#assimilationpolicy — Public Fediverse posts

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#Auspol #TonyAbbott #TonesVersionOfStrayanHistory
#AssimilationPolicy

Book review by Jane Lydon, Chair of Australian History at The University of Western Australia,

continued…

“As a political history, perhaps it is not surprising there are few if any “great women” in Abbott’s account. Nor that the impact of his “great men’s” policies upon others generally remains unexamined.
Thus the idealistic, rights-informed vision for Aboriginal assimilation devised by Paul Hasluck, Menzies’ Minister for Territories, is fairly set out. Yet the impact of child removal upon Aboriginal families is downplayed.”
———-
imo the assimilation policy formalised in 1961** is admittedly miles better than the foul ideas it sought to replace, but is nonetheless still deeply flawed — indeed, the policy of assimilation reads exactly like the traditional white (male) view abbott fans would cling to:

people-strictly-the-same-as-us are great, people-not-the-same are shit; aren’t we kind to help them be more like us?

**”The policy of assimilation means in the view of all Australian governments that all aborigines and part-aborigines are expected eventually to attain the same manner of living as other Australians and to live as members of a single Australian community enjoying the same rights and privileges, accepting the same responsibilities, observing the same customs and influenced by the same beliefs, hopes and loyalties as other Australians. Thus, any special measures taken for aborigines and part-aborigines are regarded as temporary measures not based on colour but intended to meet the need for special care and assistance to protect them from any ill effects of sudden change and to assist them to make the transition from one stage to another in such a way as will be favourable to their future social, economic and political advancement.”

https://www.thenewdaily.com.au/life/entertainment/books/2025/11/04/tony-abbott-history-of-australia