The Aboriginal Tent Embassy in Canberra consists of a few rough shelters erected on the lawn in front of Old Parliament House, put there by a group of young Aboriginal activists forty years ago. The embassy has been demolished and rebuilt many times over the years, but it’s still there, an ugly eyesore that doesn’t seem to serve any purpose. The official reason is that it is sitting on Aboriginal land and is a sacred site but it’s unclear what they want the government to do about it.
Two days ago, Opposition leader Tony Abbott said that after 40 years, it was time “to move on” but his comment so enraged activists at the embassy that when they heard that Abbott and the PM were attending a function at a restaurant just down the road, they decided to front up and tell Mr Abbott what they thought of his comment.
When an angry mob starting banging on the glass windows of the restaurant, security guards got very nervous and said it was time to move. Their main concern being the PM, they overlooked Tony Abbott’s safety until the PM reminded them that he too might need protecting and it was decided to make a dash for it together. It was not a good look, seeing the extraordinary images of our Prime Minister and Tony Abbott running for their lives, that sort of nonsense just doesn't happen here.
Warren Mundine, indigenous leader and former ALP National President, agreed that the protesters over-reacted to Abbott’s comments and said “It is irrelevant to the mainstream of Aboriginal people today and it has been for the last 20 years.” He added “We’ve actually moved on from those days.”
The 26th January may be “Invasion Day” to the Aboriginal people, but it’s cause for celebration for us, and always will be. A few angry activists set out to bring attention to the problems of Aboriginal people yesterday but instead brought attention to themselves in the worst possible way, their actions didn’t endear us to their cause, in fact it widened the gap that already exists between black and white in this country, even further.
One of the most useful tips that I got from a friend was to install a restaurant camera. He recommended a webcam software called GotoCamera This is how it works - Set up a webcam near to your cash counter or any part of your restaurant which you wish to monitor, download the GotoCamera software. The set-up instructions are pretty simple and easy to follow. The best part is that you can access it from your smart phone so that you can remotely monitor your camera's recordings when you are away from your restaurant.
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