australia's shame: breaking the "code of silence"

The main problems of the australian aboriginal people are substance abuse and dependency on passive welfare (see my noel pearson blog for the full argument)

This is a problem in australian cities as well as remote communites such as Aurukun

An article in today's Australian (the forgotten fight a violent cycle) spells it out for the suburb of La Perouse, hugging Botany Bay in Sydney's southeastern suburbs:

• aboriginal men sexually abusing children
• the local rapist , a man known throughout the community, and how every time he comes out of jail he rapes again
• the woman who was tortured for two years by her boyfriend
• a two-year-old boy spending the night in the open
• Department of Child Services very slow in responding to complaints
• everyone in the room affected by suicide
• the men of the area have gone missing - in jail, dead or just AWOL
• grandparents are commonly "rescuing" children - a word used by one of the local women - from drunk, violent or absent parents
• more young girls becoming pregnant now because of the baby bonus

It's great to see women like Carrine Liddell now speaking up and breaking the "code of silence" in her community and calling for the quarantine of welfare.