Newsletter date: 26 November 2013
Contents:
* Sovereign Union: Sovereign Union Communique of 24 November 2013
* Ghillar (Michael Anderson), Sovereign Union: Sovereign Union and Our Political Future
* Callum Clayton-Dixon, Tracker: Sovereignty: not a radical concept
* Background to the Aboriginal sovereignty movement
* Michael Mansell, The Guardian: An Indigenous female prime minister? Fairer representation would be a start
* Michael Mansell, Tasmanian Times: Mansell welcomes Bill Shorten's call for Aboriginal quotas - and suggests alternative idea
* Nova Peris, The Stringer: Senator Nova Peris' maiden speech
* Gerry Georgatos, The Stringer: Australia's Federal Parliaments still reflect a White Australia
* SNAICC News: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples Youth Human Rights and Advocacy Summit
* Let's Talk's Tiga Bayles interviews Bill Gammage, author of 'The Biggest Estate on Earth', researcher of Aboriginal land management at the time of contact 1788
* Henry Reynolds, Inside Story: Forgotten war
* SOVEREIGN UNION: SOVEREIGN UNION COMMUNIQUE OF 24 NOVEMBER 2013
- Communique
Sovereign Union: Sovereign Union Communique of 24 November 2013
http://nationalunitygovernment.org/pdf/2013/131125-SU%20Gathering%20Comm...
http://nationalunitygovernment.org/content/sovereign-union-moves-forward...
24 Nov 13: "* Seventeen Nations were represented at the inaugural Gathering of Nations, held in the House of Representatives in Old Parliament House and at the Aboriginal Embassy, Canberra. Three of these Nations have already declared their continuing independence and pre-existing Statehood. They are the Murrawarri Republic; the Euahlayi Peoples Republic and the Republic of Mbarbaram, Atherton Tablelands, Queensland.
* Pangarte Rosalie Kunoth-Monks of the Alyewarre Nation and Ghillar Michael Anderson, Head of State of the Euahlayi Nation, were chosen unanimously as joint head spokespersons for the Sovereign Union on behalf of the Nations present.
* The Sovereign Union provides the umbrella organisation for Nations that have declared their independence, and assists other Nations in the process of becoming independent. ...
* The Sovereign Union has initiated the establishment of a commission of inquiry into all massacres and killings of Aboriginal people. ... "
* GHILLAR (MICHAEL ANDERSON), SOVEREIGN UNION: SOVEREIGN UNION AND OUR POLITICAL FUTURE
- Analysis / Opinion
Sovereign Union: Sovereign Union and Our Political Future
The survival of our Mother Earth and our very right to exist is what we have to defend.
http://nationalunitygovernment.org/pdf/2013/131115-SU-Our-Political-Futu...
http://nationalunitygovernment.org/content/sovereign-union-and-our-polit...
17 Nov 13: "The Sovereign Union is an organisation that does not accept the right of the existing pseudo-government of Australia to rule over the rights of our Peoples. We have to understand that there are a number of International Court of Justice decisions that clearly state that Sovereignty remains with the People (Western Sahara Case and others). The international objectives of the Sovereign Union are to have our Peoples recognised as Sovereign Nationals belonging too our continuing Nation States under the international legal definition. By campaigning to have this recognised we, as First Nations Peoples, have the international right as independent Nations Peoples to assert our right of self-determination under international law. ... " Ghillar (Michael Anderson), Convenor, Sovereign Union of First Nations and Peoples in Australia
* CALLUM CLAYTON-DIXON, TRACKER: SOVEREIGNTY: NOT A RADICAL CONCEPT
- Analysis / Opinion
newsTracker: Sovereignty: not a radical concept
http://tracker.org.au/2013/11/sovereignty-not-a-radical-concept/
19 Nov 13: "NATIONAL: Nganyaywana journalist Callum Clayton-Dixon spent a week with a Tuhoe family in New Zealand – a country where Indigenous sovereignty and treaty is not a concept on the margins of public debate. If you read everything you read in the newspapers, you may have thought the current push for constitutional reform, encapsulated in the "Recognise" movement, is at the forefront of black activism. And while it does have support in some sections of the community, if you speak to legends of Aboriginal protest, you’d get a vastly different view." Callum Clayton-Dixon is an up and coming Nganyaywana journalist and editor of Aboriginal rights-based publication Brisbane Blacks
See:
Background to Constitutional Recognition of Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Peoples
http://indymedia.org.au/2013/08/11/background-to-constitutional-recognit...
(Last updated: 12 November 2013)
Brisbane Blacks Monthly - Bringing the fight to you
http://brisbaneblacksmonthly.weebly.com/
* BACKGROUND TO THE ABORIGINAL SOVEREIGNTY MOVEMENT:
Last updated: 20 November 2013
http://indymedia.org.au/2012/04/22/background-to-the-aboriginal-sovereig...
* MICHAEL MANSELL, THE GUARDIAN: AN INDIGENOUS FEMALE PRIME MINISTER? FAIRER REPRESENTATION WOULD BE A START
- Analysis / Opinion
The Guardian: An Indigenous female prime minister? Fairer representation would be a start
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/nov/13/an-indigenous-femal...
13 Nov 13: "If a female Aboriginal leader became head of Australia, no doubt there would be widespread celebrations. But let's concentrate on the immediate tasks that deserve attention ... The statement by prime minister Tony Abbott about an Aboriginal woman one day becoming prime minister is welcome, because it shows that Australia can no longer turn a blind eye to the lack of Aboriginal representation - a point taken by opposition leader Bill Shorten, who suggested quotas might be the answer." Michael Mansell, an Aboriginal lawyer from Tasmania, a founding member and secretary of the Aboriginal Provisional Government
See:
Aboriginal Provisional Government
http://www.apg.org.au/
* MICHAEL MANSELL, TASMANIAN TIMES: MANSELL WELCOMES BILL SHORTEN'S CALL FOR ABORIGINAL QUOTAS - AND SUGGESTS ALTERNATIVE IDEA
- Analysis / Opinion
Tasmanian Times: Mansell welcomes Bill Shorten’s call for Aboriginal quotas - and suggests alternative idea
http://tasmaniantimes.com/index.php?/weblog/article/Mansell-welcomes-Bil...
27 Sep 13: "Michael Mansell said it was pleasing to see ALP leadership candidate Bill Shorten call for quotas as part of a drive by the ALP to give Aboriginal people better access to power. However, Mr Mansell said "Mr Shorten’s suggestion might not achieve the desired result and MR Shorten should consider designated Aboriginal seats (as in NZ) or establishing an Aboriginal Assembly". "Quotas do not guarantee selection in safe seats, and does not adequately deal with Aboriginal representation as distinct from representing a political party", he said." Michael Mansell Aboriginal Community Council MR
* NOVA PERIS, THE STRINGER: SENATOR NOVA PERIS' MAIDEN SPEECH
- Speech
The Stringer: Senator Nova Peris' maiden speech
http://thestringer.com.au/senator-nova-peris-maiden-speech/
16 Nov 13: "Thank you, Mr President. I acknowledge the traditional owners, the Ngambri and the Ngunnawal people on whose country we meet today. I pay my respects to my elders, past and present. and to our future leaders. I am Nova Maree Peris. I was born in Darwin in the Northern Territory and I retain my strong cultural and spiritual ties to my country, to Mother Earth. I am a member of the oldest continuous living culture on the earth. I am proud that this hill that we meet on here today is culturally significant to the Ngambri people as representing the womb of the ‘Woman’ on this Country. ... " By Nova Peris
See:
Background to NT Aboriginal candidates in the 2013 Australian Federal elections
http://indymedia.org.au/2013/09/01/background-to-nt-aboriginal-candidate...
(Last updated: 29 September 2013)
* GERRY GEORGATOS, THE STRINGER: AUSTRALIA'S FEDERAL PARLIAMENTS STILL REFLECT A WHITE AUSTRALIA
- Analysis / Opinion
The Stringer: Australia's Federal Parliaments still reflect a White Australia
http://thestringer.com.au/australias-federal-parliaments-still-reflect-a...
14 Nov 13: "Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have had negligible representation in our Federal Parliaments – with only Neville Bonner, Aden Ridgeway, Ken Wyatt and Nova Peris achieving a parliamentary seat. Yet, at this time 671,000 Australians identify with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander heritage. ... One aspirant political party that got it as close to right was The WikiLeaks Party. Of their seven Australian Senate candidates in the 2013 Federal election, three were born overseas, two were of Indian heritage, one of Greek heritage, and three were women." By Gerry Georgatos, a life-long human rights and social justice campaigner, a multi-award winning investigative journalist
* SNAICC NEWS: ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER PEOPLES YOUTH HUMAN RIGHTS AND ADVOCACY SUMMIT
- News
SNAICC News: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples Youth Human Rights and Advocacy Summit
[SNAICC: Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care]
http://www.snaicc.org.au/news-events/fx-view-article.cfm?loadref=32&id=1255
"Are you a young Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander person aged 18-25? Are you passionate about positive change in your communities? Are you passionate about the rights of your mob? Do you want to know more about human rights and why it's important to you? The Diplomacy Training Program (DTP) and Oxfam Australia will be holding an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples Youth Human Rights and Advocacy Summit in Sydney from 10-14 February 2014. ... If your application is successful, the program will cover all travel, accommodation and food costs. Applications close Friday 6 December 2013."
* LET'S TALK'S TIGA BAYLES INTERVIEWS BILL GAMMAGE, AUTHOR OF 'THE BIGGEST ESTATE ON EARTH', RESEARCHER OF ABORIGINAL LAND MANAGEMENT AT THE TIME OF CONTACT 1788
- Audio Interview
Indigenous radio station 98.9FM Brisbane:
Let's Talk - Adjunct Professor Bill Gammage
http://www.989fm.com.au/category/podcasts/lets-talk/
Nov 13: "Bill Gammage is the Author of "The Biggest Estate on Earth" and is an adjunct professor in the Humanities Research Centre at the Australian National University (ANU), researching Aboriginal land management at the time of contact ("1788")."
Listen to this interview on-line:
http://www.989fm.com.au/podcasts/lets-talk/adjunct-professor-bill-gammag...
* HENRY REYNOLDS, INSIDE STORY: FORGOTTEN WAR
- Edited Book Extract
Inside Story: Forgotten war
http://inside.org.au/forgotten-war/
25 Jul 13: "The looming centenary of the landing at Gallipoli is a reminder of unfinished business between settler and Indigenous Australia after a decade of incomplete reconciliation, writes Henry Reynolds in this extract from his new book. ... As we advance further into the twenty-first century, the relative importance of our involvement in the two world wars and the following cold war will diminish as they lose their pre-eminent place in global history. The central story in the new century will increasingly be seen to have been the linked histories of imperialism and decolonisation, which were preparing the way for the great shifts in power and wealth currently underway. And in that story the relationship between European settlers and Indigenous Australians will become increasingly important. ... " Henry Reynolds, a professorial fellow at the University of Tasmania
- - -
WGAR: Working Group for Aboriginal Rights (Australia)
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;
* Justice Reinvestment, Aboriginal imprisonment and Aboriginal Deaths in Custody;
* Aboriginal land rights and mining;
* Suicide and self-harm in Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander communities;
* Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander health and wellbeing;
* other Aboriginal rights issues; and
* upcoming Aboriginal rights events around Australia.
'WGAR News' gives priority to grassroots Aboriginal voices and grassroots voices in solidarity with Aboriginal peoples' rights.
The role of 'WGAR News' is to facilitate the voices of others, and as such, 'WGAR News' rarely writes its own articles.
'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 6 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-...
WGAR: Working Group for Aboriginal Rights (Australia)