May 2012 be the year that SOCIAL INCLUSION is the commitment to inspiring a reinvigorated relief for Aboriginal disadvantage

Minister for Social Inclusion, Mark Butler MP needs to be reminded that remote living Aboriginals are in need of        recognition before being excluded even more—write and tell him c/o Parliament House, Canberra, ACT, 2600

Extract from The Australian, Monday 26th December 2011

I never stop wondering what I could do to help bring about social inclusion. There are so many examples of where it has gone wrong over the few years I have been involved, such as the following...

Deleece was let down by a system that thrives on mediocrity.
Centrelink, Job Services Australia and the entire “job ready” effort is organised by an army of bureaucrats gobbling up endless amounts of money and losing sight of what they are really there for – the people, and yes... there are people at the end of the line that need help.
SOCIAL INCLUSION should mean the provision of the tools for everyone, regardless of location, to education and training to join in their share of the Nation’s wealth.

 Zoe and Lucinda are from a remote community with a population of 1200 people 500 Kms north east of Darwin. There are few employment opportunities apart from services and little attention is given to starting entrepreneurial businesses. Without this to observe, the growing child has little opportunity to view scope, dreams or vision for the future. Their future is in our hands.

SOCIAL INCLUSION should give all children the chance to dream and aspire to future successes - at present they complete their schooling and have no idea what they want to do with the rest of their life. Hundreds of young Aboriginal children who finish their schooling are lost every year to another generation of welfare recipients simply because they know of nothing better to do.

Bob Beadman asked...
"WHAT HAPPENED TO THE DREAMS?"
(Do Indigenous youth have a dream– Menzies Research Centre 2004)

“I am looking at human detritus right here in Darwin, and wonder what dreams they might have once had for themselves?

What dreams they might have had for their children? What dreams their children might have had for themselves?

I wonder if people have abandoned those dreams, what caused them to give up, what is it about the world that surrounds us all that makes them think that their dreams are  unachievable.”

We must strive to assist the young ones to develop those dreams they once had but now seem forgotten.

SOCIAL INCLUSION should not be hard to grasp - it does what it says - includes people in a social context as well as economic and environmental settings in communities. Where social capital is the glue that holds a community together - social inclusion is the philosophy under which all else happens.

SOCIAL INCLUSION must be the focus of a renewed reconciliation for all young Aboriginal children and youth no matter where they are from BUT particularly those from remote commuinities where an understanding of the dominant culture's world view is somewhat lacking. The youth of Australia must be made to know they are wanted and loved and be inspired to enjoy the Nation's opportunities just like their urban counterparts attending the plush private schools in the capital cities.

Ends