WGAR: Working Group for Aboriginal Rights (Australia)
WGAR website: http://wgar.info/
Contents:
2nd anniversary of PM's apology to Stolen Generations
Closing the Gap report card
New Way Summit Task Force
Other Aboriginal Articles
SECOND ANNIVERSARY OF PM'S APOLOGY TO STOLEN GENERATIONS:
- Video & TV
SBS News Video Player: Anniversary of Rudd apology
http://player.sbs.com.au/naca/#/naca/wna/Latest/playlist/Anniversary-of-...
"Today marks two years since Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's apology on behalf of the nation to the Stolen Generation."
ABC1 Television Guide: Message Stick - Talking Stick: Healing A Nation
http://www.abc.net.au/tv/guide/netw/201002/programs/IP0905H002D2010-02-2...
11:30am Saturday, 20 Feb 2010: "On the anniversary of 'The Apology' to the Stolen Generations of Australia, Miriam Corowa talks about the next steps in the healing of past traumas with board members of the newly created National Healing Foundation."
- News
The Northern Myth: Downtown Alice Springs, Saturday morning – the Prescribed Area People’s Alliance rally
http://blogs.crikey.com.au/northern/2010/02/13/downtown-alice-springs-sa...
13 Feb 10: "I wandered downtown earlier today to catch up with some friends & countrymen at the Prescribed Area People’s Alliance Rally outside the historic John Flynn Church in the middle of the Alice Springs Mall. The main theme of the Rally was to celebrate – in a very ironic sense – the second anniversary of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s “Sorry” speech to the Australian Parliament. There was a pretty healthy turnout ... " Bob Gosford
[Includes impressive photos!]
Koori Mail: Anniversary a national day of action
[scroll down page] http://www.koorimail.com/index.php
12 Feb 10: "ANTI-NT intervention campaigners will hold a national day of action at various locations around the country tomorrow, the second anniversary of the national apology to Indigenous Australians. Rallies are expected in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth and Alice Springs, calling for an immediate end to the intervention and showing support for Aboriginal communities in the face of racially discriminatory laws and government policies."
Koori Mail: Mixed feelings on eve of apology anniversary
[scroll down page] http://www.koorimail.com/index.php
12 Feb 10: "MANY Aboriginal people will have mixed feelings on tomorrow’s second anniversary of the Prime Minister's apology to the Stolen Generations, according to the WA Bringing Them Home Committee. Committee Co-Chair Jim Morrison welcomed the recent establishment of the new national Indigenous healing foundation but said the trauma felt by Stolen Generations members and their families would take years and targeted funding to heal."
Koori Mail: Govt 'insensitive' around apology anniversary
[scroll down page] http://www.koorimail.com/index.php
12 Feb 10: "THE National Sorry Day Committee has questioned the sincerity of the national apology to Indigenous Australians, suggesting the Rudd Government is now using it to push its Close the Gap campaign. NSDC Co-Chair Helen Moran says the timing of the tomorrow’s Allstars rugby league match on the Gold Coast, heavily supported by the Government, demonstrates a lack of sensitivity towards the Stolen Generations."
SMH: Macklin heckled on apology anniversary
http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/macklin-heckled-on-apology...
12 Feb 10: "Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin has defended the federal government's intervention policy after being heckled during a speech to mark the second anniversary of the apology to indigenous Australians. Ms Macklin was speaking in Sydney on Friday when she was interrupted by an indigenous man who accused her of being racist and shouted "stop the intervention"."
ABC: Oral history puts Stolen voices online
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/02/12/2817650.htm
12 Feb 10: "The National Library of Australia's oral history collection on the Stolen Generations is now available online. The Bringing Them Home Oral History Project was carried out from 1998 to 2002 to preserve the stories of Indigenous people and others involved in or affected by children being forcibly removed from their parents."
- Opinion
Age: Sorry not enough for stolen generations
http://www.theage.com.au/national/sorry-not-enough-for-stolen-generation...
13 Feb 10: "For many Australians the apology represented the drawing of a line under a divisive debate about whether this generation of Australians was liable for the misdeeds of their forebears - the righting of a wrong and the healing of a gaping wound. For many of those more intimately involved, it was something altogether more complex, and certainly not an act that brought any sense of finality or closure." Michael Gordon
Age: Many gaps remain in indigenous policy
http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/politics/many-gaps-remain-in-indigenous...
13 Feb 10: "The apology two years ago was a good start, but much work is still needed. IN MARKING the second anniversary of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's apology to the stolen generations, it should not be forgotten that an official apology was the first recommendation of the Bringing Them Home report, which followed an inquiry that detailed a dark chapter in our history, when children were systematically removed from their families because of their race." Professor Mick Dodson, Director, National Centre for Indigenous Studies, Australian National University
Socialist Alternative: Protests demand end to the NT intervention
http://www.sa.org.au/aboriginal-rights/2583-protests-demand-end-to-the-n...
13 Feb 10: "Two years since Kevin Rudd’s formal apology to the Stolen Generations of Australia’s indigenous people and nothing has changed. The Rudd government has continued and expanded the racist Northern Territory Intervention. On the second anniversary of the Apology, demonstrations were held across Australia to draw attention to the rank hypocrisy of the Government, and to demand an end to the Intervention." Tim Arnot
Socialist Alternative: After these two years, does anyone remember the apology?
http://www.sa.org.au/aboriginal-rights/2577-after-the-last-two-years-who...
12 Feb 10: "Last July Kevin Rudd argued that not to allow tourists to climb Uluru, despite every wish of its traditional custodians, would be “very sad”. But it is not only in cultural insensitivity that Rudd has channelled Howard. Two years since Rudd’s ultimately empty apology to the Stolen Generations is as good a time as any to assess the government’s record as a whole." Diane Fieldes
Solidarity: Hawke, Keating and Aboriginal rights: Labor’s “sorry” history
http://www.solidarity.net.au/highlights/hawke-keating-and-aboriginal-rig...
Feb 10: "In 2008, Kevin Rudd said “sorry” for past wrongs. Yet his government was implementing the assimilationist policies of the Intervention that ensure the wrongs continue. There is a sorry history to Labor governments. Saying one thing and doing another did not start with Kevin Rudd. On Aboriginal rights, each Labor government since Whitlam has been more right-wing than the one before." Jean Parker
- Photos
Perth Indymedia: Photos from the Justice not racism rally in Perth
by Alex Bainbridge
http://perth.indymedia.org/?action=newswire&parentview=150184
14 Feb 10: "100 people protest in Perth against the NT intervention and against black deaths in custody. 13 Feb 2010"
[Rally timed to coincide with the 2nd anniversary of the PM's apology to the Stolen Generations]
- Media Release
Greens to address Perth rally to oppose the NT Intervention
http://greensmps.org.au/content/media-release/greens-address-perth-rally...
12 Feb 10: "Greens Senator WA Scott Ludlam will tell a rally in Perth tomorrow (SAT 13 Feb) that the Greens will continue opposing Northern Territory Intervention measures introduced by former prime minister John Howard and since extended across the nation under Kevin Rudd. The rally, organised by the Aboriginal Rights Coalition, is calling for an end to the Intervention and the restoration of the Racial Discrimination Act, suspended by the Federal Government to enable it to conduct actions that constitute racial discrimination."
[Rally timed to coincide with the 2nd anniversary of the PM's apology to the Stolen Generations]
CLOSING THE GAP REPORT CARD:
- PM's Report
Prime Minister of Australia: Speech
Ministerial statement - Closing the Gap - 11 February 2010
http://www.pm.gov.au/node/6480
- Media Releases
Close the Gap: PM’s report welcome but Government yet to develop plan to Close the Gap: new report
http://www.hreoc.gov.au/social_justice/health/media_release20090211.html
11 Feb 10: "“The Close the Gap campaign’s Shadow Report on the Australian Government’s progress, launched today, found that the government has no comprehensive plan to close the gap on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health inequality by 2030 despite committing to one almost two years ago,” Mr Calma said. Mr Calma, former Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, whose 2005 Social Justice Report laid the groundwork for the Close the Gap campaign, said the Shadow Report outlined what was missing in the Government’s approach and detailed ways in which its commitments to closing the gap could be met."
Greens: Close the Gap measures – sum is much less than the parts
http://rachel-siewert.greensmps.org.au/content/media-release/close-gap-m...
11 Feb 10: ""Failing to consult and engage Aboriginal communities and sticking to a top-down one-size-fits-all approach, is undermining efforts to close the gap on Indigenous disadvantage," said Australian Greens Senator Rachel Siewert today. "We welcome the general increase in funding and acknowledge that the Prime Minister is funding some promising programs here and there - but a comprehensive national plan is needed if we are going to reach headline targets and close the gaps.""
- Shadow Report
ANTaR: Close the Gap Prime Minister's 2010 report to parliament
http://www.antar.org.au/close_the_gap_prime_ministers_2010_report_to_par...
"To mark the Prime Minister's 2010 report to parliament, the Close the Gap Coalition for Indigenous Health Equality is releasing its inaugural Shadow Report on the Australian Government's progress towards closing the gap in life expectancy between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. Take a look ... "
- 3 Online Actions
Oxfam Australia: Close the Gap
http://www.oxfam.org.au/act/take-action/close-the-gap
Feb 10: "Almost two years after the Federal Government committed to developing a long term plan to Close the Gap in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander life expectancy, no such plan exists. Help ensure the Government gets it right on closing the gap – ask them to develop a long term plan, work in partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and give more support to Aboriginal community controlled medical services."
[Click on the link to participate in these 3 online actions]
- Radio
ABC Triple J: 11 Feb 10
http://mpegmedia.abc.net.au/triplej/hack/daily/hack_thurs_2010_02_11.mp3
[Includes Jon Altman on Closing the The Gap]
- News
Koori Mail: Govt 'insensitive' around apology anniversary
[scroll down page] http://www.koorimail.com/index.php
12 Feb 10: "THE National Sorry Day Committee has questioned the sincerity of the national apology to Indigenous Australians, suggesting the Rudd Government is now using it to push its Close the Gap campaign."
Koori Mail: NACCHO: We need to be equal partners,
[scroll down page] http://www.koorimail.com/index.php
12 Feb 10: "AUSTRALIA lags behind America, Canada and New Zealand in improving Indigenous life expectancy because Indigenous Australians have less control over their health services, according to the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation. NACCHO Chairperson Justin Mohamed welcomed yesterday’s Closing the Gap statement but called for a more equal partnership between government and health services."
SMH: Indigenous figures better but there's a long way to go
http://www.smh.com.au/national/indigenous-figures-better-but-theres-a-lo...
12 Feb 10: "THE yawning gap between black and white living standards persists, with the Prime Minister's annual report derided as an Australian State of the Union address, celebrating process over progress."
Medical News Today: Comprehensive National Plan Needed To Close The Gap On Indigenous Health, Says Australian Medical Association
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/178880.php
11 Feb 10: "Dr Pesce [AMA President] said that every new funding announcement for Indigenous health services will make a difference - however, in regard to overall progress, the AMA endorses the Close the Gap campaign's Shadow Report, which finds that the Federal Government still lacks a comprehensive plan to fulfil its commitment to close the gap."
Koori Mail: Govt warned: No plan, no progress
[scroll down page] http://www.koorimail.com/index.php
11 Feb 10: "A COALITION of health, human rights and Aboriginal organisations says government failure to develop a proper plan is endangering efforts to close the gap. The group’s chairman Tom Calma released a ‘shadow’ report on progress in addressing Indigenous disadvantage, also calling for more support for Aboriginal medical services, while rights campaigner Les Malezer described today’s government ‘report card’ as little more than a policy and budget statement."
Koori Mail: PM concedes 'slow path to change'
[scroll down page] http://www.koorimail.com/index.php
11 Feb 10: "THE Prime Minister has delivered his second annual Closing the Gap statement, telling the Federal Parliament that some progress is being made in key areas of Indigenous disadvantage but conceding it is too slow. Kevin Rudd described closing the gaps between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians – frustrated by a lack of reliable baseline data – as the nation's greatest social challenge."
ABC: Gap closing, but progress too slow: Rudd
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/02/11/2816691.htm?site=indigenou...
11 Feb 10: "Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says more Indigenous people are in work and completing high school, but progress to raise living standards is still too slow. Delivering his second "Closing the Gap" statement to Parliament today, Mr Rudd defended his Government's record on reducing Indigenous disadvantage."
- Opinion
Australian: Long way to go to close the gap
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/long-way-to-go-to-close-the...
15 Feb 10: "TWO years after Kevin Rudd apologised to the Stolen Generations, an initiative that brought comfort and closure to many, and which we endorsed wholeheartedly, the dominant focus of government policy is on redressing present rather than historical wrongs."
Australian: Rudd's Closing the Gap mission can only get harder from here
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/rudds-closing-the-gap-missi...
13 Feb 10: "The PM's indigenous report card deserves high marks for honesty, but progress is slow ... This is possibly the last year Rudd can describe the Closing the Gap campaign in broad or aspirational terms. From here on it will be harder, not easier." Wesley Aird, member of the Gold Coast Native Title Group and a board member of the Bennelong Society
National Indigenous Times:
EDITORIAL: More of the same from the PM
http://www.nit.com.au/opinion/story.aspx?id=19306
4 Feb 10: "Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has broken one of his much-touted promises for the second year in a row. In 2008, our dear Mr Rudd took the stage at the Progressive Governance Conference in London and made a rather impressive statement. "On the question of Indigenous policy, I have decided that each year in Australia's Federal Parliament the first working day will be marked by a Prime Ministerial statement reporting on progress in closing the life expectancy gap, progress in closing the gap on infant mortality and mortality of children up to five, and progress on closing the literacy and numeracy gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians," Mr Rudd said. ... " Amy McQuire, acting editor
NEW WAY SUMMIT TASK FORCE:
- Resolutions
WGAR: New Way Summit Task Force
http://wgar.info/2010/02/09/new-way-summit-task-force/
[Includes resolutions of New Way Summit of 30 January – 1 February 2010]
- News
Koori Mail: Summit task force to work on charter
[scroll down page] http://www.koorimail.com/index.php
10 Feb 10: "A TASK FORCE has been established to examine international and domestic sovereignty options, develop an Aboriginal Charter of Rights and establish protocols for inter-nation relations following a three-day Indigenous summit in Canberra last week. About 120 people attended the New Way Summit, an 'unfunded grassroots initiative' convened by NSW Aboriginal activist Michael Anderson."
- Radio
Indigenous radio station 98.9FM Brisbane
Let's Talk - Indigenous presented talkback:
http://989fm.com.au/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29
8 Feb 10: "Les Malezer - Tiga Bayles spoke with Les Malezer, Chairperson of the Foundation for Aboriginal and Islander Research Action (FAIRA). They spoke about the New Way Summit in Canberra."
Listen to this interview on-line:
http://www.989fm.com.au/podcasting/audio/98fm-podcast-2010-02-08-68091.mp3
Indigenous radio station 98.9FM Brisbane
Let's Talk - Indigenous presented talkback:
http://989fm.com.au/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29
4 Feb 10: "Michael Anderson - Tiga Bayles spoke with Tent Embassy Founder, Michael Anderson. They spoke about the New Way Summit: Our Way or No Way and The Tent Embassy Summit."
Listen to this interview on-line:
http://www.989fm.com.au/podcasting/audio/98fm-podcast-2010-02-04-74976.mp3
Indigenous radio station 98.9FM Brisbane
Let's Talk - Indigenous presented talkback:
http://989fm.com.au/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29
2 Feb 10: "Larissa Behrendt and Mark McMurtry - Tiga Bayles spoke with Professor of Law & Director of Research at the Jumbunna Indigenous House of Learning at UTS in Sydney, Larissa Behrendt and Mark McMurtry. They spoke about the New Way Summit."
Listen to this interview on-line:
http://www.989fm.com.au/podcasting/audio/98fm-podcast-2010-02-02-68437.mp3
- Background
WGAR News: Call to an Aboriginal Summit in Canberra (13 Jan 10):
http://wgar.info/2010/01/13/130110-call-to-an-aboriginal-summit-in-canbe...
WGAR News: Update on Aboriginal Summit in Canberra (23 Jan 10):
http://wgar.info/2010/01/23/23012010-update-on-aboriginal-summit-in-canb...
WGAR News: New Way Aboriginal Summit about to begin in Canberra (29 Jan 10):
http://wgar.info/2010/01/29/29012010-new-way-aboriginal-summit-about-to-...
WGAR News: Outcomes of the New Way Aboriginal Summit (6 Feb 10):
http://wgar.info/2010/02/06/06022010-outcomes-of-the-new-way-aboriginal-...
OTHER ABORIGINAL ARTICLES:
- Opinion
National Indigenous Times:
RINGY'S RAMBLINGS: A government slips on The Rock
http://www.nit.com.au/opinion/story.aspx?id=19303
4 Feb 10: "In the heart of the country, the Anangu owners of Uluru politely request that visitors do not climb the rock. GRAHAM RING* reports that most comply happily - and suggests the others just need a little more convincing."
National Indigenous Times:
BLACKCURRENT: The last fighting words
http://www.nit.com.au/opinion/story.aspx?id=19301
4 Feb 10: "Australia is one of the world's "hot spots" for endangered languages. We must act before it's too late, writes AMY MCQUIRE*." Amy McQuire, editor of the National Indigenous Times
- News
Koori Mail: TJ’s family still seeking justice
[scroll down page] http://www.koorimail.com/index.php
12 Feb 10: "THE Indigenous Social Justice Association (ISJA) has called for justice and redress for the family of an Aboriginal teenager who died six years ago after becoming impaled on a Redfern fence during a police chase. TJ’s mum Gail Hickey has asked the UN Human Rights Committee to find that Australia has failed in its human rights obligations by not having the matter independently investigated."
National Indigenous Times:
Aboriginal victims to sue British over nuclear tests
http://www.nit.com.au/news/story.aspx?id=19331
4 Feb 10: "Five Aboriginal people affected by the British nuclear tests carried out at Emu Field in 1953 are taking their case to the UK, with Cherie Booth - the wife of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair - as their representative. The compensation case comes after 800 British nuclear veterans were last year granted permission to sue the British Ministry of Defence over personal injuries stemming from radiation exposure during the tests. Last month, the Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement (ALRM) in South Australia placed an ad calling on both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people who were interested in pursuing compensation against the UK government. ... "
See: ANTaR (SA): 'Britain must compensate Aboriginal people for radioactive fallout'
[scroll down page] http://antarsa.auspics.org.au/
National Indigenous Times:
ailing funds better spent on community programs: report
http://www.nit.com.au/news/story.aspx?id=19326
4 Feb 10: "The money spent on incarcerating Indigenous Australians would be better spent on preventative programs and community building, a new report has recommended. Delivering his sixth and final Social Justice Report in Sydney late last month, former Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner Tom Calma called for "justice reinvestment" in communities with large numbers of offenders."
National Indigenous Times:
THE BIG READ: Looking back, looking forward
http://www.nit.com.au/story.aspx?id=19337
4 Feb 10: "The Apology was the first step towards creating an Australia that is inclusive and embracing of its First Peoples. However, we have a long way to go before we can stand in this country as equals, and this will take commitment from Governments at all levels and ongoing efforts by our people to achieve true justice, equality and reconciliation." Tom Calma, former Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner
Koori Mail: Govt moves to provide some financial relief
[scroll down page] http://www.koorimail.com/index.php
10 Feb 10: "THE Federal Government has committed $7.5 million towards growing the community development financial institution sector, to give Australians shunned by mainstream banks and services access to fair loans and other financial products. Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin’s recent announcement followed concern that vulnerable Aboriginal people in the WA Goldfields were accepting high-interest loans from an unauthorised lender in Laverton."
National Indigenous Times:
Emergency funds given in the wake of outback "loan shark"
http://www.nit.com.au/news/story.aspx?id=19327
4 Feb 10: "The federal government has announced it will be providing a further $20,000 in emergency relief funds for the Ngaanyatjarra Lands and Laverton, amid reports a West Australian man has been "exploiting" Aboriginal people in the region."
- Media Release
Stop the Intervention Collective Sydney:
Don't punish loan shark Sam Tomarchio's victims
http://stoptheintervention.org/facts/press-releases/don-t-punish-loan-sh...
1 Feb 10: ""Centrelink shouldn't punish the victims of loan shark Sam Tomarchio with income management" said STICS spokesperson, Monique Wiseman. "We've all been shocked by the exploitation by Tomarchio of some of the poorest members of WA's remote Aboriginal communities. Charging exorbitant interest rates - and taking the bank cards and PIN numbers - is exploitation of the highest order." But, according to the January 19 Australian, Centrelink's solution is to put people on income management - a solution that can only increase poverty and one that devious operators like Tomarchio can get around."
- - -
Subscription to 'WGAR News' is free.
'WGAR News' monitors the media, including alternative media, focusing on the Australian Federal government intervention into Northern Territory (NT) Aboriginal communities along with other Aboriginal rights issues.
The e-newsletters include media releases, opinion pieces and news items. Subscribers can expect to receive about 2 e-newsletters each week.
To subscribe, email wgar.news@gmail.com and include the words "subscribe WGAR News" in the message header.
To unsubscribe, email wgar.news@gmail.com and include the words "unsubscribe WGAR News" in the message header.
- - -
You can also subscribe to our second list 'Contact WGAR' which focuses on activities and events and provides a point of contact.
To subscribe, email contactwgar@gmail.com and include the words "subscribe WGAR Contact" in the message header.
- - -
WGAR: Working Group for Aboriginal Rights (Australia)