Tony Thomas on burying a deadly dysfunction in Aboriginal society under a great heap of euphemisms: Meanwhile, deep discussions about Reconciliations, constitutional recognitions, treaties, social justice, disadvantage and ânegative social indicators" continue, a type of national conversation that Peter Sutton dismisses as "yabber." Professor Sutton is a linguist and anthropologist with a lifetime's work for Aboriginal progress. He writes, "Such [bureaucratic] languageâ¦moves in a territory somewhere between euphemism, banality and propaganda. A murdered mother is not âdisadvantaged" â she has lost her life." Reconciliation, he says, has now "attracted the hideous Orwellian language of management-speak. In glossy-brochure land, in a galaxy far, far away, we were to read about governance, capacity building, partnerships, whole of government, benchmarks, stakeholders, leadership, targets, measureable outcomes, role models â and so it goesâ¦It is the language of managerialist welfarism. But if you believe the media releases, it's the Breakfast of Champions. And where is our Kurt Vonnegut when we need him? To pad out these official narratives, bureaucrats now insert colorful "Case Studies," each involving an individual Aborigine who has become a success story thanks to Program XYZ. Of course, there is never a case study involving failures. Suggested case studies of failure: In Alice Springs, there is quite a gap to be closed, with Aboriginal women there 80 times more likely to be hospitalised after assault than women living anywhere else. There is so much persistent ear disease in the communities that 40% (urban) and 70% (remote) Aborigines have hearing loss and difficulties. More than a third of the Indigenous children under 14 are in over-crowded housing. In remote communities, more than half the children live over-crowded. About a third of the housing is also deficient in washing, sanitation and food storage and cooking facilities.[8] Even where new building and repair programs were active in the NT, housing occupancy would fall on average only from "the high to the early-teens" â presumably from about 18 to 13 people per house. The rate of abuse and neglect confirmations nationally for Indigenous children under 17 years has risen from 2.2% of the Indigenous child population in 2002-03 to 4.2% in 2011-12. Protection orders similarly have risen from 2.3% to 5.5%. In the NT in the decade to 2010, child removals grew from 175 to 555, a 215% increase, including a 40% increase in 2008-10. Worse, removals are forecast to escalate while availability of Aboriginal carers diminishes. The normally level-headed Productivity Commission cites one bizarre finding that, despite appalling living conditions in remote communities, the settlements "also possessed protective factors that can safeguard children and families from psychological distress, such as spirituality and connection to land, family and culture. Read on.