Newsletter date: 15 May 2014
Contents:
* Gerry Georgatos, The Stringer: The must-do need to listen and trust if suicides crisis is to end
* Gerry Georgatos, The Stringer: More confirmation of what everyone knows - WA's suicide prevention inadequate
* NIRS: WA Government slammed for 'failing' anti-suicide measures [Featuring Premature deaths and suicides researcher, Gerry Georgatos]
* ABC News: WA's suicide prevention strategy inadequate and poorly implemented, report finds
* ABC News: WA suicide rate higher than national average
* ABC News: Opposition calls for ongoing funding for suicide prevention
* Gerry Georgatos, The Stringer: Elders across Australia say Governments need to listen to them on how to address youth suicide
* Background to Suicide and Self-harm in Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Communities
* Eduardo Jordan, The Wire: Learning Aboriginal languages through animation [Featuring Bernard Sullivan and Ghil'ad Zuckermann]
* Catherine Grant, The Conversation: We've lost 98% of Indigenous music traditions - who cares?
* Aboriginal Legal Service of Western Australia: ALSWA dismayed at apathetic response to Coolgardie racism incident
* Gerry Georgatos, The Stringer: Racism unchecked
* GERRY GEORGATOS, THE STRINGER: THE MUST-DO NEED TO LISTEN AND TRUST IF SUICIDES CRISIS IS TO END
- Analysis / Opinion
The Stringer: The must-do need to listen and trust if suicides crisis is to end
http://thestringer.com.au/the-must-do-need-to-listen-and-trust-if-suicid...
4 May 14: "The suicides crises ravage urban and regional communities, however certain regions, certain clusters of remote communities have been disproportionately hit. The Kimberley for instance for a period of time reached up to 182 times the rate of suicide and continues at more than 100 times the rate of the general population. In order to move forward and reduce the loss of life each region has to be understood as if different from other regions and urban centres despite common themes and fundamentals. Governments need to listen to the voices crying out and it cannot be argued that Elders and community leaders and grieving families and communities have not been crying out - it is just that they have been dismissed, for far too long." By Gerry Georgatos, a life-long human rights and social justice campaigner, a multi-award winning investigative journalist
* GERRY GEORGATOS, THE STRINGER: MORE CONFIRMATION OF WHAT EVERYONE KNOWS - WA'S SUICIDE PREVENTION INADEQUATE
- Analysis / Opinion
The Stringer: More confirmation of what everyone knows - WA's suicide prevention inadequate
http://thestringer.com.au/more-confirmation-of-what-everyone-knows-was-s...
8 May 14: "The Western Australian Auditor-General has criticised the implementation of suicide prevention policies by the Government as the State’s suicide rate spirals. WA has the highest suicide rate in the nation, with the Kimberley the worst affected region, while other parts of the nation are recording decreases in suicide rates. One year ago, the Dumbartung Aboriginal Corporation, led by its directors, Robert and Selina Eggington convened a Suicide Crisis Summit, with more than 300 people in attendance including every major Government agency. ... " By Gerry Georgatos, a life-long human rights and social justice campaigner, a multi-award winning investigative journalist
* NIRS: WA GOVERNMENT SLAMMED FOR 'FAILING' ANTI-SUICIDE MEASURES [FEATURING PREMATURE DEATHS AND SUICIDES RESEARCHER, GERRY GEORGATOS]
- Audio
NIRS: WA Government slammed for 'failing' anti-suicide measures
http://nirs.org.au/blog/NEWS/article/33751/WA-Government-slammed-for-%27...
8 May 14: "The Western Australian Auditor-General Colin Murphy has criticised the state Government for its inadequate and poor implementation of suicide prevention care programs. Western Australia has the highest rate of suicide in the nation, 30 per cent higher than the national average, with First Peoples disproportionately affected. Premature deaths and suicides researcher, Gerry Georgatos, has been meeting with the Federal Government in order to address the suicides crisis. ... "
* ABC NEWS: WA'S SUICIDE PREVENTION STRATEGY INADEQUATE AND POORLY IMPLEMENTED, REPORT FINDS
- News
ABC News: WA's suicide prevention strategy inadequate and poorly implemented, report finds
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-05-07/wa-auditor-general-critical-of-sta...
8 May 14: "Western Australia's suicide prevention strategy could have been better implemented as the state's suicide rate spikes to more than 30 per cent higher than the national average, a report has found. In a report tabled in Parliament today WA's auditor-general Colin Murphy found initial planning for the state's suicide prevention strategy was not adequate. The Liberal-National government established the strategy in 2009 when WA had the third-highest suicide rate of the states, after Tasmania and South Australia, at a cost of $18 million. Most of the programs ended last year."
* ABC NEWS: WA SUICIDE RATE HIGHER THAN NATIONAL AVERAGE
- News
ABC News: WA suicide rate higher than national average
[scroll down page] http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-05-07/wa-auditor-general-critical-of-sta...
8 May 14: "Mr Murphy said WA's suicide rate had increased over the past decade to 36 per cent above the national rate in 2012, with the worst-affected areas in the Kimberley. The annual number of suicides rose from 194 in 2004 to 366 in 2012, the report said. In 2011 suicide was the leading cause of death for women aged 35 to 44 years."
* ABC NEWS: OPPOSITION CALLS FOR ONGOING FUNDING FOR SUICIDE PREVENTION
- News
ABC News: Opposition calls for ongoing funding for suicide prevention
[scroll down page] http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-05-07/wa-auditor-general-critical-of-sta...
8 May 14: "The Opposition said the report confirmed a "suicide crisis" in WA and called on the Government to commit to ongoing funding for the strategy. Labor's mental health spokesman Stephen Dawson said the report showed the Government was not doing enough to address suicide rates in the state. "Why is the suicide rate increasing in WA while the national average is going down?" he asked. "The suicide crisis in the Kimberley in particular cannot be allowed to continue. It’s time for urgent action.""
* GERRY GEORGATOS, THE STRINGER: ELDERS ACROSS AUSTRALIA SAY GOVERNMENTS NEED TO LISTEN TO THEM ON HOW TO ADDRESS YOUTH SUICIDE
- Analysis / Opinion
The Stringer: Elders across Australia say Governments need to listen to them on how to address youth suicide
http://thestringer.com.au/elders-across-australia-say-governments-need-t...
15 Apr 14: "Thirty Elders from across northern and central Australia are calling on Government to recognise cultural and regional identities, differences, and norms if the rising rates of youth suicide are to be stopped. The Elders said that Governments need to redirect funds from the litany of failed non-Aboriginal run policies to cultural and regional run programs – managed only by First Peoples. Today, the Culture is Life organisation launched the Elders Report into Preventing Indigenous Self-harm and Youth Suicide." By Gerry Georgatos, a life-long human rights and social justice campaigner, a multi-award winning investigative journalist
* BACKGROUND TO SUICIDE AND SELF-HARM IN ABORIGINAL & TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER COMMUNITIES:
Last updated: 27 April 2014
http://indymedia.org.au/2013/08/13/background-to-suicide-and-self-harm-i...
* EDUARDO JORDAN, THE WIRE: LEARNING ABORIGINAL LANGUAGES THROUGH ANIMATION [FEATURING BERNARD SULLIVAN AND GHIL'AD ZUCKERMANN]
- Audio
The Wire: Learning Aboriginal languages through animation
Produced by Eduardo Jordan
http://www.thewire.org.au/storyDetail.aspx?ID=11518
9 May 14: "Some Aboriginal and Torres Strait languages are at risk of dying out. Fortunately, there are passionate people fighting to reclaim these at-risk languages for a new generation. Now a new program is making it possible to learn the Wiradjuri language through animation. While animation is a good approach to reclaiming Aboriginal languages, many language teaching methods need to be considered to obtain the best outcome. ...
Featured in story:
* Bernard Sullivan - PhD Candidate, Charles Sturt University
* Ghil'ad Zuckermann - Professor of Linguistics, University of Adelaide
Related Links: Wiradjuri animation clips"
* CATHERINE GRANT, THE CONVERSATION: WE'VE LOST 98% OF INDIGENOUS MUSIC TRADITIONS - WHO CARES?
- Analysis / Opinion
The Conversation: We've lost 98% of Indigenous music traditions - who cares?
http://theconversation.com/weve-lost-98-of-indigenous-music-traditions-w...
7 May 14: "Australian Indigenous performance traditions, among the oldest in the world, are also among the most endangered. According to a Statement on Indigenous Australian Music and Dance endorsed in 2011 by the International Council for Traditional Music, around 98% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander music traditions have already been lost. Without urgent action, those remaining are at risk of disappearing within a generation or two. The loss, the Statement suggests, comes from "[m]odern lifestyles and the ongoing devastating impact of colonisation", which are "affecting the dissemination of cultural knowledge between generations". ... " Catherine Grant, Postdoctoral Researcher in Music at University of Newcastle
Catherine Grant Profile - The Conversation
Postdoctoral Researcher in Music at University of Newcastle
http://theconversation.com/profiles/catherine-grant-15785/profile_bio
"Catherine Grant is author of "Music Endangerment: How Language Maintenance Can Help", published by Oxford University Press in June 2014. She has engaged in various ways with communities whose cultural expressions are under threat: the Indigenous Miriwoong people of the remote Australian East Kimberley, teachers and masters of traditional Khmer music in Cambodia, and the urban ca trù community of Hanoi, Vietnam, among others. Her award-winning doctoral dissertation (Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University) investigated ways to help communities keep their music strong ... "
* ABORIGINAL LEGAL SERVICE OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA: ALSWA DISMAYED AT APATHETIC RESPONSE TO COOLGARDIE RACISM INCIDENT
- Media Statement
Aboriginal Legal Service of Western Australia: ALSWA dismayed at apathetic response to Coolgardie racism incident
http://www.als.org.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=318:a...
http://www.als.org.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=...
7 May 14: "When the licensee of Coolgardie’s Denver City Hotel displayed a sign saying that service would be refused to Indigenous people, the Aboriginal Legal Service of WA (ALSWA) acted immediately.
"We were greatly concerned at the racist overtones of the sign and the offence that this would cause to many people. We took the appropriate course of action in condemning this conduct. It is now extremely disappointing that Malcolm Cullen, Shire of Coolgardie President has misled the public with comments he has made in relation to this incident and ALSWA’s correspondence to the Shire" said ALSWA CEO Dennis Eggington. ... "
* GERRY GEORGATOS, THE STRINGER: RACISM UNCHECKED
- Analysis / Opinion
The Stringer: Racism unchecked
http://thestringer.com.au/racism-unchecked/
10 May 14: "With all the talk about freedom of expression and the possibility 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act may be amended, anti-racism campaigner Yamatji Elder, Joyce Capewell, has long campaigned about the increasing unchecked flagrant racism on social media. Ms Capewell believes the published racism will only get worse and that any amendments to the RDA will only bring on insidious open slather. Western Australian based Ms Capewell said that Australians are deluged with racism. Much of the racism is still targeted at First Nations peoples, with social media having few anti-racism checks and balances." By Gerry Georgatos, a life-long human rights and social justice campaigner, a multi-award winning investigative journalist
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