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Young Aussie bewails Aboriginal plight

25 January 2007 - Young Australian of the Year Tania Major says many indigenous people are seeing nothing of the success of modern-day Australia, just desperation.

Accepting her honour from Prime Minister John Howard at a reception on the lawns of Canberra's Parliament House, the inspirational indigenous youth advocate vowed to make the future better than the past for indigenous people across Australia.

Ms Major, 25, of the Kowanyama people in north Queensland, once famously pointed out that of the 15 kids who had been in her school class, only three were not alcoholics and four had already committed suicide.
"I am well aware (that) for many of my people, there is still not a great deal to celebrate, nor is this a time of year when they can truly reflect on the many advantages of being in one of the world's greatest democracies and economies," she told the audience at the Australia Day-eve ceremony and concert.

"This is especially true for many people living in remote communities across our nation, many of my own family and friends among them.

"While I am excited to be here today I cannot help but think about those other young people from remote communities who are living lives of the most appalling disadvantage and desperation."

A protege of the north Queensland Aboriginal activist and lawyer Noel Pearson, Ms Major said his attitude of `never forget history but engage in the future' had become her own.

"Australians of all colours, cultures and backgrounds should never forget the past, both its triumphs and its tragedies," she said.

"They are equally part of the ongoing Australian story.

"I stand here and make a pledge to indigenous people throughout remote Australia, that I, as a young indigenous youth ambassador and an Australian, with the help and support of other Australians, to make the future better than the past."

Ms Major, who now works in the area of indigenous youth welfare in Queensland, came to public attention three years ago as the youngest person ever elected to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission.

© 2007 AAP

Source: The Sydney Morning Herald

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