Australia to ban alcohol for Aborigines

Australia to ban alcohol for Aborigines

news.yahoo.com

Australia's prime minister announced plans Thursday to ban pornography and alcohol for Aborigines in northern areas and tighten control over their welfare benefits to fight child sex abuse among them.

"This is a national emergency," Howard told Parliament.

"If they're going to do that, they're going to have to do that with every single person in Australia, not just black people," said Mitch, a member of a government board helping Aborigines.

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Is this a case of big brother stepping in and doing what is right in a "national emergency?"

Or is this big brother stepping on the rights of the Aborigines to freedom of expression and consumption of alcohol within legal limits.

Punative or preventative? Will this measure rectify the situation, or exacerbate it?

I'd like to get some feedback from any esteemed members from AU on the board who may have first hand knowledge or an informed opinion to offer as to whether this is really an important social initiative or some kind of political posturing.

news.yahoo.com
(visit the link for the full news article)