What will you say when the &#039;Yes&#039; come a&#039;knocking?

Originally posted by wotsup: ↑

To the sad Lab lovers, part of a message from the clown Bob Hawke.

FEDERATION OF ETHNIC COMMUNITIES' COUNCILS OF AUSTRALIA
CANBERRA 30 NOVEMBER 1988
in the early days of this year of our Bicentenary, on 26
January, I launched the nation's Australia Day celebrations
with these words about the Australian identity:
" We are, and essentially we remain, a nation of
immigrants a nation drawn from 130 nationalities
in Australia there is no hierarchy of descent: there
must be no privilege of origin.The commitment is all.
The commitment to Australia is the only thing needful to
be a true Australian."
Today, as we approach the end of this year of Bicentennial
celebrations, you have given me the pleasure of addressing
this conference which has adopted as its theme my words of
Australia Day.
Multiculturalism is indeed all about commitment to
Australia. So I congratulate today not only the Federation of Ethnic
Communities' Councils of Australia for devoting your efforts
at this conference to analysing the nature of that
commitment; I congratulate also the efforts, over many
years, by your constituent councils throughout Australia to
help those millions of Australians they represent to realise
that commitment.
Above all else, our Bicentenary has been a celebration of
our identity as a nation of diverse ethnic origins
Aboriginal, immigrant and Australian-born sharing a common
commitment to Australia.
Australia's national identity has been shaped by our convict
and colonial origins, by the often tragic relationship over
the last two hundred years between the Aboriginal people and
the European newcomers, by successive waves of immigrants
from all over the world, and by the hard work of generations
of Australian-born men and women. 3941

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So, what was the nature of ATSIC and did it provide an effective channel for Indigenous representation? The Australian Government, led by Bob Hawke, formed ATSIC in 1990 after it abolished its predecessor, the National Aboriginal Conference, due to its antagonistic relations with the Government. At the time, the Government viewed ATSIC as an effective mechanism for self-determination as it combined representative and executive roles. Its governance structure was made up of thirty five regional councils (with over 400 councillors), the ATSIC Board (comprising 18 zone commissioners), and the Chair who was elected after 1999. It was backed by an administrative machine of several hundred public servants who were involved in research and service delivery. ATSIC's functions were to advise Governments at all levels; provide peak national and international advocacy for Australian Indigenous affairs, and deliver and monitor Indigenous programs and services.

The abolition of ATSIC– Implications for democracy Larissa Behrendt Professor of Law and Indigenous Studies University of Technology, SydneyThe Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) had two democratic dimensions to its operation. It had an elected arm and it had a legislative mandate that gave it an alternative voice on policy to government, one that better reflected perspectives and interests of Aboriginal people.

I’ve this printed out for the YES volunteers, to read and see that they have been conned or if they refuse to read it, it shows the length of brainwashing and lies that had perpetuated on them!