The Real Warren Mundine on Homelands
Learn from our experiences in the South East, don't close down homelands, says Warren Mundine. "Closing communities doesn't work. In NSW we did that in the 1930s and 1920s in the South East in the Bourkes and Morees and you see the disasters that occurred. This idea that you can force people to move from homelands is bizarre to me. Its about making things better and economically sustainable." "I don't think there are many differences across the Aboriginal leadership at all... We just don't sit down and have enough cups of tea with each other." This is an unedited mp3 recording of a discussion with Warren Mundine at 4pm, 15 December 2008.
Some selected quotes:
"Closing communities doesn't work. In NSW we did that in the 1930s and 1920s in the South East in the Bourkes and Morees and you see the disasters that occurred.This idea that you can force people to move is bizarre to me. Its about making things better and economically sustainable."
"Law and order seems to break down on the fringes of the towns not in the homelands."
"The closer you come to the towns the more the problems increase..."
"On homelands where people have retained their social and traditional structures and their cultural identity there is strength".
"I am a very strong supporter of multi-lingual teaching".
"People are not using their imaginations about what can be achieved on homelands".
"I see a lot of economic opportunities on homelands".
"People look but they don't see the opportunities on homelands".
"I don't think there are many differences across the Aboriginal leadership at all... We just don't sit down and have enough cups of tea with each other."
Students or members of remote and regional Indigenous communities who wish to have a copy of this interview free of charge should simply email: pbotsman@bigpond.com
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