Tony is getting a lot of flack for being a white "privileged" male Aussie.

But he should not be judged on his background. He's the leader of the Australian people and his upbringing should not reflect his policies.

His policies should reflect the ethos of all Australians.

I'm an immigrant myself. And having migrated here, I've never heard of aborigines.

As a man who traveled half way around the world, spent years working 2 jobs and juggling work with university (paid my own tuition) while living in share accommodation, never having a good weekend to enjoy a night out or to dine out, all for the price of getting an Australian citizenship in the end, I cannot be sympathetic with aborigines here.

They have the privilege of being born full fledged Aussies, something that immigrants have to work hard for. Some immigrants fail to get it and go back to their home countries with tails between their legs, maybe viewing themselves as failures.

They get lots of government support, while new immigrants have to pay the Australian government for the privilege of trying to become Aussies.

And to the bleeding hearts who bring up the cultural and historical "tied to the land" excuse of the aboriginal people, I'm sorry, but aborigines don't have a monopoly on being cultural minority that has an umbilical cord to the planet earth.

I myself am part of a minority group in my own home country that over the last 50 years had our history, culture and language eroded because of modernity.

But don't feel too bad for me, all of us have lost a lot of our culture to modernity.

The aborigines seem to want to hold on and that's fine. But I think they are overstating their cultural loss.

Their culture is well documented. Their language is alive and studied and preserved by scholars for posterity. They have the privilege of catching a short flight a few times a year to be in touch with their land and roots and people.

They have all this while having the privilege of being citizens of a first world country.

Sadly, many cultural minorities don't have this privilege. I am one of those. Our way of dressing, our traditional songs, our language, and many other aspects of our culture have disappeared and forgotten.

We live in poverty as well. Many of my people had to leave our country to find a better future for ourselves and families.

The aboriginal people can have it all if they want to. They will not lose their culture if they will it. They can be modern and prosperous if they try.