Thursday 3rd April 1997
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Issues - The banking system under the spotlight. Deane was launching the report "The Health and Welfare of Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples" - a joint publication by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare and the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islands Commission (ATSIC) chairman, Gatjil Djerruka, attended the launch which demolished the notion that Aborigines living in the cities were better off than those living in the outback.
Deane said, "Aborigines living in Adelaide, Darwin and Perth suffer the same high death rates and ill health as did Aborigines in remote communities.
"The report provides cogent confirmation of the general proposition that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander disadvantage in our country is devastating in its extent and entrenched in its nature."
A Former Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade official, Bill Baker, who is currently representing a group of Aborigines at the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in Geneva said, "Indigenous people have a life expectancy 17 years less than other Australians ans infant mortality is three times higher."
Isn't it strange, however, that the blame is being placed at the feet of the Australian government when ATSIC, burdened with billions of dollars to spend on solving the problems, has done little more than to create an Aboriginal Industry which feeds (mainly) off hard working white Australians.
It is about time that, as Pauline Hanson says, ATSIC was disbanded and carefully controlled and directed funds be used to rectify the problems. The current investigation into the misappropriation of funds by ATSIC departments is shocking and should be case enough for the problem to be handed over to organisations with a sound track record.
Today we had some of the well-heeled Australian businessmen who accompanied Prime Minister John Howard on his trip to China complaining because they felt that Howard had not done enough on the trip, that they had not met enough of the right people and that they had not had enough time to meet with the Aussi PM.
Where do these guys get off? What Australian ever has the opportunity to sit down and have a chat to the Prime Minister. Why should a trip to China and a bag load of money make a difference?
We all only have one vote... ahh but then certain sectors in business can influence what other voters think - and they do - so maybe there is more a subtle threat here that their priviledged contact had been minimised...
How low can you go? - It appears that you do not have to be the Prime Minister to be able to get bodyguards ensuring your protection.
Ipswich City Councillors, according to Cr Rick Gluyas, are getting plain-clothes bodyguards to protect them at the expense of ratepayers! The programme which has been in place for several months was known only to a handful of senior council staff acting "independently".
At yesterday's council meeting Gluyas said, "I want to know who made the decision to employ the guards, how long they have been operating and at what cost."
A WASP undercover guard said security had been stepped up recently because of numerous death threats.
Is there anything Ipswich ratepayers don't carry the can for for the city councillors.... anything?
I demand "right of reply" against Graham's interpretation of my letter. I am not a swallower of Government propaganda and I am fully aware of government agendas. The current 'Kennett' government in Victoria is a good example of 'helping out mates'. i.e crown casino, grand prix , trans-urban etc. The one thing you can count on is a public asset being sold to a mate of the Kennett government for a fraction of the price.
Of course Governments have hidden agendas regarding immigration, employment, media ownership etc.
My original letter was a warning about the subject matter of the "dark age" page not government agendas. These type of pages only incite hatred. We do not want to go down the line of the USA and have another Oklahoma bombing or Waco massacre.
Some of us may be smart enough to read the pages in a subjective way but some of us might take it seriously. I am all for "freedom of speech" but that does not mean we should abuse it.
Somehow I am giving this page more publicity than it deserves!!
paul "The paul howes of this world" howe
ps can you pass this on to Graham
Subject: predicting the news
Hello again,
Amazing isn't it? The US needs a pretext for disarming the American
people (UN commitment), suddenly "Police find guns that may (sic) have
belonged to cult"[CNN 3-4-97]. The US government wants to curb the
Internet, suddenly "Sheriff's deputies find guns, ammunition and
computer equipment(!)"[same report]. Computer equipment?
Urged by the drug companies there is a global push for more mass
immunisation. Suddenly "Thousands of schoolchildren across the nation
may(sic) have been exposed to Hepatitis A by eating frozen
strawberries..." shipped to schools across the US. "...health officials
plan to begin offering immunisations..."[Boston Globe 2-4-97].
At this rate anyone familiar with the UN agenda will be able to predict
the news.
Regards, Graham.
This follows the revelation yesterday that geological assessments appear to have been tampered with.
The shares resumed trading on Wednesday and immediately rose 50% to Can$3.85 in the first 22 minutes of trading.
However Indonesian Mining Minister Ida Bagus Sujana said that it would be difficult for the government to take action against Bre-X if the company had fiddled with the results.
Sujana said that the government had not, as yet, prepared a working contract with Bre-X adding that the firm was only at "discussion stages" with its local partners. (Read that as Suharto's family who are fighting over who is the company's partner).
To show how crook the business machinations are in Indonesia have a look at the background - in February this year Jakarta awarded Bre-X a 45% stake in the Busang project, the Indonesian government 10%, Freeport-McMoRan Copper and Gold 15% and 30% to Nusamba. Nusamba is majority owned by foundations controlled by President Suharto. Now why didn't I work that one out before...
The match was captained by Ian Healy following the self-imposed side-lining of Mark Taylor.
The 12 month study found that young people tended to depend on pre-packaged or convenience foods every time they ate.
Margaret Wingett, the study's author and Queensland University of Technology's health lecturer said, "It used to be that young people would learn to cook from their mothers or from school. Young people don't seem to know how anymore."
80% of those surveyed were women - with 251 people being interviewed while shopping at centres like Woolworths at Ipswich, Inala and Kenmore.
Among the most popular convenience foods were sauteed or marinated meats, cooked chickens, pizza, frozen sausage rolls and pies, salad dressing, bottled sauces and frozen vegetables.
Ms Wingett said the study highlighted fears that poor diet and lifestyle-related diseases such as hypertension, diabetes and heart disease would become more prevalent.
Sunny skies.... unfortunately another day to be spent in the big smoke.
Have a great day.
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