We hear a lot about housing shortages. There’s never enough to meet the need, even in our wealthy nation. Yet we also hear of unoccupied rooms. Much of the nation’s existing housing capacity is unused – whether because of the ‘empty-nest’ happening, or our over-investment in bigger houses.

All too often, the natural human desire for companionship is exhibited in the form of loneliness. Imagine if a safe and secure means existed to match the householder’s vacant accommodation with the home seeker – in a mutually beneficial alliance.

That’s just what Cathy is offering, with the added bonus of extra income for the householder in the form of rent. It would take an exceptional matchmaker for this to work routinely. But Cathy Fairall is equal to the challenge. She comes from a local family with a community-minded reputation, and she brings to the job a wealth of life experience. Among her credentials is a long stint in local publishing, using all the tools of effective communication.

It takes courage and initiative to be a successful pioneer. Cathy has shown she has both those qualities, making her a ‘perfect match’.

The reconciliation drivers are failing miserably. They wallow in past injustices (and there were many) and their policies couldn’t be more divisive.

There can be no reconciliation until all people in this country are treated the same. Some groups may need an extra hand up but none need a handout.  The paternalistic attitude of so many “do gooders” needs to stop as it only divides.

The only thing the media seems to concentrate on are things that cause ill feeling as it all seems to concentrate on negativity and ridiculous solutions.

The latest divisive effort is the talk of Treaty.  How can you have a treaty 200 years after it could have been relevant.  Politicians with little knowledge speak with great profundity about what to do when they don’t even know what the problem is.  

The Aboriginal leaders are divided about it.  Unfortunately, as Noel Pearson says, the politicians have 90 per cent of the say and 10 per cent of the knowledge while the Aboriginal leaders have 90 per cent of the knowledge and 10 per cent of the say.

Galarrwuy Yunupingu, a full blooded Northern Territory leader says that a treaty is a waste of time.  He said the word “treaty” means nothing at all. 

I don’t know what a treaty might say but there are things stated like the traditional owners take control of their schools which would end up feeling very divisive as they would have a very different curriculum to mainstream Australia. 

A treaty would pave the way for reparation and compensation for past injustices which would compound the divide as mainstream Australia would surely resent the further differentiation.

The establishment of a separate Indigenous body in Parliament is crazy. 

That is yet another way of dividing with a group having more say than other Australians. 

Like other groups the Indigenous group should have, and can have, an equal say.

Bill Shorten’s populist vote hunting has led him to say, at the Barunga Festival, that too many children are being taken from their families. 

Aboriginal leader Jacinta Price, a very smart lady, disagrees and said that Bill Shorten is “full of hypocrisy” on the subject.

I think time should be spent on working out who is an Aboriginal. The original Aboriginal full-blood lives in the NT with totally different needs and problems from the very white people who have been living in urban society for many generations. 

They are the ones protesting for more say (and compensation) because they will benefit the most because they discovered ownership a long time ago.

I saw protest/remembrance of the so called Myall Creek massacre.  Many were filthy on the whites who carried out this very wrong occurrence. 

Most looked more white than black so who were they railing against?  their white forbears? – which must have been quite conflicting.

The original Aboriginal didn’t understand the concept of ownership whereas ‘white’ Australia’s whole system is about materialistic ownership.

Political correctness, which is on fertile ground in this situation, goes on about Aboriginal culture. 

Having lived among full-blood Aboriginals (and four different tribes) for nearly 20 years, I have seen how different real Aboriginal culture is to that espoused in this area. 

The core values of NT original Aboriginals are way different and based on anything but materialism.

I believe there are three ways to make the Australian Aboriginal feel comfortable in Australian society: