WGAR News: Protest at Abbott's sham constitutional recognition ‘consultation’: Rachel Evans - Sydney, Green Left Weekly

Submitted by WGAR - Working ... on Tue, 07/07/2015 - 11:32pm

Newsletter date: 8 July 2015

* Media Release: Ghillar Michael Anderson, Sovereign Union: Tony Abbott's Summit on Constitutional recognition a Pinochet or Hitler type moment for Aboriginal Peoples
* About Sovereign Union and our Organisational Structure
* Support: Donations - Sovereign Union: http://www.sovereignunion.mobi/node/2

* Analysis / Opinion: Amy McQuire, New Matilda: The Farce At Kirribilli: Abbott, Shorten Put The Con Back Into Constitutional Reform
* Bio: Amy McQuire - New Matilda: https://newmatilda.com/users/amy-mcquire
* About: New Matilda - About Us: https://newmatilda.com/about-us

* News Analysis: Lucy Shannon, ABC News: Indigenous referendum: Tasmanian Aboriginal people urge practical change, not just symbolic recognition

* Links for access to independent 'Constitutional Recognition' articles:

Sovereign Union: Recent 'Constitutional Recognition' Articles: with Teasers http://nationalunitygovernment.org/tags/constitutional-reform
Sovereign Union: Over 50 related 'Constitutional Recognition' Articles - SU http://sovereignunion.mobi/search/node/Constitutional%20Reform
New Matilda - Constitutional Reform https://newmatilda.com/search/node/constitutional%20reform
Red Flag - Constitutional Recognition articles https://redflag.org.au/search/node/constitutional%20recognition
Paddy Gibson, Solidarity Online: Aboriginal 'recognition'-a cover for Abbott’s assimilation http://www.solidarity.net.au/best/aboriginal-recognition-a-cover-for-abb...

* Background:

WGAR Background to Constitutional Recognition of Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Peoples
WGAR Background to the Aboriginal Sovereignty Movement
WGAR Background to Treaties with Aboriginal Sovereign Nations of Australia

WGAR News Public Google Group: https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en-GB#!forum/wgar-news
WGAR News - Working Group for Aboriginal Rights (Australia)

- facebook

Vote 'NO' To Constitutional Change, facebook:
[includes videos & photos of protest in Sydney on 6 July 2015]
https://www.facebook.com/VotenoToConstitutionalChange
"All Australians! We ask that you vote "No" for the coming referendum: Constitutional reform to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in it
http://sovereignty.webnode.com/ "

- Audio

The Wire: A step closer to Recognition [featuring Alice Haines, an organiser of protest for Sovereignty & Treaty]
http://www.thewire.org.au/storyDetail.aspx?ID=12907
http://www.thewire.org.au/audio/ninah%20constitutional%20recognition%20a...
Produced by Ninah Kopel
6 Jul 15: "Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Leader of the Opposition Bill Shorten have met in an unprecedented act of bipartisanship to discuss what a future referendum might look like. Indigenous leaders from around the country were at the meeting, in what the prime minister describes as a significant step towards a 2017 referendum for constitutional recognition. Outside the meeting, a small but loud crowd gathered in protest, saying that they want sovereignty and not recognition."
"Featured in story:
* Alice Haines, protest organiser
* Tony Abbott, Prime Minister
* Tanya Hosch, Joint Campaign Director at Recognise
* Patrick Dodson, former Chairman of the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation"

- News Analysis

Green Left: Protest at Abbott's sham constitutional recognition ‘consultation’
https://www.greenleft.org.au/node/59424
6 Jul 15: "About sixty Aboriginal activists and supporters protested outside the federal government’s "Recognition" meeting at Kirribilli House on July 6. ... Aboriginal leaders including Ken Canning, Jenny Munro and others from the Redfern Tent Embassy, Michael Anderson from the Sovereign Union, Albert Harnett and Patricia Corowa and other elders protested outside with supporters. They describe Abbott’s proposed constitutional changes as a "farce" and a "sham" because the proposed change does nothing to solve the real problems affecting Aborigines and Torres Strait Islander peoples across Australia today. ... " By GLW author Rachel Evans, Sydney

- Media Release

Ghillar Michael Anderson, Sovereign Union: Tony Abbott's Summit on Constitutional recognition a Pinochet or Hitler type moment for Aboriginal Peoples
http://nationalunitygovernment.org/content/tony-abbotts-summit-constitut...
7 Jul 15: " ... Ghillar, Michael Anderson, Convenor of the Sovereign Union, co-founder of the Aboriginal Embassy and Head of State of the Euahlayi Peoples Republic said today from Sydney: ...
This Recognise campaign is about securing the head of power to govern over Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. It is not about securing our rights or freeing us from racial discrimination. Whether this is by design or construction from PM Tony Abbott, it is a far cry from a democratic process when opposing and critical opposite views are rejected and suppressed. As one of the placards from yesterday' s protest stated: "Decolonise not recognise!"
We can come up with all sorts of critical words and viewpoints to describe this oppressive state of affairs, but the central tenet of the Vote 'No' campaign opposing arguments can be directed at one significant point from the communique of the Summit on Constitutional recognition released yesterday and that is:
'.... Further we agree with the Joint Select Committee (Interim Report July 2014) that a successful referendum proposal must:
Preserve the Commonwealth's power to make laws with respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples; ...'... "

- About

About Sovereign Union and our Organisational Structure
http://www.sovereignunion.mobi/content/about-sovereign-union-and-our-org...
"The Sovereign Union was first formed at a meeting on 12-14 June 1999 on Mt Kaputar, near Narrabri, NSW. A delegation was sent to Geneva to the UN Working Group of the Commission on Human Rights to take our sovereign voices to the international community. The Sovereign Union was further formalised with a Foundation Meeting of the 'Sovereign Union – interim Unity Government' at the Kuradji Tent Embassy, near Wollongong, New South Wales on May 25 2012. As First Nations Peoples it is now imperative that we unite and rebuild as sovereign independent nations, in order to assert our sovereign title and rights throughout Australia. This will be a major political and legal fight, but it is our future for not just us, but for our children and our grandchildren. ... "

- Colour Poster

Sovereign Union Organisational Structure:
http://nationalunitygovernment.org/content/sovereign-union-organisationa...

- Support

Donations - Sovereign Union
http://www.sovereignunion.mobi/node/2
"We must put an end to all political and historical theories and bring the sovereignty issue into the world of reality." Michael Anderson
"Sovereign Union' is not a government controlled movement but an independent Aboriginal Grassroots Sovereignty movement without a budget. ... Thank you for supporting the Aboriginal sovereignty movement ... "

- Analysis / Opinion

New Matilda: The Farce At Kirribilli: Abbott, Shorten Put The Con Back Into Constitutional Reform
https://newmatilda.com//2015/07/07/farce-kirribilli-abbott-shorten-put-c...
7 Jul 15: "A pre-determined outcome negotiated between two major parties, and 40 Aboriginal leaders brought along for a stamp of approval. Amy McQuire unloads. The artist Richard Bell once famously proclaimed in an award-winning painting ‘Aboriginal art – it’s a white thing’. His Bell’s Theorem, as told in an interview to the Sydney Morning Herald basically said about Aboriginal art, that "White people say what's good. White people say what's bad. White people buy it. White people sell it." It’s easy to come away with a similar impression of the current movement towards constitutional reform, as illustrated in the almost comical meeting at Kirribilli House yesterday. ... " By Amy McQuire, a Darumbul woman from central Queensland. Amy McQuire is the former editor of the National Indigenous Times and Tracker magazine.

- Bio

Amy McQuire - New Matilda
https://newmatilda.com/users/amy-mcquire

- About

New Matilda - About Us
https://newmatilda.com/about-us
" ... The New Matilda news digest is the best way to keep up to date with our coverage. We publish three times a week - it lands in your inbox at lunchtime on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and in the evening on Sundays. ... It's free! ...
Our readers are our investors. New Matilda is predominantly reader-funded and remains fiercely independent, with no affiliation to any political party, lobby group or other media organisation. Become a New Matilda funder here: https://newmatilda.com/be-a-supporter ... "

- News Analysis

ABC News: Indigenous referendum: Tasmanian Aboriginal people urge practical change, not just symbolic recognition
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-07-06/tasmanian-aboriginal-people-seek-p...
6 Jul 15: "Tasmania's Aboriginal leaders have questioned the focus on Indigenous constitutional recognition, saying practical help is needed rather than symbolism. ... Trudy Maluga from the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre (TAC) said she was "sick of symbolism". "If Tony Abbott was serious, he would start the conversation about treaty, I think treaty and constitutional recognition go hand-in-hand," she said. Sara Maynard, also from the TAC, has similar views. Ms Maynard works for the Tasmanian Aboriginal Legal Service, which recently lost its federal funding. ... " By Lucy Shannon

"Lucy Shannon has reported for ABC news and current affairs in two states. She is currently based in the Hobart newsroom covering stories for television, radio and online."

- Links for access to independent 'Constitutional Recognition' articles:

- Background

WGAR Background to Constitutional Recognition of Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Peoples
https://indymedia.org.au/2013/08/11/background-to-constitutional-recogni...
(Last updated: 30 April 2014)

WGAR Background to the Aboriginal Sovereignty Movement
https://indymedia.org.au/2014/12/24/wgar-background-to-the-aboriginal-so...
(last updated: 7 July 2015)

WGAR Background to Treaties with Aboriginal Sovereign Nations of Australia
https://indymedia.org.au/2015/03/26/wgar-background-to-treaties-with-abo...
(last updated: 7 July 2015)

- - -

WGAR: Working Group for Aboriginal Rights (Australia)

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