Indigenous Australians have a life expectancy almost twenty years below that of other Australians. No other wealthy country has a worse record. But this provokes no sense of national outrage. Author Rosemary Neill argues that since it was adopted 30 years ago, the promise of self-determination has been distorted and betrayed by idealists and conservatives alike. Despite billions of dollars of government spending, indigenous Australians remain far more likely to suffer unemployment, poverty, domestic violence, imprisonment and low levels of education. She believes that meaningful debate about these issues has been paralysed. The Left blames complex problems entirely on the past; the Right looks to that same, discredited past for solutions. She argues that the first step in resolving this national emergency is recognising that it exists. Aboriginal Studies pp. 311 #0716/0417R