Black Australia's doing fine, says G-G

The Aboriginal leader Pat Dodson said the head of state's remarks were superficial and suggested that all that was needed was to "force these [remote] people out of their communal ways …

ABORIGINAL leaders have sharply rejected the outgoing Governor-General Michael Jeffery's claim that the vast majority of indigenous Australians are living "integrated, normal" lives, and that disadvantage is confined mostly to remote areas.

Major General Jeffery, who leaves office after five years on Wednesday, said there were about 520,000 people with "indigenous blood" in Australia.

"I suspect that about 350-400,000 of those are already integrated satisfactorily into the country," General Jeffery said in a farewell interview. "Integrated to such an extent that you don't hear about them, they're doing what we w look upon as normal jobs, living normal Australian lives."

About 100,000 Aborigines mostly living in the remote north had been "doing it hard for many years".

The Aboriginal leader Pat Dodson said the head of state's remarks were superficial and suggested that all that was needed was to "force these [remote] people out of their communal ways … It really denies the uniqueness of who the indigenous people are and what their contribution to this country can be in their own right, as if they having nothing to contribute except the absorption of the culture that the West has offered to us. It's a pretty damnable statement if that's the case."

Mr Dodson, a fierce critic of the Howard government, which appointed General Jeffery to the position, also scoffed at the suggestion that disadvantage was concentrated in remote areas.

"We're not living normal lives - we're totally over-represented in the social indicators, we're dying a lot younger, we don't have the education opportunities … [people are living] below the poverty line in many parts of Australia. It is not just those in northern Australia who are battling to make ends meet."

Earlier this year, General Jeffery supported the apology to Aborigines removed from their families as children and he has spoken often of the need to teach more indigenous history in schools. But his remarks are sensitive because of the debate sparked by the intervention in the Northern Territory about whether integration should be actively pursued to help overcome Aboriginal poverty and despair. General Jeffery said that indigenous leaders such as Cape York's Noel Pearson and the 2007 Young Australian of the Year, Tania Major, were starting to find solutions to entrenched disadvantage.

Australian Bureau of Statistic figures show that of 517,000 Aborigines, 32 per cent live in cities, 43 per cent in regional areas and a quarter in remote areas. While health, employment and education levels are worse for all Aborigines compared with non-indigenous Australians, those living in the cities fared better than those in the bush.

For instance, in 2006, almost a third of Aborigines living in cities had completed year 12, compared with 22 per cent in regional centres and 14 per cent in remote areas.

In comparison, 49 per cent of non-indigenous Australians had finished year 12.

Governors-general have often used their position to speak out on Aboriginal issues. Sir William Deane promoted reconciliation and the incoming Governor-General, Quentin Bryce, has said one of her priorities would be Aboriginal affairs.

General Jeffery, a career military officer before his appointment, also said in the interview that he had sympathy for his predecessor, Dr Peter Hollingworth, who stood down in 2003 after criticism of his handling of child abuse allegations while he was Archbishop of Brisbane.

"I feel comfortable in my own skin that the ship of state is on course and people are very nice to us wherever we go," General Jeffery said.

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Forced to live in hunger

Peter Yoomarie, no more NT intervention

SUGAR, flour, milk powder and bread account for half the calories consumed by people in remote Aboriginal communities, a groundbreaking study reveals.

Fruit accounts for only 1 per cent of energy consumption, and vegetables - including potatoes and hot chips - just 5 per cent in one community in north-east Arnhem Land.

It is the first study to investigate the link between poverty and inadequate nutrition among Aborigines in the Northern Territory. While it focused on the one unnamed community of 2000 people, it offers a damning insight into a broader crisis in the nutrition of indigenous Australians.

It found that fruit and vegetable consumption was a third that of the wider Australian community. Cheap but poor-quality food heavy in carbohydrates made up two-thirds of the diet. This put adults at risk of obesity-linked diseases such as cancer, diabetes and heart attack and compromised children's development, said the study leader, Julie Brimblecombe.

Residents were consuming three times the recommended quantity of salt - a major cause of high blood pressure. The unhealthiest foods were the cheapest, with sugar about 30 cents for 1000 kilojoules versus nearly $10 for broccoli - a result of the high cost of transporting fresh food to remote areas.

Dr Brimblecombe, who presented the results to the Australian Indigenous Women's Health Meeting in Darwin, organised by the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, said previous research had emphasised the quality of the food supply but had not "looked at how people's socioeconomic circumstances affect food choices. They call [flour and sugar] 'long life' foods - foods that are filling them up and keeping them going … When you've got only a bit of money to spend on food and you don't want your children to go hungry, you don't worry so much about the quality."

The study - based on a questionnaire completed by two-thirds of families and analysis of the food available in the local shop, takeaways and school - excluded healthier traditional foods, an important part of the local diet.

But preliminary analysis indicated that a diet that met government nutrition recommendations was not affordable on the budget available, Dr Brimblecombe said.

Short-term measures - such as distribution of fruit and vegetable hampers - were needed to address the immediate problem.

But structural change was also necessary because people did not want to depend on handouts.

Aboriginal Voters Reject Labor (over NT Intervention)

With both major parties supporting the NT Intervention those voters who opposed the Intervention and recognised the many negative features and problems associated with the Intervention were forced to seek some other way of expressing their wrath at both the party political megoliths – Labor and the LCP -- the Tweedledum and Tweedledee who by their actions oppose Aboriginal human rights in the Territory.

To have their voices heard Aboriginal voters and others opposed to the Intervention were forced shout their opposition in silence. They did so by not voting. Throughout the whole of the Territory the average voter turnout of was only two-thirds of those enrolled. Where dissidents did vote, they voted whenever possible for the only political party that had openly supported them in their struggle to stop the intervention – the Greens.

In the electorate of Braitling the Greens polled 3.5% higher than the ALP , and polling booths in Greatorex also showed the vote for the Greens was higher than that for Labor. Both of these electorates cover Aboriginal Town Camps in Alice Springs.

Commentators on the landslide swing against Labor in the Federal Elections have ignored such critical issues as: low turnout at the polls; the high level of informal votes; the dramatic rise in votes attained by the Greens; and swings of up to 18% against Labor in some electorates.

This shows the need for the ALP to drop their support for the NT intervention. Events are being organised around the country to continue the campaign against the Intervention, particularly on September 27, when a national day of action has been called.

Posted August 14th, 2008 by WGAR - Working ...

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There's more to scandal: Orkopoulus family

THE family of convicted paedophile Milton Orkopoulos last night broke their silence saying there was more to the scandal than had so far been revealed.

Orkopoulos's mother Stamata and brother George Orkopoulos stated just hours after the sentence was handed down in Newcastle District Court that while maintaining his support for his brother, George Orkopoulos said he believed his brother had suffered at the hands of people motivated by money and greed.

"By all means punish him for what he did that was wrong, absolutely, but there are things he has been convicted of which are just not true," Mr Orkopoulos said.

He claimed there was a lot more to the case that was not revealed throughout the lengthy trial and hoped one day the truth may come to light.

"There are certain people who should hang their heads in shame, and they know who they are," George said.

"I just sincerely hope at some stage the full truth comes out, because at the moment we are a long way from the truth."

He described the behaviour of some Labor MPs as "the height of hypocrisy" in raising money to support Orkopoulos' family, after they voted to freeze his superannuation entitlements.

Labor MPs had been sent a letter asking them to donate money to Orkopoulos's former wife Kathy and daughter Anastasia.

"It is shameful that politicians in Macquarie St, who were so eager to vote in favour of Milton's superannuation being frozen, now passing the hat around ... it's the height of hypocrisy," George said.

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Orkopoulos predator gets 9 years

Eligible for parole in 2017: Predator Milton Orkopoulos

Former NSW frontbencher Milton Orkopoulos has been sentenced to a minimum of nine years and three months in jail.

In the Newcastle District Court today, Judge Ralph Coolahan set a maximum jail term of 13 years and 11 months for the former Aboriginal affairs minister.

His 30 child sex and drug charge crimes were "premeditated, predatory and manipulative" with far reaching impacts, said the judge.

Sporting grey stubble and struggling to keep his eyes open, the 50-year-old former Aboriginal affairs minister was pale as he took his seat in the dock.

All three of his victims and a number of their family and friends were present in court to learn the former MP's fate.

A number of Orkopoulos' family members also sat in the public gallery.

Judge Ralph Coolahan spent more than an hour detailing the MP's crimes which date between 1995 and 2006 and involved the grooming of three young boys with drugs and alcohol in exchange for sex.

He said Orkopoulos used his position of authority and power to win the trust of his victims and introduced one to heroin, an act which he described as "a very serious offence".

"His conduct was premeditated, predatory and manipulative with far reaching impacts," Judge Coolahan told the court.

"The offender was frequently arrogant and often flippant in his evidence and made a number of claims which were patently false."

The judge said significant periods of fulltime imprisonment were the only appropriate sentences for such serious crimes.

Ensuring Orkopoulos was adequately punished, the community was protected and and his actions denounced by way of general deterrence were more important considerations than his rehabilitation, the judge said.

The judge said the crimes of former NSW frontbencher Milton Orkopoulos, were "premeditated, predatory and manipulative" with far reaching impacts.

Updated: 7:46 am (AEST) May 22

There's more to scandal, Orkopoulus family say

THE family of convicted paedophile Milton Orkopoulos last night broke their silence saying there was more to the scandal than had so far been revealed.

Orkopoulos's mother Stamata and brother George Orkopoulos spoke exclusively to The Daily Telegraph just hours after the sentence was handed down in Newcastle District Court.

While maintaining his support for his brother, George Orkopoulos said he believed his brother had suffered at the hands of people motivated by money and greed.

"By all means punish him for what he did that was wrong, absolutely, but there are things he has been convicted of which are just not true," Mr Orkopoulos said.

He claimed there was a lot more to the case that was not revealed throughout the lengthy trial and hoped one day the truth may come to light.

"There are certain people who should hang their heads in shame, and they know who they are," George said.

"I just sincerely hope at some stage the full truth comes out, because at the moment we are a long way from the truth."

He described the behaviour of some Labor MPs as "the height of hypocrisy" in raising money to support Orkopoulos' family, after they voted to freeze his superannuation entitlements.

Labor MPs had been sent a letter asking them to donate money to Orkopoulos's former wife Kathy and daughter Anastasia.

"It is shameful that politicians in Macquarie St, who were so eager to vote in favour of Milton's superannuation being frozen, now passing the hat around ... it's the height of hypocrisy," George said.


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Fee too much for Block project

The block - Stand-off … the site for which 62 houses are proposed.

THE Aboriginal Housing Company has accused the Minister for Planning, Frank Sartor, of "trying to crucify" an ambitious housing plan for the Block in Redfern after his department refused to waive a $60,000 development application processing fee for the project.

The Pemulwuy Project, a $50 million plan for 62 houses, a gym and an elders' centre, is on hold because the not-for-profit housing company says it cannot afford the processing fee.

"We are a charitable organisation and we don't receive any money from the Government," said the head of the Aboriginal Housing Company, Mick Mundine. "We don't understand why they need $60,000 just to look at our DA, but they wrote back saying they won't let us off the fee."

The company's project manager, Peter Valilis, said money could not be raised from investors until the the development application was passed.

"Frank Sartor is a guy who just does not want this new complex to go ahead," said Mr Valilis, who added that the company would refuse to pay the fee.

"It is really just a stand-off. They have said they will not do an assessment on the project until they get their money, so it could sit there indefinitely."

Mr Sartor has argued that the Pemulwuy Project is too big and that 62 houses is too many for the Block, which is private land owned by the Aboriginal Housing Company.

He attracted controversy in 2005 when he said Mr Mundine should "bring your black arse" down to his office to discuss plans for the Block. Mr Sartor apologised.

A spokesman for the Planning Department said the Aboriginal Housing Company was being treated like any other applicant.

"The fees to be charged by the Department of Planning for the assessment of development proposals are prescribed by the Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation. As such, the department charges proponents these fees, including other state agencies such as the Department of Housing and the Department of Health."

Processing fees cover the department's work assessing proposals, public exhibition and notification, consulting other agencies and presenting an assessment report for the minister.

The spokesman said the Planning Department was awaiting more information from the Aboriginal Housing Company, such as the final investment value of the project.

"While the Aboriginal Housing Company has now provided the Department with most of the information requested, the proposal is not able to proceed to public exhibition until these last remaining critical pieces of information are provided."

Whistleblower rejects payment offer

Gillian Sneddon … described offer as "an absolute insult".

THE whistleblower who was sacked after raising the alarm about the now convicted pedophile Milton Orkopoulos has been offered a $100,000 payment by the State Government.

The Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, independent MP Richard Torbay, made the confidential offer two weeks ago. It comprises a $33,166.06 "apology" payment and a redundancy entitlement of $66,830.94.

Ms Sneddon, 51, Orkopoulos's former electorate officer in Swansea, called the offer "an absolute insult".

She has been on stress leave and unable to work since she was locked out of Orkopoulos's office in 2006, after he became aware she was helping police with their investigation into the then Aboriginal affairs minister.

"How can I get my life back together when this offer shows they're not really concerned at all?" she said yesterday.

The unemployed Ms Sneddon said she was struggling to pay her bills and her only income was a workers' compensation payment of about $600 a fortnight. Her salary as an electorate officer before she went on stress leave was almost $70,000 a year.

She was arranging to sell her Swansea Heads house, which she has lived in for about 20 years, because she could not afford the mortgage repayments, she said.

Mr Torbay, who has inherited the issue from the previous speaker, the Labor MP John Aquilina, said he had not received a formal reply to the offer.

"I made the offer in good faith, and she is still able to make her workers' compensation claim," Mr Torbay said yesterday. "Whilst this issue predates me as Speaker, I believed an ex gratia payment is appropriate."

Ms Sneddon was sacked by Parliament the same day she began to give evidence at the Orkopoulos trial.

The offer came after a meeting with Mr Torbay in April about her plight. The payment is conditional on Ms Sneddon signing a deed of release against Parliament but leaves the way open for her to take action against Parliament's insurer, Allianz.

Ms Sneddon still has a submission for a workers' compensation case with Parliament and Allianz. She said no amount had been specified in the claim and denied a report saying she was claiming $600,000.

She has accused the Labor Party and her former employer, the Parliament, of in effect abandoning her after it became public she was helping police collect evidence.

She also said she had been made a pariah by her former colleagues and her difficulties ignored by the State Government.

"This is all because of me being a decent human being and telling the truth," she said.

Ms Sneddon has not limited her criticism to the NSW Labor Party. She has also criticised the clerk of the Parliament, Russell Grove, and another parliamentary officer over the Orkopoulos investigation.

Mr Grove has denied the allegations and cleared himself of any wrongdoing in a report he wrote at the request of Mr Torbay last month.

Orkopoulos was found guilty of 28 pedophilia and drugs charges in March and will be sentenced tomorrow.

Related;

Orkopoulos betrayed me: victim
Sexual abuse victims of former NSW MP Milton Orkopoulos have told a court his attacks were a betrayal of their trust. Orkopoulos appeared in the Newcastle District Court today for a sentencing hearing on 40 child sex and drugs charges. He was convicted in March of 28 offences, after pleading guilty to a further two at the outset of his trial.

The last act of Orkopoulos: skewering the Darkinjung
The murky story of former NSW Aboriginal Affairs Minister Milton Orkopoulos, who is awaiting sentence on 28 sex and drug charges, is becoming murkier. One of his last ministerial decisions was to sign, just before midnight – and seven hours prior to his arrest – an instrument to appoint a handpicked administrator for the Darkinjung Aboriginal Land Council on the NSW Central Coast.

Orkopolous whistleblower sues NSW Govt
The aide who blew the whistle on convicted paedophile and former New South Wales Labor minister Milton Orkopolous is suing the State Government, claiming she can never work again.

Orkopoulos betrayed me: victim

Sexual abuse victims of former NSW MP Milton Orkopoulos have told a court his attacks were a betrayal of their trust.

Orkopoulos appeared in the Newcastle District Court today for a sentencing hearing on 40 child sex and drugs charges.

He was convicted in March of 28 offences, after pleading guilty to a further two at the outset of his trial.

Dressed in a grey suit and blue shirt, Orkopoulos looked drawn, with weight loss visible on his face.

The former Aboriginal affairs minister sat with his head cocked to one side, listening intently as two of his victims told the court of the impact of his crimes on their lives.

One of the men, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said his academic and personal life had suffered as a result of the politician's indecent assault of him at the 2004 National Labor Conference.

"I felt that Milton had exploited me for his own perverted sexual gratification," the man, now 20, told the court.

"I felt betrayed by the NSW Labor Party for protecting Milton politically."

The man looked Orkopoulos directly in the eye, muttering: "Burn in hell, you grub" as he passed the dock.

Related:

The last act of Orkopoulos: skewering the Darkinjung
The murky story of former NSW Aboriginal Affairs Minister Milton Orkopoulos, who is awaiting sentence on 28 sex and drug charges, is becoming murkier. One of his last ministerial decisions was to sign, just before midnight – and seven hours prior to his arrest – an instrument to appoint a handpicked administrator for the Darkinjung Aboriginal Land Council on the NSW Central Coast.

Orkopolous whistleblower sues NSW Govt
The aide who blew the whistle on convicted paedophile and former New South Wales Labor minister Milton Orkopolous is suing the State Government, claiming she can never work again.

The last act of Orkopoulos: skewering the Darkinjung

The murky story of former NSW Aboriginal Affairs Minister Milton Orkopoulos, who is awaiting sentence on 28 sex and drug charges, is becoming murkier.

One of his last ministerial decisions was to sign, just before midnight – and seven hours prior to his arrest – an instrument to appoint a handpicked administrator for the Darkinjung Aboriginal Land Council on the NSW Central Coast.

Without evidence of impropriety or the misappropriation of a single cent, the Darkinjung mob were shut down on a legal technicality and watched their hopes for a new beginning go up in smoke.

Their plans to use their own money - $42 million raised from the sale of a piece of valuable property at The Entrance to Mirvac - to create a better life for their community by starting commercial business enterprises have been dashed.

The projects were based on the best legal, financial and commercial advice available and they had even won acclaim and awards for their initiative.

So what was their "crime"? According to government officials who briefed a local MP after the administrator's appointment they were "too far ahead of their time".

As Aboriginal Affairs Minister, Orkopoulos, who represented the neighbouring Hunter seat of Swansea, played a wilful and shameful role in the legal and bureaucratic attack on the Darkinjung people. Whereas his role as minister and local MP should have been protector, custodian and supporter, the left-wing MP put in the boot.

His successor Reba Meagher took an initial interest in the land council scandal and then dropped off when it all looked too hard. The new minister, Paul Lynch, is a former industrial lawyer and civil rights campaigner who could do something to right the wrongs committed against the Darkinjungs but there is no sign that he will take up the cudgels as he would, say, for Sinn Feiners or the Sandinistas.

Meanwhile, the federal Aboriginal Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin seems to have decided that her best option is to stay well away from the NSW issue.

On the surface, the NSW Labor Government promotes Aboriginal self-development but the Darkinjung story shows what happens to uppity blackfellas who want to redeem themselves and get ahead like the white folk.

Their cattle, housing and job training projects have been wound up on the say-so of a minister who has been found guilty of heinous crimes against teenagers, giving them heroin and other drugs in return for sex.

If ever there was a case that deserved executive action to put right, a full judicial inquiry or public hearings by the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) this is it. Instead, it’s heading for a spot under the carpet or a perpetual burial place on the the Supreme Court law list.

As the late Xavier Herbert wrote: “Poor fella, my country.”