Newsletter date: 6 April 2013
Contents:
* Amnesty Action: Stop universal rent deductions on Aboriginal homelands
* SBS Radionews Audio: Homeless NT people 'having rent deducted'
* Amnesty NSW free screening of John Pilger’s seminal documentary, 'The Secret Country' - Mon 8 April 2013
* johnpilger.com : The films and journalism of John Pilger: The Secret Country: The First Australians Fight Back
* Gerry Georgatos, The Stringer: From Secret Country to Forgotten Peoples
* Jon Altman, Tracker: From "Territory of Exception" to "Exceptional Territory"?
* The Wire: NT dumps Indigenous affairs portfolio
* SBS Radionews Audio: Indigenous people 'abandoned by Labor'
* Nicola Butler, The Stringer: Butler calls for an end to the tyranny of our youth seeking Confirmation of Aboriginality
* Other articles
* AMNESTY ACTION: STOP UNIVERSAL RENT DEDUCTIONS ON ABORIGINAL HOMELANDS
- Take Action
Amnesty International Australia: Stop universal rent deductions on Aboriginal homelands
http://www.amnesty.org.au/action/action/31377/
"In 2009, the Australian Government changed housing policy on Aboriginal homelands in the Northern Territory so that people without a house would stop having rent deducted from their income. The problem is that in 2013 -- four years after the policy change -- many people in NT are still paying for housing they don’t live in, on land that their communities own. And despite commitments made by government and Centrelink to stop the deductions, there's no change in sight. This delay is becoming outrageous. Email Jenny Macklin, Minister for Indigenous Affairs, and tell her that enough is enough -- it's time for government to honour its commitments to all people living on Aboriginal homelands."
* SBS RADIONEWS AUDIO: HOMELESS NT PEOPLE 'HAVING RENT DEDUCTED'
- Audio Interview
* SBS Radionews Podcasts: Homeless NT people 'having rent deducted'
By Natalie Ahmat
http://www.sbs.com.au/podcasts/Podcasts/radionews/episode/261240/Homeles...
4 Apr 13: "Amnesty International says homeless people living in remote Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory are having rent deducted from their incomes. The group estimates that about 500 communities are affected by the policy. It's calling on the federal government to honour a 2009 commitment to stop universal rent deductions from people living in so-called homelands communities. NITV's Natalie Ahmat has spoken to Sarah Marland from Amnesty, who says many people in remote Aboriginal communities are living in difficulty."
- Related Video
NITV News - 4 April part 1
http://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/video/24641091518/NITV-News-4-April-part-1
4 Apr 13: [Sarah Marland from Amnesty on universal rent deduction - right at beginning of clip.]
* AMNESTY NSW FREE SCREENING OF JOHN PILGER'S SEMINAL DOCUMENTARY, 'THE SECRET COUNTRY' - MON 8 APRIL 2013
- Upcoming Event
Event: Mon 8 April 2013: Chippendale, Sydney, NSW
Meaningful Movies:
The Secret Country - The First Australians Fight Back
"Amnesty NSW and the Demand Dignity Network
invite you to a free screening of John Pilger’s
seminal documentary, The Secret Country-
The First Australians Fight Back. Examining the
history of the persecution of Indigenous Australians,
this 1985 film explores issues that are still
pertinent to current dialogue surrounding
Indigenous people’s rights in Australia."
"A special guest speaker will introduce the
film and be available for discussion afterwards."
Special guest speaker:
Sue Gillett, Bankstown Aboriginal Activist & STICS member
Flyer: http://www.respectandlisten.org/uploads/downloads/Misc/The-Secret-countr...
Event details: [scroll down page] http://www.respectandlisten.org/
Event details: http://indymedia.org.au/free-screening-of-john-pilger%E2%80%99s-the-secr...
Event details: http://www.amnesty.org.au/nsw/event/31334/
* JOHNPILGER.COM : THE FILMS AND JOURNALISM OF JOHN PILGER: THE SECRET COUNTRY: THE FIRST AUSTRALIANS FIGHT BACK
- Video
johnpilger.com : The films and journalism of John Pilger: The Secret Country: The First Australians Fight Back
http://johnpilger.com/videos/the-secret-country-the-first-australians-fi...
"1985. The shameful history of persecution of the Aborigines in Australia."
- Related Bio
ABC The Drum Opinion: John Pilger
http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/john-pilger-56810.html
"His numerous documentaries on Australia, notably The Secret Country (1983), the bicentary trilogy The Last Dream (1988) and Welcome to Australia (1999) both celebrated and revealed much of his own country's 'forgotten past', especially its indigenous past and present. He has won an Emmy and a BAFTA for his documentaries, which have also won numerous US and European awards, such as as the Royal Television Society's Best Documentary."
- Related Reflection
new illuminati: The Secret Country: The First Australians Fight Back
Return to a Secret Country by John Pilger
http://nexusilluminati.blogspot.com.au/2011/01/secret-country-first-aust...
"There is currently a liberal clarion call in Australia for a Bill of Rights, and the republican movement is stirring again. These debates are meaningless until white Australia summons the moral and political imagination to offer its first people a genuine treaty, as well as universal land rights and a proper share of the country’s resources. And respect. Only then will this fortunate society earn the respect it so often craves by other means. On 4 November 2009, John Pilger received the Sydney Peace Prize, Australia’s international human rights award. A Secret Country, his best-selling history of Australia published 20 years ago, remains in print (Vintage Books)."
- Related Book and Book Reviews
good reads: A Secret Country: The Hidden Australia by John Pilger
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/343541.A_Secret_Country
"This study takes the reader beyond the euphemistic and romantic popular misconceptions of Australia to reveal the often invisible past and the present subterfuge of the country. The author recognizes that since its very beginning the history of white Australia has been shrouded in secrecy and silence. He remarks that it is a country with perhaps more cenotaphs per head of population than any other and not one stands for those aborigines who fought and died for their land. After the bicentennial "Celebration of a Nation" the racial and political tragedy of the aboriginal people, from whom Australia was taken violently 200 years ago, continues. ... "
* GERRY GEORGATOS, THE STRINGER: FROM SECRET COUNTRY TO FORGOTTEN PEOPLES
- Analysis / Opinion
The Stringer: From Secret Country to Forgotten Peoples
http://thestringer.com.au/from-secret-country-to-forgotten-peoples/
19 Mar 13: " ...In 1983 world-renowned investigative journalist and documentary maker John Pilger produced ‘The Secret Country.’ In 1985 he said, “The secret history of Australia is a historical conspiracy of silence. Written history has long applied selectivity to what it records, largely ignoring the shameful way that the Aborigines were, and continue to be, treated.” In 2013 we do not continue to have a Secret Country as much as we have Forgotten Peoples. This is not an imputation as much as it is an indictment of our Governments. ... " By Gerry Georgatos
* JON ALTMAN, TRACKER: FROM "TERRITORY OF EXCEPTION" TO "EXCEPTIONAL TERRITORY"?
- Analysis / Opinion
agendaTracker: From "Territory of Exception" to "Exceptional Territory"?
http://tracker.org.au/2013/04/from-territory-of-exception-to-exceptional...
3 Apr 13: "NATIONAL: On March 13 Adam Giles became the first Indigenous government leader in Australian history when elected Chief Minister of the Northern Territory by a majority of his CLP parliamentary colleagues. ... What is unusual about the meteoric rise of Adam Giles is that it required the support of the four other Indigenous members of the government all representing rural electorates. This is not as straightforward as it may seem because they are all Indigenous Territorians born and bred, Giles is from NSW and has only lived in the Territory since 2005." By Jon Altman, professor in economics/anthropology, Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research, Australian National University "He has met Adam Giles when he lived in Canberra."
- Related Audio
Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association:
http://caama.com.au/radio#tabs-6
http://caama.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/am-5-04.mp3
5 Apr 13: "The Northern Territory Chief Minister has shared his vision which he believes will allow Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory escape welfare dependency."
* THE WIRE: NT DUMPS INDIGENOUS AFFAIRS PORTFOLIO
- Audio
The Wire: NT dumps Indigenous affairs portfolio
Produced by Daniel Fitzgerald
http://www.thewire.org.au/storyDetail.aspx?ID=10206
4 Apr 13: "Northern Territory Chief Minister Adam Giles has abolished the Department of Indigenous Advancement in his new cabinet. The decision is aimed at making indigenous affairs a greater part of mainstream politics. However there are concerns that losing the portfolio will create a lack of accountability in indigenous issues.
Featured in story:
* Nigel Scullion, Country Liberal Party Senator for the Northern Territory
* Tom Calma, co-chair of Reconciliation Australia"
* SBS RADIONEWS AUDIO: INDIGENOUS PEOPLE 'ABANDONED BY LABOR'
- Audio Interview
* SBS Radionews Podcasts: Indigenous people 'abandoned by Labor'
By Greg Dyett
http://www.sbs.com.au/podcasts/Podcasts/radionews/episode/261256/Indigen...
4 Apr 13: "A former leader of the now defunct Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission, Geoff Clark, says Aboriginal people feel they've been abandoned by the Gillard government. Geoff Clark led ATSIC until it was disbanded by the Howard government in 2004. Mr Clark has told Greg Dyett the Labor Party has deserted Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders."
* NICOLA BUTLER, THE STRINGER: BUTLER CALLS FOR AN END TO THE TYRANNY OF OUR YOUTH SEEKING CONFIRMATION OF ABORIGINALITY
- Analysis / Opinion
The Stringer: Butler calls for an end to the tyranny of our youth seeking Confirmation of Aboriginality
http://thestringer.com.au/butler-calls-for-an-end-to-the-tyranny-of-our-...
5 Apr 13: "Brian Butler yesterday posted on Lateral Love Australia the following message calling on the National Congress of Australia’s First People to address a dire situation for our youth:
"I am at my wits end! I have reached my tether at the almost daily request for support from our young Aboriginal and Islander (including the Torres Strait) youth who are continually experiencing rejection from Aboriginal Organisations when they are seeking Confirmation of Aboriginality. The young people this is happening to are the current children of the stolen generations and their grandchildren. It must stop Now! ... "" By Nicola Butler
* OTHER ARTICLES:
- Audio Interview
Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association: Damien Miller to be first Aboriginal Ambassador.
http://caama.com.au/damien-miller-to-be-first-aboriginal-ambassador
4 Apr 13: "Foreign affairs minister Bob Carr has recently announced Mr Damien Miller to become the Australia’s next ambassador to Denmark with non-resident accreditation, replacing Mr James Choi. Mr Miller will be the first Indigenous Australian to be appointed as head of an overseas mission. He is expected to take up his appointment in May 2013. Mikaela Simpson joins him to talk about who he is, where he is from and about his latest title."
- - -
About WGAR News:
http://indymedia.org.au/2012/04/30/about-wgar-news-working-group-for-abo...
Subscription to 'WGAR News' is free.
'WGAR News' monitors the media, including alternative media, focusing on:
* the Australian Federal government intervention into Northern Territory (NT) Aboriginal communities;
* the Aboriginal sovereignty movement and the Aboriginal tent embassies;
* other Aboriginal rights issues; and
* upcoming Aboriginal rights events around Australia.
'WGAR News' publishes information and opinions from a wide range of sources.
These opinions expressed are not necessarily the opinions of WGAR.
The e-newsletters include media releases, opinion pieces, news items, audio, videos and events.
Subscribers can expect to receive about 7 e-newsletters each week.
To subscribe, email wgar.news@gmail.com and include the words "subscribe WGAR News" in the message header.
To unsubscribe, email wgar.news@gmail.com and include the words "unsubscribe WGAR News" in the message header.
Sample WGAR News e-newsletters:
http://indymedia.org.au/2013/01/03/about-wgar-news-sample-wgar-news-e-ne...
- - -
WGAR events postings:
http://indymedia.org.au/2013/01/03/about-wgar-news-wgar-events-postings
WGAR background info web-pages:
http://indymedia.org.au/2013/01/03/about-wgar-news-wgar-background-info-...
- - -
You can also subscribe to our second list 'Contact WGAR' which provides a point of contact and includes occasional activities and events.
To subscribe, email contactwgar@gmail.com and include the words "subscribe WGAR Contact" in the message header.
- - -
WGAR: Working Group for Aboriginal Rights (Australia)
WGAR Website: http://wgar.wordpress.com/