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Thursday, 5 October, 2000, 12:34 GMT 13:34 UK
Australian minister sparks race row
![]() The Sydney Games had been held as an example of reconciliation
Australia's Reconciliation Minister is at the centre of a growing storm over comments made to foreign newspapers about the country's Aboriginal population.
Unlike native American Indians, he is quoted as saying, Aborigines were hunter-gatherers who had not mastered "the techniques of agriculture" or developed the wheel. Activists have criticised Mr Ruddock saying his comments demonstrate a fundamental lack of respect for and understanding of Aboriginal culture.
On Wednesday it was revealed that as well as talking to Le Monde, Mr Ruddock had made similar comments to the Washington Post earlier in the year in which he said the government was starting "from a very low base" in improving conditions for Aborigines. He has said his comments have been taken out of context and were in no way meant to be disparaging. 'Mistaken analysis'
"My comments need to be seen in the context of a wide-ranging discussion on the reasons for Aboriginal disadvantage," he said, adding it was more important to focus attention on tackling that disadvantage. However, the Chairwoman of the Council of Aboriginal Reconciliation, Evelyn Scott, says that whatever context Mr Ruddock had taken his analysis of Aboriginal problems had missed the point.
The opposition Labor Party and the Australian Democrats have called for Mr Ruddock, who is also Immigration Minister, to resign or be sacked. Prime Minister John Howard has said he fully supports Mr Ruddock and would not be asking him to resign. "I'll be backing him 100 per cent," Mr Howard told Adelaide's Radio 5DN. 'Historical fact'
"Surely we can do better than nitpick over whether or not somebody has correctly or incorrectly expressed a view on a historical fact," he said. "We should put this sort of nonsense behind us." Mr Ruddock's comments were also backed by fellow National Party MP Ian Causley who told reporters on Thursday he believed Aborigines were disadvantaged partly because they preferred hunting to school. "It's not their thing," he said. "They, I suppose, tend to go out and do their own hunting things. They ... are not inclined to education." |
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