WGAR News: Nyoongar Tent Embassy marches to Government House in protest

Submitted by WGAR - Working ... on Thu, 23/02/2012 - 9:54am

Newsletter date: 23 February 2012

Contents:
* Reminder of Our Generation Film Screening in Canberra - 27 Feb 12
* Reminder of Canberra rally to Stop the Second Intervention - 28 Feb 12
* Nyoongar Tent Embassy marches to Government House in protest
* "NT Aboriginal leaders reject Stronger Futures" Tracker
* "[NT] may have highest youth suicide rate in the developed world" NT Children's Commissioner
* "The future of indigenous activism?" The Wire
* Videos of 12 Feb 2012 Public meeting in Bankstown
* Other Northern Territory (NT) Intervention articles
* Background to the Northern Territory (NT) Intervention
* Other articles
* Upcoming Aboriginal rights events around Australia - 16 events from 23 February 2012

* REMINDER OF OUR GENERATION FILM SCREENING IN CANBERRA - 27 FEB 12:

- Upcoming event at Parliament House

Event: Mon 27 February 2012: Parliament House, Canberra, ACT
Our Generation Film Screening
Hosted by Australian Lawyers Alliance
Event details: http://www.ourgeneration.org.au/events/
Event details: http://www.amnesty.org.au/actsnsw/comments/27739/
Film info: http://www.ourgeneration.org.au/about-2/

- '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

* REMINDER OF CANBERRA RALLY TO STOP THE SECOND INTERVENTION - 28 FEB 12:

- Upcoming event at Lawns of Parliament House

Buses have been booked from Sydney!:
http://indymedia.org.au/canberra-tuesday-stand-for-freedom-no-more-nt-in...

Event: Tue 28 February 2012: Lawns of Parliament House, Canberra, ACT
Major Rally: Stand For Freedom
Stand Against a Decade of Discrimination:
Stop the Second Intervention!
Confirmed speakers:
Rev. Dr. Djiniyini Gondarra & Dr. John Falzon
Free outdoor screening of Our Generation
"Stronger Futures in the Northern Territory legislation
currently before parliament would extend the NT
Intervention for a further ten years."
Initiated by:
Stop the Intervention Collective Sydney (STICS) &
Our Generation &
Say No to Government Income Management Coalition
Buses have been booked from Sydney!: http://indymedia.org.au/canberra-tuesday-stand-for-freedom-no-more-nt-in...
Event details: http://indymedia.org.au/stand-against-a-decade-of-discrimination-stop-th...
Event details: http://indymedia.org.au/rally-at-lawns-of-parliament-house-canberra-stop...
Event details: http://www.greenleft.org.au/events/50095
Flyer: http://stoptheintervention.org/uploads/files_to_download/Past%20Events/C...
Flyer: http://standforfreedom.org.au/2012/02/22/stand-for-freedom-rally-canberr...

* NYOONGAR TENT EMBASSY MARCHES TO GOVERNMENT HOUSE IN PROTEST:

See:

WGAR News: News of the Nyoongar Tent Embassy on Heirisson Island in Perth (21 Feb 12)
http://indymedia.org.au/2012/02/21/wgar-news-news-of-the-nyoongar-tent-e...

- Photos

Green Left: Photos: Nyoongar Tent Embassy marches on Government House
http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/50088
21 Feb 12: "Forty members and supporters of the Nyoongar Tent Embassy marched on Government House early on February 21. The march was an important public statement for the embassy after an February 19 operation by more than 50 armed police cleared tents and vehicles from the embassy site at Matagarup (Heirrison Island). Some media reports have falsely given the impression that that was the end of the embassy. In fact, the embassy remains strong. Before the march began, embassy representatives were buoyed by the news that Perth City Council has publicly said they they had "no plans to ask protesters at the Tent Embassy to stop camping at the site"."

Green Left: Photos: WA Tent Embassy activists refuse eviction order
http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/50086
20 Feb 12: "Nyoongar activists and their supporters refused to leave Perth’s Heirisson Island on February 19 when a squad of armed police arrived to evict them. The police forced the protesters to remove cars and tents from the island but the embassy remains. The Tent Embassy was established on February 12 in response to the state government proposal to extinguish Nyoongar native title."

- Video

Perth Now: Tent embassy Noongars protest march
http://video.perthnow.com.au/2199549129/Tent-embassy-Noongars-protest-march
21 Feb 12: "The Heirisson Island tent embassy protesters took to the streets today marching on Government House. Footage:Kerris Berrington"

- News

National Indigenous Times: Perth Embassy supporters bring city to a halt as they declare: "This is our land"
http://www.nit.com.au/news.html
22 Feb 12: "West Australian Premier Colin Barnett, Perth City Council CEO, Frank Edwards, Police Commissioner, Karl O'Callaghan and Police Inspector Bill Munnee all declared they had pretty much shut down Nyoongar Tent Embassy. Well, it is far from over. The tents may have been forced down however this only galvanised more Nyoongars and... "

newsTracker: Protestors take to Perth’s streets
http://tracker.org.au/2012/02/protestors-take-to-perths-streets/
21 Feb 12: "Land rights protesters who set up a tent embassy in Perth have marched to Government House, blocking traffic along one of the city’s main streets. About 40 protesters, waving flags and placards and chanting, left their camp on Heirisson Island at about 8.45am (WST) on Tuesday to march across a causeway then along Adelaide Terrace towards the city. ... A protest spokeswoman said they would present a petition to West Australian Governor Malcolm McCusker asking the Crown to recognise the sovereign right of traditional owners over their own land."

ABC: Activists march to Government House in protest
http://au.news.yahoo.com/latest/a/-/latest/12968642/activists-march-to-g...
21 Feb 12: "Activists from a Noongar protest camp that has been set up on Perth's Heirisson Island have taken their protest to Government House. About 30 protesters marched along St George's Terrace to deliver a letter to the Governor. "These lands were neither conquered or ceded as required under international laws regarding the doctrine of discovery," said one protester. "They were simply stolen." The group chanted 'Always was, always will be Aboriginal land', when they arrived at Government House."

West Australian: WA tent embassy 'staff' protest in Perth
http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/national/12972874/wa-tent-embassy-s...
21 Feb 12: "On Tuesday, not for the first or last time, land rights protesters took to the streets of Perth, marching on Governor Malcolm McCusker's residence to deliver a message to the Queen. From their Heirisson Island "tent embassy" - set up a week ago on the banks of the nearby Swan River - the group of 40 traditional owners and their supporters marched down the city's main street, blocking traffic and eventually drawing a police presence greater than their own number. ... The protesters said they wanted sovereignty - not money."

WA today: Aboriginal protesters march in Perth
http://www.watoday.com.au/wa-news/aboriginal-protesters-march-in-perth-2...
21 Feb 12: "The protesters were initially denied access to Government House by about a dozen police officers, before they were allowed to pass their letter through the gate to a staff member. Bibbulmun elder Toogarr Morrison said he was hoping to meet Mr McCusker to deliver the letter. "We didn't take it in the gate, we passed it through the gate," he said. "I would really like to have handed it to him personally, so that he can grab hold of it, and then we know, one spirit to another spirit," he said."

National Indigenous Radio Service: Noongar elder: 'We'll have no land to call our own'
http://www.nirs.org.au/news/latest-news/6964-noongar-elder-well-have-no-...
20 Feb 12: "Noongar traditional owner Richard Wilkes says his land and culture are not for sale and he won't support the West Australian Government's Native Title offer for land in Perth and the south-west. The Government hopes to settle a long-running Native Title claim over Perth with a $1 billion package of cash injections, a future fund to address social issues and land transfers to the Noongar people. Mr. Wilkes is skeptical of the potential long-term benefits of the money and has criticised the South West Aboriginal Land and Sea Council as not genuinely representing the land rights of his people."

National Indigenous Times: Tent Embassy defiant as 60 police move in
http://www.nit.com.au/news/630-tent-embassy-defiant-as-60-police-move-in...
"Defiant supporters of the Nyoongar Tent Embassy in Perth have declared they will not leave the site despite a troop of 60 police converging on the Embassy early last Sunday morning demanding tents and vehicles be removed."

- Media Statement

Green Left: WA Tent Embassy: 'We are the indigenous custodial owners of this land'
http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/50106
22 Feb 12: "The Noongar Tent Embassy in Perth released the statement below on February 19. The statement was authored by embassy spokesperson Robert Eggington. * * *
... Our peoples were never recognised as the traditional owners of this land through any form of treaty that ceded our sovereign rights to our land.
We are not Australians.
We are the indigenous custodial owners of this land.
We stand proud as the Bibbulman people.
We do not stand in respect of the deceitful verses of the Australian anthem or the Australian flag. We stand in pride of the colours of our flag: red, black and yellow.
May our campfires burn forever."

- Audio

6PR882 News Talk: We're spiritually imprisoned
http://www.6pr.com.au/blogs/6pr-perth-blog/were-spiritually-imprisoned/2...
17 Feb 12: "A spokesperson for the aboriginal tent embassey set up on Heirisson Island has said their protest isn't about money but about saving their culture. Rob Eggington told 6PR he and others were not afraid of police arresting them as they were already spiritually imprisoned."

- Analysis / Opinion

National Indigenous Times: Glen Kelly: Perth Native Title Offer
http://www.nit.com.au/opinion/606-glen-kelly-perth-native-title-offer.html
22 Feb 12: "South West Aboriginal Land and Sea Council CEO, Glen Kelly, has given a comprehensive insight to The National Indigenous Times about the Native Title offer from the WA state government to the Nyoongar peoples. Mr Kelly said, "This is a much fuller explanation I have given to you than to any other journo, however as you work at the NIT, it is more pertinent to... " Gerry Georgatos

National Indigenous Times: South West Land And Sea Council - What Price Sell off?
http://www.nit.com.au/opinion/608-south-west-land-and-sea-council--what-...
"The papers were full of it! Full of praise for Glen Kelly, the Chief Executive Officer of the South West Land and Sea Council and his cohorts and the proposed deal they were making with the Western Australian government. The accolades poured in from reporters, journalists and the 'new age mainstream' Indigenous people; and even a member of the State Labor Party supported their stance on Native Title... "

* "NT ABORIGINAL LEADERS REJECT STRONGER FUTURES" TRACKER

- News

newsTracker: NT Aboriginal leaders reject Stronger Futures
http://tracker.org.au/2012/02/nt-aboriginal-leaders-reject-stronger-futu...
22 Feb 12: "NORTHERN TERRITORY: Aboriginal community leaders and advocates have rejected federal government plans to extend the Howard-era Northern Territory intervention policy, saying they haven’t been properly consulted. The leaders were on Tuesday addressing a Senate committee scrutinising the government’s Stronger Futures legislation, which would usher in a second phase of the intervention aimed at preventing violence and alcohol abuse in the Red Centre and Top End of Australia."
[Includes comments by Aboriginal leader Barbara Shaw, Elaine Peckham founder of Central Australian Aboriginal Strong Women's Alliance, and Northern Territory Council of Social Services spokeswoman Pru Gell.]

- Related Events

Senate Committees: Today's hearings: Thursday, 23 February 2012
Interstate Hearings
http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate_Committee...
Community Affairs Legislation Committee
Public Hearing: Stronger Futures in the Northern Territory Bill 2011 [Provisions] and related bills
Litchfield Room, Northern Territory Legislative Assembly, DARWIN NT
[Includes times, names of witnesses, their role and their organisation.]

Event: Mon 20 to Fri 24 February 2012: Northern Territory
Public hearings
Stronger Futures in the Northern Territory Bill 2011 and two related bills
"Monday 20 February: Ntaria (Hermannsburg)
Tuesday 21 February: Alice Springs, Chifley Alice Springs Resort
Wednesday 22 February: Maningrida
Thursday 23 February: Darwin, Northern Territory Legislative Assembly
Friday 24 February: Darwin, Northern Territory Legislative Assembly"
Event details: http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate_Committee...
Event details: [scroll down page] http://rollbacktheintervention.wordpress.com/

- Related News

National Indigenous Times: Rosalie Kunoth-Monks’ verdict on Intervention consultations
http://www.nit.com.au/your-say.html
22 Feb 12: "Ms Kunoth-Monks said the Minister's refusal to release details of the consultation meetings she and her department had with communities was the wrong thing to do. "I think it's pathetic. The Minister has said her decision to proceed with an extension of the Northern Territory Intervention was because of the feedback she and her Department received from the consultations with the communities," Ms Kunoth-Monks said. "But those of us who attended these consultations know that was not the case. The communities do not want the Northern Territory Intervention in the form the Minister is proposing."

- Related Audio

3CR Community Radio 855 AM: Podcasts
[scroll down page] http://www.3cr.org.au/podcast
Women on the Line - 21 Feb 2012
[download program] http://pod.3cr.org.au/pod/3CRCast-2012-02-20-53347.mp3
21 Feb 12: "The Australian government will bring new legislation, called 'Stronger Futures in the Northern Territory', before parliament this month. Although promoted as part of the government’s commitment to 'close the gap', if passed the legislation would extend the NT Intervention for 10 more years. Can there really be Stronger Futures in the Northern Territory under the Intervention? Professor Larissa Behrendt delivers the 2011 Hamer Oration on Good Government."

Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association:
CAAMA Radio News 21-02-2012
http://caama.com.au/caama-radio-news-21-02-2012
21 Feb 12: "* The CEO of a major community controlled health organisation in Central Australia says future funding for the continuation of programs instigated under the Northern Territory Intervention is now in a risky and critical position with no certainty that the funding will continue under the proposed Stronger Futures legislation.
* Public hearings into the proposed Stronger Futures legislation, the legislation which will replace regulations imposed under the Northern Territory intervention are taking place in Alice Springs today."

Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association:
CAAMA Radio News 20-02-2012
http://caama.com.au/caama-radio-news-20-02-2012
20 Feb 12: "Public hearings on the Gillard Labor Government’s proposed Stronger Futures legislation for Northern Territory Aboriginal communities will be held in just five Territory centre’s from Monday the 20th February through to Friday 24th February."

- Related Video

Our Generation: Elders' message to Australian Govt: "Enough is Enough."
http://ourgeneration.org.au/2012/01/elders-message-to-australian-govt-en...
"Late last year, senior elders from across the Northern Territory, including Yolngu elder Rev. Dr. Djiniyini Gondarra, came together to express their opposition to the Government’s plans to extend the Northern Territory Intervention under its proposed Stronger Futures legislation. They have now submitted their video message to the Senate Inquiry which is looking at the legislation. Below is their video message, as well as written statement."

- Related Media Release

Greens Rachel Siewert: NT residents overlooked in Stronger Futures consultation
http://rachel-siewert.greensmps.org.au/content/media-release/nt-resident...
22 Feb 12: "The Australian Greens said today that the Government needs to rethink it’s Stronger Futures legislation in light of evidence and testimony presented to a Senate Inquiry into the Bills.
"There are serious community doubts about the ability of Stronger Futures to improve community outcomes. People are critical of the Intervention and see Stronger Futures as an extension of it," Australian Greens spokesperson on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Issues, Senator Rachel Siewert said today.
Senator Siewert is in the Northern Territory as a member of the Community Affairs Senate Committee which is holding public hearings on the legislation.
"What is really clear from the people we’ve been speaking to is that consultation around this legislation was substandard," said Senator Siewert."

- Related News

newsTracker: Stronger Futures hearing a waste of time: Scullion
http://tracker.org.au/2012/02/stronger-futures-hearing-a-waste-of-time-s...
22 Feb 12: "NORTHERN TERRITORY: Senate committee hearings into the proposed Stronger Futures laws are a waste of time because the government hadn’t fully consulted with Aboriginal communities, the Opposition says. Stronger Futures is intended to replace the Northern Territory Emergency Response (NTER), which expires this August. After a period of government consultations last year, the federal government proposed the Stronger Futures legislation, which was referred to a Senate committee. That committee is currently conducting public hearings throughout the Territory." Amy McQuire, Editor of Tracker

National Indigenous Times: Macklin’s Intervention flawed
http://www.nit.com.au/news/629-macklins-intervention-flawed.html
"The second round of the Northern Territory Intervention that Jenny Macklin wants to impose on Aboriginal Australians for another 10 years is fatally flawed according to the group Concerned Australians."

9 News: Indigenous consultation 'substandard': MPs
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/8423892/indigenous-consultation-subs...
22 Feb 12: "Senators on a roadshow of hearings about the federal government's proposed next phase of the Northern Territory intervention believe there's been "substandard" consultation with Aboriginal communities about the draft laws. A Senate committee scrutinising the government's Stronger Futures legislation, which would extend the intervention begun under the Howard Coalition government to prevent violence and alcohol abuse in the NT, is travelling around the Northern Territory this week."

ABC: Intervention replacement law process attacked
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-02-21/20120221-stronger-futures-bill-con...
21 Feb 12: "Country Liberals Senator Nigel Scullion says the first public hearing about federal legislation replacing the emergency intervention in Indigenous communities in the Northern Territory has been a complete waste of time. The senate committee scrutinising the "Stronger Futures Bill" visited Ntaria, about 130 kilometres west of Alice Springs, yesterday. Senator Scullion says the committee spent most of the day explaining the legislation to the community, because it had not been properly consulted by the Federal Government."

Koori Mail: Stronger Futures hearings underway
[scroll down page] http://www.koorimail.com/index.php
20 Feb 12: "A SENATE Committee has begun public hearings into legislation extending the controversial Northern Territory Intervention. The Federal Government's Stronger Futures in the NT bill and two related bills were introduced late last year. The first of the hearings being conducted by the Senate Standing Committee on Community Affairs has been held at Ntaria (Hermannsburg) today, to be followed by Alice Springs tomorrow and Maningrida and Darwin before the end of the week."

See:

WGAR News: Submissions received on Stronger Futures in the Northern Territory Bill (8 Feb 12)
[scroll down page] http://indymedia.org.au/2012/02/08/wgar-news-four-actions-to-help-stop-t...

WGAR News: More on the Stronger Futures in the Northern Territory Bill (9 Feb 12)
[scroll down page] http://indymedia.org.au/2012/02/09/wgar-news-tent-embassy-protest-interv...

WGAR News: Book report launched: "NT Consultations Report 2011: By Quotations" (19 Feb 12)
http://indymedia.org.au/2012/02/19/wgar-news-book-report-launched-nt-con...

WGAR News: More on Government’s proposed Stronger Futures legislation (19 Feb 12)
[scroll down page] http://indymedia.org.au/2012/02/19/wgar-news-book-report-launched-nt-con...

WGAR News: New Website for Stronger Futures info and submissions (21 Feb 12)
[scroll down page] http://indymedia.org.au/2012/02/21/wgar-news-news-of-the-nyoongar-tent-e...

- General link to the bills
http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate_Committee...

- Link for submissions
http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate_Committee...

* "[NT] MAY HAVE HIGHEST YOUTH SUICIDE RATE IN THE DEVELOPED WORLD" NT CHILDREN'S COMMISSIONER:

- Video

ABC: Suicide statistics paint stark picture
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-02-21/suicide-statistics-paint-stark-pic...
21 Feb 12: "The Northern Territory's Children's Commissioner suggests they have the highest rate of youth suicide in the developed world reflecting a situation that is causing much concern. ... Suicide has long been a taboo, but youth suicide rates in the Northern Territory are now so high and the children so young that silence isn't an option. As Sara Everingham reports, the Territory's Children's Minister says that jurisdiction may have the highest youth suicide rate in the developed world. ... Communities like Mutitjulu have come into the spotlight through the Federal intervention. Yet in spite of the extra spending, youth suicide remains a problem."

ABC: Inquiry investigates rate of child suicide in NT
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-02-21/inquiry-investigates-rate-of-child...
21 Feb 12: "Northern Territory leaders are warning that silence is no longer an option to deal with the rising rates of child suicide. Suicide statistics are often difficult to pinpoint because deaths can be classified in different ways, but researchers say the number of teenagers and young children dying from suicide is growing. Northern Territory Children's Commissioner Howard Bath says his jurisdiction may have the highest youth suicide rate in the developed world."

- Related News

National Indigenous Times: Suicide horror
http://www.nit.com.au/news.html
16 Feb 12: "Suicide rates among Aboriginal girls have jumped to unprecedented levels in the Northern Territory since the Northern Territory Intervention was introduced five years ago. The Northern Territory's Children's Commissioner, Dr Howard Bath, said girls now account for 40 per cent of all suicides of children in the Territory under the age of 17."

- Related Speech

Looking to solutions within ourselves, within our families, within our communities
John Paterson, CEO, Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance Northern Territory
"Remembering loss, building community strength"
-Suicide Prevention Day Walk, Darwin 10 September 2011
http://amsant.org.au/documents/article/90/110910-Speech-JP-9%20September...

* "THE FUTURE OF INDIGENOUS ACTIVISM?" THE WIRE:

- Audio Interviews

The Wire: The future of indigenous activism?
Produced by Farah Ahmed
http://www.thewire.org.au/storyDetail.aspx?ID=8826
20 Feb 12: "The anniversaries of two important Aboriginal protests have raised questions as to the future of Indigenous political activism. At the eighth anniversary of T.J. Hickey’s death and a forum on the 40th anniversary of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy, activists expressed disappointment in the government’s repeated failure to meet many of their demands. These activists are also convinced, however, that these protests are the right avenue for change.
Featured in story:
Raul Bassi - member of the Indigenous Social Justice Association
Nicole Watson - Senior Researcher at Jumbunna, Indigenous House of Learning at University of Technology Sydney
Sue Gillet - speaker at the forum on the Aboriginal Tent Embassy"

* VIDEOS OF 12 FEB 2012 PUBLIC MEETING IN BANKSTOWN:

- Videos

Stop the Intervention: 12 Feb 2012 Public meeting in Bankstown
Say NO to Income Management - Not in Bankstown not Anywhere!
http://stoptheintervention.org/past-events/12-feb-2012-public-meeting-in...
19 Feb 12: "Videos from the event:
* Aunty Margaret Goneis - Chairperson of Bankstown City Council Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advisory Committee
* Paddy Gibson - Stop the Intervention Collective Sydney
* Aunty Minnie - Queensland
* Senator Rachel Siewert - Greens spokesperson for Family, Community and Disability Services and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Issues"

* OTHER NORTHERN TERRITORY (NT) INTERVENTION ARTICLES:

- Video

ABC: New remote NT employment program planned
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-02-21/new-remote-nt-employment-program-p...
Updated 22 Feb 12: "The Federal Government says it will extend the Community Development Employment Project while a new remote employment plan is introduced." Jane Bardon

- News

ABC Indigenous: Call for permanent CDEP
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-02-22/call-for-permanentcdep/3845096/?si...
Updated 22 Feb 12: "A community worker in the Gibson Desert says she is pleased to hear a national Aboriginal work program will continue next year but says if it is not made permanent, Aboriginal communities around Australia will disintegrate. Under the Federal Government's Community Development Employment Projects (CDEP), Aboriginal people in remote communities are paid to work for the community. The program was due to end in June but the Government has confirmed it will be extended until July 2013."

ABC Indigenous: Worker lifeline as CDEP wages program extended
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-02-21/20120221-cdep-wages-program-extend...
21 Feb 12: "The Federal Government has postponed plans to move unemployed Indigenous people off Community Development Employment Projects wages and on to the dole. The Government had planned to move long-term CDEP wage recipients on to other Centrelink benefits by the middle of this year so that all job-seekers across the nation would be given the same payments and be subject to the same requirements. But Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin says the Government wants to provide stability to those already receiving CDEP wages, and to providers of the program."

See:

Jumbunna: "Rebuilding from the Ground Up" Alternatives to the Northern Territory Intervention:
http://www.jumbunna.uts.edu.au/researchareas/alternatives.html
Jobs With Justice - Demand 3
http://www.jumbunna.uts.edu.au/researchareas/newmedia/jobswithjustice.html
"Create a new Aboriginal employment program to replace Community Development Employment Projects (CDEP) that have been gutted through recent reforms and are exploiting Aboriginal workers. Jobs created must pay at least award wages, with rights to join unions and collectively bargain. The program must be administered by community based organisations, with development needs and priorities set through broad community consultation. All willing workers should be employed."

- Media Release

Greens Rachel Siewert: Income management expansion will waste more money
http://rachel-siewert.greensmps.org.au/content/media-release/income-mana...
17 Feb 12: "The Australian Greens say the Government’s planned expansion and extension of income management will see more money wasted on an unproven and unpopular policy.
"We have known all along that income management was expensive to administer and last night we heard further evidence of that," Senator Rachel Siewert, Australian Greens community services spokesperson said today. ...
"Income management can already be applied to any part of Australia, and the new Stronger Futures legislation will give state authorities the power to subject people to mandatory income quarantining.
"This is occurring despite the fact that the evidence isn’t there that it works. What we know for sure is that this punitive approach disempowers and stigmatises people.
"The money being wasted on administration would be better off directed to more meaningful assistance for communities and individuals," Senator Siewert concluded."

- News

ABC: Labor launches payback attack on former minister
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-02-22/20120222-burns-attack-on-alison-an...
Updated 22 Feb 12: "The Northern Territory Government has used a former Labor minister's opposition to changes of federal Emergency Intervention laws as justification to attack her in parliament."

* BACKGROUND TO THE NORTHERN TERRITORY (NT) INTERVENTION:

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

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

The Greens: Rachel Siewert: Northern Territory Intervention: http://rachel-siewert.greensmps.org.au/taxonomy/term/118

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Darwin Aboriginal Rights Coalition: http://darwinaboriginalrights.wordpress.com/

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

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

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

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

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

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/

* OTHER ARTICLES:

- Audio Interview

SBS Living Black: Australia Day Protest - did the Prime Minister know?
http://www.sbs.com.au/yourlanguage/aboriginal/highlight/page/id/204013/t...
20 Feb 12: "The Prime Minister Julia Gillard must "own her role" in the series of events leading up to the Aboriginal Tent Embassy protest on Australia Day. That's the view of a journalist with the National Indigenous Times [Gerry Georgatos], which has rocked the government of late, by publishing detailed accounts from an un-named source,claiming that the Prime Minister knew of the disclosure of Tony Abbott's whereabouts. At the centre of the fracas of course were Mr Abbott's comments earlier that day, about the validity of the Tent Embassy's existence in 2011." Michelle Lovegrove

- Analysis / Opinion

Canberra Times: Not all happy little vegemites
http://www.canberratimes.com.au/opinion/not-all-happy-little-vegemites-2...
18 Feb 12: "Two days after the great Aboriginal Embassy Massacree, a number of older Aboriginal activists sat about worrying whether it - the affair - had caused a number of prominent (if predictable) Aborigines to repudiate the embassy and those associated with the demonstration. At this stage - before any question of whether Gillard's office had played provocateur had arisen - the images had brought sympathy to the Prime Minister, and, possibly, given bad impression of Aborigines generally. Should people be hanging their heads about their misjudgments?" Jack Waterford

agendaTracker: Guest Tracker: Constitutional report won’t right past wrongs
http://tracker.org.au/2012/02/guest-tracker-constitutional-report-won%E2...
13 Feb 12: "The Expert Panel’s report’s decision to bypass sovereignty and self-determination is a great failing, writes MICHAEL MANSELL*. ... The Constitution is the political manifesto of the nation. It is by virtue of the potency of the Constitution that recognition of Aboriginal rights must be so carefully approached. Crafting a constitution that deals with dispossession, and political and cultural rights for Aboriginal people, while acknowledging the real purpose for the existence of the constitution, requires some intense deliberation." Michael Mansell, prominent Tasmanian Aboriginal lawyer and activist

* UPCOMING ABORIGINAL RIGHTS EVENTS AROUND AUSTRALIA - 16 EVENTS FROM 23 FEBRUARY 2012:

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

Event: 11 February 2012 to 26 May 2012: South Bank, Brisbane, 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: Fri 24 February 2012: Ultimo
Resistance Red Cinema Film Screening: The Tall Man
"The Tall Man is a powerful documentary about the brutal death in custody of Palm Island man Mulrunji Doomadgee."
Introduction by Indigenous Social Justice Association's Ray Jackson
Event details: http://www.greenleft.org.au/events/50093

Event: Sat 25 February 2012: Yagoona, Sydney, NSW
Stopping income management and winning Indigenous self-determination
Speakers:
Aunty Margaret Goneis;
Violet Roumeliotis;
Cassandra Goldie
"The Australian Government is expanding its
"income management" policy - first
implemented as part of the NT Intervention
- into 5 trial areas next year, including the
local government area of Bankstown.
Come and be part of the struggle to stop
this punitive and shameful policy and to
win Indigenous self-determination."
Event details: https://www.facebook.com/events/314657005221180/
Event details: http://www.search.org.au/projects/roundtables/eighth-roundtable

Event: Tue 28 February 2012: Parliament House Lawns, Canberra, ACT
Major Rally: Stand For Freedom
Stand Against a Decade of Discrimination:
Stop the Second Intervention!
Confirmed speakers:
Rev. Dr. Djiniyini Gondarra & Dr. John Falzon
Free outdoor screening of Our Generation
"Stronger Futures in the Northern Territory legislation
currently before parliament would extend the NT
Intervention for a further ten years."
Initiated by:
Stop the Intervention Collective Sydney (STICS) &
Our Generation &
Say No to Government Income Management Coalition
Buses have been booked from Sydney!: http://indymedia.org.au/canberra-tuesday-stand-for-freedom-no-more-nt-in...
Event details: http://stoptheintervention.org/#StandForFreedom
Event details: http://indymedia.org.au/stand-against-a-decade-of-discrimination-stop-th...
Event details: http://indymedia.org.au/rally-at-parliament-house-canberra-stop-the-seco...
Event details: http://www.greenleft.org.au/events/50095
Flyer: http://stoptheintervention.org/uploads/files_to_download/Past%20Events/C...
Flyer: http://standforfreedom.org.au/2012/02/22/stand-for-freedom-rally-canberr...

Event: Tue 28 February to Sun 25 March 2012: Adelaide, SA
Exhibition: Deadly: in-between heaven and hell
Tandanya NACI and Adelaide Festival
"A major exhibition of newly commissioned works
by eight leading Australian Aboriginal artists and
collectives. ... For many Indigenous peoples,
'heaven on Earth' is the divine world shaped by
ancestral creators, where connection to country
and culture are in harmony with the experience
of self and community. At the other extreme, the
legacies of incursion and assimilation are a
'living hell'. The in-between is uneasy, lined
with hope and echoing with resilience."
Event details: http://www.amnesty.org.au/sa/event/27911/

Event: Tue 6 March 2012: Parliament House, West Perth, WA
Justice for Rex Bellotti Jr Rally
Organised by the Bellotti Support Group
Event details: http://www.greenleft.org.au/events/50031

Event: Sat 24 March 2012: Fullarton, SA
Amnesty International Fullarton Markets Group
"The government is currently deciding
whether they will fund essential services
on Aboriginal homelands in the next
Federal Budget.
Nearly one-third of Indigenous people in the
Northern Territory live on homelands.
Research shows that with proper services,
people can be happier, healthier and live
longer and on homelands."
Event details: http://www.amnesty.org.au/sa/event/27913/

Event: Wed 28 March 2012: Parramatta Park, Qld
Black Deaths in Custody Watch Group meeting
Event details: http://www.greenleft.org.au/events/49933

Event: Thu 27 March 2012: Sydney, NSW
Our Generation Film Screening
Part of Message Sticks Festival 2012
Event details: http://www.ourgeneration.org.au/events/
Film info: http://www.ourgeneration.org.au/about-2/
See bottom of this page for Our Generation film reviews

Event: Fri 6 April 2012: University of Melbourne, Vic
Gary Foley will be speaking on his amazing life and times
"The legendary Aboriginal activist has been at the
centre of major political activity for over 40 years.
In the 1970’s he joined the growing circle of Aboriginal
resistance in Australia, and formed the Aboriginal
Legal Service in Sydney. ... "
Part of Marxism 2012 Conference, Easter weekend
Presented by Socialist Alternative & ISO of NZ
Supported by Community Radio 3CR 855 AM
Event details: http://www.marxismconference.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=artic...
Marxism 2012 details: http://www.marxismconference.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=front...

Event: 7 April 2012: Darwin, NT
Rock Against Racism
Organised by DASSAN and Darwin Aboriginal Rights Collective
Event summary: http://dassan.weebly.com/rock-against-racism.html

Event: Sun 6 May 2012: Sydney, NSW
Our Generation Film Screening
Followed by Q&A with Dr Jeff McMullen
and Dr Thalia Anthony
Part of Sydney Greek Festival 2012
Event details: http://www.ourgeneration.org.au/events/
Film info: http://www.ourgeneration.org.au/about-2/
See bottom of this page for Our Generation film reviews

Event: 12 May 2012: Melbourne City, Vic
2012 Autumn Action:
Stop Aboriginal Death in Custody
Remember all who have died in custody
Organised by Indigenous Social Justice Association
Event details: http://www.isja-msg.com/coming_events.htm

Event: 11 August 2012: Melbourne City, Vic
2012 Winter Action:
Stop Aboriginal Death in Custody
Remember all who have died in custody
Organised by Indigenous Social Justice Association
Event details: http://www.isja-msg.com/coming_events.htm

Event: 10 November 2012: Melbourne City, Vic
2012 Spring Action:
Stop Aboriginal Death in Custody
Remember all who have died in custody
Organised by Indigenous Social Justice Association
Event details: http://www.isja-msg.com/coming_events.htm

- 'Our Generation' Film Reviews

See:

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

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

- - -

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'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.

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

Geography:

Keywords:

Northern Territory Intervention

Reminder of Our Generation Film Screening in Canberra - 27 Feb 12

Reminder of Canberra rally to Stop the Second Intervention - 28 Feb 12

NT Aboriginal leaders reject Stronger Futures - Tracker

[NT] may have highest youth suicide rate in the developed world - NT Children's Commissioner

The future of indigenous activism? - The Wire

Videos of 12 Feb 2012 Public meeting in Bankstown

Upcoming Aboriginal rights events around Australia - 16 events from 23 February 2012