WGAR News: Kimberley Land Council to ask UN forum to condemn Indigenous community closures: Calla Wahlquist, The Guardian

Newsletter date: 12 April 2015

Contents:

* Video: Rachael Thornton, The Feed, SBS: Indigenous communities facing closure [Featuring Aboriginal people from WA homelands]
* Personal Story: Samantha Martin, Sunday Style, news.com.au: It’s more than just a 'lifestyle choice', it’s my home
* Analysis / Opinion: Calla Wahlquist, The Guardian: Kimberley Land Council to ask UN forum to condemn Indigenous community closures
* Analysis / Opinion: Michelle Lovegrove & Andrea Booth, NITV: Indigenous MP Linda Burney condems WA remote community closures

* Analysis / Opinion: Bridie Jabour, The Guardian: SA Indigenous figures fear funding dispute could lead to 'cultural genocide'
* Analysis / Opinion: Catholic Communications, Sydney Archdiocese: Funding Cuts to Remote WA and SA Communities Will Destroy Aboriginal Life
* News Analysis: Natalie Whiting, ABC News: Remote SA Aboriginal communities reassured they will stay open in face of national funding cuts
* Audio: Natalie Whiting, The World Today: SA Aboriginal groups assured communities won't close

* WGAR News: Breaking News - 10 April 2015: Over Thirteen Thousand People Shut down Melbourne: CAAMA

* 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

* WGAR Background: Plans to close Aboriginal homelands / remote communities in WA and SA

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

- Video

The Feed, SBS: Indigenous communities facing closure [Featuring Aboriginal people from WA homelands]
http://www.sbs.com.au/news/thefeed/story/indigenous-communities-facing-c...
8 Apr 15: "As the federal and state governments withdraw funding from indigenous communities in Western Australia, many lives are in stuck in limbo." By Rachael Thornton

- Personal Story

Sunday Style, news.com.au: It’s more than just a 'lifestyle choice', it’s my home
http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/sunday-style/its-more-than-just-a-lifes...
8 Apr 15: "I WAS raised in East Kimberley, northern Western Australia, in a small community called Doon Doon Station, population about 50. There was one dirt road in, cold running water and electricity most of the time. We lived in a very basic three-bedroom house with a concrete floor and corrugated iron roof. There were usually between 15 and 20 of us - family, foster kids and a blind uncle who needed caring for. It was a struggle sometimes to feed everyone, but it was beautiful growing up with family all around. ... " Samantha Martin

- Analysis / Opinion

The Guardian: Kimberley Land Council to ask UN forum to condemn Indigenous community closures
http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/apr/09/kimberley-land-cou...
9 Apr 15: "Land council says proposed closure of up to 150 Aboriginal communities contravenes UN declaration on the rights of the Indigenous person ... Representatives from the Kimberley Land Council will travel to New York for the 20 April meeting of the permanent forum on Indigenous issues and will propose an intervention condemning both the proposed closures and the changes to the Aboriginal Heritage Act, which they say are contravene the UN declaration on the rights of the Indigenous person. ... " Calla Wahlquist

Kimberley Land Council - About Us
http://www.klc.org.au/about-us
"The Kimberley Land Council was formed in 1978 by Kimberley Aboriginal people as a political land rights organisation. Today, we have grown to become the peak Indigenous body in the Kimberley region working with Aboriginal people to secure native title recognition, conduct conservation and land management activities and develop cultural business enterprises. ... "

- Analysis / Opinion

NITV: Indigenous MP Linda Burney condems WA remote community closures
http://www.nitv.org.au/fx-story.cfm?sid=B73D7CD2-01AC-FA0D-743C3F0F7E46CA42
" ... NSW Deputy Labor Leader Linda Burney has spoken out for the first time against the proposed closures of remote communities in Western Australia - and possibly South Australia. ... The Canterbury MP says closing Indigenous communities is reminiscent of Australia’s past annihilation policies of the 1950s and 1960s, such as the 1961 Policy of Assimilation adopted by federal and state governments which intended Indigenous people to practice the same living manner as non-Indigenous Australians. ... " By Michelle Lovegrove and Andrea Booth

- Analysis / Opinion

The Guardian: SA Indigenous figures fear funding dispute could lead to 'cultural genocide'
http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/apr/09/sa-indigenous-figu...
9 Apr 15: "Yalata Community Incorporated accuses the state and federal governments of a lack of consultation that could destroy communities ... Indigenous communities facing closure in South Australia have accused the federal and state governments of not consulting Aboriginal people over funding issues, as fears grow that a standoff could spark "cultural genocide" in the state. Changes in funding to Indigenous organisations through the Indigenous Advancement Strategy (IAS) as well as changes to municipal funding ... " Bridie Jabour, a reporter for Guardian Australia

- Analysis / Opinion

Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney: Funding Cuts to Remote WA and SA Communities Will Destroy Aboriginal Life
http://www.sydneycatholic.org/news/latest_news/2015/201548_1299.shtml
8 Apr 15: "The Federal Government's decision to cease funding essential services to remote Aboriginal communities in South Australia and Western Australia will lead to the forced closure of many remote communities and signal the destruction of Aboriginal life in Australia, according to Sister Michele Madigan rsj. Sr Michele has worked closely with Aboriginal communities in South Australia over many years and is deeply concerned that the Federal Government's funding cut backs will make many remote communities unsustainable, and force Aboriginal families from their ancestral lands. ... " Catholic Communications, Sydney Archdiocese

"The vision and mission of the Catholic Church in Sydney is the same for the Catholic Church Universal. It is the Church’s mission to be a sign and instrument of communion with God and of unity among all people."

- News Analysis

ABC News: Remote SA Aboriginal communities reassured they will stay open in face of national funding cuts
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-04-08/sa-remote-communities-safe-from-cl...
8 Apr 15: "Remote Aboriginal communities in South Australia have been given reassurances by the federal and state governments that they will remain open in the face of national funding cuts. ... Hundreds of people protested at SA's Parliament as part of a national day of action and a crisis meeting was held by Aboriginal leaders from across the state. The Aboriginal Lands Trust (ABL) said it had now spoken with state and federal Indigenous affairs ministers and had been assured that no communities would close." By Natalie Whiting, a radio, online and television reporter and was one of the ABC's 2014 Andrew Olle Scholars. She has worked as a journalist in Broken Hill, Orange and Sydney. She is currently the South Australian reporter for AM, The World Today and PM.

- Audio

The World Today: SA Aboriginal groups assured communities won't close
http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2015/s4212457.htm
8 Apr 15: "Aboriginal groups in South Australia say they've been told by state and federal governments that no remote communities will be closed in the state. The Aboriginal Lands Trust says it has now spoken with the state and federal Indigenous affairs ministers and has been assured that won't happen. But it's still not clear where funding for the communities will come from. In Adelaide, Natalie Whiting reports. ... "

- Breaking News

WGAR News: Breaking News - 10 April 2015: Over Thirteen Thousand People Shut down Melbourne: CAAMA
https://indymedia.org.au/2015/04/11/wgar-news-breaking-news-10-april-201...
11 Apr 15: "Contents:
* Photos, Videos & Media: 10 April 2015 Marches in Melbourne & Sydney: Stop the Forced Closure of Aboriginal Communities in Australia, facebook
* Audio Interview: Van Nguyen & Sacha Payne, SBS News: Protests over plans to close remote communities [Van Nguyen spoke to Sacha Payne from the Melbourne rally]
* Video: David Hurley, Herald Sun: Flinders Street protest causing traffic, commuter chaos
* Breaking News & Photos: CAAMA: Over Thirteen Thousand People Shut down Melbourne
* Breaking News: ABC News: Thousands rally in Melbourne in support of remote Aboriginal communities
* Breaking News: Aisha Dow, The Age: Protests bring city roads to standstill
* Breaking News: Skye News: Aboriginal protest disrupts Melb CBD
* Breaking News: SBS News: Hundreds protest against WA closures in Melbourne, Sydney
* Video: NITV News: We Want the World to Know: Rallies Continue Against Forced Closures of Aboriginal Communities
* Breaking News: Brittany Ruppert, SMH: 800 people march in Sydney protest against forced closure of remote Indigenous communities
* News Analysis: Green Left: Good news: Victorian council opposes closures of Aboriginal communities
* News Analysis: Thom Mitchell, New Matilda: Marches Today In Sydney, Melbourne Against Forced Closures Of Aboriginal Communities
* Photos: Citizenside France: Noosa: Protesters condemn community closures outside Abbott's lunch
* 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."
* WGAR Background: Plans to close Aboriginal homelands / remote communities in WA and SA"

- 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."

- Facebook

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: 7 April 2015)

- - -

WGAR: Working Group for Aboriginal Rights (Australia)

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'WGAR News' monitors the media, including alternative media, focusing on:

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WGAR: Working Group for Aboriginal Rights (Australia)