Wake Up Time

The main question of this book is: why have the billions of dollars spent on Aboriginal issues not closed the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, and what should be done about this?
Wake Up Time is the, often very graphic and anecdotal, story of a personal journey through some remote areas of Australia’s Outback, the Northern Territory, including Alice Springs, Uluru, Willowra, Ali Curung and Kakadu. In addition it offers an analysis of the confronting, sad, scary and puzzling life of Indigenous Australians in remote communities.
Wake Up Time questions whether two major issues are in the way of finding solutions to the problems in remote communities.
The first is the alleged system of compensations and royalties payments by mining companies. Does this system exist? If so, what are these payments and what is the role of the mining industry and of the federal government in the equitable distribution and use of these payments? Have they lead to appropriate solutions?
The second is the question of whether the present legal distinction between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians is beneficial. This policy appears to be a hangover from the days of the White Australia policy, something still engrained in legislation that is counterproductive for all Australians. Has our appreciation and support for an ancient and very much alive Indigenous culture led us to an acceptance of inappropriate legal distinctions and exceptions regarding race?
Finally, Wake Up Time questions the proposed changes to the Australian Constitution, to be decided in a referendum due in 2016.
Wake Up Time combines a an easy to read travel diary with thorough journalistic analysis.