‘Great Australian silence’ on Indigenous issues continues

It was WEH Stanner who coined the term “the great Australian silence” to describe the nation’s mindset towards issues facing First Nations people and communities. Since the defeat of the Indigenous voice, Anthony Albanese has upheld this mindset.

The recent events in Alice Springs once again highlight that systemic obstacles do not disappear once the Prime Minister ticks “referendum” off his electoral promise list. The great Australian silence continues.

Marcus Richardson, Mosman, NSW

It is a tragedy that the people of Alice Springs have had to be placed under curfew by police as the Aboriginal community celebrates the start of NAIDOC Week 2024.

The outbreak of youth violence against police that led to the Alice curfew is not a new phenomenon. Youth crime, as it is today, was a significant and disturbing social issue when the Albanese government came to power in 2022.

Anthony Albanese’s Saturday afternoon whistlestop visit to the troubled town during the government’s honeymoon period on his way to the Australian Open last year did not send a good message to its beleaguered townspeople or to the world at large.

The message was that Albo had no real solution to a growing youth crime epidemic in Australian society.

Sadly, nothing has changed since then. While Albanese has turned his attention to other priorities, youth crime continues to engulf towns such as Alice Springs. This will be a benchmark on which he will be graded a fail when political historians come to evaluate his government’s policy in our Indigenous community.

John Bell, Heidelberg Heights, Vic

Johannes Leak’s cartoon (9/7) makes plain the truth that the three-day Alice Spring’s lockdown can be, at best, only a Band-Aid solution to continuing alcohol-induced domestic violence, consequent juvenile misbehaviour and other issues plaguing our Aboriginal communities.

Something more is needed. More than likely that something, should be a ban on alcohol.

In her interesting and instructive weekend article (“Best of both worlds”, 6-7/7) Paige Tailor explored how successful this had been for the Martu people who have banned alcohol from the remote communities where they live (in the vicinity of the Great Sandy Desert).

Ian Dunlop, Hawks Nest, NSW

‘Selfish’ Bidens

Greg Sheridan is spot-on to criticise the “appalling selfishness” of an infirm Joe Biden for desperately clinging on to the prospect of a second term. Failing to do what’s best for, first, his country and, second, his party is a double disgrace.

Add in the imprimatur of the President’s wife and son to the clingathon, plus the other members of the family living the high life in the White House, then the whole Biden clan must wear the appalling selfish label, too.

Indeed, failing to do what’s best for your husband and your dad is also a double disgrace.

Mandy Macmillan, Singleton, NSW

Greg Sheridan alludes to “the wildest dream of all”, Michelle Obama replacing Joe Biden as the Democratic Party nomination for US president (“ ‘Disastrous’ Biden gives Americans no choice”, 9/7).

Such a scenario is not beyond the bounds of credibility and possibility. First, to be president, Joe Biden has demonstrated you only have to read from a teleprompter when making public addresses. Second, there is a White House press spokesman to “feed the chooks” of the White House press corps.

Third, you have a former two-term president in Barack Obama who could act as chief of staff. Fourth, there would be no shortage of suitably qualified candidates willing and able to undertake cabinet roles. Finally, and most important for Democratic Party operatives, the former first lady is probably the only person who can save their jobs by beating Donald Trump in November.

Riley Brown, Bondi Beach, NSW

Curriculum wars

Bella D’Abrera’s article (“ ‘Curriculum wars’ plunder history for political advantage”, 9/7) raises the need to keep separate the professional from the political in academic institutions at all levels. Two words, dispossession and genocide, have been compared by some educators and politicians interchangeably in regard to Australia’s colonial settlement and the Palestinian claims for the settlement of Israel.

Badges linking the Aboriginal flag with the Palestinian flag are displayed on lapels by those wanting to promote this misleading narrative by rewriting the histories of Australia and Israel. It is an attempt to enlist minorities by linking the histories of two countries together.

Australia and Israel have entirely different histories and for anyone to spread the idea that their settlement histories are the same is misleading and irresponsible.

Stephanie Ingerson, Middleton, SA