Newsletter date: 27 April 2015
Contents:
* Analysis / Opinion: Mia Pepper, Eco-Shout: Radioactive racism in the Wild West - WA takes aim at remote communities
* Video Special report back: Paddy Gibson, Stop the Intervention: First Nations Peoples and Australian Government Policy - What happened to the Intervention?
[Paddy also discussed of how the policy architecture of the Intervention is expanding across the country to include the threat of closure of WA homelands]
* Photo Essay: Alex Bainbridge, Green Left: Perth rally resists closure of Aboriginal communities, police harassment
* Audio Interview: CAAMA Radio: Maori leader shows his support for Aboriginal people [Featuring Hone Harawira, the leader of New Zealand's Mana Party]
* Analysis / Opinion: Jack Wilkie-Jans, The Age: Learn from history, forced closure of remote communities not the solution
* Analysis / Opinion: Alex Bainbridge, Green Left: Stand up against community closures
* Analysis / Opinion: Scott Mitchell, VICE News: Australian Aboriginal Communities Under Threat of Closure Take Their Case to the UN
* Analysis / Opinion: Tyson Baird, Green Left: Why health care in remote communities is not a 'lifestyle choice'
* Upcoming Event - 26 May 2015, Perth: Jemma Nott, Green Left: Convergence to help Aboriginal communities fight against communities' closure [Featuring Grandmothers Against Removals]
* Upcoming Event Info: Locations of 1 May 2015 Protests, around Australia and Internationally, against forced closure of Aboriginal communities, as of 23 Apr 15: #SOSblakaustralia: https://www.greenleft.org.au/node/58824
* Upcoming Event Poster: Stop the Forced Closure of Aboriginal Communities in Australia, facebook: "We would like to confirm that that 2nd National Call of Action will be held Friday 1st May 2015."
* Facebook: Stop the Forced Closure of Aboriginal Communities in Australia: https://www.facebook.com/sosblakaustralia
* WGAR Background: Plans to close Aboriginal homelands / remote communities in WA and SA
* WGAR Background to the Northern Territory (NT) Intervention
* WGAR Background to 'Stronger Futures' new NT Intervention laws
WGAR News Public Google Group: https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en-GB#!forum/wgar-news
WGAR News - Working Group for Aboriginal Rights (Australia)
- Analysis / Opinion
Eco-Shout: Radioactive racism in the Wild West - WA takes aim at remote communities
Eco-Shout: http://www.ecoshout.org.au/blog/radioactive-racism-wild-west-wa-takes-ai...
The Stringer: http://thestringer.com.au/radioactive-racism-in-the-wild-west-wa-takes-a...
19 Apr 15: "Pushing Aboriginal people off their land for mining interests is nothing new in Western Australia, but Premier Barnett's plans to close 150 communities and gut the Aboriginal Heritage Act takes it to a new level, reports Mia Pepper. You’d be forgiven for thinking West Australia was the Wild West. The announcement from the WA Government to close 150 Aboriginal remote communities comes hot on the heels of plans to gut the Aboriginal Heritage Act. ... " By Mia Pepper
Mia Pepper - Eco-Shout
[scroll down page] http://www.ecoshout.org.au/blog/radioactive-racism-wild-west-wa-takes-ai...
"Mia Pepper is a long time anti-uranium campaigner with a strong focus on Indigenous rights. She's worked with Friends of the Earth on the campaign to shut down Roxby Downs uranium mine in South Australia and is currently the Nuclear Free Campaigner at the Conservation Council of Western Australia and Deputy Chair Mineral Policy Institute."
About us - Eco-Shout
http://www.ecoshout.org.au/about-us
"Eco-shout is a catalyst to action for environmental and social justice and a sustainable future - and anyone who wants to get more involved in their environment and community. Whether you want to find out what's happening around Australia, join in an event or campaign, find like-minded people to live with, volunteer or work in a social change organisation or launch your own campaign, Eco-shout will give you the info and connections you need to get involved. Find out how you can join in. ... "
Mia Pepper - The Stringer
http://thestringer.com.au/writer-4-703
"Mia Pepper works with the Conservation Council of Western Australia as the nuclear free campaigner and is a board member of the Mineral Policy Institute. ... Mia was and continues to be heavily influenced by the Aboriginal sovereignty movement in Australia, land rights and mining issues. It was the injustice of Australian law that allows mining to override community veto of mining projects that led her to the job fighting against uranium mining in Western Australia where she has been since 2010."
About Us - The Stringer
http://thestringer.com.au/about-us
"The Stringer's Editorial policy: Independent news media contributes to the unfolding landscape of human rights and social justice. It is The Stringer’s aim to provide every opportunity to the rise of voices that far too often are denied. If The Stringer believes in the importance of a story we will sustain coverage - this is what The Stringer terms through-care journalism. ... "
- Video Special report back
Stop the Intervention: First Nations Peoples and Australian Government Policy - What happened to the Intervention?
Special report back from Paddy Gibson on the effects of current government policies on First Nations Peoples communities.
http://stoptheintervention.org/past-events/20-apr-2015-what-happened-to-...
Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/125469889
Vimeo Q&A: https://vimeo.com/125813609
20 Apr 15: "Paddy Gibson has just returned from 12 months living in Alice Springs. At this special STICS meeting he gave a presentation looking at the continuing impacts of the NT Intervention, now known as 'Stronger Futures' on Aboriginal living conditions, incarceration and child removal rates. Paddy also discussed how the policy architecture of the Intervention is expanding across the country [with the threatened closure of WA Aboriginal homeland communities] and why the demand for a repeal of Intervention laws remains as important as ever."
For the event on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1577298605858310/
"Paddy Gibson is a senior researcher with the Jumbunna Indigenous House of Learning, University of Technology Sydney. He has lived in Alice Springs and travelled extensively in Central Australia researching the impact of State and Federal government policy on First Nations People. He is also an organiser with the Stop the Intervention Collective Sydney and co-editor of Solidarity magazine and Associate Producer of the epic documentary Utopia by John Pilger."
- Photo Essay
Green Left: Photo Essay: Perth rally resists closure of Aboriginal communities, police harassment
https://www.greenleft.org.au/node/58825
23 Apr 15: " ... Perth's rally against the forced closure of Aboriginal communities on April 23 began peacefully like any other. True, there were more police there than was necessary, but not enough to indicate the scale of intimidation and recklessness that was to come. ... After a smoking ceremony, Welcome to Country and cultural dancing, speakers began to address the crowd in front of banners saying that "Sovereignty was never ceded" and calling for a stop to the forced closure of Aboriginal communities. ... " By Alex Bainbridge, Perth
Alex Bainbridge - Green Left Weekly
https://www.greenleft.org.au/taxonomy/term/413
"Alex Bainbridge has been a socialist activist since 1990 when he first joined Resistance and then the Democratic Socialist Party. He was a founding member of the Socialist Alliance in 2001. His wide involvement in activist campaigns includes ... "
- Audio Interview
CAAMA Radio: Maori leader shows his support for Aboriginal people
http://caama.com.au/leader-of-the-mana-party-of-new-zealand-shows-his-su...
http://caama.com.au/tag/hone-harawira
23 Apr 15: "The Leader of New Zealand’s Mana Party, Hone Harawira is outspoken in his support of Aboriginal people in Western Australia. Mr. Harawira told CAAMA Radio that they need to work together and focus on the positives like coming together for marches to spread the message."
- Analysis / Opinion
The Age: Learn from history, forced closure of remote communities not the solution
http://www.theage.com.au/comment/learn-from-history-forced-closure-of-re...
22 Apr 15: "With the nation focused so heavily on the proposed closures of remote Aboriginal communities in Western Australia, and rightly so, it's time for Australians to realise that forcible community closures are nothing new to those living remotely.
In the Western Cape region of Cape York Peninsula in far north Queensland the then Queensland Government, which was led by Sir Frank Nicklin, razed the small coastal community of Mapoon to the ground. After forcibly removing residents at gunpoint they were shipped to different parts of the peninsula and Torres Strait Islands. ... " Jack Wilkie-Jans, an Aboriginal affairs advocate, artist and Traditional Owner from Cape York Peninsula, Queensland. He is the Deputy Chair of Cape York Sustainable Futures Inc. the Cape's peak body for economic, social and environmental development.
- Analysis / Opinion
Green Left: Stand up against community closures
https://www.greenleft.org.au/node/58841
25 Apr 15: "The Socialist Alliance stands in full solidarity with the burgeoning movement against the forced closure of remote Aboriginal communities in WA. This movement can win and if it does it will be a victory for all working people in Australia. ... The biggest beneficiaries of the community closures will be mining companies - in particular gas fracking companies - who want to expand their operations in the Kimberley where most of these communities are located. Australian workers have every reason to support the campaign to defend Aboriginal communities. ... " By Alex Bainbridge, a national co-convener of the Socialist Alliance.
- Analysis / Opinion
VICE News: Australian Aboriginal Communities Under Threat of Closure Take Their Case to the UN
https://news.vice.com/article/australian-aboriginal-communities-under-th...
24 Apr 15: " ... "The forced closure of indigenous communities [is] attempting once again to separate people from their land and culture," according to Anthony Watson, chairman on the Kimberley Lands Council (KLC), who spoke to VICE News after appearing at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in New York. "It's my first time here, and I've been surprised by the amount of support we've got," he said, relaying that indigenous delegates from around the world had been extremely enthusiastic in helping push the case that his organization had brought before the forum. ... " By Scott Mitchell
- Analysis / Opinion
Green Left: Why health care in remote communities is not a 'lifestyle choice'
https://www.greenleft.org.au/node/58554
21 Mar 15: "I have been privileged to work in Aboriginal health, in a rural centre of South Australia, for a number of years. The simplistic notion that people live in remote regions purely due to a lifestyle choice is far from reality. ... Moving Aboriginal people will (and does) have significant impacts on their health and wellbeing. Relocation to a new environment produces many challenges, due to the disconnection with country, language, family, friends, kinship and all things familiar. ... " By Tyson Baird
- Upcoming Event - 26 May 2015, Perth
Green Left: Convergence to help Aboriginal communities fight against communities' closure
https://www.greenleft.org.au/node/58843
25 Apr 15: "The fight against the WA government’s widely unpopular decision to close a number of remote Aboriginal communities and force Aboriginal people off their land received a further boost this week with news that activists are set to converge on the state. The Grandmothers Against Removals, a group established to respond to the continued Stolen Generation enforced by the current and previous federal governments, will converge on Perth on May 26 to lend a hand in the fight against the closures. ... " By Jemma Nott
- Upcoming Event Info
Locations of 1 May 2015 Protests, around Australia and Internationally, against forced closure of Aboriginal communities
International day of protest on May 1 against forced closure of Aboriginal communities
Green Left: https://www.greenleft.org.au/node/58824
23 Apr 15: "The campaign against the forced closure of Aboriginal communities continues with a second international day of action on May 1. The campaign is being coordinated by #SOSblakaustralia movement. Information below from #SOSblakaustralia. ... "
- Upcoming Event Poster
Stop the Forced Closure of Aboriginal Communities in Australia, facebook
https://www.facebook.com/sosblakaustralia/photos/a.1042299689120174.1073...
24 Mar 15: "We would like to confirm that that 2nd National Call of Action will be held Friday 1st May 2015. Actions will begin at 10am in the Kimberley but there will be other times for other states behind this and we will promote the information specific to the locations when confirmed. Any communities wishing to organise an action on this day, please contact us so that we can support you and provide resources."
Stop the Forced Closure of Aboriginal Communities in Australia
https://www.facebook.com/sosblakaustralia
- Background
WGAR Background: Plans to close Aboriginal homelands / remote communities in WA and SA
https://indymedia.org.au/2014/12/08/background-plans-to-close-aboriginal...
(last updated: 24 April 2015)
- Background
WGAR Background to the Northern Territory (NT) Intervention
https://indymedia.org.au/2012/04/22/background-to-the-northern-territory...
(last updated: 27 May 2014)
- Background
WGAR Background to 'Stronger Futures' new NT Intervention laws
https://indymedia.org.au/2012/04/22/background-to-stronger-futures-new-n...
(last updated: 30 May 2014)
- - -
WGAR: Working Group for Aboriginal Rights (Australia)
About WGAR News:
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Subscription to 'WGAR News' is free.
'WGAR News' monitors the media, including alternative media, focusing on:
* The Freedom Summit's National Freedom Movement;
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* the Aboriginal sovereignty movement and the Aboriginal tent embassies;
* Justice Reinvestment, Aboriginal imprisonment and Aboriginal Deaths in Custody;
* Aboriginal land rights and mining;
* Suicide and self-harm in Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander communities;
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'WGAR News' gives priority to grassroots Aboriginal voices and grassroots voices in solidarity with Aboriginal peoples' rights.
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