WITH race-inspired riots spreading from the US to the UK this week, it appears Australian elites are hoping to whip up violent discontent in Australia as well.
The dean of Melbourne-based Swinburne University Law School, Prof Mirko Bagaric, today claimed Australia had “even worse levels of discrimination in our system” than the US.
Meanwhile, the ABC’s Indigenous Affairs correspondent Isabella Higgins accused Australia of actively “criminalising” its black population.
Bagaric, whose faculty website is plastered with Aboriginal flags and welcome to country symbolism, appeared to be calling for more than political action in an opinion piece he wrote for The Australian newspaper on Tuesday, June 2.
UNFAIR
“That indigenous Australians are not rioting in the streets is no reason for moral complacency,” he wrote. “The burden of unfair institutionalised punishment we inflict on disadvantaged Australians is every bit as great as the situation we are watching unfold in the US.”.
Prof Bagaric saturated his piece with inciteful wording such as “mistreatment”, “racial minorities”, “discrimination”, “disproportionate suffering”, “deaths in custody”, “disturbing”, “failed” and “grotesque unfairness”.
“Australian politicians should consider themselves on notice that we have even worse levels of discimination in our system,” he said.
IMPRISONED
“Many Australians watching the US riots on the evening news may be surprised to learn that we imprison indigenous Australians at more than double the rate that African-Americans are jailed in the US. And it is getting worse.”
ABC Indigenous Affairs correspondent Isabella Higgins also did her best to incite high emotions in an article on Wednesday, June 3, in which she accused Australia for “criminalising” its blacks.
“In some ways Australia’s criminalisation of its black citizens is even more pronounced than the United States, but we don’t have music, movies and TV shows explaining it to us as regularly,” she wrote.
“In the US, African Americans make up about 14 per cent of the population, and roughly 30 per cent of the country’s inmates.
“Indigenous Australians make up 3 per cent of the population and about 30 per cent of the prison population.
JARRING
“We lock up indigenous Australians at four times the rate of black Americans. It’s an even more jarring figure in the youth detention system, where about 50 per cent of all detainees are indigenous.
“It’s a crude and imperfect comparison, but it still paints a picture of our justice system.”
Until the overseas violence settles, someone should remove the whistle from the lips of Australia’s unthinking elite activists.PC
“Prof Mirko Bagaric”
A great Australian name that; obviously Bagaric is well-qualified to talk about supposed issues in Australia.
Perhaps he’d like to regale us with tales of what a workers’ paradise the former Yugoslavia is, with all of its tolerence, diversity, and love (don’t mention the war; I mentioned it once, but I think I got away with it).
I spent 36 years with REAL Aborigines in the NT deserts and elsewhere.What Mr Bagaric and Ms Higgins are saying is 100% correct,
but the situation is even worse than they portray. Australian Liberal and Labor have a lot to answer for, Ms Price has white concepts.
Peter.
We seem to have reached an impasse. Australians have acknowledged and apologised with great sincerity for terrible, past racism and violent wrongs, made reparations, granted massive land rights and are trying so hard to ‘bridge the gap’, providing huge amounts of funding with, it would seem, professional back-up, practical care and counselling. So what else can we do?
The person whose opinion on Indigenous matters I would deeply value, is that of TONY ABBOTT.
Since he was a very young man, Abbott has spent a great deal of time with our Indigenous People, staying with them, helping them and championing their causes.
With his innate honesty and wisdom, his on-the-ground knowledge and deep concern for their welfare, – my wish is that Abbott would set the record straight in this POLITICOM online news journal and on the most vital, truthful T.V. News and Commentary Channel – SKY NEWS PRIME TIME, (and also on the Commercial Channels if he could get a fair go), reporting the real problems of the First Nation People and detailing what the Governments and Councils can further do to alleviate these problems..
BAGARIC AND HIGGINS -YOU ARE BOTH SO WRONG!
The greater majority of Australians treasure our First Nation People. We respect their ancient and wise culture and want nothing but to see them thrive.
What we hate however, is the cruel fomenting of resentment against us ‘colonial settlers’ and the government of the day. We condemn the flagrant lying, the distortion of facts and the imposed encouragement for our Indigenous people to adopt a ‘victim’ identity; truly the work of wicked trouble-makers.
Rightly, our Indigenous population is recognised and helped to the tune of over $30 Billion every year and they are given access to so much more. Just a few examples, —- supported entry into major high schools, universities and training courses, preferential access to decent housing and free dental and counselling care. So it should it be.
However, these are gentle people by nature who live so wisely with the natural world. Many, especially the older members, do not want to leave their remote communities or tribal way of life and are unhappy when transplanted.
——Tragically, many succumb to alcohol and illicit drug use which has devastating effects on their lives, leading to bad health and cases of child neglect.
——The majority of Indigenous crimes and domestic violence are substance-induced, committed by them against their own and,
——nearly all deaths in custody were found, on official investigation, to have occurred in prison hospitals from bad health, with a small number from suicides.
——Aboriginal youth detention for criminal behaviour often stems from a sad home life, a lack of direction, bad examples of unemployment amongst close relatives and an inferior self-image.
However, steadily and patiently, all these problems are being addressed by the Governments and a plethora of good people. Therefore there is no doubt at all, that soon there will emerge, an even greater number of highly-educated, articulate and outstanding young adults in the mould of Jacinta Price, many of whom will hopefully make great contributions to their own communities, to society and the running of our Country.