Myth of Privilege Aboriginal Status Media Visions Public Ideas 1998

Soon after Australians voted overwhelmingly for the 1967 referendum on indigenous policy, a new and different public attitude toward indigenous citizens began to surface. Until then, few people entertained the notion that Aborigines were privileged. The idea of Aboriginal privilege really started to gather pace in the early 1980s with manifestations such as "Rights for Whites." Despite decades of public exposure of the disastrous state of indigenous poverty and inequality, in the 1990s ideas that indigenous people are unfairly advantaged in land and welfare, and have powerful allies among the political and professional elite gained popular currency. The Myth of Privilege examines the roles played by the media, politicians, governments, lobby groups, academics and the changing economy in shaping the public debate about Aboriginal policy and political status since the 1960s. The book suggests ways in which we might more effectively respond to the democratic rhetoric of the current populi