WGAR News: Government 'Strategic Review of Indigenous Expenditure' made public

Newsletter date: 14 August 2011

Contents:
* Tracker Magazine is now online
* Government 'Strategic Review of Indigenous Expenditure' made public
* Jenny Macklin's address to the Sydney Institute
* Northern Territory (NT) Intervention articles
* Background to the Northern Territory (NT) Intervention
* Aboriginal imprisonment rates & deaths in custody
* Land Rights and Native Title
* Upcoming Aboriginal rights events around Australia - 22 events from 14 August 2011
* Other articles

* TRACKER MAGAZINE IS NOW ONLINE:

- New website

Tracker - be involved. be informed. be inspired.
http://tracker.org.au/

About Tracker: http://tracker.org.au/about-us/

"Tracker magazine is a publication of the NSW Aboriginal Land Council, Australia’s largest Aboriginal organisation.

Tracker was launched in April 2011, to fill a few crucial functions:

1. Shine a light on local, state, national and international issues of importance to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
2. Promote the rights and interests – in particular land rights – of Aboriginal people in NSW, and beyond.
3. Keep politicians and mainstream media honest in their dealings with, and reporting on, Aboriginal issues.
4. Provide important information to the 20,000 plus members of the NSW Aboriginal land rights network."

* GOVERNMENT 'STRATEGIC REVIEW OF INDIGENOUS EXPENDITURE' MADE PUBLIC:

- The Review

Australian Government: Strategic Review of Indigenous Expenditure
http://www.finance.gov.au/foi/disclosure-log/2011/docs/foi_10-27_strateg...
Feb 2010: "Released under FOI Act"

- Analysis / Opinion

The Conversation: Putting dollars on disadvantage: Australia’s Indigenous spending
http://theconversation.edu.au/putting-dollars-on-disadvantage-australias...
8 Aug 11: "A government-commissioned report has found progress on Indigenous disadvantage has been "mixed at best". The Finance Department’s Strategic Review of Indigenous Expenditure was put together in February 2010, and obtained by Channel Seven under Freedom of Information laws. The report describes returns on government-funded Indigenous programs as "dismally poor"."
[Includes comments by Associate Professor Russell Ross, Professor Jon Altman and Dr Chris Sarra.]

The Wire: Indigenous spending not closing the gap
[scroll down page] http://www.thewire.org.au/daydetail.aspx?SearchDay=2011-08-08
8 Aug 11: "A scathing review of the government’s Aboriginal programs has found the $3.5 billion spent each year has achieved little. The report shows that standards of indigenous housing, health and education in some areas haven’t changed since the 1970s. Closing the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians is a difficult and complex goal, but some observers say the gap will continue to widen unless the government starts listening to Aboriginal voices in remote communities.
Featured in story: Elaine Peckham, Central Arrente woman; Paddy Gibson, Senior Researcher at the Jumbunna Indigenous House of Learning; Professor Jon Altman, Director at the Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research, ANU."

ABC The Drum Opinion: Conversations: shining the spotlight on Indigenous policy
http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/2836652.html
12 Aug 11: "Today the Drum, in collaboration with The Conversation, is taking a look at Indigenous policy since the Northern Territory intervention. With the belated release of the Department of Finance's Strategic Review Of Indigenous Expenditure, Indigenous policy has been once more in the spotlight. We asked whether any of the current approaches are working. What could be done better, and how?"
[Includes comments by Russell Ross, Chris Sarra, Jon Altman, Marilyn Wise, Peter O'Mara, Ciaran O'Faircheallaigh and Peter Billings.]

Indigenous radio station 98.9FM Brisbane
Let's Talk - Indigenous presented talkback:
http://989fm.com.au/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29
9 Aug 11: "Chris Graham: Tiga Bayles spoke with [Managing] Editor of the Tracker Magazine, Chris Graham. Chris is also former editor and founder of the National Indigenous Times newspaper."
[Chris Graham discusses the Strategic Review of Indigenous Expenditure.]
Listen to this interview on-line:
http://www.989fm.com.au/podcasting/audio/98fm-podcast-2011-08-09-91567.mp3

New Matilda: Getting The Facts You Deserve
http://newmatilda.com/2011/08/09/getting-facts-you-deserve
9 Aug 11: "The Productivity Commission found gross inefficiency in spending on Indigenous policy. No surprises there. Will Labor ignore this latest evidence of its shortcomings on Indigenous affairs? "Dismally poor returns." That’s the verdict of the Strategic Review on government expenditure on Indigenous policy prepared by the Productivity Commission for the Cabinet." By Newmatilda.com

Age: Still wandering in a policy desert
http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/editorial/still-wandering-in-a-policy-d...
9 Aug 11: "THE Finance Department's review of Commonwealth spending on indigenous programs runs to 470 pages, but summarises itself in one crisp sentence: ''The history of Commonwealth policy for indigenous Australians over the past 40 years is largely a story of good intentions, flawed policies, unrealistic assumptions, poor implementation, unintended consequences and dashed hopes.'' The report's main implication is equally dismal: Australia spends $3.5 billion each year on indigenous programs and much of it must be considered wasted."

Australian: It has cost $35bn to turn on indigenous light bulb
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/commentary/it-has-cost-...
9 Aug 11: "IF $35 billion dollars can't solve the problem then perhaps throwing good money after bad isn't the solution after all. Over the past decade indigenous affairs has been awash with money and yet the results have been described by the Finance Department as "disappointing at best and appalling at worst". Surely that has got to be a light bulb moment." Wesley Aird

- Media Releases

Aboriginal Health Council of SA: Indigenous Expenditure Review Highlights Necessity for Aboriginal Engagement
http://www.ahcsa.org.au/news/2011-08/indigenous-expenditure-review-highl...
12 Aug 11: "The Aboriginal Health Council of SA Inc. says the federal Strategic Review of Indigenous Expenditure 2010 is a long awaited document that highlights the necessity for Aboriginal engagement in the development and delivery of government health policy and programs for Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander people across Australia.
Chairperson, Yvonne Buza, said "The South Australian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Sector has been acutely aware of the disconnect between Aboriginal policy intent and execution for years. It’s not just the implementation and delivery of these policy directions that require Aboriginal input. It is imperative that Aboriginal involvement is also evident at policy inception to ensure that policies and programs best meet the needs of our people.""

National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation:
Review supports Aboriginal Community Control
http://www.naccho.org.au/Files/Documents/2011-8-8_Strategic_Review_suppo...
8 Aug 11: "Mr Justin Mohamed, Chair of NACCHO says, "The Federal Government report released by Channel Seven last night under Freedom of Information supports what we have been saying for years; that Aboriginal people need to be intimately involved in the design and delivery of programs to ensure they are effective".
"The report, an Executive Summary of the Strategic Review of Indigenous Expenditure 2010, identifies potential savings from bureaucratic inefficiencies and duplication. However, the review highlights useful ways forward and is certainly not, as some media reports might suggest, a condemnation of all Aboriginal targeted expenditure", Mr Mohamed said.
"The review, especially covering health, supports what Aboriginal people have been saying for many years in reports such as the National Aboriginal Health Strategy in 1989. The review recognises the "maturity" of the Aboriginal community controlled health sector and its peak bodies. It also recognises the progress towards needs based resource allocation in health and the need to progress this further.""

'concerned Australians': Homelands Report Drowning In Commonwealth Government Family’s Hidden Agendas
http://indigenouspeoplesissues.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=art...
9 Aug 11: "Is it a coincidence the Government Strategic Review of Indigenous Expenditure is brought into the public forum just two days before the launching of Amnesty’s Homeland Report?
The Amnesty report gives focus to the wishes of Northern Territory Aboriginal people, that homelands be recognised as places where the people are able to live their traditional lives on their own estates, where they can fulfill their ceremonial duties, care for their land and protect their culture, language and law.
These rights are recognised in the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples which was given formal support by Australia in 2009.
Suddenly, however, we are now faced with the Strategic Review provided to Cabinet back in early 2010. The timing is remarkable. Although its focus identifies the enormous waste of money and the failures of both management and implementation, its suggested reforms strongly reinforce much of the assimilatory biases of the first draft intervention by ignoring the views of Aboriginal people."

Rachel Siewert: Indigenous spending plan flawed from the beginning: Greens
http://rachel-siewert.greensmps.org.au/content/media-release/indigenous-...
8 Aug 11: "The Australian Greens have called on the government to fundamentally change its approach to funding policies relating to Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islanders, to prevent millions more being wasted on ineffective programs.
The call comes in response to news that the programs being funded in Aboriginal communities are not effective, despite the government spending $3.5 billion dollars annually.
"This should come as no surprise for those that have been involved in these issues. For years there has been concern that funding isn't being spent wisely. There simply isn’t adequate consultation, programs are ineffectively targeted and not based on evidence," Senator Siewert, Greens Spokesperson on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Issues said today."

Australian Human Rights Commission: Change for the better is going to take time
http://www.hreoc.gov.au/about/media/media_releases/2011/65_11.html
8 Aug 11: "Significant improvements have been made in the lives of Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders despite criticism that Australians are not getting value for money, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner Mick Gooda said today.
Commissioner Gooda said while he has not yet had an opportunity to fully study a report prepared by the Department of Finance in 2010, he hoped people would recognise that the changes being sought were intergenerational and would not take place overnight.
"Ordinary Australians should be reassured that, contrary to reports, their tax dollars have been invested in achieving concrete, practical improvements to the lives of Indigenous Australians," Commissioner Gooda said."

- Videos

7 News: Billions burned in quit campaign
http://au.news.yahoo.com/vic/latest/a/-/newshome/9988986/billions-of-dol...
8 Aug 11: "Billions of taxpayer dollars have been wasted on indigenous programs that have "clearly failed", a 7News investigation revealed. This includes an anti-smoking campaign which is burning up taxpayers dollars - with $100 million spent on getting Indigenous Australians to quit smoking. ... The program is headed by respected Indigenous Leader Tom Calma. It's a part-time position and he is being paid $695,00 over three years."

YouTube: Ngemba elder protests billions of Aboriginal affairs funding mispent by government
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6e6wWxlz0BU&feature=player_embedded
12 Aug 11: "Sydney ... For the last five days, Feli McHughes, Joel McHughes and Gregory Coffey from the Ngemba Billabong Restoration Project in Brewarrina, NSW, have been trying to hand over a $260,000 cheque to the head of the Department of Aboriginal Affairs. "We are not going to play this silly game any more: where they pretend to give us money and we end up giving it back to them to mispend", Feli said, referring to the recently unearthed secret federal government report that $25 billion of government spending on Aboriginal affairs over the last 40 years had failed to narrow the huge social and economic gap between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal communities."

Australian: Secret report slams Gillard's indigenous plan
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/secret-report-slams-gil...
8 Aug 11: "THE Gillard government says it is improving indigenous service delivery in light of a scathing report it wanted to keep secret. But Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin was unable to say today how many inefficient Aboriginal programs the government had axed in the 18 months since it received the 470 page review. The report, obtained by the Seven Network under freedom of information laws, found the living conditions of Aboriginal people had changed little in 40 years, ... "

- Audio

ABC AM: Review finds decades of federal Indigenous spending wasteful
http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2011/s3287581.htm
8 Aug 11: "A damning review of Federal spending on Indigenous programs over the years has found successive governments have seen dismal returns on the billions of dollars they've paid out. ...
DJINIYINI GONDARRA: It is a waste of taxpayers' money and there is no result. ... People have now discovered that, you know, it is a waste of time. All those services that was given in the community in 73 prescribed community have failed. That is the message. It's failed. There is no result."

ABC AM: Macklin defends her government's record
http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2011/s3287585.htm
8 Aug 11: "SABRA LANE: Minister, this strategic review handed up 18 months ago says the results from $3.5 billion spent every year on Indigenous programs is disappointing at best and appalling at worst. It is pretty damning, isn't it?
JENNY MACKLIN: Well it certainly demonstrates that over many governments we have failed Indigenous people. The report does also demonstrate how important this Government's Close the Gap strategy has been. For the first time the Federal Government does have very clear targets and now agreements with the state governments that are transparent and publicly accountable."

- News

Koori Mail: AHCSA: Review highlights need for ACCHOs
[scroll down page] http://www.koorimail.com/index.php
12 Aug 11: "A REVIEW that identified 'dismally poor results’ for the $3.5 billion in Commonwealth funds being spent annually on Indigenous programs highlights the need for greater Aboriginal involvement in policies and programs, according to the Aboriginal Health Council of SA. The Federal Government says things have improved since the February 2010 finance department report but high levels of need means change will be a long time coming. AHCSA CEO Mary Buckskin says ongoing and equitable funding for Aboriginal community controlled health services would help."

National Indigenous Radio Service: Congress: review highlights lack of consultation
http://www.nirs.org.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6132...
12 Aug 11: "The National Congress of Australia's First Peoples says the latest report into Indigenous expenditure confirms the need for more input about service delivery from Indigenous communities. The report found $3.5 billion is spent annually for Indigenous programs and past approaches have failed. Co-Chair of the National Congress Judy Broun says the report confirms what Aboriginal people have been saying for decades."

National Indigenous Radio Service: Dodson blames lack of consultation
http://www.nirs.org.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6117...
11 Aug 11: "The director of the National Centre for Indigenous Studies at the Australian National University, Professor Mick Dodson, says he is not at all surprised by a review that finds the billions of dollars spent on Indigenous people over the past few years has achieved poor results."

National Indigenous Radio Service: Macklin defends Labor record
http://www.nirs.org.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6094...
9 Aug 11: "Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin says problems highlighted in a new report had developed over many years and not just under Labor. Ms Macklin said it demonstrated that many governments had failed indigenous people and the problems that are demonstrated in this review did not just emerge in the last couple of years."

Australian: Jenny Macklin to defend her 'dismal' results
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/in-depth/aboriginal-australia/jenny-mack...
9 Aug 11: "INDIGENOUS Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin is set to strike back with a defence of expenditure on Aboriginal programs after a secret Finance Department review found taxpayers were getting "dismal" results from $3.5 billion in annual spending."

ABC Indigenous: Review damns dismal return on Indigenous spending
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-08-07/cabinet-report-indigenous-programs...
8 Aug 11: "A damning review of federal spending on Indigenous programs has found dismal returns on the billions of dollars paid out. The previously secret review prepared for Cabinet declares past approaches to fix Indigenous disadvantage have clearly failed, and recommends 25 programs be axed. ... Dr Djiniyini Gondarra from Elcho Island has long campaigned against the federal intervention and says the review backs his stance. The senior elder says Government policy based on controlling the lives of Indigenous people removes their dignity and pride and will never succeed."

Australian: $3.5bn a year failing to lift Aborigines out of the 1970s
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/bn-a-year-failing-to-li...
8 Aug 11: "TAXPAYERS are getting "dismal" results from the $3.5 billion a year they spend on Aboriginal Australia, says a damning review of indigenous spending conducted for the federal Department of Finance. The report points to "a huge gap between policy intent and policy execution", which means the situation of many indigenous Australians today is as bad now as it was in 1970. "This major investment, maintained over so many years, has yielded dismally poor returns to date," the report says."

BigPond News: Indigenous problems not just under Labor
http://bigpondnews.com/articles/Politics/2011/08/08/Indigenous_problems_...
8 Aug 11: "Indigenous affairs minister Jenny Macklin says problems highlighted in a new report had developed over many years and not just under Labor. Ms Macklin said it demonstrated that many governments had failed indigenous people. 'The problems we face that are demonstrated in this review did not just emerge in the last couple of years,' she told ABC radio. 'They came about through serious problems in governments of all political persuasions over a long period of time and the job now is to address those problems.'"

* JENNY MACKLIN'S ADDRESS TO THE SYDNEY INSTITUTE:

- Speech

The Hon Jenny Macklin MP:
Speeches: Address to the Sydney Institute, Building the foundations for change
http://www.jennymacklin.fahcsia.gov.au/speeches/2011/Pages/building_fund...
9 Aug 11: "Addressing the Sydney Institute provides an opportunity to speak in depth about public policy. It's rare to find the time to reflect on the whole picture, the structures and frameworks which underpin policy and implementation. In the daily churn of national politics and of government, we focus on the practical things, the daily milestones. And yet it's getting the policy right, getting the systems right, that provides a platform for real and sustained change. I want to speak tonight about the policy and the practice of Indigenous Affairs. ... "

- Media Release

"Stronger Futures report will continue failed Intervention": Protesters target Minister Macklin
http://stoptheintervention.org/uploads/files_to_download/Past%20Events/M...
9 Aug 11: "Today at 5pm, Stop the Intervention Collective Sydney activists will protest Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin’s address to the Sydney Institute (1 Bligh St Sydney CBD). Minister Macklin will be presenting the "Stronger Futures" report, which has been condemned as a blueprint for continuing the failed Northern Territory Intervention.
A 470 page Government Finance Department report on Indigenous Affairs spending (made public this week through Freedom of Information) shows billions of dollars of waste and the abject failure of governments to improve the shameful poverty Aboriginal people remain subject to.
"It is a disgrace that Minister Macklin will use the International Day of the World's Indigenous People to talk about continuing policies aimed at centralising Indigenous populations and forcing assimilation. Despite Minister Macklin's rhetoric about a 'new partnership' with Indigenous people, Stronger Futures makes policy commitments which would continue the NT Intervention and ensure no future for most Indigenous communities." Said Paddy Gibson from STICS."

* NORTHERN TERRITORY (NT) INTERVENTION ARTICLES:

- Analysis / Opinion

The Conversation: Indigenous programs: protecting the vulnerable and promoting well-being?
http://theconversation.edu.au/indigenous-programs-protecting-the-vulnera...
12 Aug 11: "AFTER THE INTERVENTION: Peter Billings from the University of Queensland interrogates the legal basis for the Intervention and suggests some new approaches. ... Of course, one of the biggest and most contentious programs in recent years has been the Commonwealth Government’s wide-ranging Northern Territory Emergency Response (or "Intervention"). The Intervention began in June 2007, based upon the urgent need to address child neglect and social dysfunction in certain NT communities."

The Conversation: How has the Northern Territory Intervention affected Aboriginal health?
http://theconversation.edu.au/how-has-the-northern-territory-interventio...
10 Aug 11: "AFTER THE INTERVENTION: Marilyn Wise from the University of New South Wales and Peter O'Mara from the Australian Indigenous Doctors' Association ask whether the NT Intervention has made Indigenous communities healthier. In 2006 the NT Government commissioned the Akelyernemane Meke Mekarle "Little Children are Sacred" report in response to widespread political and community concern. The Northern Territory Intervention followed, aiming to protect the region’s children. But an assessment of its effects on health have found more bad news than good."

Tracker: Evidently: Yes, no, maybe… Prime Minister
http://tracker.org.au/2011/08/evidently-yes-no-maybe-prime-minister/
10 Aug 11: "EVIDENTLY there is progress in Northern Territory prescribed communities. The Prime Minister has visited and she says so. The mainstream media report so. Indeed what the Prime Minister says is remarkably similar to what Jenny Macklin has been saying for some time: there is progress. This song is now being sung by Minister for School Education, Peter Garrett. One could acquiesce, as much of the Australian mainstream media has, and say; Yes Prime Minister. But that is the role of the bureaucrat, not the academic." Jon Altman

Tracker: BasicsCard: coming to a town near you
http://tracker.org.au/2011/08/basicscard-coming-to-a-town-near-you/
10 Aug 11: "NATIONAL: Compulsory income management was one of the most controversial – and overtly racist – components of the Northern Territory intervention. Now it’s being rolled out across the country, writes AMY McQUIRE."

Tracker: BLACK CHAT: The real home of porn… and politicians
http://tracker.org.au/2011/08/black-chat-the-real-home-of-porn-and-polit...
10 Aug 11: "NATIONAL: A key measure of the Northern Territory intervention was to ban pornography from Aboriginal communities (or at least that was the stated intention… it was never properly introduced… but it served its purpose in smearing Aboriginal men as perverts). There was plenty of resistance from Aboriginal residents at the time, with intervention signs removed, defaced and generally mocked. The resistance, it seems, continues today." Chris Graham

The Conversation: Noel Pearson’s policies embraced by white Australia, but how effective are they?
http://theconversation.edu.au/noel-pearsons-policies-embraced-by-white-a...
9 Aug 11: "AFTER THE INTERVENTION: ANU’s Jon Altman investigates Noel Pearson’s efforts to improve Indigenous welfare on Cape York. In discussions about the NT intervention, Noel Pearson’s work in Cape York is often held up as a model of how to approach Indigenous welfare. The Welfare Reform Trial has set out to restructure the norms of Aboriginal people on Cape York, moving them from welfare dependence to taking part in the economy. While it builds on some of the reforms from the intervention, the trial has enacted more widespread changes."

Green Left: White Australia has a black history
http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/48393
6 Aug 11: "The Gillard Labor government’s Ministry of Truth must be working overtime to churn out titles for programs that say the opposite of what they actually deliver. One of its more recent creations is "Stronger Futures", the name of the fake community consultations being carried out to justify the continuation of the racist Northern Territory intervention into Aboriginal communities. ... As Rebuilding From The Ground Up, an Aboriginal-devised call for an alternative to the Northern Territory intervention explained: "The NT Intervention has been a disaster for Aboriginal communities." ... " Peter Boyle

See:

Jumbunna: "Rebuilding From The Ground Up" Alternatives to the Northern Territory Intervention
http://www.jumbunna.uts.edu.au/researchareas/alternatives.html

STICS: Alternatives to the Intervention
http://stoptheintervention.org/alternatives-to-the-intervention

- Audio

Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association:
CAAMA Radio News 12-08-2011
http://caama.com.au/caama-radio-news-12-08-2011
12 Aug 11: "An economist who specialises in employment in Aboriginal communities says she believes that a lack of jobs will see the need for the continuation of the CDEP program for some time into the future."

ABC PM: Race Discrimination Commissioner lashes NT intervention
http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2011/s3289477.htm
9 Aug 11: "STEPHEN DZIEDZIC: But he's saved his fiercest criticism for the Northern Territory Intervention. Mr Innes says he accepts the Howard government had a responsibility to protect Indigenous people from violence and child abuse. But he argues it had no right to suspend the Racial Discrimination Act in order to impose restrictions on remote Indigenous communities.
GRAEME INNES: When the Government suspended human rights legislation, your human rights legislation, designed to protect you and all other Australians from racial discrimination, surely it's time to sit up and worry. So, was the intervention racist? The UN committee thinks so. The UN's special rapporteur thinks so. And most importantly, many of the people living under the intervention also think so."

- News

SMH: Welfare card pays out on poor
http://m.smh.com.au/national/welfare-card-pays-out-on-poor-20110806-1igi...
7 Aug 11: "WELFARE recipients could be segregated into different queues at shops under an ''apartheid system'' that will force them to spend at least half of their money on essential items at government-approved retailers. Business groups have condemned a federal government plan to control the spending of up to 20,000 people across the country [not just in the NT] by effectively making them shop at a handful of the biggest retail chains. And the Law Council of Australia has warned that the change could be discriminatory."

See:

The Conversation - After the Intervention: http://theconversation.edu.au/pages/after-the-intervention

Tracker - NT Intervention: http://tracker.org.au/tag/nt-intervention/

* 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

The Conversation - After the Intervention: http://theconversation.edu.au/pages/after-the-intervention

Tracker - NT Intervention: http://tracker.org.au/tag/nt-intervention/

CAAMA (Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association) - NT Intervention: http://caama.com.au/?s=NT+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...

Treaty Republic - NT Intervention: http://treatyrepublic.net/search/node/NT%20Intervention

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

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

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

'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/

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

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

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

Students For Indigenous Rights - UQ: The Northern Territory Intervention: http://uqsir.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/stir-uq-intervention-intro-fact...

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.wordpress.com/

* ABORIGINAL IMPRISONMENT RATES & DEATHS IN CUSTODY:

- Analysis / Opinion

Tracker: Editorial Opinion: A new commitment
http://tracker.org.au/2011/08/editorial-opinion-2/
10 Aug 11: "NATIONAL: The figures are outrageous. But they aren’t particularly surprising. Twenty years on from the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, there has been little improvement. Our people are still dying behind bars, while incarceration rates have soared. In the process, one political party has stood out above the rest. Successive state Labor governments have watched as Indigenous incarceration rates have climbed to astounding levels." Amy McQuire

Tracker: Hard Labor: Black incarceration rates soar
http://tracker.org.au/2011/08/hard-labor/
10 Aug 11: "NATIONAL: You’ll never guess which political party sat and watched while the Aboriginal incarceration rate sky-rocketed. We heard it on the radio. And we saw it on the television. Report after report, and promises delivered by talking politicians. But while this was occurring, Aboriginal people wallowed inside this nation’s jails and detention centres, their futures cast by a system that jails them at staggeringly disproportionate rates. It’s a problem that cripples our families, and our communities, and is as complex as it is troubling." Amy McQuire

Tracker: Reflections on a Royal Commission
http://tracker.org.au/2011/08/reflections-on-a-royal-commission-2/
10 Aug 11: "NATIONAL: It’s 20 years since the Royal Commission in Aboriginal Deaths in Custody. One of the men who help run that Commission - HAL WOOTTEN QC - believes the lessons of that exhaustive inquiry have never been properly learnt."

- News

Tracker: Incarceration rates up
http://tracker.org.au/2011/05/incarceration-rates-up/
10 May 11: "NATIONAL: Indigenous incarceration has increased by more than 50 percent over the past decade, according to the latest report from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare." Amy McQuire

* LAND RIGHTS AND NATIVE TITLE:

- Analysis / Opinion

The Conversation: Native title and Australia’s resource boom: a lost opportunity?
http://theconversation.edu.au/native-title-and-australias-resource-boom-...
11 Aug 11: "AFTER THE INTERVENTION: Ciaran O'Faircheallaigh of Griffith University explains why mineral wealth rarely ends up in Indigenous hands. Native title creates the potential for indigenous communities to share in the wealth when their lands are developed, particularly by mining companies. But a flawed system for negotiating mining leases has meant that indigenous parties are often severely disadvantaged. Communities that could find a way out of poverty are left behind. But with all the power on the miners' side, what is the likelihood of addressing this power disparity?"

Tracker: GOING NATIONAL: Land Rights and Native Title
http://tracker.org.au/2011/04/going-national-land-rights-and-native-title/
4 Apr 11: "There is still much confusion in public debate about the differences between the native title regimes and claims under the Aboriginal Land Rights Act in NSW and other State-based land rights regimes. This has been the subject of considerable discussion in recent years. Some of the best material on the subject was contained in a Background Paper issued by the then Department of Aboriginal Affairs during the 1990’s. This is an edited text of that material." Brian Johnstone

Tracker: GOING NATIONAL: Land Rights Now
http://tracker.org.au/2011/04/going-national-land-rights-now/
4 Apr 11: "At the federal level, our two major parties want to talk to Aboriginal people about reform of - and recognition in - the Australian Constitution. But around the nation, Aboriginal people overwhelmingly want to talk about their rights. In this inaugural edition of Tracker, we speak to three prominent Aboriginal leaders - from South Australia, Queensland and Tasmania - about land rights and the future of economic development for their communities. This feature is intended to be the start of an ongoing discussion - and debate - about land rights in Australia within Tracker, including a discussion about how native title fits into the picture. BRIAN JOHNSTONE, CHRIS GRAHAM and AMY McQUIRE report."

See:

Tracker: Land Rights
http://tracker.org.au/tag/land-rights/

Tracker: Native Title
http://tracker.org.au/tag/native-title/

* UPCOMING ABORIGINAL RIGHTS EVENTS AROUND AUSTRALIA - 22 EVENTS FROM 14 AUGUST 2011:

Click on the links for details of the events ...

Event: 3 July to Sun 25 September 2011: Sydney, NSW
Exhibition: FREEDOM RIDERS
- Art and activism 1960s to now
Sydney University Art Gallery
"A unique and daring exhibition has pulled together some of
the most important political artworks produced by NSW's
leading Aboriginal artists and put them in one room for the
public to see." ABC News
Event details: http://sydney.edu.au/museums/events_exhibitions/art_gallery_exhibitions....
Featured in Video: http://www.abc.net.au/news/video/2011/07/01/3259282.htm

Event: 27 May to Sun 9 October 2011: Kalgoorlie, WA
Exhibition: From Little Things Big Things Grow
- Fighting for Indigenous Rights 1920-1970
Event description: http://www.nma.gov.au/exhibitions/from_little_things_big_things_grow/
Event location: http://www.nma.gov.au/exhibitions/from_little_things_big_things_grow/tra...

Event: Sun 14 August 2011: Melbourne, Vic
Keep the Kimberley Public Rally
Includes speeches by Neil Mackenzie (traditional owner),
Kevin Blatchford (Save the Kimberley) and
Glen Klatovsky (Wilderness Society)
"The KEEP THE KIMBERLEY public rally will be held in
response to Woodside’s liquefied natural gas hub proposed
for James Price Point (Walmadan) near Broome. Rally goers
strongly oppose this development and are calling on federal
politicians to stop the project going ahead."
Event details: http://www.savethekimberley.com/wp/2011/07/13/upcoming-events/
Event details: http://www.greenleft.org.au/events/48453
Event details: http://indymedia.org.au/keep-the-kimberly-melbourne-rally

Event: Mon 15 August 2011: Narooma, NSW
'Our Generation' Community Screening
Event details: http://www.ourgeneration.org.au/events/
Film details: http://www.ourgeneration.org.au/about-2/

Event: Wed 17 August 2011: Parramatta, Sydney, NSW
Building Bridges Course 2011
Nicole Watson - Why Change the Constitution?
Organised by Reconciliation for Western Sydney
Event details: [scroll down page] http://stoptheintervention.org/
Brochure: http://stoptheintervention.org/uploads/files_to_download/Facts-Info/Buil...
Register for course (it's free!): http://www.parramattacollege.com.au/cgi-bin/WebObjects/Parramatta.woa/wa...
Course details: http://indymedia.org.au/building-bridges-2011
Course details: http://www.amnesty.org.au/nsw/event/26384/

Event: Thu 18 August - Sun 30 October 2011: Wiluna to Perth, WA
Walk Away from Uranium Mining
Event details: http://indymedia.org.au/walk-away-from-uranium-mining
Event details: http://www.nuclearfreefuture.com/
Walk Schedule: http://footprints.footprintsforpeace.net/nffcampaign/upload/files/Wiluna...
About the walk: http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/48231

Event: Fri 19 August 2011: Central Adelaide, SA
Kimberley Support Rally
"Help stop the Gas Plant at Walmadan
(James Price Point) and protect the Kimberley."
Event details: http://indymedia.org.au/adelaide-kimberley-support-rally
Event details: http://www.savethekimberley.com/wp/2011/07/13/upcoming-events/

Event: Fri 19 August 2011: Denmark, WA
Kimberley Colours, auction and event
"A night for Denmark to show their support,
for the sacred land rights of our indigenous brothers and
sisters in the Kimberley."
Event details: http://www.savethekimberley.com/wp/2011/07/13/upcoming-events/

Event: Fri 19 August 2011: Perth City, WA
'Our Generation' Community Screening
Event details: http://www.greenleft.org.au/events/48217
Film details: http://www.ourgeneration.org.au/about-2/

Event: Mon 22 August 2011: Adelaide, SA
'Our Generation' Community Screening
Event details: http://www.ourgeneration.org.au/events/
Event details: http://unione.unilife.edu.au/Clubs/Event.aspx?CID=267&EID=1498
Event details: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/event.php?eid=233274766693612
Film details: http://www.ourgeneration.org.au/about-2/

Event: Wed 24 August 2011: Parramatta, Sydney, NSW
Building Bridges Course 2011
Chris Graham - Racism in the Media & the NT Intervention
Organised by Reconciliation for Western Sydney
Event details: [scroll down page] http://stoptheintervention.org/
Brochure: http://stoptheintervention.org/uploads/files_to_download/Facts-Info/Buil...
Register for course (it's free!): http://www.parramattacollege.com.au/cgi-bin/WebObjects/Parramatta.woa/wa...
Course details: http://indymedia.org.au/building-bridges-2011
Course details: http://www.amnesty.org.au/nsw/event/26384/

Event: 24 August 2011: Sydney, NSW
Exhibition: FREEDOM RIDERS
- Art and activism 1960s to now
Curators and artists talk:
Sydney University Art Gallery
"A unique and daring exhibition has pulled together some of
the most important political artworks produced by NSW's
leading Aboriginal artists and put them in one room for the
public to see." ABC News
Event details: http://sydney.edu.au/museums/events_exhibitions/art_gallery_exhibitions....
Featured in Video: http://www.abc.net.au/news/video/2011/07/01/3259282.htm

Event: Fri 26 - Sun 28 August 2011: Kalkarindji/Daguragu, NT
Gurindji Walkoff from Wave Hill
- 45th Anniversary Commemoration
Fri 26: Elders Day Focus - main day
Sat 27: Mid-generation Focus
Sun 28: Youth Day Focus
Event location and details: http://www.gurindjifreedomday.com/
Program: http://www.gurindjifreedomday.com/45th%20festival.html
28 July 11 media release from Gurindji spokespeople: http://rollbacktheintervention.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/mr-gurindji_s...
Video of Gurindji strike against NT Intervention: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guge6MI6cTA
WGAR News: Gurindji workers' strike protesting the NT Intervention: http://indymedia.org.au/2010/10/24/wgar-news-australia-a-continuing-geno...

Event: Fri 26 August 2011: Broadway, Sydney, NSW
Rally on Gurindji Freedom Day
Organised by the Stop the Intervention Collective Sydney
Event details: [scroll down page] http://stoptheintervention.org/
Flyer: http://stoptheintervention.org/uploads/files_to_download/Past%20Events/G...
28 July 11 media release from Gurindji spokespeople: http://rollbacktheintervention.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/mr-gurindji_s...
Video of Gurindji strike against NT Intervention: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guge6MI6cTA
WGAR News: Gurindji workers' strike protesting the NT Intervention: http://indymedia.org.au/2010/10/24/wgar-news-australia-a-continuing-geno...

Event: Thu 1 September 2011: Glebe, Sydney, NSW
Book launch: "Walk With Us"
To be launched by Jeff McMullen
"In "Walk With Us" you will come to understand the harsh
realities that Northern Territory Aboriginal people live
with every day."
Brought to you by Concerned Australians: http://www.concernedaustralians.com.au/
Event details: [scroll down page] http://www.gleebooks.com.au/default.asp?p=events/launches4.htm

Event: Fri 2 September 2011: Adelaide, SA
130th Justice and Peace Candlelight Walk
"Join us on the Candle Light Walk to call for a Treaty and
Bill of Rights, and to support the Ngarrindjeri and all
other Aboriginal people and the Stolen Generations, their
families and communities left behind, in their call for
Peace and Justice. ... "
Event details: http://antarsa.auspics.org.au/?p=1

Event: Wed 7 September 2011: Brunswick, Melbourne, Vic
Indigenous Social Justice Association:
Discussion of Justice Reinvestment
Event details: http://indymedia.org.au/indigenous-social-justice-association-discussion...
Event details: http://www.isja-msg.com/coming_events.htm

Event: Wed 7 September 2011: Parramatta, Sydney, NSW
Building Bridges Course 2011
Graham Merritt - Aboriginal Activism in WA/NT & STICS
Organised by Reconciliation for Western Sydney
Event details: [scroll down page] http://stoptheintervention.org/
Brochure: http://stoptheintervention.org/uploads/files_to_download/Facts-Info/Buil...
Register for course (it's free!): http://www.parramattacollege.com.au/cgi-bin/WebObjects/Parramatta.woa/wa...
Course details: http://indymedia.org.au/building-bridges-2011
Course details: http://www.amnesty.org.au/nsw/event/26384/

Event: Fri 9 September 2011: Manly, Sydney, NSW
Save the Kimberley Community meeting
Event info: http://www.savethekimberley.com/wp/2011/07/13/upcoming-events/
Event info: [scroll down page] http://www.wilderness.org.au/articles/broome-no-gas-hub-campaign-strengt...

Event: Fri 7 & Sat 8, Tue 11 to Sat 15 Oct 2011: Melbourne, Vic
Presented by Melbourne Festival
in association with Sydney Festival
Ilbijerri Theatre Company (Australia): FOLEY
"Political agitator Gary Foley presents a swag of stories
from a life lived in the spirit of resistance. ... "
Event details: http://www.melbournefestival.com.au/program/production?id=3860&idx=1&max=12

Event: Fri 4 November 2011 to February 2012: Townsville, Qld
Exhibition: From Little Things Big Things Grow
- Fighting for Indigenous Rights 1920-1970
Event description: http://www.nma.gov.au/exhibitions/from_little_things_big_things_grow/
Event location: http://www.nma.gov.au/exhibitions/from_little_things_big_things_grow/tra...

Event: February 2012 to May 2012: Queensland Museum
Exhibition: From Little Things Big Things Grow
- Fighting for Indigenous Rights 1920-1970
Event description: http://www.nma.gov.au/exhibitions/from_little_things_big_things_grow/
Event location: http://www.nma.gov.au/exhibitions/from_little_things_big_things_grow/tra...

- 'Our Generation' Film Reviews

Elimatta:
Aboriginal Support Group - Manly Warringah Pittwater:
Our Generation - Showing in London - page 8
http://www.asgmwp.net/ElimattaWinter2011.pdf
Winter 2011: "The Intervention is yet another example of the appalling treatment the Aboriginal People of Australia have been subjected to in such a short period of time compared to thousands of years of survival. Sinem Saban and Rev. Dr Gondarra supported by the Yolngu people and cinematographer, Damien Curtis, have created a sensitive and realistic view of the plight of those who wish to live a more traditional life in their homelands and of those who appear to be dispossessed." Christine Waterer

Elimatta:
Aboriginal Support Group - Manly Warringah Pittwater:
ASG Information Night: Our Generation - page 6
http://www.asgmwp.net/ElimattaSummer2010.pdf
Summer 2010: "Local resident and journalist, Jeff McMullen introduced "Our Generation", the film by Sinem Saban and Damien Curtis which we were there to see. The film explored in depth the Federal Government Intervention into Aboriginal Communities in the Northern Territory. Jeff had told us that the film’s producers were not having any success in having the film shown on government or commercial media outlets and they were having to screen it in local community halls to show the community at large just what was involved in the Intervention. It is basically a war on Aboriginal culture. The dispossession of the Aboriginal people is simply continuing in a new guise." Carol Gerrard

See:

Our Generation: http://www.ourgeneration.org.au/

Aboriginal Support Group - Manly Warringah Pittwater: http://www.asgmwp.net/index.htm

* OTHER ARTICLES:

- New website

Save Ballerrt Mooroop College:
This Koori Pathways School in Glenroy Victoria is under threat
http://ballerrtmooroop.org/
"About the Campaign
The Local Indigenous Community is campaigning to keep the Glenroy Koorie Pathway School on Wurundjeri Country at its current Hilton Street Glenroy site. The school site was established as the Glenroy High School in 1954. Several Indigenous families attended the school in the 1960's onwards. The Glenroy KODE School was set up in 1995 then reverted recently to its current name of the Koorie Pathway School."

- Audio

The Wire: Australia's difficult past
http://www.thewire.org.au/daydetail.aspx?SearchDay=2011-08-12
12 Aug 11: "Now to a confronting and difficult discussion: does Australia have a history of slavery? Should this word be used to describe the treatment of Indigenous Australians? A new research project is exploring state interventions and the forced labour of Indigenous people in the United States and Australia.
Featured in this story: Associate Professor Victoria Haskins - University of Newcastle; Janine Dunleavy - Linkup Queensland."

Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association: Connection to country … just what does it mean!
http://caama.com.au/connection-to-country-just-what-does-it-mean
12 Aug 11: "Katherine Napaltjarri Parker is a Pintubi woman from Kintore near the Territory’s border with WA and South Australia. She speaks with Paul Wiles about the ongoing role connection to country plays in the day to day life of Aboriginal people."

- Articles

Tracker: The Invasion Debate: Was Australia invaded or peacefully settled?
http://tracker.org.au/2011/08/the-invasion-debate-was-australia-invaded-...
10 Aug 11: "NATIONAL: Earlier this month, the City of Sydney Council voted 8-2 in favour of using the word “invasion” in the preamble to its city plan for 2030. It followed lobbying by the council’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander advisory body. The decision immediately sparked controversy, lighting up talkback radio shows and spurring hundreds of online comments over the question: was Australia invaded, or was it peacefully settled?"

New Matilda: The Long Road To Nuclear Compensation
http://newmatilda.com/2011/08/10/long-road-nuclear-compensation
10 Aug 11: "Half a century on, a win for British vets from Maralinga draws into focus how slow and painstaking the process of claiming radiation compensation can be, writes Luke Stickels"

Australian: Broome against boom
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/broome-against-boom/sto...
6 Aug 11: "AS the blood-orange and crimson sunset works its magic on Broome's Cable Beach, it is easy to understand how this northwestern piece of paradise has managed to capture the imagination of travellers and the souls of those who call it home. ... For environmentalists across the nation, Broome is rapidly shaping as the new frontier, a potential flashpoint of conflicting commonwealth and state ambitions. ... The dispute is environmental, cultural, economic and indigenous; ... " Graham Lloyd, Environment editor

Tracker: Heroes and villains of budgets past
http://tracker.org.au/2011/05/heroes-and-villains-of-budgets-past/
10 May 11: "Which brings us to Aboriginal affairs budgets, and a comparable half-truth that governments like to advance every year - the annual claim of 'record Indigenous affairs expenditure' which inevitably finds its way into ministerial media releases. The claim is, more often than not, false." Chris Graham

- News

SMH: Aborigines spat at in gas protest: Barnett
http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/aborigines-spat-at-in-gas-...
11 Aug 11: "Aboriginal residents of Broome who support a $30 billion gas precinct are being spat at and Woodside Petroleum workers are being treated appallingly, West Australian Premier Colin Barnett says."

ABC Indigenous: Gas hub opponents criticise Ferguson claims
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-08-10/gas-hub-opponents-criticise-fergus...
10 Aug 11: "Opponents of the James Price Point gas hub have reacted with shock and anger to comments from the federal Resources Minister, questioning their motivation. At a Perth conference yesterday, Martin Ferguson said many of those who oppose the project are privileged and well paid. He says they are ignoring the needs of poorer Aboriginal people who stand to benefit from the project. Gas hub opponent and Indigenous academic Anne Poelina has described the comments as a cheap political ploy."

West Australian: Gas hub will aid the poor, says minister
http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/breaking/10005393/gas-hub-will-aid-...
10 Aug 11: "The battle over Woodside Petroleum's plan to build a gas hub 60km north of Broome is "a fight between the haves and the have nots", according to Federal Resources Minister Martin Ferguson. He said opposition was driven by those locals who were better off and did not need the investment. "You find that a lot of those people opposing James Price Point are the more privileged people in the community - people who have well-paying jobs and are, in many ways, economically emancipated," Mr Ferguson said yesterday."

Koori Mail: Festival to commemorate Gurindji Walkoff
[scroll down page] http://www.koorimail.com/index.php?page=Current+Edition
10 Aug 11: "THE 45th anniversary of an event credited as having 'lit the fire that became the national land rights movement' will be celebrated in the Northern Territory later this month. The 2011 Gurindji Freedom Day Festival at Kalkarindji and Daguragu from 26-28 August will commemorate the historic Wave Hill Walkoff of 1966, when Aboriginal stockmen led by Gurindji/Malgnin man Vincent Lingiari went on strike over poor working conditions at the Wave Hill pastoral property."

ABC: Oombulgurri residents unhappy at looming closure
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-08-08/oombulgurri-closing-down/2828966
8 Aug 11: "The residents of a remote Kimberley community that has been declared unviable say they are desperate to stay and others who have been relocated want to return home. The State Government recently shut down Oombulgurri's school, medical clinic and store.
Tomorrow, the police station will be packed up and the two officers will fly out for the last time. The Government says the 150 residents, who were mostly relocated in Kununurra, left of their own accord. However, a growing number say they were told they had no other option."

- - -

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.

'WGAR News' publishes information and opinions from a wide range of sources. These opinions expressed are not necessarily the opinions of WGAR.

The e-newsletters include media releases, opinion pieces, news items and events. Subscribers can expect to receive about 2 e-newsletters each week.

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To subscribe, email contactwgar@gmail.com and include the words "subscribe WGAR Contact" in the message header.

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WGAR: Working Group for Aboriginal Rights (Australia)
WGAR Website: http://wgar.wordpress.com/