Community rescue programs have failed Aurukun

There is no significant difference in performances over time between the four communities under the Family Responsibilities Commission and the Alcohol Management Plans, and the 15 other communities that come under the Alcohol Management Plans only. In other words, the Pearson communities appear not to be faring any better than the rest.

It is time to stop the harebrained ideas. The Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition can march for reconciliation until they are black in the face; it won’t do a damned bit of good for those souls locked up in communities built by do-gooders.

The original sin was to herd people together and pretend that post-mission settlements would be viable. They are not.

I doubt it matters who runs the local school. About half of the children leave Aurukun for boarding school and the other half stay and run amok. Pearson wants the other half to be sent away to itinerant jobs. I agree.

But if all the children leave ­Aurukun, it means that Aurukun has no future.

The alcohol plans and the commission are tools to manage damaged souls and damaged communities. Let them play out, but set the children free.