Bi-lingual education in Australia over the decades has had a significant number of failures both as an avenue to maintain language and as a pathway from literacy in L1 to literacy in L2.

Even the early successful programs of the Dunstan government in S.A were closed on the wishes of the Aboriginal community themselves (see Amery 2002). The same applied in the Torres Strait where most Islanders were not in favour of using the venacular in formal education. (see Shnukal 1992)
The only way that language can be maintained is if it is spoken in the home and socially within the Aboriginal communities. There is empirical evidence from outside Australia to show that indigenous languages are maintained regardless of the language of instruction as long as L1 remains the dominant language at home and elswhere outside of the classroom.
While social and economic inequalities continue to plague Australian Indigenous communities, there will be sadly, no significant outcomes or benefits for the masses from either bi-lingual or mainstream education.
However, doing nothing is not an alternative so, good luck.

Will benefit all Australians? How will someone descended from indigenous studying dead or dying language benefit me? Why not teach them Latin or Ancient Greek and preserve other dead languages? What they must be taught is a sufficiently high level of English so they can get jobs, indigenous languages will not let them do that. Also which languages? I remember a comment by a teacher in Broom asking which of the local languages should be taught or all of them?

A National Language Policy in Australia is difficult and has always been.

Indigenous language policy is about as hard as it gets.

And it has been since 1788..

Indeed for some first fleeters even there was probably a need for a lingua franca (Standard English) just to talk amongst themselves - if the evidence of their accents found in their sometimes odd spellings of English word in their original writings is any guide..

George Bass was regarded as the early white invader most skilled in the language of the Eora and, sadly, he didn't write a lot of it down. Yet he found he could also converse with Aborigines (DTharrawal people) at Lake Illawarra in 1796.

Yet, today, even beginning to teach indigenous children English often involves teaching them Standard English as as Second Dialect first rather than beginning while working on their designated native tongue - for Aboriginal English is a recognised language form in Australia and many indigenous people speak English only as a dialect.

Compulsory language study for all who identify as Indigenous should be made compulsory.

And it should, at least in my view, involve mandatory learning both the language(s) of whatever Land Council they are registered with and also an additional Aboriginal lingua franca such as Pitjantajarra or one of the other major living Aboriginal languages.

In most colonial dispossessios throughout the world indigenous people lost their land and sometimes their families.

For many Australian Aboriginals they lost land, family and language.

There is actually not much more to lose when you think about the cultural impacts of such theft.

Teaching Aboriginal languages might seem window dressing to some and have little relevance for contemporary Australia but we just have to look at a near neighbour like TImor (which made it's official language Portuguese when we few citizens speak it) to show how difficult language policy can be.

Even Rome has been, at least until very recently, a capital city where most native born citizens - although they speak 'Italian' - did not speak the national dialect which is based on Florence.

My Dad was an English speaking wharf labourer and even though I have a doctorate in English I feel I certainly learnt Standard English as a Second Dialect - and it certainly felt a very alien way of speaking (and writing) to me when I was growing up.

When you lose a language you probably lose most of the essence of its culture with its passing. You can sometimes be happy just eating the food and wearing "ethnic" dress on special occasions - but you are then just a tourist in your own country in my view.

A genuine National Language Policy (let alone a genuine Indigenous Language Policy) would be both very expensive and difficult to implement.

It may all sound far too utopian but, in NSW at least, every child in a State High School seems to have the right to be examined in their background foreign language (even sometime when there is only one student sitting the exam).

It's only fair that every individual who identifies as Indigenous has the same right.

I, perhaps, should also add the disclaimer that I am descendant of two white first fleeters and two white second fleeters (one of whom cohabited with an indigenous woman and from whom I descend).

But, having four white ancestors living here prior to the birth of my sole Aboriginal one I would never attempt to identify as Indigenous - even though I remain genuinely interested in reading about Aboriginal Affairs and history.

I also speak only Standard English - and have even lost the rather odd working class Australian English dialect my parents seemed to speak.

The time, effort and expense required to maintain fluency in a few selected aboriginal languages is a waste of resources. We should spend this time and effort improving skills in English, the language of everyday usage and future employment. We can preserve some native indigenous tongues by sound recordings and there will always be some people, with a particular interest in these languages, who will keep the flame burning.

I challenge any of the following to explain why they are so concerned about a powerful law graduate but have failed to be concerned about crimes being perpetrated on young girls.
Professor Ann O’Connell
Professor Miranda Stewart
Associate Professor Beth Gaze
Mr Matthew Bell
Dr Sarah Biddulph
Mr Jason Bosland
Dr Anna Chapman
Associate Professor Sean Cooney
Professor Lee Godden
Associate Professor Fred Ellinghaus
Dr Jacquie Horan
Associate Professor John Howe
Professor Andrew Kenyon
Associate Professor Jurgen Kurtz
Dr Wendy Larcombe
Professor Harold Luntz
Professor Ian Malkin
Professor Jenny Morgan
Professor Diane Otto
Mr Glenn Patmore
Professor Sam Ricketson
Ms Lisa Sarmas
Dr Michelle Taylor-Sands
Associate Professor Joo-Cheong Tham
Dr Amanda Whiting

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/four-more-women-arrested-over-female-genital-mutilation-in-nsw/story-e6freuy9-1226477458507

This very good news. It´s true that in the past such bilingual education didn´t work very well, and that many indiginous people themselves were not in favour, yet this was during a time when they were still highly discriminated (which is still happening today) and so soon after certain historical event (that shall not be named) which made people think that the indiginous languages were worthless.

It is well seen that bilingual education not only boosts the importance of a language but also gives great linguistic abilities within a population. I am a teacher in a bilingual area of Europe and lived for a while in another, yet I come from a monolingual area, and it is very apparent that bilingual people (from early years) have a higher grasp of language learning and understanding whilst also giving local and cultural pride and gives them an insight in to the importance of open mindedness and liberalism and the acceptance of other cultures and languages.

The benefit to Australians as a whole would hopefully mean higher social mobility especially among indiginous peoples a strenghtening of indiginous cultures and thus increase in Ethnonourism which seems to sweaping throughtout much of the world. Whilst inturn removing the stigma of Australia as being a place where racism is rife and where the indiginous people are undervalued.

It too would increase the economical viability of certain communities meaning less governmental funding would be needed to support non working families. Whilst, at the same time, giving pride back to the indiginous people and as it says reducing the death of so many languages. Once bilingual education is implamented and is used and well monitored then it is not massivly costly and has obvious benifits for the future, both culturally, linguistically, ethically and economically and on an individual level.

Good work Australia!!!