aborigines to desert labor over intervention, page-23

Cerhob, consultation needs to be done with each community a community by community basis. It's not a one size fits all situation. Further, there are specialists in health in employment etc who have been working in the area up there for years and who really know what is needed but whose pleas have been ignored by the govt in its heavy handed approach. These are the folk who also need to be consulted.

I think the main reason the govt simple mindedly shut down the CDEPs was because this represents income for those workers that the govt would be unable to otherwise control through dole payments. It had nothing to do with improving employment. The whole art industry in the NT depends on these CDEP positions.

Never use the terms half cast, quarter cast. My Mrs spends half her life in the NT and these terms are considered insulting.

Jon Altman has published quite extensively on some of these issues if you care to follow it up.

http://www.anu.edu.au/caepr/StaffProfiles/altmanpubs.php

Cheers,