John Howard

The deal will see Howard's conservative government install gasoline pumps at the remote Mulan community in Australia's far northwestern Kimberley region in return for guarantees children there would wash their faces twice a day.

"This is not paternalistic, it's very practical, it's very sensible and it has a lot of community support," Howard told Australian radio.

The government's indigenous advisory body endorsed the deal, but Australia's most senior aboriginal leader, Pat Dodson, urged the government to rethink the agreement.

"It smacks so much of the old days when the superintendents of missions lined people up and checked whether they'd cleaned their teeth or put their rubbish bins out at the right angle," Dodson told Melbourne's Age newspaper.

The plan also demands that families clear their homes of rubbish and ensure that children attend school.

In return, the government will improve medical services and install gasoline pumps to help economic development.

The Japan Times Weekly: Dec. 18, 2004
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