WGAR News: Indigenous Languages Forum - 8 May 2011, Mparntwe / Alice Springs

Newsletter date: 3 May 2011

Contents:
* Indigenous Languages Forum - 8 May 2011, Mparntwe / Alice Springs
* Northern Territory (NT) Intervention
* Background to the Northern Territory (NT) Intervention
* Travelling exhibition tracing the fight for Indigenous civil rights from 1920 to 1970
* Aboriginal Deaths in Custody and Aboriginal incarceration rates
* Other Aboriginal Articles

INDIGENOUS LANGUAGES FORUM - 8 MAY 2011, MPARNTWE / ALICE SPRINGS

- Forum

Bilingual Education in the Northern Territory:
Indigenous languages - politics, policy, protection and practice
http://en-gb.facebook.com/NT.Bilingual.Education/posts/220173261329635
http://groups.google.com/group/foblmail/browse_thread/thread/8f89c644bcd...
26 Apr 11: "All welcome to attend: NT Greens Forum on Indigenous Languages, Sunday 8th May, 2pm-4pm, Andy McNeill Room, Alice Springs Town Council. ...
This forum will include highly regarded speakers from Central Australian language groups as well as inviting comment from nationally linguists and other experts working in the field."

See Discussion Group:

Friends of Bilingual Learning
http://groups.google.com/group/foblmail?hl=en
"Description: Supporters of Bilingual & Multilingual education, living and learning in the Northern Territory. Recognising the importance of language in human development, identity and wellbeing."

NORTHERN TERRITORY (NT) INTERVENTION:

- Audio

Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association:
Barb Shaw unhappy with 7:30 Report representation
http://caama.com.au/barb-shaw-unhappy-with-730-report-representation
29 Apr 11: "Alice Springs town camper and Intervention Rollback Action Group spokesperson Barb Shaw, a strong critic of the Northern Territory intervention, says the ABC’s 7:30 Report on the issue failed to deliver people with opposing views. Ms Shaw tells CAAMA Radio that despite being approached to appear on the program, producers failed to make contact with her."

Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association:
Betty Pearce upset at ABC’s 7:30 Report
http://caama.com.au/betty-pearce-upset-at-abcs-730-report
29 Apr 11: "Betty Pearce, one of the native title holders of the Telegraph Station area of Alice springs says she is upset at the way the ABC’s 7:30 report had twisted her opinons on the Northern Territory intervention. Ms Pearce, who appeared on the ABC program says her comments were treated like a ‘cut and paste’, and her exact feelings on the intervention had been taken out of context and did not come accross as she had expressed them."

- Video

Stop the Intervention - Video
Our Generation screening hosted by Amnesty International
http://stoptheintervention.org/facts/films-and-literature/doco-by-sinem-...
8 Apr 11: "Introduction by Jeff McMullen
Excerpts from panel discussions of Our Generation screenings:
Comments from:
Rev. Dr. Djiniyini Gondarra OAM from Galiwin'ku on Elcho Island in East Arnhem Land
Rosalie Kunoth-Monks OAM from the Central Desert community of Utopia"

- Media Release

The Greens: Rachel Siewert:
New approach, not re-badged intervention needed for the NT
http://rachel-siewert.greensmps.org.au/content/media-release/new-approac...
1 May 11: "The Australian Greens have called for an end to talk of a ‘new intervention’ and accompanying short-term strategies and emergency powers in the Northern Territory.
Senator Rachel Siewert, Australian Greens spokesperson on Aboriginal Issues says the successes and failures of past policies should be taken on board in developing a new approach capable of delivering meaningful change.
"We should be talking about a long-term plan in partnership with Aboriginal communities to equalise life opportunities and outcomes," Senator Siewert said today.
"This planning must be backed up by a sustained investment of resources particularly in community-based organisations." [said Senator Siewert]

- Analysis / Opinion

Solidarity: More Aboriginal people forced to work for BasicsCard
http://www.solidarity.net.au/34/more-aboriginal-people-forced-to-work-fo...
May 11: "Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin has announced that more Aboriginal people will be forced to work for the BasicsCard as part of the government’s response to the growing social crisis in Alice Springs. ... For most workers in Australia, landscaping or municipal work would attract at least award wages. But changes to CDEP brought in alongside the NT Intervention mean that Aboriginal workers receive only Centrelink entitlements, which are half quarantined on a BasicsCard." Lauren Mellor

- Bulletin & Event

Stop the Intervention Collective Sydney Bulletin:
Labor plans to continue with failed Intervention
http://stoptheintervention.org/uploads/files_to_download/Bulletin-29-4-1...
29 Apr 11: "Walter Shaw, President of Tangentyere Council in Alice Springs, has described the Intervention as "one of the most significant disasters in the history of interaction between Aboriginal Australia and Government since colonisation". Despite unprecendented investment of more than $1.5 billion, social conditions have continued to deteriorate. Most remote communities have been deemed "economically unviable" by the NT Intervention and stripped of resources and employment in an attempt to force Aboriginal people into the "mainstream". ... But the Labor government has not wavered from the Intervention initiated by Howard.
Rally 12pm, Thursday May 5, 70 philip st Sydney.
Stop the Intervention - Jobs With Justice Now
Join us to launch a petition at the office of Indigenous employment Minister Mark Arbib. Demand backpay for Aboriginal workers paid on the ‘BasicsCard’ and investment is proper jobs in all communities.
Speakers include: Barbara Shaw (NT), Rachel Siewert (Greens Senator) and CFMEU Representative."

You can sign the petition online - Aboriginal Workers Exploited Under SIHIP Program:
http://www.gopetition.com/petition/43996.html

- Event

Amnesty International NSW:
NSW Community Campaigner Update
Impact of NT Intervention Speak Out
http://nswcommunitycampaignerupdate.blogspot.com/2011/05/impact-of-nt-in...
Speakers:
NT Rights Holders:
* Richard Downs Alyawarr Elder and Spokesperson Northern territory
* Ngarla kunoth Monks Alyawarr spokesperson Northern territoy
* Barbara Shaw Mt Nacy Town camp Alice Springs
AIA Indigenous Sponsorship recipients to attend the UN Permantent Forum:
* Steven Ross - Yarkawa Aboriginal Corporation - Wamba Wamba Nation NSW
* Janine Gertz - Gugu Badhun Tradional Owner Group - Nth Queensland
About: Our speakers will talk is on the effects of the Federal Government and NT Government roll out of the NT Emergency response, the immediate and longer term effects of this punitive legislative intervention ...
When: Wednesday 4th May 2-3pm
Where: Amnesty International -Level 1 - 79 Myrtle Street, Chippendale NSW"

- News

National Indigenous Times: Minister wants grassroots-style intervention
http://www.nit.com.au/news/story.aspx?id=21775
2 May 11: "The Northern Territory Minister for Indigenous Development has told a conference in Darwin a more “grassroots approach” was needed with the Federal Government’s Intervention. Malarndirri McCarthy told the conference the Federal Government needed to take a new approach to developing Indigenous communities when it revisited the Intervention legislation next year. Ms McCarthy said Indigenous people needed to have a voice in new policies."

National Indigenous Times: Second Intervention likely
http://www.nit.com.au/news/story.aspx?id=21772
2 May 11: "The Federal Indigenous Affairs Minister, Jenny Macklin has flagged a second federal intervention into the Northern Territory is being considered. The Minister said the government would not rule out another federal takeover of key services when the Intervention, initiated by the former Howard government in 2007, ends next year."

BACKGROUND TO THE NORTHERN TERRITORY (NT) INTERVENTION:

Creative Spirits: Northern Territory Emergence Response (NTER) - "The Intervention": http://www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/politics/northern-terr...

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Northern Territory National Emergency Response: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Territory_intervention

STICS (Stop the Intervention Collective Sydney): http://stoptheintervention.org/

The Greens: Rachel Siewert: Northern Territory Intervention: http://rachel-siewert.greensmps.org.au/category/issues/indigenous-rights...

IRAG (Intervention Rollback Action Group): Mparntwe - Alice Springs: http://rollbacktheintervention.wordpress.com/

Jobs with Justice: http://jobswithjustice.wordpress.com/

MAIC (Melbourne Anti-Intervention Collective): http://maicollective.blogspot.com/

ANTaR (Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation) - NT intervention: http://www.antar.org.au/issues_and_campaigns/nt_intervention

'concerned Australians': Without Justice there can be no Reconciliation: http://www.concernedaustralians.com.au/

Crikey - NT Intervention: http://www.crikey.com.au/topic/nt-intervention/

New Matilda - northern territory intervention: http://newmatilda.com/tag/northern-territory-intervention

Amnesty International Australia: Looking back at the Northern Territory Intervention: http://www.amnesty.org.au/indigenous-rights/comments/24460/

Treaty Republic: Northern Territory Intervention: http://treatyrepublic.net/search/node/Northern%20Territory%20Intervention

Defending Indigenous Rights: http://defendingindigenousrights.wordpress.com/

Intervention walk-off's Blog: http://interventionwalkoff.wordpress.com/

Australian Human Rights Commission: Northern Territory ‘Emergency Response’ intervention: http://www.hreoc.gov.au/social_justice/intervention/index.html

FAIRA; Human Rights Law Resource Centre; NACLC: Australia’s compliance with CERD - Fact Sheet 2: Northern Territory Intervention: http://www.hrlrc.org.au/files/Fact-Sheet-2-NT-Intervention.pdf

Green Left: Northern Territory intervention: myths and facts: http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/39732

WGAR (Working Group for Aboriginal Rights): http://wgar.info/

TRAVELLING EXHIBITION TRACING THE FIGHT FOR INDIGENOUS CIVIL RIGHTS FROM 1920 TO 1970:

- Event

National Museum of Australia: From Little Things Big Things Grow
http://www.nma.gov.au/exhibitions/from_little_things_big_things_grow/
"From Little Things Big Things Grow is a travelling exhibition developed and presented by the National Museum of Australia. It debuted in Canberra from 10 September 2009 to 8 March 2010 before travelling to other venues around Australia. From Little Things Big Things Grow traces the fight for Indigenous civil rights in Australia from 1920 to 1970. This exhibition tells the largely unknown story of Indigenous and non-Indigenous activists who fought together for justice and equal rights for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It details the achievements and sacrifices of the struggle through personal stories, rarely seen objects and protest material. ... "

http://www.nma.gov.au/exhibitions/from_little_things_big_things_grow/tra...
"The exhibition can be seen at the following venues:

New South Wales:
19 February to 08 May 2011
Museum of Sydney, Sydney

Western Australia:
27 May to 16 October 2011
Western Australian Museum, Kalgoorlie

Queensland:
04 November 2011 to February 2012
Museum of Tropical Queensland, Townsville
February 2012 to May 2012
Queensland Museum"

- Review

Solidarity: A proud history of Aboriginal struggle on display
http://www.solidarity.net.au/34/a-proud-history-of-aboriginal-struggle-o...
May 11: "From Little Things Big Things Grow gives a useful and engaging overview of the struggles for Aboriginal rights over the period of the 1920s to 1970s. The exhibition is on display at the Museum of Sydney as part of a tour across the country. It traces the birth of the modern Aboriginal rights movement in the 1920s and 1930s, when Indigenous people first started forming their own organisations to bring attention to their treatment by the Australian government. ... "

ABORIGINAL DEATHS IN CUSTODY AND ABORIGINAL INCARCERATION RATES:

- Audio

Aboriginal Legal Service of Western Australia (ALSWA):
Law Matters Program 11, 20th April 2011
http://www.als.org.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=173:l...
20 Apr 11: "Shane Duffy (Chairperson of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services Forum (NATSILS)
20 years on from the release of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody (RCIADIC) Report, we discuss some of the issues that are still faced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples nationally, within the criminal justice system."

- News

National Indigenous Times: 20 years on and nothing’s changed, says Sam Watson
http://www.nit.com.au/news/story.aspx?id=21756
2 May 11: "Well known and highly respected rights advocate, Sam Watson told a rally in Brisbane Queensland there had been no improvement for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to protect them against being harmed when in held in custody by police or in prisons.
Mr Watson was speaking at a rally which was held to mark the 20 year anniversary of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal deaths in Custody handing down its report and recommendations."

National Indigenous Times: Patrick Dodson remains concerned
http://www.nit.com.au/News/story.aspx?id=21755
2 May 11: "Patrick Dodson, who was a former Royal Commissioner into Aboriginal deaths in custody, said he was disappointed and concerned there had been little if any improvement in the number of Indigenous Australians being locked up 20 years after the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody was completed. The report, which made more than three hundred recommendations, was brought about by an alarming number of Aboriginal deaths while in custody."

National Indigenous Times: Perth rally told deaths a disgrace
http://www.nit.com.au/news/story.aspx?id=21754
2 May 11: "Protests in Perth demanded all the recommendations of the Royal Commission in Aboriginal Deaths in Custody be implemented immediately. The protests slammed a lack of government action to stop Aboriginal people dying in custody following 269 deaths since a key Royal Commission reported 20 years ago on April 15, 1991. In Perth, protestors carrying white, wooden crosses marched to State Parliament in a rally organised by Western Australia’s Deaths in Custody Watch Committee and the State’s Aboriginal Legal Service."

National Indigenous Times: Rights groups demand action on Deaths in Custody
http://www.nit.com.au/news/story.aspx?id=21753
2 May 11: "As long as governments pursue “tough on crime” policies Aboriginal deaths in custody will continue, the Northern Territory Criminal Lawyers’ Association has warned. Association’s President, John Lawrence said the lessons of the Royal Commission’s report into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody had not been heeded. “The bottom line is that we’ve gotten nowhere slowly, backwards, up a hill blindfolded,” he said."

National Indigenous Times: Amnesty anger over inaction
http://www.nit.com.au/news/story.aspx?id=21752
2 May 11: "Human rights advocates have attacked the Australian government over the disproportionate number of Aborigines in the nation’s jails 20 years after a landmark inquiry into prison deaths. Amnesty International said it was “outrage” at the fact that Aborigines, Australia’s original inhabitants and its most impoverished minority, were 14 times more likely to be jailed than non-Indigenous people.Too little had been done in the 20 years since a Royal Commission into Aboriginal deaths in custody recommended sweeping reforms to improve the plight of the nation’s first people, Amnesty said."

National Indigenous Times: Death rate unacceptable, says Forum
http://www.nit.com.au/News/story.aspx?id=21751
2 May 11: "Government of all political persuasions had continued to fail Indigenous Australians by not addressing the unacceptably high rate of deaths they suffered when in police custody, The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services Forum said.
This was highlighted by the unbelievable situation where a number of recommendations of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody had not been implemented 20 years since the Royal Commission ended."

National Indigenous Times: WA is jail capital for Indigenous, says Legal Service
http://www.nit.com.au/news/story.aspx?id=21747
2 May 11: "Almost 75 per cent of children currently in West Australian prisons and 39 per cent of all adults in jail were Aboriginal which placed Western Australia as the State with the highest incarceration rate of Aboriginals anywhere in Australia. The alarmingly high rate of incarceration compares to the State’s Aboriginal population totaling only four per cent of the State’s total population, according to shocking new figures released by Aboriginal rights advocates."

See:

WGAR News: Deaths in custody and Aboriginal incarceration rates (14 Apr 11)
http://indymedia.org.au/2011/04/14/wgar-news-deaths-in-custody-and-abori...

WGAR News: Joint National Call to Action to reduce imprisonment of Indigenous people (16 Apr 11)
http://indymedia.org.au/2011/04/16/wgar-news-joint-national-call-to-acti...

WGAR News: Aboriginal Deaths in Custody (21 Apr 11)
[scroll down page] http://indymedia.org.au/2011/04/21/wgar-news-elders-speak-out-on-the-nor...

WGAR News: Aboriginal Deaths in Custody (24 Apr 11)
[scroll down page] http://indymedia.org.au/2011/04/24/wgar-news-two-urgent-petitions-on-the...

WGAR News: Deaths in Custody: A Crikey Investigation
[scroll down page] http://indymedia.org.au/2011/04/29/darwin-gathering-for-aboriginal-peopl...

OTHER ABORIGINAL ARTICLES:

- Media Release

Indymedia Australia: Watch out for rip-off attempts at UN meeting
http://indymedia.org.au/2011/05/02/watch-out-for-rip-off-attempts-at-un-...
2 May 11: "Having just completed the New Way Sovereignty Summit in Canberra over the Easter weekend, a late notice provided to me indicates that on the 16th May there will be what is described as a side event to the upcoming UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.
There is to be a one day forum in New York that will look at Indigenous People and the question of ‘the Doctrine of Discovery’. We must be assured that this is not another move by the United Nations and their member States to formulate a strategy to interfere with Aboriginal moves to have this matter truly investigated by legal enquiry." Michael Anderson

- Audio

Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association:
Lez Malezer on the National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples
http://caama.com.au/lez-malezer-on-the-national-congress-of-australias-f...
29 Apr 11: "The new co-chair of the National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples, Lez Malezer, speaks to CAAMA’s Paul Wiles on Strong Voices. He explains the new body’s role, its significance to the mob and how it can help give more of a voice to Aboriginal people."

- Analysis / Opinion

National Indigenous Times: Engagement and Public Diplomacy
http://www.nit.com.au/opinion/story.aspx?id=21711
2 May 11: "Most readers will be aware that I have now been elected to the position of national co-chair (male) of the National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples. I am pleased to share this role of leading the new organisation along with Jody Broun, the national co-chair (female), who is a highly qualified and capable leader in her own right. Although we are not due to take up our official positions until 8 July 2011, I am keen to continue the discussions that I started almost two months ago as part of my candidacy for this position." Lez Malezer

- News

National Indigenous Times: Give us a chance
http://www.nit.com.au/news/story.aspx?id=21778
2 May 11: "Les Malezer, the newly elected Co-chair of the National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples, claimed a campaign had already started to try and discredit him and the organisation and he appealed for Indigenous Australians to give the First Nations Congress a chance to succeed. The Co-chair said the National Congress was a credible option that could be developed into an organisation that effectively represented and promoted the interests of Indigenous Australians."

National Indigenous Times: Government warned to act on people evading work
http://www.nit.com.au/news/story.aspx?id=21776
2 May 11: "Two of the most prominent organisations responsible for finding work for Indigenous Australians through northern Australia have told the Federal Government Centrelink has “gone soft” on punishing people on the dole who are avoiding taking up work offers."

Green Left: Elders call for protests against Muckaty waste dump
http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/47438
30 Apr 11: "Traditional owners Dianne Stokes, Mark Chungaloo, Mark Lane and Bunny Naburula said on April 22: "We are the traditional owners of the Muckaty Land Trust, where the government is trying to put a radioactive waste dump. On behalf of the traditional elders and all the Warlmampa people we want to invite you to come out to Tennant Creek to support our community and show the government the strong opposition to a waste dump being imposed on our land. In mid-May the government is voting on a new law, the National Radioactive Waste Management Act, which names Muckaty as the one site for the waste dump. They are determined it will go ahead but we are determined to stop them.""

See this link for details of Muckaty rally in Tennant Creek:

WGAR News: "Keep the poison out of Muckaty" - Community Rally on May 7, 2011
http://indymedia.org.au/2011/04/30/wgar-news-keep-the-poison-out-of-muck...

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WGAR Website: http://wgar.info/