WGAR News: Still more organisations express support for the Yolngu Nations Assembly Statement

Newsletter date: 7 June 2012

This newsletter includes support for the Yolngu statement and statements opposing the Stronger Futures laws.

Contents:
* Tracker: Aboriginal groups angry at intervention
* Walter Shaw, CEO of Tangentyere Council: Indigenous 'solutions' just disempower us further
* NSWALC: Stronger Futures Destined to Fail
* IPO Network: Government must implement Indigenous Declaration for a 'Stronger Future'
* VIEN: A statement of support for Yolngu Nations Assembly’s rejection of 'Stronger Futures' Bills
* ACAL expresses it’s solidarity with Yolngu Elders
* ERC supports Yolngu Elders Call: Stronger Futures Bill Should Be Rejected by Senate
* Sydney Peace Foundation: Call to review "Stronger Futures" legislation
* Stronger Smarter Institute (Dr. Chris Sarra): To Whom It May Concern
* Forest Hill and Vermont Uniting Churches Social Justice Group: Stronger Futures Legislation
* Council of Blackburn North / Nunawading Uniting Church
* Melbourne Public Forum on the NT Intervention & Stronger Futures laws
* Bankstown Rally: Stop the NT Intervention - stop the expansion
* More 'Stronger Futures' Legislation related articles
* Background to 'Stronger Futures' new NT Intervention laws
* Background to the Northern Territory (NT) Intervention

See:

'concerned Australians' compilation:
Churches, Religious, Organisations and Reconciliation Groups
http://concernedaustralians.com.au/Stronger_Futures_Yolngu_supporters.html
"Calls to Abandon the Stronger Futures Legislation, and Calls to Support the Yolngu Nations Assembly Statement"

Respect and Listen compilation:
http://www.respectandlisten.org/nt-intervention/stronger-futures.html
"Statements and Media Releases ... calling to abandon the Stronger Futures Legislation and supporting the Yolŋu Nations Assembly Statement"
[Includes Further Statements from:
* Stop the Intervention Collective Sydney [STICS]
* National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Ecumenical Commission (NATSIEC)
* Solidarity
* Working Group for Aboriginal Rights (WGAR)]

WGAR News: Yolngu Nations Assembly Statement concerning 'Stronger Futures' laws and NT policies (4 May 12)
http://indymedia.org.au/2012/05/04/wgar-news-yolngu-nations-assembly-sta...

WGAR News: Several organisations express support for the Yolngu Nations Assembly Statement (10 May 12)
http://indymedia.org.au/2012/05/10/wgar-news-several-organisations-expre...

WGAR News: More organisations state support for the Yolngu Nations Assembly Statement (11 May 12)
http://indymedia.org.au/2012/05/11/wgar-news-more-organisations-state-su...

WGAR News: "Australia challenged at United Nations over NT laws" Statement of delegations to UN (21 May 12)
http://indymedia.org.au/2012/05/21/wgar-news-australia-challenged-at-uni...
[Includes a few statements of support for the Yolngu Nations Assembly Statement.]

WGAR News: Ampilatwatja Community Leaders give their full support to Yolngu Nations Assembly (30 May 12)
http://indymedia.org.au/2012/05/30/wgar-news-ampilatwatja-community-lead...

WGAR News: Stand for Freedom campaign calls for organisations to support the Yolngu Statement (2 Jun 12)
http://indymedia.org.au/2012/06/02/wgar-news-stand-for-freedom-campaign-...
[Includes a few statements of support for the Yolngu Nations Assembly Statement.]

* TRACKER: ABORIGINAL GROUPS ANGRY AT INTERVENTION:

- News

Aboriginal groups angry at intervention
Tracker: http://tracker.org.au/2012/06/aboriginal-groups-angry-at-intervention/
9 News: http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=8478964
5 Jun 12: "NATIONAL: Two more Aboriginal groups have joined calls for the federal government to abandon laws that would intensify intervention in Aboriginal communities. On Tuesday the New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council (NSWALC) and the Tangentyere Council became the latest groups to speak out about the proposed Stronger Future laws, which are expected to pass the Senate this month. ... " By Xavier La Canna

* WALTER SHAW, CEO OF TANGENTYERE COUNCIL: INDIGENOUS 'SOLUTIONS' JUST DISEMPOWER US FURTHER

- Analysis / Opinion

ABC The Drum Opinion: Indigenous 'solutions' just disempower us further
http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/4055530.html
6 Jun 12: "In Aboriginal affairs policy, the more things change, the more they stay the same. Today, our families shop for basic essentials on a card that is a remnant of a dog tag from a long-forgotten era. The BasicsCard - which quarantines half of an Aboriginal person's welfare entitlement to ensure it is spent on food and clothing - is the Federal Government's 'solution' for Aboriginal poverty and dysfunction. To disempower us further. To underscore our difference from other Territorians. To rub our nose in it. And to put us in our place. It didn't work then. It doesn't work now." By Walter Shaw, resident of a Town Camp in Alice Springs NT, CEO of Tangentyere Council NT

* NSWALC: STRONGER FUTURES DESTINED TO FAIL

- Media Release

New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council (NSWALC): Stronger Futures Destined to Fail
'concerned Australians': http://concernedaustralians.com.au/media/stronger_futures_yolngu/New_Sou...
5 Jun 12: "The largest Aboriginal member-based organisation in the country has joined the growing chorus of voices calling on the federal government to abandon its proposed 10-year extension of the NT intervention.
The New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council (NSWALC) has urged the government to abandon the top-down, paternalistic approach of the past, and work in true partnership with Aboriginal people.
Labor's Stronger Futures bills are currently before the Senate, and are expected to pass this month. The Australian Greens are the only party opposing the legislation.
If passed, the bills will continue many of the most contentious aspects of the NT intervention for another decade.
Earlier last month, the Yolngu Nations Assembly, made up of 8 Yolngu Nations from West, Central, and East Arnhem Land, sent a plea to Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Opposition Tony Abbott, urging them to re-consider the extension.
NSWALC Chairman Stephen Ryan says extending the intervention will not heal the deep hurt and distrust felt amongst NT communities. ...
"It's time we stood with our brothers and sisters to call for the right to control our own affairs." ... "

- Related News

newsTracker: Stronger Futures destined to fail: Ryan
http://tracker.org.au/2012/06/stronger-futures-destined-to-fail-ryan/
5 Jun 12: "NATIONAL: The largest Aboriginal member-based organisation in the country has joined the growing chorus of voices calling on the federal government to abandon its proposed 10-year extension of the NT intervention. ... Mr Ryan also expressed concern over the government’s continual refusal to commit the draft laws to examination against Australia’s human rights obligations. "There’s absolutely no reason why these draft laws cannot go before the human rights committee. "If they comply with the Racial Discrimination Act as Minister Macklin keeps saying, then why baulk at the review? ... "

* IPO NETWORK: GOVERNMENT MUST IMPLEMENT INDIGENOUS DECLARATION FOR A 'STRONGER FUTURE'

- Media Release

Indigenous Peoples Organisation Network Australia (IPO Network): Government must implement Indigenous Declaration for a 'Stronger Future'
'concerned Australians': http://concernedaustralians.com.au/media/stronger_futures_yolngu/Indigen...
15 May 12: ""The deceitfully titled 'Stronger Futures' Legislation currently before the Australian Senate, is a package of legislative bills proposed to repeal the Northern Territory Emergency Response Act (the Intervention), these bills retain significant elements of the NTER and continue to breach the Declaration in a number of respects." - Shane Duffy, IPO Network.
Indigenous organisations from across Australia are collectively voicing their concerns and delivering informed advice on the world stage as part of the 11th session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) in New York City, USA (7-18 May 2012). ...
Shane Duffy, Chief Executive Officer of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services (NATSILS) and spokesperson on implementation of the Declaration for the Indigenous Peoples Organisation (IPO) Network of Australia has recommended that Australian government to adhere to it's commitment to the Declaration.
"Australia is in breach of its international Human Rights obligations, formally agreed commitments and public claims so while we commend the Australian government’s support for the Declaration, we are disappointed they have not established mechanisms to ensure its implementation, evaluation and reporting through a national framework," said Mr Duffy. ... "
[Click on the above link to read the long list of members of the IPO Network.]

* VIEN: A STATEMENT OF SUPPORT FOR YOLNGU NATIONS ASSEMBLY'S REJECTION OF 'STRONGER FUTURES' BILLS

- Statement

The Victorian Indigenous Education Network: A statement of support for Yolŋu Nations Assembly’s rejection of 'Stronger Futures' Bills
'concerned Australians': http://concernedaustralians.com.au/media/stronger_futures_yolngu/Victori...
4 Jun 12: "The members of Victorian Indigenous Education Network (VIEN) wholeheartedly support the Statement made by Yolŋu Nations Assembly to the Australian Federal and Northern Territory Parliaments, calling on the Senate to discard the ‘Stronger Futures’ Bills in full. ...
A significant number of the Aboriginal students from VIEN schools come from NT communities already affected by the Intervention. We as a network commit ourselves to stand alongside the elders of their communities at this crucial time when their voice must be heard.
VIEN would like to make a particular response of support for the last point of the Yolŋu Nations’ Statement regarding their deep and realistic concerns for the loss of their languages. ...
As an educational network that is vitally concerned for the preservation of aboriginal languages through the educational process, we wish to emphasize that the move away from Bilingual Education is a backward step in the teaching and learning process of all concerned. ... "

* ACAL EXPRESSES IT'S SOLIDARITY WITH YOLNGU ELDERS:

- Statement

Australian Council for Adult Literacy (ACAL) expresses it’s solidarity with Yolngu Elders
'concerned Australians': http://concernedaustralians.com.au/media/stronger_futures_yolngu/Austral...
3 Jun 12: "The Australian Council for Adult Literacy (ACAL), expresses it’s solidarity with Yolngu Elders in their call to the leaders of the Australian and Northern Territory Parliaments to reject Stronger Futures legislation. As an organization that promotes adult literacy and numeracy policy and practice, and that advocates on behalf of equitable adult literacy and numeracy provision for all Australians, ACAL is especially conscious of the disadvantage confronting adult Indigenous Australians.
It is the experience of our members that progress in transformative adult learning can only take place in conjunction with a profound respect for cultural difference and autonomy. ... "

* ERC SUPPORTS YOLNGU ELDERS CALL: STRONGER FUTURES BILL SHOULD BE REJECTED BY SENATE

- Media Release

Edmund Rice Centre supports Yolngu Elders Call: Stronger Futures Bill Should Be Rejected by Senate
'concerned Australians': http://concernedaustralians.com.au/media/stronger_futures_yolngu/Edmund_...
4 Jun 12: "The Yolngu Nations Assembly recently called on the Senate not to pass the Federal Government’s Stronger Futures legislation, which will extend the NT intervention by up to a decade. Edmund Rice Centre (ERC) strongly supports the call of the Yolngu Elders and their opposition to the Australian Government’s Stronger Futures Bills.
"This statement from the Yolngu Elders is a powerful claim of their right as First Peoples and as citizens of Australia to self-determination in their own country", ERC Director Phil Glendenning said.
"The best and only way forward is through genuine partnerships between Indigenous communities and all levels of Government. The Yolngu Elders state that the Federal Government can achieve all its aims through partnership rather than the imposition of power from above".
"History has taught us that top-down, interventionist approaches have always failed. ... ", Mr Glendenning said. ...
Edmund Rice Centre for Justice & Community Education"

* SYDNEY PEACE FOUNDATION: CALL TO REVIEW "STRONGER FUTURES" LEGISLATION

- Media Release

Sydney Peace Foundation: Call to review "Stronger Futures" legislation
'concerned Australians': http://concernedaustralians.com.au/media/stronger_futures_yolngu/Sydney_...
1 Jun 12: "The Sydney Peace Foundation supports the recent recommendations of a senior UN official that the Australian Government refer its proposals - the Stronger Futures Bill - for an extension of the federal intervention into Northern Territory Aboriginal lands to a newly formed parliamentary committee on human rights.
The Foundation is aware of Aboriginal elders who feel strongly that the consultation with them and their communities has been rushed, and that in consequence the Government representatives have not heard what communities have said, in particular about the security of Homelands.
Chair of the Foundation Professor Stuart Rees says, "We agree with Patrick Dodson’s conclusions, 'Five years on, the intervention, for so many Aboriginal Territorians, still hangs like a veil of exclusion from the same rights and privileges available to every other citizen in this country.'" ...
Sydney Peace Foundation - The University of Sydney, NSW "

* STRONGER SMARTER INSTITUTE (DR. CHRIS SARRA): TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN

- Letter

Stronger Smarter Institute (Dr. Chris Sarra): To Whom It May Concern
'concerned Australians': http://concernedaustralians.com.au/media/stronger_futures_yolngu/Stronge...
1 Jun 12: "It would be most helpful if Government were prepared to start again by withdrawing the current legislation as suggested by the Yolngu Nations Assembly and in a genuine partnership with Aboriginal Peoples of the Northern Territory allow them to determine their own way forward."

* FOREST HILL AND VERMONT UNITING CHURCHES SOCIAL JUSTICE GROUP: STRONGER FUTURES LEGISLATION

- Letter

Forest Hill and Vermont Uniting Churches Social Justice Group: Stronger Futures Legislation
'concerned Australians': http://concernedaustralians.com.au/media/stronger_futures_yolngu/Forest_...
2 Jun 12: "The President, Australian Government Senate ...
Dear Senator Hogg, ...
Greetings. We, the members of the Forest Hill & Vermont Uniting Churches Social Justice Group, write to express our deep concern over the proposed Stronger Futures legislation presently before the Senate."

* COUNCIL OF BLACKBURN NORTH / NUNAWADING UNITING CHURCH:

- Letter

Council of Blackburn North / Nunawading Uniting Church: The Honourable John Hogg, Leader of the Senate
'concerned Australians': http://concernedaustralians.com.au/media/stronger_futures_yolngu/Council...
2 Jun 12: "We, the Council of Blackburn North/Nunawading Uniting Church members, join with National bodies of the Uniting Church in Australia and innumerable persons and groups of high standing in the Australian community in condemning the "Stronger Futures" legislation currently before the Senate, ... "

* MELBOURNE PUBLIC FORUM ON THE NT INTERVENTION & STRONGER FUTURES LAWS:

- Upcoming Event

Event: Thu 21 June 2012: Fitzroy, Melbourne, Vic
Arena Magazine and Arena Journal, and
concerned Australians invite you to attend
INTERVENTION
A Public Forum on the Northern Territory Intervention
into Indigenous communities and the
Stronger Futures legislation.
Chair: Gary Foley
Speakers:
* Professor Jon Altman
* Rosalie Kunoth-Monks
* The Hon. Alastair Nicholson
* Barbara Shaw
Incorporating the launch of:
Arena Magazine’s special issue on the NT Intervention
and Arena Journal’s special issue on settler colonialism
Event details: http://www.arena.org.au/2012/06/nt-intervention-public-forum/
Event details: http://www.arena.org.au/category/events/project-space-events-and-discuss...
Arena homepage: http://www.arena.org.au/
'concerned Australians' homepage: http://concernedaustralians.com.au/

* BANKSTOWN RALLY: STOP THE NT INTERVENTION - STOP THE EXPANSION

- Statement

Bankstown rally: Stop the NT intervention - stop the expansion
STICS: [scroll down page] http://stoptheintervention.org/
GLW: http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/51259
5 Jun 12: "The Stop the Intervention Collective Sydney released the statement below on June 1. * * *
A June 16 rally in Bankstown will mark five years since the announcement of the discriminatory NT intervention. It is also taking place just two days before the government’s new Stronger Futures legislation is set to be debated in the Senate. This legislation will extend key NT intervention powers for a further 10 years. It will also expand the system of income management - quarantining 50% of Centrelink payments - around Australia, starting with Bankstown and four other "trial sites".
The persecution of Aboriginal people under the intervention has had horrendous consequences. Reported rates of attempted suicide and self-harm have more than doubled. Indigenous incarceration has increased by 40%. Large numbers of people are drifting away from their homelands as resources, jobs and opportunity are withdrawn from the bush."

- Upcoming Event

Event: 16 June 2012: Bankstown, Sydney, NSW
Rally: Not in Bankstown, not in the NT, not anywhere
- say NO to government income management
Stop 'Stolen Futures' laws
- no to another decade of discrimination
Speakers include:
Larissa Behrendt, Jumbunna Indigenous House of Learning UTS
Rosie Pearson, Yirrkala community, NT
Representatives from the Bankstown Coalition
Event details: [scroll down page] http://stoptheintervention.org/
Event details: http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/51259
Poster: http://stoptheintervention.org/uploads/files_to_download/Past%20Events/P...

* MORE 'STRONGER FUTURES' LEGISLATION RELATED ARTICLES:

- Speech

Reconciliation Week Reflection - Let's Talk Recognition
Address to Rozelle Our Generation screening
Respect and Listen: http://www.respectandlisten.org/uploads/downloads/NT_Intervention/Our-Ge...
24 May 2012: "Elsewhere we have critiqued the various aspects of the Intervention and its offspring the proposed Stronger Futures legislation and we won’t repeat those issues now. But as we engage with this week’s theme of "Let’s Talk Recognition" we are reminded that Aboriginal voices are systemically not recognised in the NT and in other places. If we are to honestly talk about recognition then surely listening to Aboriginal people is a great place to start. That includes listening to the things that challenge us and are difficult to hear." By Graeme Mundine, Aboriginal Catholic Ministry - Sydney Archdiocese

- News

ABC: NLC approves record number of lease agreements
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-06-01/nlc-approve-record-number-of-lease...
1 Jun 12: "The Federal and Northern Territory governments have secured access to Indigenous land on which they have built housing, police stations and clinics. Compulsory five-year leases forced on communities as part of the federal intervention in the Territory expire this August. The Northern Land Council says it has ratified a record number of 270 new land use agreements at a full council meeting held at South Alligator, in Kakadu National Park. Most of the new lease agreements run for 40 years."

* BACKGROUND TO 'STRONGER FUTURES' NEW NT INTERVENTION LAWS:

Last updated: 3 June 2012

http://indymedia.org.au/2012/04/22/background-to-stronger-futures-new-nt...

* BACKGROUND TO THE NORTHERN TERRITORY (NT) INTERVENTION:

Last updated: 24 May 2012

http://indymedia.org.au/2012/04/22/background-to-the-northern-territory-...

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