Newsletter date: 23 April 2012
Contents:
* Upcoming Aboriginal rights events around Australia - 23 events from 23 April 2012
* Justice Reinvestment Campaign for Aboriginal Youth NSW
* "How many more suicides before we open our eyes and ears?"
* Other articles
* UPCOMING ABORIGINAL RIGHTS EVENT AROUND AUSTRALIA - 23 EVENTS FROM 23 APRIL 2012
Click on the links for details of the events ...
Event: Tue 24 April 2012: UTS, Ultimo, Sydney, NSW
Public Lecture: UTSpeaks: More Intervention
"Will the Government’s Stronger Futures law
reforms aid indigenous communities or
further divide Australia’s people?"
Lecture by three UTS experts in Indigenous law reform:
* Nicole Watson
* Alison Vivian
* Craig Longman
All are senior researchers with the UTS
Jumbunna Indigenous House of Learning
Event details: http://newsroom.uts.edu.au/events/2012/04/more-intervention
Event details: http://indymedia.org.au/utspeaks-more-intervention
Event details: http://newsroom.uts.edu.au/sites/all/files/pdfs/event/utspeaks_more_inte...
Event: Anzac Day 25 April 2012: Canberra, ACT
Lest We Forget the Frontier Wars
- Anzac Day march in Canberra
Michael Anderson said "Last year we started
Lest We Forget the Frontier Wars by joining on behind the
Anzac Day march in Canberra and we received enormous
support from the public at this time.
Now we need to keep it going.
We have commenced a process to highlight the wars fought on
Australian soil since 1788, when our country was taken by
superior force, at gunpoint, and those who stood in the way
were shot.
What we need to do now is to keep identifying that there
has been warfare; that blood has been spilt on the wattle;
and there is an ongoing war of attrition against Aboriginal
Peoples to this day. ...
Joining the Anzac march is NOT a protest.
It is a remembering of the wars and the losses of those
who suffered."
Event details: http://indymedia.org.au/2012/04/13/wgar-news-lest-we-forget-the-frontier...
Event details: http://nationalunitygovernment.org/content/lest-we-forget-frontier-wars-...
Event: Anzac Day 25 April 2012: Redfern, Sydney, NSW
2012 - Redfern ANZAC Day March and Commemorative Service
Honouring our Aboriginal & TSI Servicemen and Servicewomen
Event details: http://indymedia.org.au/2012-redfern-anzac-day-march-and-commemorative-s...
Event: Thu 26 April 2012: University of the Sunshine Coast, Qld
Our Generation film screening
"The University of the Sunshine Coast's
Amnesty International Uni group will be
hosting this screening as a part of
Amnesty International's Homelands campaign."
Event details: http://www.amnesty.org.au/qld/event/28240/
Event details: http://indymedia.org.au/our-generation-film-screening-at-the-sunshine-coast
Film info: http://www.ourgeneration.org.au/about
See bottom of this page for Our Generation film reviews
Event: Fri 27 April 2012: Bankstown, Sydney, NSW
Speak Out against Income Management
"As part of the 2011 Federal Budget, the Australian
government announced that it plans to spend $117.5 million
over the next five years to introduce Income Management to
five "disadvantaged" communities across Australia. ...
Income Management will commence in these sites from 1st
July 2012 and will be compulsorily applied to welfare
recipients in the "trial sites" who are assessed by
Centrelink to be "vulnerable to financial crisis" and they
will have 50% of their payment quarantined."
Event details: http://www.facebook.com/events/333817633347001/
Event details: http://indymedia.org.au/speak-out-against-income-management-sydney
Event details: http://indymedia.org.au/no-to-income-management-not-in-bankstown-not-in-...
Background: http://www.sayno2gim.info/
Background: http://stoptheintervention.org/facts/income-management
Event: Sat 28 April 2012: Musgrave Park, Brisbane, Qld
Corroboree - Dancers, Music, Speakers
All welcome!
Brisbane Sovereign Embassy
Event details: http://antarqld.org.au/node/164
Event details: http://cultureboy.blogspot.com.au/2012/04/brisbane-sovereign-embassy.html
Event details: [scroll down page] http://www.antarqld.org.au/node/165
Event: Sat 28 April 2012: Janalli, NSW
Briefing on Constitutional change proposals
St George & Sutherland Community College
" ... what the Expert Panel has proposed, to help people
understand what that is about and what are the
next steps. The briefing will include an interactive
session and briefing material."
Presenters: Representatives of Reconciliation Australia
Event details: http://www.sydneykin.org.au/pipermail/womenforwik/2012-March/000724.html
Event: Sat 28 April 2012: Brunswick
Desert Liberation Front presents
Lizard Rising Fundraiser Gig
Special guests:
* Uncle Kev Buzzacott aka Buzwapa,
* Robbie Thorpe and
* Johnny Harding
Flyer: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=3154084985542&set=o.2874081946592...
Event details: http://indymedia.org.au/lizard-rising-fundraiser-gig
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/224524544273924
Background: http://londonminingnetwork.org/2011/10/australia-approves-20-30bn-bhp-bi...
Event: Intermittent 1 March - 3 May 2012: Various Locations
House of Representatives Committees
Inquiry into language learning in Indigenous communities
Public hearings:
Canberra, ACT: 1 March 2012
Canberra, ACT: 15 March 2012
Canberra, ACT: 22 March 2012
Adelaide, SA: 2 April 2012
Utopia Homelands, NT: 3 April 2012
Alice Springs, NT: 4 April 2012
Broome, WA: 30 April 2012
Halls Creek, WA: 1 May 2012
Darwin, NT: 2 May 2012
Event details: http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/House_of_Represe...
Event: Thu 19 April to Mon 14 May 2012: Campsie, NSW
Homelands Photography Exhibition
"to explore the Aboriginal community of Utopia,
located in the Northern Territory"
Opening night: Thu 19 April
Demand Dignity - Amnesty International
Event details: http://www.amnesty.org.au/nsw/event/28174/
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: Wed 2 May 2012: Brisbane, Qld
Constitutional Recognition Forum
Tiga Bayles will MC the forum
Panellists include:
Congress Co-Chairs Les Malezer and Jody Broun
Hosted by:
West End, Brisbane Congress, BIMA and 98.9FM
Event details: [scroll down page] http://www.antarqld.org.au/node/165
Event: Fri 4 May 2012: Chippendale, Sydney, NSW
Sydney Book Launch:
"NT Consultations Report 2011: By Quotations"
Launched by:
* Graeme Mundine,
Executive Officer, ACM Sydney Archdiocese
* Amy McQuire, Editor, Tracker Magazine
"Beautifully illustrated, this hard-backed book
gives voice to the views of Aboriginal people
living under the Intervention."
Published by ‘concerned Australians': http://www.concernedaustralians.com.au/
Invitation: http://stoptheintervention.org/uploads/files_to_download/concerned-Austr...
Event details: [scroll down page] http://stoptheintervention.org/facts/films-and-literature/book-nt-consul...
Event details: http://www.respectandlisten.org/
Event details: http://indymedia.org.au/sydney-book-launch-%E2%80%9Cnt-consultations-rep...
Event details: http://indymedia.org.au/special-sydney-book-launch-of-the-highly-importa...
Book review: http://stoptheintervention.org/uploads/files_to_download/concerned-Austr...
Short Book review: http://stoptheintervention.org/uploads/files_to_download/concerned-Austr...
Book order form: http://stoptheintervention.org/uploads/files_to_download/concerned-Austr...
Event: Sun 6 May 2012: Circular Quay, 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.greekfestivalofsydney.com.au/festival12/events/event_our_gene...
Event details: http://www.ourgeneration.org.au/screenings
Film info: http://www.ourgeneration.org.au/about
See bottom of this page for Our Generation film reviews
Event: Sat 12 May 2012: Melbourne City, Vic
2012 Autumn Action:
Rally: Stop Aboriginal Deaths 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 details: http://indymedia.org.au/stop-aboriginal-deaths-in-custody-2012-autumn-ac...
Event details: http://www.greenleft.org.au/events/50705
Event: Wed 23 and Thu 24 May 2012: Wollongong, south of Sydney
Interim Aboriginal National Unity Government Assembly
of the Sovereign Union
Held at two locations:
Day 1 – Innovation Campus, University of Wollongong
Day 2 – Sandon Point Aboriginal Embassy
"All Aboriginal nations are being called on to send two
delegates to the inaugural assembly of the interim
National Unity Government in Wollongong
Wednesday 23 May & Thursday 24 May.
"This gathering to form the Interim Sovereign Union
National Unity Government is so important, as the federal
government and their Uncle Tom collaborators are working
overtime to indoctrinate our children and youth into their
way of thinking by falsely promoting that recognition in
the Constitution will give our people something,"
the spokesman of the movement, Michael Anderson, writes in
a media release."
"On the first day, 23rd of May, two universities, South Cross
and Wollongong law faculties will host a law symposium to
discuss the continuing sovereignty of Aboriginal people as
an introduction to this history-making event."
Event details: http://nationalunitygovernment.org/node/49
See next two entries for Day 1 and Day 2 event details
Event: DAY 1 Wed 23 May 2012: Wollongong, NSW
Litigating the Boundaries of Sovereignty
- Symposium Day 1
Location: Innovation Campus, University of Wollongong
Jointly organised by:
* Legal Intersections Research Centre, University of Wollongong
* School of Law and Justice, Southern Cross University
"On 26 January 2012, on the day of the 40th anniversary of
the establishment Aboriginal Tent Embassy in Canberra,
a number of prominent Aboriginal activists advanced an
articulated claim to the continuity of Aboriginal
sovereignty in Australia. ... [This is] a one-day workshop to
explore the legal and political implications of those claims."
Event details: http://nationalunitygovernment.org/node/85
Event details: http://nationalunitygovernment.org/node/49
Sovereign Union – National Unity Government: http://nationalunitygovernment.org/
Event: DAY 2 - Thu 24 May 2012: Wollongong, NSW
"8am till late – REGISTRATION at 8am
Venue: Sandon Point Embassy, Wollongong, NSW
All Aboriginal nations are being called on to send two delegates
- one man and one woman (if appropriate)
to the inaugural assembly of the Sovereign Union
interim National Unity Government
If possible bring a young person(s) between 15 & 25.
Each nation will have a limit of two official delegates
to the interim National Unity Government.
+++ Draft Agenda +++:
* The formal establishment of the interim
National Unity Government of the Sovereign Union
* Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Aboriginal nations
* Focusing on the proposed new Constitution
* Program of stages towards independence and timeline
* Allocation of interim portfolios
* Development of diplomatic and international relations
* Strategies for representations in United Nations"
Event details: http://nationalunitygovernment.org/node/108
Event details: http://nationalunitygovernment.org/node/49
Sovereign Union – National Unity Government: http://nationalunitygovernment.org/
Event: Sat 26 May 2012: Bankstown, Sydney, NSW
Seminar for unionists and community members:
Income Management (IM) in Bankstown
" ... aimed at workers who will be caught up
implementing Income Management in
Bankstown, as well as other unionists."
Event details: http://www.solidarity.net.au/44/bankstown-basicscard-campaign-reaches-ou...
IM Background: http://www.sayno2gim.info/
IM Background: http://stoptheintervention.org/facts/income-management
Event: 27 May - 3 June 2012: various locations around Australia
National Reconciliation Week 2012
- Let’s talk recognition
"Each year National Reconciliation Week (NRW) celebrates
the rich culture and history of the First Australians.
It is the ideal time for everyone to join the reconciliation
conversation and to think about how we can help turn
around the disadvantage experienced by many
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people."
Event details: http://www.reconciliation.org.au/home/get-involved/national-reconciliati...
Event details: http://www.reconciliation.org.au/home/get-involved/events/events-calendar
Event: Sat 14 to Fri 20 July 2012: Olympic Dam, SA
The Lizard's Revenge:
Olympic Dam expansion music/art/festival/protest
"Sleeping underneath the ground there is an old lizard,
Kalta the sleepy lizard. The lizard ain’t so sleepy anymore.
BHP is mining right into that Lizards body. The government
has just approved an expansion of the Olympic Dam uranium
mine, making it the biggest uranium mine in the world.
Kalta is angry and wants revenge.
Arabana elder Kevin Buzzacot is calling the people of the
world to help the lizard shut down the mine. He is calling
for people to come and heal the land in the name of peace
and justice for the next 10,000 generations to come."
Event details: http://indymedia.org.au/the-lizards-revenge-olympic-dam-expansion-musica...
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/224524544273924
Background: http://londonminingnetwork.org/2011/10/australia-approves-20-30bn-bhp-bi...
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
Event: 5-7 December 2012: Gold Coast, Qld
2012 National Indigenous Health Conference
Many Pathways, One Outcome
" ... is designed to bring together both government
and non-government agencies who are working
in the field of Indigenous health with the belief
that working together can close the gap between
the state of Indigenous Health as compared to
the health of mainstream Australians."
Event details: http://www.indigenoushealth.net/
- '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
* JUSTICE REINVESTMENT CAMPAIGN FOR ABORIGINAL YOUTH NSW:
- Website
The Justice Reinvestment Campaign for Aboriginal Youth NSW
http://www.justicereinvestmentnow.net.au/
"Build them a Brighter future
Before we lose a generation: Aboriginal young people now make up 50% of the prison population in NSW, and are 28 times more likely to be placed in juvenile detention that non-Indigenous young people.
Give them a life - not life in prison
The system is not working: The Justice Reinvestment for Aboriginal Young People Campaign is asking the NSW Government to shift spending that has been allocated for prisons and detention centres towards community-based programs and services that address the factors that contribute to criminal behaviour in young people."
* "HOW MANY MORE SUICIDES BEFORE WE OPEN OUR EYES AND EARS?"
- Analysis / Opinion
Indymedia Australia: How many more suicides before we open our eyes and ears?
http://indymedia.org.au/2012/04/21/how-many-more-suicides-before-we-open...
21 Apr 12: "Kabi Kabi Elder, and Bundaberg campus coordinator Nulloo Yumbah at Central Queensland University, Cheri Yavu-Kama-Harathunian said she is devastated by the rising disenfranchisement of Aboriginal youth, and the world's highest suicide rates - of Australia's Aboriginal children. "Across my desk came a study that reported 'the number of completed Indigenous suicides (in the Kimberley) last year exceeded the Australian Defence Force fatalities in Afghanistan'. I cannot comprehend this statement. It is too much," said Mrs Yavu-Kamu-Harathunian." Gerry Georgatos
* OTHER ARTICLES:
- News
Australian: Elder loses Olympic Dam battle
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/elder-loses-olympic-dam...
21 Apr 12: "A JUDGE has dismissed a challenge by an Aboriginal elder against federal government approvals for the expansion of BHP Billiton's Olympic Dam mine. ... A traditional owner, Kevin Buzzacott challenged federal Environment Minister Tony Burke's October 2011 approval for the mine expansion, saying the approval could not be given on condition of plans and studies that had not yet been undertaken."
See:
WGAR News: "Court throws out Olympic Dam challenge" ABC PM (22 Apr 12)
http://indymedia.org.au/2012/04/22/wgar-news-court-throws-out-olympic-da...
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