Read the lot of this thread.I'm white, mid fifties. (Can I say...

Read the lot of this thread.

I'm white, mid fifties. (Can I say that, or is it racist and ageist?) Spent a lot of my time travelling through and living in the northwest. Grew up looking at the families on the reserves around Port Hedland, being beaten up by gangs of aboriginal kids at school. Grew up, married, Worked in schools where the aboriginal kids just came in to sleep and play cards, and teachers were not allowed to correct them or discipline in any form. Parents didn't care.

Went back to Port Hedland after 25 years and knowing that billions of dollars had been thrown at the 'Aboriginal problem' and saw the reserve. No change. Despaired of ever seeing any change with the population. I Went to Uni in my late forties.

Then at Uni, met the first Aboriginal I have respect for. My age, three kids, married, doing her Business degree after doing a master's degree. Working hard, wanting to help her people move on from where they are into the abundance that they have access to. She's now back up north running her own business, and making a success of it. I don't need to be proud of her for using her opportunities. I'm grateful to her. The only way that 'non aboriginal' Australians will ever see a change in the Aboriginal population is if Aboriginals as a race reach deep inside themselves, find their self respect and choose to live a on a more uplifting level, and if they teach their kids the same. And the only way they will do that is if some of them choose to be role models for the rest. A more uplifting level means a two way conversation, with listening on either side.

The vocal Aboriginal people spend a lot of time telling us how much they hate us and what was done to them. What I don't hear from them is united consensus across the tribes telling us what they do want. I don't see them becoming active in their own right and helping themselves by implementing their own systems to help their people if they don't like what we are putting in place for them. The money for self help schemes would be readily available I am quite sure either from mining royalties or from aboriginal incentive programs.

You can't go anywhere until you know where you are going. Living life in the rear view mirror doesn't work. And are we still going to be having this discussion in another 100 years time when all these current generations are dead? Or are we going to allow free discussion and genuinely listen to each other then move forward together?

Something, somewhere, has to bring this to a head. Maybe the Tent Embassy in Canberra is it? Maybe it's time for a Aboriginal Council of Elders to make a choice about it; either back it 100% including the comments and actions that come from it or take it down. We as a nation must rise above our racial differences and move to a more sustainable way of working together that does not engender hatred on both sides.