Newsletter date: 26 November 2011
Contents:
* Stronger Futures is the same intervention says Amnesty
* "Cooperation not intervention: a call for a new direction in the Northern Territory"
- Joint Statement from ACOSS, APO NT and many others
* "Stand against Macklin’s decade of discrimination - No second Intervention!"
- Joint Statement from IRAG, DARC and STICS
* SNAICC: Elders and representatives express anger over future of NT Intervention
* Pat Turner: Cutting Centrelink cash won't stop indigenous truancy
* Interview with Paddy Gibson about the new school attendance measures
* Michael Brull: The Government's new case for the intervention
* Rachel Siewert: Government announces 'stealthy' expansion of income management
* ANTaR campaign: School attendance and Centrelink payment suspension in the NT
* Amnesty campaign: Tell Treasurer Swan: support homelands in the Federal Budget
* SBS: Shining A Light On Northern Territory Education Success
* Other Northern Territory (NT) Intervention articles
* Background to the Northern Territory (NT) Intervention
* Other articles
* STRONGER FUTURES IS THE SAME INTERVENTION SAYS AMNESTY:
- News
newsTracker: Stronger Futures is the same intervention: Amnesty
http://tracker.org.au/2011/11/stronger-futures-is-the-same-intervention-...
23 Nov 11: "NATIONAL: An international human rights group has called on the Gillard government to move on from the mistakes of the past, warning its Stronger Futures legislation is just a re-badged NT intervention. Indigenous affairs minister Jenny Macklin introduced the package of bills to federal parliament this morning. It upholds many of the controversial aspects of the Northern Territory Emergency Response (NTER), but will also roll out the School Enrolment and Attendance Measure (SEAM), which links welfare payments to school attendance." Amy McQuire, editor of Tracker
- Related News
ABC: Opposition claims Intervention remains
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-11-24/20111124-new-intervention/3692362?...
24 Nov 11: "The Northern Territory Opposition says the NT Government's assertion that the Intervention is over is blatantly wrong. The Country Liberals Indigenous policy spokesman Adam Giles says he acknowledges that Federal Labor is making progress on land tenure, which will address what he describes as apartheid in Alice Springs town camps. But late last night he told parliament the Federal Government's new legislation on Stronger Futures in the Northern Territory is another example of the Commonwealth taking charge."
newsTracker: Stronger Futures bill introduced to Parliament
http://tracker.org.au/2011/11/stronger-futures-bill-to-be-introduced-tom...
23 Nov 11: "NORTHERN TERRITORY: The Gillard government has introduced its controversial Stronger Futures legislation into Parliament today, in a bid to repeal the NT intervention laws. The package of legislation upholds many of the controversial aspects of the Northern Territory Emergency Response (NTER), but it will also roll out the School Enrolment and Attendance Measure (SEAM) which links welfare payments to school attendance. ... Aboriginal Peak Bodies of the NT (APO NT), ... have also criticised many elements of the current legislation, calling on the federal government to rebuild trust with Aboriginal people." Amy McQuire, editor of Tracker
See: APO NT Submission to Stronger Futures:
http://tracker.org.au/downloads20111608-APONT-submission-to-Stronger-Fut...
newsTracker: Govt proposes "income management on steroids": Siewert
http://tracker.org.au/2011/11/govt-proposes-income-management-on-steroid...
23 Nov 11: "NATIONAL: Opponents of welfare quarantining in Northern Territory Indigenous communities have labelled a proposed federal government beef-up of the measure as "income management on steroids". Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin introduced legislation in parliament on Wednesday to continue and extend the income management scheme brought in under the former Howard government’s NT intervention. ... She [Australian Greens senator Rachel Siewert] described the draft laws as "income management on steroids"."
Koori Mail: Intervention in for 'the long haul'
[scroll down page] http://www.koorimail.com/index.php
23 Nov 11: "THE Northern Territory Intervention will be ramped up and extended for a decade under a bill introduced in the national parliament today. Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin says measures such as tougher alcohol restrictions, more triggers for income management to be imposed on parents who don't get their kids to school, more stringent licensing for community stores, and the negotiation of voluntary long term leases to underpin public housing reflect community aspirations and will work if maintained for 'the long haul'."
ABC: "Stronger Futures" set to replace Intervention
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-11-23/20111123-intervention-repeal/36898...
23 Nov 11: "The Federal Government has formally moved to end the Federal Intervention in the Northern Territory. It has introduced the "Stronger Futures in the Northern Territory" bill into parliament. Northern Territory Labor MP Warren Snowdon says the legislation will replace the intervention."
* "COOPERATION NOT INTERVENTION: A CALL FOR A NEW DIRECTION IN THE NORTHERN TERRITORY":
- Joint Statement from ACOSS, APO NT and many others
Cooperation not intervention: a call for a new direction in the Northern Territory
ACOSS: http://www.acoss.org.au/media/release/cooperation_not_intervention_a_cal...
ANTaR: http://www.antar.org.au/cooperation_not_intervention_a_call_for_a_new_di...
23 Nov 11: "Aboriginal peak bodies, community welfare and public health groups from around the country are calling for a new direction in policies affecting Aboriginal Australians based on cooperation, not 'intervention'.
The groups support new investment in secure jobs for Indigenous Territorians but raise concerns about the proposed extension of a program that withdraws social security payments from parents whose children don't attend school regularly. ...
The groups concluded that instead of extending the punitive approach the Government should take a new road. ... "
[Click on the above link to read the many more points made, and also to read the names of organisations and individuals who support the call.]
- Audio
Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association:
CAAMA Radio News 25-11-2011
http://caama.com.au/caama-radio-news-25-11-2011
25 Nov 11: "Australia’s peak welfare body has joined with public health groups and Indigenous organisations from around the country in a call for a new direction in policies affecting Aboriginal people based on mutual cooperation rather than the current strategies employed under the NT Intervention."
The Wire: Territory government gets on board with Intervention mark 2
http://www.thewire.org.au/storyDetail.aspx?ID=8714
23 Nov 11: "The NT government has today thrown its support behind the Federal Stronger Futures Bill which was introduced into Parliament this week. The Intervention Rollback group says it's deeply disappointed in the Territory Government’s announcement. The bill will continue the NT intervention, in particular the controversial income management scheme, where parents have welfare benefits withdrawn if their children don’t go to school. A long list of community, Aboriginal and health groups from around the country today spoke out against the continuation of income management, saying it should be dropped in favour of a more cooperative approach.
Featured in story: Lauren Mellor, Rollback the Intervention"
- News
Koori Mail: Scrap NTER bill, say peak bodies
[scroll down page] http://www.koorimail.com/index.php
24 Nov 11: "FEDERAL Government plans to entrench key aspects of the NT Intervention for at least another ten years have sparked both praise and criticism. The NT Government says the bill to extend the controversial regime offers 'a real partnership with Territorians' but some Aboriginal peak bodies, community welfare and public health groups have criticised the continuation of compulsory blanket measures like income management as discriminatory. ACOSS, the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency and the Public Health Association of Australia are amongst those calling for the government to scrap its proposed legislation."
Pro Bono News: Government Slammed Over Bill to Expand Welfare Quarantining
http://www.probonoaustralia.com.au/news/2011/11/government-slammed-over-...
23 Nov 11: "The Federal Government has introduced legislation to extend 'welfare quarantining' - a system introduced under the Howard Government’s highly controversial Northern Territory intervention - but peak welfare Not for Profits want the legislation withdrawn. Some 26 Aboriginal peak bodies, community welfare and public health groups are calling on the Government to withdraw the income-management legislation and opt for a new direction in policies affecting Australian Aborigines based on cooperation, not ‘intervention'."
* "STAND AGAINST MACKLIN'S DECADE OF DISCRIMINATION - NO SECOND INTERVENTION!":
- Joint Statement from IRAG, DARC and STICS
Stand against Macklin’s decade of discrimination - No second Intervention!
IRAG: http://rollbacktheintervention.wordpress.com/media/
25 Nov 11: "Joint statement from Intervention Rollback Action Group (Central Australia), Darwin Aboriginal Rights Coalition and Stop the Intervention Collective Sydney ...
The Labor government has introduced Stronger Futures in the Northern Territory legislation that extends the racist NT Intervention for a further ten years.
Intergenerational trauma caused by past policies of assimilation and dispossession is at the root of many problems facing Aboriginal communities across Australia today.
Now under Labor’s plans, NT Aboriginal children turning fifteen in 2022 will have lived their entire life as second class citizens under Australian law.
The persecution of Aboriginal people under the Intervention has had horrendous consequences. Reported rates of attempted suicide and self-harm have more than doubled (Closing the Gap Monitoring Report). Indigenous incarceration has increased by 40 per cent. Large numbers of people are drifting away from their homelands as resources and opportunity are withdrawn from the bush. ... "
[Click on the above link to read the many more points made.]
For more info on these campaign groups:
IRAG - Intervention Rollback Action Group (Central Australia): http://rollbacktheintervention.wordpress.com/
DARC - Darwin Aboriginal Rights Coalition: http://darwinaboriginalrights.wordpress.com/
STICS - Stop the Intervention Collective Sydney: http://stoptheintervention.org/
- Special Compilation
Stop the Intervention: Consultations 2011
http://stoptheintervention.org/facts/consultations-mid-2011
* SNAICC: ELDERS AND REPRESENTATIVES EXPRESS ANGER OVER FUTURE OF NT INTERVENTION:
- News
Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care (SNAICC):
SNAICC News: Elders and representatives express anger over future of NT Intervention
http://www.snaicc.asn.au/news-events/fx-view-article.cfm?loadref=32&id=694
18 Nov 11: "SNAICC stands in solidarity and support of the Elders and representatives of communities affected by the Northern Territory Intervention that held a media conference in Melbourne hosted by Concerned Australians recently to express their serious concerns about the Australian Government's Stronger Futures consultations report. ... SNAICC believes the newly announced measures to continue the Northern Territory Intervention are an extremely disappointing response from the Government to the communities in the Northern Territory."
* PAT TURNER: CUTTING CENTRELINK CASH WON'T STOP INDIGENOUS TRUANCY:
- Analysis / Opinion
SMH: Cutting Centrelink cash won't stop indigenous truancy
http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/cutting-centrelink-cash-wont-stop...
25 Nov 11: "The federal Labor government has decided that the last resort for getting Northern Territory Aboriginal children to attend school is to cut their parents' Centrelink payments. ... How will the children be fed if there is no money in the home? Legislation to put this into effect was introduced into Parliament yesterday. As a former, long-serving senior public servant, I see this as the last straw in Aboriginal affairs policy. I am absolutely opposed to it. This is bad public policy, it is morally objectionable, and it will not work." Pat Turner, an Arrernte/Gudanji woman living in Alice Springs
* INTERVIEW WITH PADDY GIBSON ABOUT THE NEW SCHOOL ATTENDANCE MEASURES:
- Text Interview
Solidarity: Punitive school attendance plan centrepiece of second Intervention
http://www.solidarity.net.au/41/punitive-school-attendance-plan-centrepi...
December 2011: "The communities that are listed in the government announcement about tougher Income Management measures - most were strong bilingual schools. They are now struggling to maintain any bilingual programs against a massive barrage of ridiculous curriculum interference and removal of staffing positions. One of the most heartbreaking parts of the rollout of federal government legislation including the Intervention is the loss of employment for Indigenous people in schools. ... " Paddy Gibson
* MICHAEL BRULL: THE GOVERNMENT'S NEW CASE FOR THE INTERVENTION:
- Analysis / Opinion
ABC The Drum Opinion: The Government's new case for the intervention
http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/3684604.html
22 Nov 11: " ... on November 10, the Government began crowing once again about the "evidence" it had for the intervention. They claimed that an "independent" evaluation found that "Aboriginal people living in remote communities in the Northern Territory feel safer and receive better levels of government services than they did four years ago". ... I will briefly examine the evidence that is provided for the intervention in these reports, examine the housing program that Macklin now finds encouraging, and then look at some more evidence that may be considered relevant in examining the intervention." Michael Brulle. He is involved in Stop The Intervention Collective Sydney (STICS). He has written for Independent Australian Jewish Voices, Overland, the National Times, newmatilda.com, Mutiny, and ZNet.
- Video
YouTube: 'Income management on steroids' on the way
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zRAy-H95uk
22 Nov 11: "NITV speaks with The Drum contributor Michael Brull about the ramifications of the Northern Territory National Emergency Response - otherwise known as 'The Intervention'. It comes as Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin introduced legislation in parliament on Wednesday to continue and extend the income management scheme brought in under the former Howard government."
- Related Analysis / Opinion
Larvatus Prodeo: The Northern Territory Intervention and "evidence based policy"
http://larvatusprodeo.net/2011/11/22/the-northern-territory-intervention...
22 Nov 11: "When Labor came to power in 2007, one possible consolation for those who opposed the Northern Territory Intervention, and indeed those who were sceptical of its efficacy, was the prospect that under a new government, its effects would be rigorously evaluated. Such hopes might also have been vain ones, and so it appears to have been. ... " Kim
* RACHEL SIEWERT: GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCES 'STEALTHY' EXPANSION OF INCOME MANAGEMENT:
- Media Release
Rachel Siewert: Greens: Government announces 'stealthy' expansion of income management
http://rachel-siewert.greensmps.org.au/content/media-release/government-...
23 Nov 11: "The Government’s stealthy expansion of income management measures is a sign they have failed to learn their lesson in the Northern Territory, Senator Rachel Siewert, Australian Greens spokesperson on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Issues said today.
"The Government remains unable to effectively develop and implement policies alongside communities in the Northern Territory," said Senator Siewert.
"An immediate concern I have is the extension of income management, which will see the ability to quarantine income support payments expanded to states and territories.""
* ANTaR CAMPAIGN: SCHOOL ATTENDANCE AND CENTRELINK PAYMENT SUSPENSION IN THE NT:
- Take Action
ANTaR - Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation:
School attendance and Centrelink payment suspension in the NT
http://takeaction.antar.org.au/letters/campaign/13/northern-territory-we...
"The Federal Government has introduced legislation to extend a scheme which suspends key Centrelink payments to parents whose children are not regularly attending school.
It has failed to explain how families affected by the policy will meet basic living costs for food, rent, clothing and medicines. ANTaR is concerned that this policy is likely to put more pressure on families doing it tough and place them at risk of serious harm. ...
Tell the Government that you do not support suspending key Centrelink payments to improve school attendance. Show your support for a comprehensive strategy to get kids to school, drawing on a broad range of solutions advanced by communities themselves, not just those which align with the Government’s agenda."
* AMNESTY CAMPAIGN: TELL TREASURER SWAN: SUPPORT HOMELANDS IN THE FEDERAL BUDGET:
- Take Action
Amnesty International Australia: Tell Treasurer Swan: support homelands in the Federal Budget
http://www.amnesty.org.au/action/action/27192/
"The government is currently deciding whether they will fund essential services on Aboriginal homelands in the next Federal Budget.
Nearly one-third of Indigenous people in the Northern Territory live on homelands. Research shows that with proper services, people can be happier, healthier and live longer and on homelands.
Despite this, current government policy to date has been to strip funding from essential services on homelands - effectively forcing people into hub towns and cities.
The government has repeatedly claimed that it supports homelands. Now they have the chance to prove their support by funding essential services on homelands in the next Federal Budget.
Ask Treasurer Swan to prove the government's commitment to homelands by funding it in the Federal Budget"
* SBS: SHINING A LIGHT ON NORTHERN TERRITORY EDUCATION SUCCESS:
- Audio Interview
SBS Audio and Language: Aboriginal: Shining A Light On Northern Territory Education Success
http://www.sbs.com.au/yourlanguage/aboriginal/highlight/page/id/193431/t...
22 Nov 11: "Save The Children and Millner Primary Schools Education Leaders ...
With the federal focus on lack of school attendance amongst Aboriginal children in the Northern Territory - it's easy to think that nothing's going right.
But not so. Successes are there if we choose to look, and those successes have the potential to grow.
One such shining light is Millner Primary School in Darwin, which has recently been awarded 100-thousand dollars for truly pioneering work on school attendance. Attendance rates were 30 per-cent seven years ago. Today they're 80 per-cent. ...
Save The Children NT Manager Nancy Sweeny tells Michelle Lovegrove the model is based on a whole-community approach, using local people."
* OTHER NORTHERN TERRITORY (NT) INTERVENTION ARTICLES:
- Media Release
Australian Human Rights Commission:
Stronger Futures - a chance to move beyond the pain of the Intervention
http://www.hreoc.gov.au/about/media/media_releases/2011/111_11.html
23 Nov 11: "The Stronger Futures Bills introduced into Parliament today indicate that the government has started to listen to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, Social Justice Commissioner Mick Gooda said.
"It is important that we seize this moment as a chance to move beyond the initial hurt, distress and anger caused to many people when the Intervention was imposed on them in 2007," Commissioner Gooda said.
He said it was encouraging that the Government is investing in long term solutions to overcoming the chronic disadvantage faced by Aboriginal peoples in the Northern Territory and welcomed the 10 year life span proposed for the measures."
- Analysis / Opinion
Eureka Street: A Catholic Social Teaching perspective on the Intervention
http://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article.aspx?aeid=29140
21 Nov 11: "The Commonwealth should embrace one of the benefits of a federal system and await clearer outcomes from the Queensland experiment with the Family Responsibilities Commission before making Aboriginal parental welfare payments conditional on child school attendance. Let's not be treated to another Federal Labor charade that the targeted docking of Aboriginal welfare payments is to be classed as a special measure under the Racial Discrimination Act for the benefit of those who will not receive full payment." Frank Brennan
Eureka Street: Labor's Intervention on steroids
http://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article.aspx?aeid=29139
21 Nov 11: "Last week, Jenny Macklin, the Minister for Indigenous Affairs in a 21st century Labor Government led by a prime minister from the left of the party, announced a new raft of welfare measures for Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory. ... With trust and a commitment to relationships built on respect for inherent human dignity and cultural difference, we can strengthen the welfare safety net for the neediest First Australians without constructing a nanny state bound to fail with Commonwealth truancy officers wandering remote communities wondering about their purpose in being there at all." Fr Frank Brennan SJ
- News
Canberra Times: Welfare quarantining is 'management on steroids'
http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/national/national/general/welfare-q...
24 Nov 11: "Opponents of welfare quarantining in Northern Territory indigenous communities have labelled a proposed Federal Government beef-up of the measure as ''income management on steroids''. ... In mid-2011, the Federal Government undertook a six-week whistle-stop consultation tour through 100 NT communities and claims the tough income management measures were requested by them. Australian Greens senator Rachel Siewert disputes this claim and says not enough time was spent on consultations. ... In a joint statement, 24 Aboriginal bodies, community welfare and public health groups have criticised the approach."
Koori Mail: Gooda backs Stronger Futures Bill
[scroll down page] http://www.koorimail.com/index.php
24 Nov 11: "ABORIGINAL and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner Mick Gooda has welcomed the 10-year life span of measures under the Federal Government's Stronger Futures Bill. Mr Gooda says the proposed extension of the NT Intervention is about long-term investment in addressing chronic disadvantage faced by Aboriginal Territorians and, if properly involved, provides them with a chance to move beyond 'the initial hurt, distress and anger' caused when the Intervention began in 2007."
Australian Teacher Magazine:
NT: Intervention led to drop in indigenous school attendance
http://ozteacher.com.au/html/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&i...
21 Nov 11: "CANBERRA - Aboriginal academic and leader Mick Dodson says the commonwealth intervention into remote Northern Territory communities has resulted in indigenous students dropping out of school. ... "What concerns me about the Northern Territory intervention from an education perspective is the massive fall-off in attendances at schools - in particular in the 76 targeted communities," Prof Dodson told reporters. "Kids aren't turning up to school. Some say it's because of the scrapping of bilingual education. If that's the case it ought to be reinstated immediately.""
Reportage: Don’t destroy homelands, says Amnesty
http://www.reportageonline.com/2011/11/don%E2%80%99t-destroy-homelands-s...
21 Nov 11: "Amnesty International Chief Salil Shetty met with Indigenous Ministers after being shocked to see the living conditions of Indigenous Australians. Jerico Mandybur reports. Amnesty International Chief Salil Shetty met with MP Jenny Macklin and opposition MPs in Canberra to demand an end to the Northern Territory’s Growth Towns policy, which encourages the removal of Indigenous people from their traditional homelands into regional hub towns."
* BACKGROUND TO THE NORTHERN TERRITORY (NT) INTERVENTION:
Creative Spirits: Northern Territory Emergence Response (NTER) - "The Intervention": http://www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/politics/northern-terr...
CAAMA (Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association) - NT Intervention: http://caama.com.au/?s=NT+Intervention
IRAG (Intervention Rollback Action Group): Mparntwe - Alice Springs: http://rollbacktheintervention.wordpress.com/
Tracker - NT Intervention: http://tracker.org.au/tag/nt-intervention/
Treaty Republic - NT Intervention: http://treatyrepublic.net/search/node/NT%20Intervention
The Greens: Rachel Siewert: Northern Territory Intervention: http://rachel-siewert.greensmps.org.au/category/issues/indigenous-rights...
STICS (Stop the Intervention Collective Sydney): http://stoptheintervention.org/
Darwin Aboriginal Rights Coalition: http://darwinaboriginalrights.wordpress.com/
Crikey - NT Intervention: http://www.crikey.com.au/topic/nt-intervention/
'concerned Australians': Without Justice there can be no Reconciliation: http://www.concernedaustralians.com.au/
ANTaR (Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation) - NT intervention: http://www.antar.org.au/issues_and_campaigns/nt_intervention
MAIC (Melbourne Anti-Intervention Collective): http://maicollective.blogspot.com/
The Conversation - After the Intervention: http://theconversation.edu.au/pages/after-the-intervention
Jobs with Justice: http://jobswithjustice.wordpress.com/
New Matilda - northern territory intervention: http://newmatilda.com/tag/northern-territory-intervention
Amnesty International Australia: Looking back at the Northern Territory Intervention: http://www.amnesty.org.au/indigenous-rights/comments/24460/
Students For Indigenous Rights - UQ: The Northern Territory Intervention: http://uqsir.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/stir-uq-intervention-intro-fact...
Defending Indigenous Rights: http://defendingindigenousrights.wordpress.com/
Intervention walk-off's Blog: http://interventionwalkoff.wordpress.com/
Australian Human Rights Commission: Northern Territory ‘Emergency Response' intervention: http://www.hreoc.gov.au/social_justice/intervention/index.html
FAIRA; Human Rights Law Resource Centre; NACLC: Australia's compliance with CERD - Fact Sheet 2: Northern Territory Intervention: http://www.hrlrc.org.au/files/Fact-Sheet-2-NT-Intervention.pdf
Green Left: Northern Territory intervention: myths and facts: http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/39732
WGAR (Working Group for Aboriginal Rights): http://wgar.wordpress.com/
* OTHER ARTICLES:
- Feature
Rachel Siewert: Greens: Saving the Kimberley
http://rachel-siewert.greensmps.org.au/kimberley
17 Oct 11: "The Australian Greens are continuing efforts to prevent the development of an LNG hub at James Price Point in the Kimberley region of WA. We believe that James Price Point is not a suitable location for an LNG processing hub and that such a development will have long term negative impacts across the region. Read more about what I and the other Federal Greens MPs have been saying and doing on this issue."
- Audio
Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association:
Yindijbarndi calling on Government to stop sacred sites from being destroyed
http://caama.com.au/yindijbarndi-calling-on-government-to-stop-sacred-si...
23 Nov 11: "The Yindjibarndi Aboriginal Corporation will call on the Federal Government to invoke emergency powers to stop development companies from destroying sacred sites. Following ongoing conflict with Fortescue Metals Group…the Yindjibarndi Aboriginal Corporation says it will call on Tony Burke…the Federal Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities…. to use his power to put measures in place to ensure the appropriate people carry out heritage surveys of areas which are to be developed. ... "
The Wire: Tougher approach to welfare hits Indigenous Australians hardest
http://www.thewire.org.au/storyDetail.aspx?ID=8710
22 Nov 11: "Indigenous people have been hardest hit by the federal governments tough new approach to welfare with one in five unemployed Indigenous Australians reportedly getting their payments stopped as a result of not showing up to Centrelink appointments. But the tougher approach has also resulted in a three percent increase in the number of indigenous Australians attending appointments. However, despite the increase in people attending these appointments this does not necessarily mean more people are actually getting a job. ...
Featured in story: Paddy Gibson - senior researcher at the Jumbunna Indigenous House of Learning at UTS"
Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association:
Former Supreme Court judge says Government needs to consult with Aboriginal people properly !
18 Nov 11: "South Australia’s Australian of the Year for 2012….former Supreme Court judge Robyn Layton has called for a greater acknowledgement by Government of the need to consult properly with Aboriginal people. Ms Layton who worked extensively with Aboriginal people as a young practitioner ….played a part in the early stages of the setting up of the Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement in South Australia."
- Video
Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association:
The Year of the Aboriginal Health Worker
http://caama.com.au/the-year-of-the-aboriginal-health-worker
22 Nov 11
- Analysis / Opinion
Green Left: Digital TV threat to Indigenous languages
http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/49511
19 Nov 11: "Language and education specialists are concerned the federal government’s national roll-out of digital television will have a detrimental effect on the preservation and transmission of Aboriginal languages and cultures. In 1987, the Broadcasting for Remote Aboriginal Communities Scheme (BRACS) was established to balance the introduction of mainstream TV channels (via satellite) into remote communities with some local control and ability to broadcast local content." Emma Murphy
- News
Koori Mail: Tent Embassy celebrations planned
[scroll down page] http://www.koorimail.com/index.php
22 Nov 11: "PREPARATIONS have begun in earnest for the 40th anniversary of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy in Canberra on 26 January. A song 'Tribute to the Elders' has been written especially for the milestone and an organising committee has begun distributing invitations to celebrations at the iconic site."
Green Left: Brisbane rally demands action on Black deaths in custody
http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/49525
21 Nov 11: ""Still no justice! Stop Black deaths in custody!" were the themes of a rally held at Emma Miller Place on November 19. The protest marked 20 years since the release of the report of the Royal Commission into Black deaths in custody in 1991. Up to 150 people attended the rally and marched through city streets to Musgrave Park in West End to demand a new Royal Commission into the Aboriginal deaths since 1991. Murri activist and rally chair Sam Watson announced that a new Deaths in Custody Watch Committee would be formed in Brisbane to monitor treatment of Aboriginal prisoners."
Green Left: Sam Watson: We need a new royal commission into black deaths in custody
http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/49492
18 Nov 11: "November 19 marks the seventh anniversary of “the police murder of Mulrunji Doomadgee on Palm Island”, says Sam Watson, a prominent Queensland Murri leader and Socialist Alliance member. In Brisbane, supporters of Aboriginal rights will rally that day to demand governments implement all 339 recommendations of the 1991 Royal Commission into Black deaths in custody."
News.com.au: Indigenous languages 'must be preserved'
http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/indigenous-languages-must-be-preser...
18 Nov 11: "A NATIONAL body should be established to encourage the learning of indigenous languages in Aboriginal communities, an inquiry has been told. Australian Human Rights Commission spokeswoman Fabienne Balsamo says research shows the number of Aboriginal languages spoken across Australia has dropped from an original 250 to 150. Indigenous languages could disappear within 30 years without action to preserve them, she said."
Green Left: Indigenous activists 'evict' Melbourne Lord Mayor
http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/49489
18 Nov 11: "Activists from Occupy Melbourne’s Indigenous Working Group served an eviction to Melbourne City Council and Lord Mayor Robert Doyle on November 23. Indigenous activist Robbie Thorpe said: "Australia is a crime scene, whose law is based on the principles of theft, rape and murder. We need a treaty with the Original Nations.""
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WGAR: Working Group for Aboriginal Rights (Australia)
WGAR Website: http://wgar.wordpress.com/