Reports of the sickening violence that is endemic in aboriginal communities around Australia have shocked many people.

Now that the lid has been lifted on this living tragedy, everything which can be done to protect, especially, women and children must be done. But, realistically, what can be done?

Australia has ‘invested' untold billions into aboriginal communities in the hope of making their lives better but have we achieved anything at all? Statistics show it has all largely been for nought.

Over the past decade in the fields of violence, death, health, joblessness, jailings, and truancy, the aboriginal community has not improved at all compared to figures for the rest of Australia.

We should have known it before but, clearly, throwing money at these problems is not helping anything. That's not to say that funding for aboriginal issues should be cut back. It must, though, be better directed to achieve worthwhile outcomes.

he inescapable reality in all this is that the aboriginal community has to help itself before anything can improve. If there is no capacity in the aboriginal soul to rise above these afflictions - no matter who or what contributed to them - then there will be no change.

It is exactly the same for a white heroin addict. If he or she cannot find within themselves the guts to rise above the problem, the rest of us can merely make them as comfortable as possible while they live out their death. Wishing it otherwise just doesn't change anything.