Post by cardigan on Jun 3, 2008 16:41:59 GMT -5
Mundine slams 'defeatist' 2020 proposals
A list of 49 recommendations from the Indigenous group at April's 2020 summit has been revealed, but former ALP president Warren Mundine has described two of them as "defeatist nonsense".
Mr Mundine attended the summit, but was not part of the Indigenous group.
He has dismissed a proposal that Indigenous people be allowed to access their superannuation early because of their lower life expectancy.
And he says a scheme where seats in parliament are reserved for Indigenous people would be a waste of time.
"It hasn't helped the Maori people over in New Zealand, it didn't help any other race of people in the world," he said.
"In fact it's isolated us and cut us off even further.
"What the recommendations are saying is the Labor Party, and the National Party and the Liberal Party are too incompetent and too bigoted to get Aboriginal people into Parliament, so let's set up a little separate body."
But the idea to establish a new Indigenous representative body has been welcomed by the National Indigenous Youth Movement's Tim Goodwin.
"A place where [we can] present innovative policy options and advocate for Indigenous people on a local, national and global level," he said.
The deputy chair of the movement says having Indigenous seats in Parliament is an idea worth investigating but Mr Goodwin says Indigenous people need to be involved in the major parties.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd had asked for around a dozen policy proposals from the entire 2020 summit - a figure now dwarfed by the Indigenous proposals alone.
The Federal Government is scheduled to respond to the summit ideas by the end of the year.
A list of 49 recommendations from the Indigenous group at April's 2020 summit has been revealed, but former ALP president Warren Mundine has described two of them as "defeatist nonsense".
Mr Mundine attended the summit, but was not part of the Indigenous group.
He has dismissed a proposal that Indigenous people be allowed to access their superannuation early because of their lower life expectancy.
And he says a scheme where seats in parliament are reserved for Indigenous people would be a waste of time.
"It hasn't helped the Maori people over in New Zealand, it didn't help any other race of people in the world," he said.
"In fact it's isolated us and cut us off even further.
"What the recommendations are saying is the Labor Party, and the National Party and the Liberal Party are too incompetent and too bigoted to get Aboriginal people into Parliament, so let's set up a little separate body."
But the idea to establish a new Indigenous representative body has been welcomed by the National Indigenous Youth Movement's Tim Goodwin.
"A place where [we can] present innovative policy options and advocate for Indigenous people on a local, national and global level," he said.
The deputy chair of the movement says having Indigenous seats in Parliament is an idea worth investigating but Mr Goodwin says Indigenous people need to be involved in the major parties.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd had asked for around a dozen policy proposals from the entire 2020 summit - a figure now dwarfed by the Indigenous proposals alone.
The Federal Government is scheduled to respond to the summit ideas by the end of the year.