CONSTITUTIONAL recognition for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples seems to have captured the imagination of many white Australians, writes CHRIS GRAHAM. But are the motives really all pure?
April 1, 2013
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By Chris Graham
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You know something isn’t right when even the Australian Immigration Department is criticising immigration policy.
The Immigration Department's assessment of its own detention centre this past week has found what we've known all along - the conditions in the Manus Island asylum seeker processing centre are inhumane.1
It's time to close Manus for good. Will you sign the petition demanding both parties act to immediately shut down the Manus Island detention centre?
Courtesy of The Stringer - http://thestringer.com.au/first-uranium-mine-in-wa-may-mean-40-uranium-m...
Western Australia will be exporting uranium within two years after the Federal Government granted environmental approval to Toro Energy’s Wiluna project – To many people this was unexpected, including to Wiluna’s Aboriginal peoples and to anti-uranium mining and anti-nuclear advocates nationwide.
Courtesy of The Stringer - http://thestringer.com.au/cuts-to-single-parent-payments-lead-to-hardshi...
Gerry Georgatos - There are 630,000 Australian lone parent families with dependents – 84 per cent are single mothers and 16 per cent are single fathers. 54 per cent of these single parents have a youngest child less than nine years of age. Of the parents with a child less than 9 years of age 59 per cent were in some form of employment end of June 2011 according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (2011).
Gerry Georgatos - courtesy of The Stringer - http://thestringer.com.au/australias-pathway-to-poverty-bridging-visas/#... Photo - courtesy of The UN, Dadaab refugee camp, Kenya
The Australian Government’s hard on refugees policy is creating an underclass of people – many condemned to an itinerant lifestyle and many condemned to living on the streets.
According to the Department of Immigration and Citizenship since November 25, 2011, 12,765 people have been released from the detention centres and into community on bridging visas.
Gerry Georgatos - courtesy of The Stringer - http://thestringer.com.au/15-year-old-girl-sentenced-to-100-lashes-for-b...
In the tourist mecca of the Maldives, a teenage girl who was repeatedly raped by her stepfather has been sentenced to 100 lashes. There has been no public outcry by the world’s governments or by international public institutions. Human rights groups are outraged and social media is running the gauntlet to prevent the lashings.
Jennifer Kaeshagen - courtesy of The Stringer - http://thestringer.com.au/the-prime-ministers-apology-to-victims-of-forc...
On Thursday, 21 March, Prime Minister Julia Gillard delivered a national apology on behalf of the Australian Government to all Australians affected by removal policies and practices from 1932 to 1982 which resulted in forced adoptions. The exact figure of how many children were removed remains unknown but it is estimated that as many as 225,000 babies were removed throughout this time. Many adoptees may still not know this to have been the case.
On Sunday around 300 residents rallied in Campbelltown in western Sydney and called on the NSW state government and Federal Government to protect drinking water and drinking water catchments, and for local communities to protect their farmland and water resources from Coal seam gas (CSG) development. Jess Moore from Stop CSG Illawarra spoke passionately and outlined the campaign to stop coal seam gas mining in Sydney's water catchments and the threat it poses to the millions of people who live in greater Sydney area. Here is her speech with transcription.
With the ten year anniversary since Australian forces joined an international 'coalition of the willing' to invade Iraq coming next Monday March 18th, we are pleased to let you know about many events happening around Australia to mark the occasion.
Up to 1500 people attended a rally in Newcastle today in opposition to a fourth coal loading terminal being built. Gathering at Customs house at 10am, people marched to Civic Park, chanting 'our water, our health, more precious than your wealth' and 'one two three four, no to T4'. Protestors are concerned with the impact of coal mining on agriculture and water resources, coal dust pollution risks to public health, environmental concerns, and contribution to global climate change.
