is at home. That might have been a better Oz piece, rather than trying to accuse people of racism where it ain’t the real issue at all.

And as has been described its not a new phenomenon – its an ongoing problem of funds being diverted. The federal government probably needs to apply income management to the state governments

Or did the Journo just ASSume?

Sounds like a puff piece dressed up to appeal to those who hold certain opinions and want those opinions pandered to.

Just a thought, maybe some people decide for themselves when they want to retire and grab their super payouts? Maybe the NT Government does not determine the interest rates it spends? Maybe the money for aboriginal people was not spent because the consultation processes took longer than the people ‘down south’ determined it should be? Maybe aboriginal people might want to think a bit longer about some issues than bureaucrats ‘down south’ think appropriate? Maybe the money is actually still there, just not spent yet because of those consultation processes?

Just a few questions that should have occurred to a cadet journo just out of school, starting out in a minor regional newspaper.

You’re all raaaaaaacists.

Hey, I feel better already.

However, interest costs are generally fixed indendently of Government, and so are its super liabilities. ie the question NOT answered or even posed by the Oz was whether or not the NT Govt had any choice but to pay up.

Well what would the NT government have done if they hadn’t been given the money by the federal government that was intended for indigenous australians?

At the very least it shows very poor planning – how could they not have known well in advance what their superannuation payment requirements were going to be? And why did they decide to divert money from the pile intended for indigenous australians instead of from the pile that funded services in mainstream areas?

It may well not have been racist in intent, but they certainly had a choice where they took the money from and they chose the route that would harm them politically the least. Maybe the lesson here is – make sure you don’t live in a safe labor or liberal seat!

However, interest costs are generally fixed indendently of Government, and so are its super liabilities. ie the question NOT answered or even posed by the Oz was whether or not the NT Govt had any choice but to pay up.

eg, could the NT Govt just say it wasn’t going to pay the super? Could the NT Govt just have said to its financiers: “Sorry, the agc sez we don’t have to pay that amount of interest?”

Sounds to me like the Oz is pandering to the prejudice that the NT is racist. (And of course all southerners are not).

Of course well meaning but ignorant people from down south have never imposed ’solutions’ that have turned out to be disastrous have they?

Racism must be resisted at all levels and in every instance – however, half arsed sloppy journalism appealing to other prejudices ain’t helpful at all. They just ‘prove’ to the rednecks how stupid the southerners are.

How about we take note of the $2,000,000,000 allocated. There are about 70,000 nominally indigenous people in NT which is almost $30,000 per head. This is in addition to normal welfare entitlements. Nation of racist thugs we are. No question.

Jarrah @ 3 Sounds like more or stage 2 transitional housing. Been there.

Governments spend far more on Aborigines per head of population than any other ethnic group. It is inevitable that more of it will be wasted or syphoned off for improper purposes. Doesn’t make it right, but it doesn’t make it racism.

Just had a quick look at the blog you linked to. It mocks elderly white New Zealanders as “dead pakeha”. Classy.

Their presence in jail is way out of proportion to the general population, particularly in W.A., where the government cannot build prisons quick enough to provide accommodation at around 250 dollars a day.

http://blogs.crikey.com.au/pollytics/2009/11/27/national-imprisonment-rates/

Preventing remote and rural Aborigines from using what land they’ve been able to keep or wrest back as a private asset is one of the reasons that this disparity continues. When will Australia get serious about treating Aborigines as more than living museum pieces?

On housing, I was speaking to someone spending quite a bit of time in the Northern Territory looking at social problems, and she said that the housing being proposed is very inappropriate for the familial-cultural setting. Instead of the typical suburban 2- or 3-bedroom plus 1.5-bathroom template, the cheaper and more useful and suitable solution is one that reflects the very different living patterns of the Aborigines she was meeting. Her off-the-cuff proposal was – a kitchen, bathroom, one medium-sized airconditioned room, then the rest of the house being one large open(ish) room/veranda combo.

I have too little knowledge to judge that particular proposal, but thinking beyond the suburban model and really letting form follow function seems to be an excellent general plan.