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StickJackal

Listed below are comments made by StickJackal between Friday, 5th December 2008 and Monday, 6th July 2009.

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The great fly-over problem 11:29am on 06 Jul 2009 Isn't the answer lying about 1200 miles southeast of Australia? There, an Australian type society embraces its indigenous people and allows them to act as partners in a first world economy rather than pushing them to the fringes.

The place is New Zealand- which has a founding document treaty that enshrines a working partnership. No one would suggest that it is a perfect society and economic diffrences certainly exist between the indigenous and settler populations but nowhere near the yawning gap in Australia.

NZ has achieved things unthinkable in Australia- it has had Maori governor generals and acting prime ministers, has substantial Maori representation in parliament and large succesful tribal enterprises involved in the capitalist economy. MAori have had the vote since the 1860s, there was no stolen generation or terra nullis laws. European Kiwis proudly learn the Maori language, wear Maori pendants, and cheer the national rugby team performing the Haka.

Can't the Aussies just humbly ask their Kiwi neighbours what they have done right for the last 150 years - and then implement the same policies?
Making arguments on race 03:16am on 20 Apr 2009
+ I've often heard this statement and it seems quite racist in itself.
It assumes the white majorities of Australia and NZ are somehow different, whereas the "indigenous people" are the same, as if there was some ethnicity called "indigenous", a faceless mass who do not need to be considered separately by us.
But, clearly, the complete opposite is the truth:
The cultural backgrounds of white settlers in both countries were close to identical, whereas Maori culture was worlds apart from any of the plethora of Aboriginal societies existing in Australia at the time of invasion and settlement+

I agree that the identities of Maori and Australian Aboriginal peoples are very different. But the colonisation experience of Australia vs New Zealand seems to have been very different, despite both being colonised by the British.

Firstly, New Zealand was colonised a generation later than New South Wales. British society itself had changed with the growth of the middle class and liberal values.

Secondly, the Maori were offered a Treaty which recognised native title, and gave them the rights of British subjects. While certainly not always respected by the British side, it did give the Maori a legal framework that Aboriginal Australia never had.

Thirdly the white New Zealanders were largely descended from English and Scottish protestant farmers. They didnt have the cultural baggage of the Irish Catholic convict elements in Australia who were the bottom of the British Isles caste system, and took that out on non European elements such as the Aborigines, Chinese, and Kanakas.

And Fourthly the Maori put up a hell of a fight against the British empire for close to 40 years. While defeated in the end they established their credentials as a martial race (something the British respected) and were treated better as a result.

The result, a century and a half later is a country that seems to be more comfortable with incorporating non western elements into its cultural indentity. Think of the All Blacks Haka, the Maori Koru on Air New Zealand planes, the Maori language used in Parliament, official occasions etc. Such symbolism would still be unthinkable in modern Australia.
Making arguments on race 1:28pm on 19 Apr 2009 Nick and the subsequent posters have it pretty much right. In summary, Australia is a mildly racist society which puts it in a better position than most other countries which are xenophobic in their own way.

Australia has some unpleasant aspects to its racial history but to its credit has made an incredible transformation in the last 50 years or so, and its major cities are by and large models of multicultural tolerance that the world could learn much from.

There is only regional country I can think of that Australia could bow its head to. That is little New Zealand to the south east which seems to have incorporated its indigenous people into its national identity in a way that Australia either cant do or doesn't want to. Maybe the topic of another blog
Happy Christmas 11:36am on 25 Dec 2008 Yeah second the comment about covering New Zealand. It's a hell of a lot more interesting than their commodity rich larger redneck neighbour.

They are 50 years ahead of Australia in race relations and have incorporated their indigenous people into the nation building project in a way that Australia simply does not dare. Also have one of the world's most audacious social policies in terms of gay rights, legalising prostitution, and environmental protection.

Their Parliament has recently had such fascinating characters as a rastafarian wearing hemp suits, a transgendered MP representing a conservative rural electorates, and just a few years ago they had the top five constitutional offices held by females, probably the first time in human history. We want to hear more Nick! Want to see the future of a postmodern western society and those two shaky isles to your south east will be pointing the way.

Why would you want to focus on the Texas of the south seas rather than the Netherlands?
Are Canadians falling into the Obama trap? 05:13am on 05 Dec 2008 In rhyme - here we go;

Far to the north there's a vast frozen land,
Civilised, cultured, peaceful and bland,
Where folks are nice and all things fair,
And even believe in universal health care,
And conflicts solved without pulling a trigger,
It's kind of like New Zealand but bigger.
They gave us Bryan,Pamela and Jim Carrey for one,
And we'll never forgive them for Celene Dion,
They forgot to join in and give King George the pound,
Then invaded and burned the White House to the ground,
They still have the Queen and her governor too,
Who is a black women- gosh who here knew,
Well anyway their politics is boring at best,
So they elected some rednecks from way out west,
Added a few Quebec seperatists too,
All of a sudden a big hullabaloo,
Conservative Harper came through the gates,
Just before Red Obama conquered the States,
So before you go north remember to say,
How interesting -wow - its Canada eh!

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