I’ve seen your name in various on-line fora over the last 12 months. I was pleased to read this piece, as so much of what is written about the intervention is hysterics from people who have never visited an Aboriginal community. I live and work in Central Australia with Aboriginal people, and have witnessed positive changes in some communities first hand - and some sad changes, such as litter problems caused by the disbandment of municpal services funded by CDEP in others.

I am writing to support your sane approach to telling the intervention’s story from within your community rather than as opinion based on second-hand commentary (it wouldn’t be Ntaria, would it?). I and some of my colleagues who live in Yuendumu took particular heart when you took on a certain Blogsome writer last year and exposed their lack of understanding -and total reliance on theorists and the writings of others- about this issue to spout their particular brand of wordy hysterics about the intervention.

Keep telling it as you see it -good and bad- and I might be inspiried to write a piece myself.