Webdiary - Founded and Inspired by Margo Kingston

"A lot of people ask me why I seem to be so committed to Israel - I mean, I’m a Christian, not Jewish and although I remember staying here in this hotel about three years ago ... and I think I could almost be described as an honorary Jew with a lot of the views that I hold about the issues that Jewish people confront.  But a lot of people do ask me why I am so committed to Israel.  And I think there are a variety of explanations for that.  One of them is a bit historic and I think some of you have heard me say this before.  When I was a child at school and subsequently when I went to university in England, for no particular reason, Jewish people seemed to befriend me as some other people did as well [laughter], but I seemed to have quite a lot of Jewish friends." Alexander Downer

In their present form the proposals miss the mark and are unlikely to be effective. There is an over-reliance on top-down and punitive measures, and insufficient indication that additional resources will be mobilised where they are urgently needed; to improve housing, child protection and domestic violence supports, schools, health services, alcohol and drug rehab programs. These issues have been raised by many Indigenous leaders over many years.