25may07
INDIGENOUS Australians have no hope of being part of mainstream society unless they can speak English, Prime Minister John Howard said today.
Mr Howard today backed a proposal by Indigenous Affairs Minister Mal Brough to ensure indigenous children in remote communities learn English.
“He's absolutely right,” Mr Howard told Southern Cross Broadcasting.
“Indigenous people have no hope of being part of the mainstream of this country unless they can speak the language of this country.”
Mr Howard said the best way to ensure indigenous children became proficient in English was to send them to school.
“If you require them to go to school they'll have to learn English,” he said.
The children of non-English speaking immigrants learnt English through their contact with the school system and so should indigenous children, Mr Howard said.
“In the case of indigenous people, none of them come to Australia as mature-aged people. They were all born in this country, in that sense they're different from migrants,” he said.
“The children of Chinese and Vietnamese immigrants are forced to learn English because they go to school. Equally, Aboriginal children should learn English because they should be required to go to school.”
- AAP
An Australian Aboriginal activist has labelled the Government's push to force Indigenous children to learn English as "racist".
Australia's Indigenous Affairs Minister Mal Brough says Aboriginal children should learn English so they can get jobs and have more options in life.
He says he is considering quarantining welfare payments to ensure Aboriginal parents send their children to school.
Activist Sam Watson says the government is pinning the blame on the victims instead of helping them.
"I'm absolutely infuriated by this," he said.
"The Howard government seems to be inventing new ways and means of perpetually blaming Aboriginal people and showing cultural disrespect to Aboriginal people."
Tauto Sansbury from the Aboriginal Justice Advocacy Committee says the government proposal will take attitudes to Aborigines back 60 years.
He says it is insulting and reinforces old-fashioned stereotypes.
"They still want to treat Aboriginal people back in the 30s and 40s, where they're the master and we're the servant and our attitude is 'yes boss, we'll do what you want'," he said.
Central Australian Native Title holder Rosalie Kunoth-Monks says Mr Brough needs a reminder that he is not God.
She says Mr Brough should stop putting Aboriginal people down.
"To have the freedom in an affluent democratic country to speak your language as well as access that which is outside that will enable you to get jobs and so forth, we're well and truly aware of that," she said.
4 comments:
Brough makes a statement. Howard then says he's right. The two of them agree so why wouldn't they be right!!! As a generality, Aboriginals living in their own communities are frequently multi-lingual: they speak their own language; speak or have an understanding of one or two neighbouring languages; and then, traditionally, there has often been a trading language - some sort of kriol. And then they speak English. Of course, we won't talk about the children who have had to sit in the dirt at school, who have no proper class rooms or modern educational facilities, who have no prospect of employment with or without English, no prospect of acceptance by the dominant white society with or without English. Then there is the failure to provide all weather roads to Aboriginal communities or to assist them to build economies. In the Outback small whitefella towns can operate an economy based on the delivery of community services - why can't this level of expertise be developed in black communities and developed into an economy. Oh, I forgot - they're Aboriginal. They don't speak English. They don't go to school. But they sure do understand and are motivated by Aussie Rules football - every man, woman and child. Funny that, don't you think?
Australia is racist and genocidal, Indigenous peoples here are given no respect, no rights and no treaty. Same old land thieving, genocidal, colonizing racist bastards. You come across as a patronizing closet racist yourself and sadly typical of many Australians.Language, land and connection are the basis of identity for all Indigenous peoples
I don't find racism & white supremacy in this country funny at all. Fuck assimilation that died all over the world 50 years ago.
I came to comment on how well you presented your case.
But I ought also comment that you misjudge "Miss Eagle". She has considerable experience of living amongst Aboriginal people. The term "Funny that" is heavily ironic. May I suggest that you look at her blog.
People with similar views ought stick together, not spit at eachother.
Denis
Obviously this blog is no haven for Gubba liberalism.
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