Out-rednecking the rednecks

We are all conscious of the need to invest in the education of our next generation and know that habitual truancy at a young age is a major concern. In Western Australia during 2003, attendance was above 90 per cent for all students in the system but only about 70 per cent for the state's 24,000 Aboriginal students and worse for those in remote areas.

In an interview with Steve Packer of the Australian Education Union on July 7, 2005, Western Australia’s Aboriginal Education and Training executive director Kevin O’Keefe said, "That's three years in ten. It's very difficult to imagine how any person who is missing three years of schooling up to lower secondary could keep up."

Charline Emzin-Boyd, Aboriginal Education Co-ordinator for the NSW Teachers' Federation (NSWTF), quoted in the same AEU article, agrees truancy is an urgent concern but sought a different approach to Pearson’s sledge hammer proposal of blaming single black mums. Emzin-Boyd recommends a $100m state government injection to:

... Establish programs from schools to support parents and preschool children, thereby building early links with the community; creating preschools in all schools with significant Aboriginal student populations; establishing a genuine inter-agency program ensuring the school is the centre of the community; providing resources for individualised learning plans; earlier appointment of teachers and principals to ensure continuity of programs; and employing more Aboriginal people in schools to improve cultural understanding and learning outcomes.

In addition I would suggest community leaders consider calling on the vast pool of professionals at their state government’s disposal who could provide quality counselling to "single mums" and others who believe drinking and gambling might be impacting on their ability to provide for their school-aged children.

I implore Mundine and Pearson to read Phillip Adam’s satirical literary piece in The Weekend Australian Magazine , July 23-24, 2005. He writes:

These bloody Abos! Cost us a bloody fortune. Put it down to $20 billion, give or take. That’s just pocket knives, mirrors and beads for what we’ve got in return. Just about the biggest and best country on Earth. It’s chicken feed. A steal. All we’ve really paid for, in terms of market price – quids per acre – is an area the size of Tassie. We got the mainland thrown in for nothing. We treated an entire race with a mixture of contempt, cruelty and catastrophic paternalism.

Paternalism - sounds familiar but in this instance it’s presented with a black tinge. It appears the brothers are trying to out-redneck the rednecks.

Sadly in this case, power has proven to be the ultimate aphrodisiac.