WGAR News: Upcoming STICS Forum: First Nations Women Speak out for Treaty - Guest Speakers: Rosalie Kunoth-Monks, Amy McQuire, Amala Groom & Natalie Cromb

Newsletter date: 3 March 2015

Contents:

* Upcoming Event: Fri 20 March 2015 STICS Forum: First Nations Women Speak out for Treaty [Guest Speakers: Rosalie Kunoth-Monks, Amy McQuire, Amala Groom & Natalie Cromb]

* Manifesto: National Aboriginal Freedom Movement: Aboriginal Sovereign Manifesto of Demands

* Video: 'concerned Australians', YouTube: Treaties
* News Analysis: Amy McQuire, New Matilda: Fresh Push For Treaty Emerges From Shadow Of Recognise Campaign
* Messages: 'concerned Australians': Time to talk Treaties! Treaty Messages
* Compilation: Respect and Listen: Treaties [Includes event, videos, commentary, media coverage and further information]

* Analysis / Opinion: Amy McQuire, New Matilda: Peak Indigenous Body Acknowledges Resistance To Recognise Campaign
* Audio: Adam Evans with 98.9fm, NIRS: Celeste Liddle urges Treaties before constitutional recognition
* Analysis / Opinion: Amy McQuire, New Matilda: 'Unsettling Truths' In Pilger's Utopia Reach US Shores
* Analysis / Opinion: Amy McQuire, New Matilda: Time To Recognise Significant Aboriginal Wariness of Constitutional Reform

Background media coverage:

* Video: 98.9FM Brisbane: Watch the Let’s Talk Treaty discussion [Panelists include, Wayne Butcher, Monica Morgan, Warren Mundine & Nicole Watson, hosted by Tiga Bayles]
* Video: The Wheeler Centre: Intelligence Squared Debate: True Reconciliation Requires a Treaty [Panelists include, George Williams, Mark Yettica-Paulson, Mick Dodson, Peter Sutton, Tony Birch and Gregory Phillips, chaired by Michael Williams]
* Analysis / Opinion: Callum Clayton-Dixon, The Stringer: Treaties Are Agreements Between Equals
* Analysis / Opinion: Gerry Georgatos, The Stringer: Yalmay Yunupingu discusses call for Treaty
* Analysis / Opinion: Gerry Georgatos, The Stringer: Treaty
* Book: 'concerned Australians': In the Absence of Treaty
* Analysis / Opinion: George Williams, Sydney Morning Herald: Treaty with Australia's indigenous people long overdue
* Statement: Sovereign Council of Aboriginal Tent Embassy: 'The Black Line is drawn'
* WGAR Background: Treaties with Aboriginal Sovereign Nations of Australia

WGAR News Public Google Group: https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en-GB#!forum/wgar-news
WGAR News - Working Group for Aboriginal Rights (Australia)

- Upcoming Event

Forum: First Nations Women Speak out for Treaty

STICS Announce: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/stoptheintervention_announce/AyS...
STICS: http://www.stoptheintervention.org/
Respect and Listen: http://www.respectandlisten.org/treaty.html

"On 20th March, Stop the Intervention Collective Sydney will host a public forum in Redfern to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination 2015: First Nations Women Speak out for Treaty."

"Friday, 20 March, 5.30pm for a 6pm start;
Redfern Community Centre, 29–53 Hugo Street, Redfern NSW 2016"

"Guest Speakers:
* Rosalie Kunoth-Monks, Arrernte-Alyawarra Elder
* Amy McQuire, South Sea/Darumbal woman
* Amala Groom, Wiradjuri woman
* Natalie Cromb, Gamileraay woman
Facilitator: Jeff McMullen, journalist and film-maker"

"Treaty would recognise the sovereignty of the First Nations People over their land and enshrine the right of self-determination which was promised to them when Australia ratified the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights 40 years ago. The forum will also discuss the relationship between Treaty and the current campaign for constitutional recognition."

For the poster:
http://stoptheintervention.org/uploads/files_to_download/Past%20Events/T...
http://stoptheintervention.org/uploads/files_to_download/Past%20Events/T...

For the flyer: http://stoptheintervention.org/uploads/files_to_download/Past%20Events/T...

For the leaflet: http://stoptheintervention.org/uploads/files_to_download/Past%20Events/T...
or as A5: http://stoptheintervention.org/uploads/files_to_download/Past%20Events/T...

- Manifesto

National Aboriginal Freedom Movement: Aboriginal Sovereign Manifesto of Demands
SU: http://sovereignunion.mobi/content/aboriginal-sovereign-manifesto-demands
"'Day One' of the Sit-in was successful in gaining world attention, due to government 'spill' being moved forward by a day. The Aboriginal Sovereign Manifesto of Demands was delivered in person to both sides of the Commonwealth government.
The Manifesto begins with:
"We, the Aboriginal Sovereign Peoples with the National Aboriginal Freedom Movement demand that the Commonwealth of Australia begins negotiations to establish a time frame for our decolonisation, through Treaties under the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties with the legitimate authorised representatives of each Nation State. This will form the basis of the recovery framework for the healing from the devastation wreaked upon Aboriginal Nations and Peoples by State sanctioned genocide and gross violations of human rights. ... ""

- Video

'concerned Australians', YouTube: Treaties
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nU_H0oIQy60
Respect and Listen: http://www.respectandlisten.org/treaty.html
18 Aug 14: "The message from very many Aboriginal Peoples in Australia to the Australian Government is that the time is long overdue for genuine negotiation on treaties."
"Aboriginal Peoples of Australia have been waiting for more than 200 years for formal and binding agreements with Government. They want the opportunity to take control over their lives and to determine their futures through legal agreements, compacts, covenants or treaties established in law and enforceable through the courts."

- News Analysis

New Matilda: Fresh Push For Treaty Emerges From Shadow Of Recognise Campaign
https://newmatilda.com/2014/08/19/fresh-push-treaty-emerges-shadow-recog...
19 Aug 14: "While currently the focus is on constitutional reform, a new video renews calls for treaty with First Nations, writes Amy McQuire. A new YouTube campaign, narrated by Aboriginal actress Kylie Belling and featuring a number of strong Aboriginal women, has been launched to reinvigorate the call for a treaty. The group Concerned Australians ... launched the YouTube video today. In it, Ms Belling, who starred in The Sapphires and The Fringe Dwellers, calls on governments to finally recognise Aboriginal control over their own lives and futures. ... " By Amy McQuire, a senior reporter with New Matilda. She's the former editor of Tracker magazine and the National Indigenous Times.

- Messages

'concerned Australians': Time to talk Treaties! Treaty Messages
'cA': http://www.concernedaustralians.com.au/#TREATYMSG
'cA': http://www.concernedaustralians.com.au/Treaty_Messages.html
Respect and Listen: http://www.respectandlisten.org/treaty-messages.html
22 Feb 15: ""Australia is the only Commonwealth country that never signed an official treaty with its Indigenous peoples." Sir William Deane, Australian Governor-General (1996–2001), at Inaugural Vincent Lingiari Memorial Lecture (August 1996)
Time to talk Treaties!"
16 Feb 15: "Aboriginal Peoples of Australia have been waiting more than 200 years for Treaties. Time to talk Treaties!"
9 Feb 15: "Treaties and Constitutional Recognition are both important issues. They are independent of each other. There is no particular order in which these important changes should be made.  
"Canada has its centuries-old treaties, and more modern treaties today, and more recently, constitutional recognition of Aboriginal Canadians in the life and history of that nation." Mick Dodson, July 2007"

[Ed. note: There will be more Treaty Messages from 'concerned Australians' forthcoming. They will be added the 'cA' and Respect and Listen websites in the upcoming weeks.]

- Compilation

Respect and Listen: Treaties
http://www.respectandlisten.org/treaty.html
[Includes event, videos, commentary, media coverage and further information]

- Analysis / Opinion

New Matilda: Peak Indigenous Body Acknowledges Resistance To Recognise Campaign
https://newmatilda.com//2015/02/20/peak-indigenous-body-acknowledges-res...
20 Feb 15: "The National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples says opposition is being fuelled by anger over other issues in First Nations communities. Amy McQuire reports. ... The Congress also noted that a referendum on constitutional reform still does not satisfy the aspirations within First Nations communities to "our rights as peoples" and for sovereignty, which is "not without substance". Constitutional reform would also not satisfy Australia’s international rights obligations, ... " By Amy McQuire

- Audio

NIRS: Celeste Liddle urges Treaties before constitutional recognition
http://nirs.org.au/blog/NEWS/article/35544/Celeste-Liddle-urges-Treaties...
29 Aug 14: "A First Nations rights campaigner says she believes writing Indigenous Australians into the Constitution is a compromise. ... Arrernte woman Celeste Liddle (pictured) told 98.9fm discussions on Treaties should be held before making changes to the Constitution." Adam Evans with 98.9fm

- Analysis / Opinion

New Matilda: 'Unsettling Truths' In Pilger's Utopia Reach US Shores
https://www.newmatilda.com/2014/08/20/unsettling-truths-pilgers-utopia-r...
20 Aug 14: "John Pilger's Utopia is earning positive reviews in the United States, suggesting that while Australian audiences may find the truth hard to swallow, international concern over Indigenous rights abuses is growing, writes Amy McQuire ... "This film makes a powerful case for a genuine Treaty between Aborigines and the federal government to end the injustices that have afflicted Australia's First Nations since European colonization began in 1788." ... " By Amy McQuire

- Analysis / Opinion

New Matilda: Time To Recognise Significant Aboriginal Wariness of Constitutional Reform
https://www.newmatilda.com/2014/08/18/time-recognise-significant-aborigi...
18 Aug 14: " ... While Aboriginal people have rallied under the banners of land rights and treaty, pounding pavements and pulling down parliamentary fences, this current incarnation of "constitutional reform" was dreamt up by John Howard ... while they all continued the greatest Aboriginal rights abuse in decades - the NT intervention. ... What happens to the momentum for change, for true land justice, for a treaty? ... " By Amy McQuire

Background media coverage:

- Video

98.9FM Brisbane: Watch the Let’s Talk Treaty discussion
http://www.989fm.com.au/podcasts/lets-talk/watch-the-lets-talk-treaty-di...
http://www.bimavision.com.au/project/lets-talk-treaty/
https://vimeo.com/88559908
10 Mar 14: "Let’s Talk Treaty panelists include, Wayne Butcher, Monica Morgan, Warren Mundine & Nicole Watson, hosted by Tiga Bayles."
"We all know Yothu Yindi’s hit song Treaty. But what is Treaty? When it comes to relations between Indigenous peoples and colonial powers, treaties are simply formal agreements that set down the terms and conditions by which two or more groups can coexist. The British Empire signed treaties with many of the tribes of Americas, and the Maori of New Zealand. But no treaty was ever signed with the First Nations here."

- Video

The Wheeler Centre: Intelligence Squared Debate: True Reconciliation Requires a Treaty
http://wheelercentre.com/videos/video/intelligence-squared-debate-true-r...
12 Nov 13: "Chaired by Wheeler Centre director Michael Williams, with speakers George Williams, Mark Yettica-Paulson, Mick Dodson, Peter Sutton, Tony Birch and Gregory Phillips."
" ... Many believe that a treaty is essential - our neighbour New Zealand and contemporary Canada have established treaties, recognised by the UN ... In this video, our panel debates the need for a treaty – and the way to achieve true reconciliation."

- Analysis / Opinion

The Stringer: Treaties Are Agreements Between Equals
http://thestringer.com.au/treaties-are-agreements-between-equals-7375
3 May 14: "The Australian’s headline ‘Abbott open to treaties with Aboriginal nations’ might shock, confuse and cause many Aboriginal people to be justifiably suspicious.  All of a sudden the conservative Coalition Government is welcoming discussion about something we have demanded for decades, something former Prime Minister Bob Hawke promised to deliver by 1990, and a proposal that the current federal Labor opposition has labelled "stupid". ... The nature of any treaty process must be owned by Aboriginal people on the ground." By Callum Clayton-Dixon

- Analysis / Opinion

The Stringer: Yalmay Yunupingu discusses call for Treaty
http://thestringer.com.au/yalmay-yunupingu-learns-of-the-call-for-treaty...
31 Jan 14: "When the chair of the Indigenous Advisory Council, Warren Mundine went national with his now famous call for Treaty between First Nation peoples and the Australian Government it took four days for the news to reach Yirrkala and Nhulunbuy. Four days passed before Yalmay Yunupingu learned of the call for Treaty. I phoned Ms Yunupingu to discuss her late husband’s vision and was surprised to find myself breaking the news to her." By Gerry Georgatos, a life-long human rights and social justice campaigner, a multi-award winning investigative journalist

- Analysis / Opinion

The Stringer: Treaty
http://thestringer.com.au/treaty-6389
24 Jan 14: "Australia wide, there is a rise in calls for Treaty. Two surveys by The National Indigenous Times and The Stringer on whether Treaty is the preferred way forward for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples overwhelmingly cried out for Treaty. One survey asked 120 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people across the nation if Treaty is the way forward, and the staggering result was that 117 said yes. Many said any Treaty had to be defined by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and the final draft voted on by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples only and that it must not be decided on by some elite nor by some elected body. Many said that Treaty is the only way to reduce the "identity crisis" that has led to the appalling suicide crisis that this generation is enduring." By Gerry Georgatos

- Book

'concerned Australians': In the Absence of Treaty
'cA': http://www.concernedaustralians.com.au/#ITAT
Respect and Listen: http://www.respectandlisten.org/nt-intervention/concerned-australians/in...
"This book explores the current inadequacy of the process used in engaging with Aboriginal people, which results in control slipping away from them. It provides concise but incisive account from recent reports about the reasons for the ongoing and growing frustration of many Aboriginal people in the NT. In doing so it hints at possibly the only solution - treaties."

Book review by The Hon Alastair Nicholson AO RFD QC:
'cA': http://www.concernedaustralians.com.au/media/ITAT_Review_Alastair_Nichol...
Respect and Listen: http://www.respectandlisten.org/uploads/downloads/ca/ITAT-Review-AN.pdf

To order the book please click here: http://www.concernedaustralians.com.au/media/ITAT_order_form.doc

- Analysis / Opinion

Sydney Morning Herald: Treaty with Australia's indigenous people long overdue
http://www.smh.com.au/comment/treaty-with-australias-indigenous-people-l...
12 Nov 13: "Treaties and other forms of agreements are accepted around the world as the means of reaching a settlement between indigenous peoples and those who have settled their lands. Treaties can be found in countries such as the US, Canada and New Zealand. Indeed, in nations such as Canada, new treaties are still being made. Australia is the exception. We are now the only Commonwealth nation that does not have a treaty with its indigenous peoples. We have never entered into negotiations with them about the taking of their lands or their place in this nation." George Williams, Professor of Law at the University of NSW

- Statement

Sovereign Council of Aboriginal Tent Embassy: 'The Black Line is drawn'
[scroll down page] SU: http://sovereignunion.mobi/content/anderson-finding-solidarity-core-resi...
31 Mar 98: "The Old Country is now talking through the Fire. Be Aware. It is time to listen to the ancient voice, the Sovereign Voice, the ancient energy of the land. This is the true government, the true authority for this country. All members of the parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia are invited to begin the process of becoming lawful in this land."

- Background

WGAR Background to Treaties with Aboriginal Sovereign Nations of Australia
https://indymedia.org.au/2014/02/16/background-to-treaties-with-aborigin...
(last updated: 13 May 2014)

- - -

WGAR: Working Group for Aboriginal Rights (Australia)

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