Tony Abbott has rusted-on fans in indigenous affairs, but yesterday encountered one of his detractors as he strolled the dry Todd River with the mayor of Alice Springs, Damien Ryan.
A group of indigenous people were conversing at the river when the Opposition Leader swung past in can-do mode, with red desert sand on his chinos.
The appearance of his entourage was followed in short order by a man rising to his feet. ''F--- you,'' he thundered and raised two middle digits aloft. Mr Abbott and Mr Ryan appeared undeterred and moved on.
The Opposition Leader enjoyed a much warmer reception elsewhere yesterday, meeting chairman of the Central Land Council Lindsay Bookie and community leaders outside Alice Springs. They discussed Mr Abbott's recent call for a second government intervention in the Northern Territory.
In a closed session, the Opposition Leader sat in the sand to take part in a ''frank'' exchange of views. He told reporters after the meeting that he had acknowledged that the former Howard government failed to consult indigenous leaders adequately before launching the original emergency response.
But he said: ''If we are going to have progress, kids have to go to school, adults have to go to work and the law has to be adhered to.''
Mr Abbott said while a second effort in the Territory needed to be more consultative, it did not have to achieve ''consensus'' before moving on to tackle chronic problems such as substance-abuse and unemployment.
He said the situation in towns such as Alice Springs had moved from an acute to a chronic crisis, which required governments to ''direct and decide'' action, but ''as far as humanly possible in partnership and consultation''.
Indigenous leaders yesterday resolved to invite Mr Abbott and Prime Minister Julia Gillard to a meeting of the CLC in August.
Mr Abbott said he was not trying to play politics with his call for a second intervention and wanted to achieve common ground with Ms Gillard.
A group of indigenous people were conversing at the river when the Opposition Leader swung past in can-do mode, with red desert sand on his chinos.
The appearance of his entourage was followed in short order by a man rising to his feet. ''F--- you,'' he thundered and raised two middle digits aloft. Mr Abbott and Mr Ryan appeared undeterred and moved on.
The Opposition Leader enjoyed a much warmer reception elsewhere yesterday, meeting chairman of the Central Land Council Lindsay Bookie and community leaders outside Alice Springs. They discussed Mr Abbott's recent call for a second government intervention in the Northern Territory.
In a closed session, the Opposition Leader sat in the sand to take part in a ''frank'' exchange of views. He told reporters after the meeting that he had acknowledged that the former Howard government failed to consult indigenous leaders adequately before launching the original emergency response.
But he said: ''If we are going to have progress, kids have to go to school, adults have to go to work and the law has to be adhered to.''
Mr Abbott said while a second effort in the Territory needed to be more consultative, it did not have to achieve ''consensus'' before moving on to tackle chronic problems such as substance-abuse and unemployment.
Indigenous leaders yesterday resolved to invite Mr Abbott and Prime Minister Julia Gillard to a meeting of the CLC in August.
Mr Abbott said he was not trying to play politics with his call for a second intervention and wanted to achieve common ground with Ms Gillard.
