“daft way to run a nation”

Waking Up To Dreamtime edited by Gary Johns, Quadrant eBook, 2012

First published by the Bennelong Society, Waking Up To Dreamtime is republished as a Quadrant eBook with a new (2012) introduction by Gary Johns:

My first foray into Aboriginal matters was as a high school student in the 1960s, verbally assaulted by a very angry young Aborigine who wanted to change the world for Aboriginal people. It was a most uncomfortable experience, but I hope he had some success.

I never came close again until in 1990, as a Member of the House of Representatives, the Coronation Hill dispute was brought to my attention. Dr Ron Brunton lobbied me.
With his advice, and after judging the facts, I believe I took a principled view on the issue.

The Cabinet agreed, but unfortunately, the Prime Minister disagreed. Coronation Hill, the gold, platinum and palladium mine became a park. A result of environmental and Aboriginal myth-making and mischief-making. I thought it was a daft way to run a…