Newsletter date: 30 June 2012
Contents:
* Deni Langman: A letter to the Politicians of Australia who will Debate the Stronger Futures Legislation, June 2012
* A Day of Mourning: Yolngu Nations Assembly and the Alyawaar Nation media release
* Interview with Rosalie Kunoth Monks: A day of mourning for Stronger Futures
* Interview with Barbara Shaw, member of the NT Intervention Rollback Action Group
* Greens to oppose NT Intervention expansion
* Tracker: Anti-intervention campaign standing strong
* CAAMA: Graeme Mundine on Stronger Futures Bills which are before the Senate this week
* Michelle Morgan: 'Stronger Futures', but what about today?
* Bennelong and Surrounds Residents for Reconciliation opposes the Stronger Futures legislation
* RANZCP: Re: Stronger Futures Legislation
* "Ghost Citizens: Witnessing the Intervention"
* Background to 'Stronger Futures' new NT Intervention laws
* Background to the Northern Territory (NT) Intervention
* DENI LANGMAN: A LETTER TO THE POLITICIANS OF AUSTRALIA WHO WILL DEBATE THE STRONGER FUTURES LEGISLATION, JUNE 2012
- Letter
A letter to the Politicians of Australia who will Debate the Stronger Futures Legislation, June 2012
Sovereign Union: [scroll down page] http://nationalunitygovernment.org/content/nt-intervention-extended-deca...
Faith Doing Justice: http://www.faithdoingjustice.com.au/docs/FDJDeni%20Langman%20.pdf
June 2012: "Palya Everyone,
I never thought I would be so affected by this statement from Rosalie and Djiniyini. It is like having everything I dreamed of disappearing from my sight. ...
I am so upset at this happening to us after all the hard work we have put into trying to stop the Stolen Futures Legislation being passed in Parliament and becoming law. ...
DENI Langman, Traditional Owner of Uluru"
* A DAY OF MOURNING: YOLNGU NATIONS ASSEMBLY AND THE ALYAWAAR NATION MEDIA RELEASE:
- Media Release
Yolngu Nations Assembly and the Alyawaar Nation:
IRAG: http://rollbacktheintervention.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/mr-yolngu-nat...
Respect and Listen: http://www.respectandlisten.org/uploads/downloads/NT_Intervention/Strong...
GLW: http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/51461
27 Jun 12: "Should this Stronger Futures legislation pass through the Senate and become law, it will be a day of mourning for all Aboriginal peoples. This legislation will be the cause of great suffering in our hearts.
For those of us living in the Northern Territory the anguish of the past five years of Intervention has been almost unbearable. Many have simply given up hope. We have been burying people who can no longer live with the pain and despair.
We had believed that we were moving to a time of security, where we would no longer live from day to day in a state of fear but would be supported to find our own destiny in the security of our law and our culture. We little expected to be thrown into such turmoil by a government determined to remove from us control over everything that we most value. ...
Rev. Dr. Djiniyini Gondarra OAM, Spokesperson for the Yolngu National Assembly
Rosalie Kunoth Monks OAM, Spokesperson for the Alyawaar Nation"
- Related News
Koori Mail: 'Day of mourning' if laws pass
[scroll down page] http://www.koorimail.com/index.php
27 Jun 12: "NORTHERN Territory Aboriginal leaders have today issued a statement saying the Stronger Futures legislation would be the cause of 'great suffering in our hearts' if it was to pass through the Senate next week. The statement, signed by Reverend Dr Djiniyini Gondarra, spokesperson for the Yolngu National Assembly, and Rosalie Kunoth Monks, on behalf of the Alyawaar Nation near Alice Springs, said the passage of the legislation would prompt a day of mourning for Aboriginal people."
BigPond News: Aboriginal leaders call day of mourning
http://bigpondnews.com/articles/TopStories/2012/06/27/Aboriginal_leaders...
27 Jun 12: "Aboriginal leaders are set to declare a day of mourning when laws extending the NT Intervention in remote indigenous communities passes parliament. ... Dr Djiniyini Gondarra OAM, who represents 8000 Yolngu people of east Arnhem Land said the laws would cause great suffering in the hearts of his people. ... Dr Gondarra said many Aboriginal people had given up hope. ... Central Australian indigenous leader Rosalie Kunoth Monks who lives in the Alyawaar community of Utopia near Alice Springs, echoed his sentiment."
* INTERVIEW WITH ROSALIE KUNOTH MONKS: A DAY OF MOURNING FOR STRONGER FUTURES
- Audio Interview
The Wire: A day of mourning for Stronger Futures
Produced by Lisa Burns
http://www.thewire.org.au/storyDetail.aspx?ID=9289
27 Jun 12: "The Federal Government is one step closer to winning its fight for Stronger Futures in the Northern Territory. The Stronger Futures draft laws are currently before the Senate and could be passed any day now - extending the Northern Territory Intervention by another 10 years. It’s a day that many people in the Northern Territory hoped would never come - Aboriginal leaders in the Territory are even planning to declare a 'Day of Mourning', if the legislation passes. ...
Featured in story: Rosalie Kunoth Monks, Central Australian Indigenous leader"
- Related Audio
3CR Community Radio 855 AM - Podcasts
[scroll down page] http://www.3cr.org.au/podcast
Wednesday Hometime - 27 Jun 2012
[download this program] http://pod.3cr.org.au/pod/3CRCast-2012-06-27-12293.MP3
27 Jun 12: "Sue talks with Andrew Jaspan, editor of The Conversation and former Editor-in-Chief of The Age newspaper about the Fairfax debacle. Rosalie Kuhn Monks, elder from Utopia, addresses the Arena Forum on the Intervention."
* INTERVIEW WITH BARBARA SHAW, MEMBER OF THE NT INTERVENTION ROLLBACK ACTION GROUP:
- Audio Interview
Indigenous radio station 98.9FM Brisbane:
Barbara Shaw - Member of the NT Intervention Rollback Working Group in Alice Springs
http://www.989fm.com.au/category/podcasts/
26 Jun 12
Listen to this interview on-line:
http://www.989fm.com.au/podcasts/lets-talk/barbara-shaw-11/
[Includes discussion of the Stronger Futures laws.]
* GREENS TO OPPOSE NT INTERVENTION EXPANSION:
- Media Release
Greens MPs: Greens to oppose NT Intervention expansion
http://greensmps.org.au/content/media-releases/greens-oppose-nt-interven...
28 Jun 12: "The Australian Greens will move to oppose Stronger Futures legislation expanding the Northern Territory Intervention in the Senate today.
"It has been made clear to me by so many people that they simply don’t want the Intervention," Senator Rachel Siewert said today.
"It is poor judgement from the Government to bring this on for debate with such little time remaining before the winter recess.
"The Greens are listening to the individuals, communities and experts who are calling on the Senate to reject this legislation. Defeating the legislation extending the Intervention should be a first step in ensuring a new approach and the delivery of better outcomes to people in the Northern Territory. ... "
* TRACKER: ANTI-INTERVENTION CAMPAIGN STANDING STRONG
- News
newsTracker: Anti-intervention campaign standing strong
http://tracker.org.au/2012/06/stand-for-freedom-standing-strong/
25 Jun 12: "NATIONAL: An online campaign, which has notched up 42,000 signatures against federal Labor’s Stronger Futures bills, has provoked a heated response from Indigenous affairs minister Jenny Macklin. The Stand for Freedom campaign has been running an online petition calling for the Gillard government to abandon its controversial ten-year extension of the NT intervention. The Stronger Futures bills will largely continue the intervention after it expires later this year, albeit with slight changes. It is due to be debated in the upper house on Wednesday, ... "
- Letters
The Hon Jenny Macklin MP - letter to Stand for Freedom
Stand for Freedom: http://standforfreedom.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/201206190836164...
Tracker: http://tracker.org.au/downloadsMacklin_Letter.pdf
18 Jun 12: "Dear Mr Curtis,
I am writing to correct the misleading information that is part of the Stand for Freedom campaign you are promoting. It is disappointing that your campaign which seeks to represent the interests of Aboriginal people and purports to be advocating on their behalf would promote misleading material. ... "
Stand for Freedom’s response to Ms Macklin
Stand for Freedom: http://standforfreedom.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Dear-Minister-M...
Tracker: http://tracker.org.au/downloadsStand-for-Freedom1.pdf
21 Jun 12: "Dear Minister Macklin,
Thank you for your letter dated 18th June 2012. We welcome the opportunity to respond to your concerns about the Stand For Freedom campaign. It is indeed important that the information given to the public about the Stronger Futures legislation is correct and accurately reflects the interests and concerns of Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory ... "
- Related News
9 News: Macklin in spat with indigenous campaigner
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/8489113/macklin-in-spat-with-indigen...
25 Jun 12: "Opponents of a government plan to extend intervention in the Northern Territory are breaching the trust of Aboriginal people, Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin says. The group Stand for Freedom has collected more than 42,000 signatures against the government's Stronger Futures legislation, which is likely to pass the Senate this week. ... Stand for Freedom director Damien Curtis pointed to a Senate inquiry that found "a high degree of confusion" among people in the communities most affected by the government's measures."
* CAAMA: GRAEME MUNDINE ON STRONGER FUTURES BILLS WHICH ARE BEFORE THE SENATE THIS WEEK
- Audio Interview
Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association:
Graeme Mundine on Stronger Futures Bills which are before the Senate this week
http://caama.com.au/graeme-mundine-on-stronger-futures-bills
25 Jun 12: "A respected Aboriginal Catholic leader has warned the relationship Governments have with Aboriginal people will be set back decades if the Stronger Futures Bill is voted on favourably in the Senate. The Stronger Futures in the Northern Territory Bill has been labelled as a continuation of the Northern Territory Intervention... Executive Director of the Aboriginal Catholic Ministry and Bundjalung man Graeme Mundine was among those who presented a petition against the Stronger Futures bill to the Parliament last week."
- Related Audio
Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association:
CAAMA Radio News 22.6.12
http://caama.com.au/caama-radio-news-22-6-12
22 Jun 12: "A respected Aborignal Catholic leader has warned the relationship Governments have with Aborignal people will be set back decades if the Stronger Futures Bill is voted on favourably in the Senate."
* MICHELE MORGAN: 'STRONGER FUTURES', BUT WHAT ABOUT TODAY?
- Analysis / Opinion
Chifley’s Hill: 'Stronger Futures', but what about today?
http://www.chifleyshill.com.au/2012/06/stronger-futures-but-what-about-t...
22 Jun 12: "When are we going to learn that reform without genuine consultation does not work in Aboriginal communities, or any community? The recent introduction of the 'Stronger Futures' legislation to Federal Parliament is a slap in the face to Aboriginal peak bodies, community welfare groups and most of all to the Aboriginal community who have continually opposed this kind of blanket imposition of reform." Michelle Morgan, a Kamilaroi woman from North West NSW
* BENNELONG AND SURROUNDS RESIDENTS FOR RECONCILIATION OPPOSES THE STRONGER FUTURES LEGISLATION:
- Statement
Statement - Sydney Reconciliation Group
Bennelong and Surrounds Residents for Reconciliation:
'concerned Australians': http://concernedaustralians.com.au/media/stronger_futures_yolngu/Bennelo...
27 Jun 12: "Bennelong and Surrounds Residents for Reconciliation join the voices of over 43,000 people, made up of Aboriginal Nations, churches, peace groups, universities, TAFE colleges,
businesses, corporations and reconciliation groups, opposing the Stronger Futures legislation.
This legislation is thought to take away the dignity, autonomy and power of Aboriginal people and be incompatible with Human Rights.
The Intervention of June 2007 has already been criticised by U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, and U.N. Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Professor James Anaya, when they visited Australia several years ago. ... "
* RANZCP: Re: STRONGER FUTURES LEGISLATION
- Letter
The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP):
Re: Stronger Futures Legislation
'concerned Australians': http://concernedaustralians.com.au/media/stronger_futures_yolngu/Royal_A...
22 Jun 12: "I have read the statement by the Yolŋuw Makarr Dhuni dated 24 April 2012, to withdraw the Stronger Futures Bill on the basis that the approach utilised in this Bill continues to negatively impact on the social and emotional well being of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities.
The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) acknowledges the importance of consultation and engagement at the local community level to ensure optimal mental health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. ... "
See:
Background to support for the Yolngu statement
Last updated: 22 June 2012
http://indymedia.org.au/2012/06/10/background-to-support-for-the-yolngu-...
* "GHOST CITIZENS: WITNESSING THE INTERVENTION"
- Video
Respect and Listen: "Ghost Citizens: Witnessing the Intervention"
Exhibition at the The Cross Art Projects (from 7 June to 14 July 2012)
[scroll down page] http://www.respectandlisten.org/nt-intervention.html
"This video presents excerpts from a talk on Saturday 23 June.
Speakers:
- Jo Holder, Director of The Cross Arts Project
- Djon Mundine, Curator of the exhibition
- Paddy Gibson, Jumbunna Indigenous House of Learning, University of Technology Sydney
- Eva Cox, Jumbunna Indigenous House of Learning, University of Technology Sydney
For more information about the exhibition please visit
http://www.crossart.com.au/index.php/Current-Show/ "
* BACKGROUND TO 'STRONGER FUTURES' NEW NT INTERVENTION LAWS:
Last updated: 22 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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