People Die Because They Find Living Too

There Are No Quick Fixes To Indigenous Poverty And Social Disaster.

At The Moment People Get On Boats Because They Flee Terror At Home And Believe The Many Years' Long Wait In Unhcr Camps Is Not A Valid Option, Especially If They Have Children In Their Care. After The Vietnam War, Australia Took A Larger Humanitarian Intake Than At Any Other Period In Our History. The Australian Community Accepted That. They Were Told Why We Needed To Do It, And Why It Was The Only Ethical Decent Policy That A Wealthy Advanced Country Should Adopt.

Over 120 Aboriginal Communities Run Their Own Health Services - Some Have Been Doing So For 30 Years. They Struggle With Difficult Medical Problems. They Also Try To Deal With Counselling, Stolen Generations Issues, Family Relationships, Violence, Suicide Prevention.

Sorry Day Falls On The Eve Of Reconciliation Week, Giving Us The Chance To Ask Whether We Are Making Progress In The Wider Challenge Of Reconciling Indigenous And Other Australians.

The Great Task Of Statesmanship Is To Apply Past Lessons To New Situations, To Draw Correct Analogies To Understand And Act Upon Present Forces, To Recognise The Need For Change.