Newsletter date: 2 June 2012
Contents:
* Interview with Richard Downs, Eastern Region Alyawarr spokesperson
* Stand for Freedom campaign calls for organisations to support the Yolngu Statement
* WSCF strongly support the Yolngu Nations Assembly’s Statement
* Reconciliation for Western Sydney (R4WS): Letter to Senator Evans
* WGAR supports the Yolngu statement opposing the Stronger Futures laws
* SMH: Lowitja O'Donoghue Oration [by Michael Kirby]
* Interview with Randa Kattan spokesperson for the Bankstown Coalition
* More 'Stronger Futures' Legislation related articles
* Background to 'Stronger Futures' new NT Intervention laws
* Background to the Northern Territory (NT) Intervention
See:
WGAR News: Yolngu Nations Assembly Statement concerning 'Stronger Futures' laws and NT policies (4 May 12)
http://indymedia.org.au/2012/05/04/wgar-news-yolngu-nations-assembly-sta...
WGAR News: Several organisations express support for the Yolngu Nations Assembly Statement (10 May 12)
http://indymedia.org.au/2012/05/10/wgar-news-several-organisations-expre...
WGAR News: More organisations state support for the Yolngu Nations Assembly Statement (11 May 12)
http://indymedia.org.au/2012/05/11/wgar-news-more-organisations-state-su...
WGAR News: "Australia challenged at United Nations over NT laws" Statement of delegations to UN (21 May 12)
http://indymedia.org.au/2012/05/21/wgar-news-australia-challenged-at-uni...
[Includes a few statements of support for the Yolngu Nations Assembly Statement.]
WGAR News: Ampilatwatja Community Leaders give their full support to Yolngu Nations Assembly (30 May 12)
http://indymedia.org.au/2012/05/30/wgar-news-ampilatwatja-community-lead...
Respect and Listen compilation:
http://www.respectandlisten.org/nt-intervention/stronger-futures.html
"Statements and Media Releases ... calling to abandon the Stronger Futures Legislation and supporting the Yolŋu Nations Assembly Statement"
'concerned Australians' compilation:
Churches, Religious, Organisations and Reconciliation Groups
http://concernedaustralians.com.au/Stronger_Futures_Yolngu_supporters.html
"Calls to Abandon the Stronger Futures Legislation, and Calls to Support the Yolngu Nations Assembly Statement"
* INTERVIEW WITH RICHARD DOWNS, EASTERN REGION ALYAWARR SPOKESPERSON:
- Audio Interview
Indigenous radio station 98.9FM Brisbane:
Richard Downs - Eastern Region Alyawarr spokesperson
http://www.989fm.com.au/category/podcasts/
30 May 12
Listen to this interview on-line:
http://www.989fm.com.au/podcasts/lets-talk/richard-downs-2/
See:
WGAR News: Ampilatwatja Community Leaders give their full support to Yolngu Nations Assembly (30 May 12)
http://indymedia.org.au/2012/05/30/wgar-news-ampilatwatja-community-lead...
* STAND FOR FREEDOM CAMPAIGN CALLS FOR ORGANISATIONS TO SUPPORT THE YOLNGU STATEMENT:
- Action
Stand for Freedom: Yolngu Statement
http://standforfreedom.org.au/yolngu-statement/
"On the 24 April 2012, the Yolngu Nations of Arnhem Land issued a formal statement rejecting the Federal Government’s Stronger Futures legislation. Its signatories represent 8000 people in Western, Central and East Arnhem Land. It has since received the support of other Aboriginal communities across the NT and a growing number of local and national organisations.
The Yolngu Statement calls for: ...
Read the full statement here: [ http://standforfreedom.org.au/full-yolgnu-statement/ ] ...
If you represent an organisation and would like to support the Statement and the will of Aboriginal people in the NT, add your name below: ... "
* WSCF STRONGLY SUPPORT THE YOLNGU NATIONS ASSEMBLY'S STATEMENT:
- Media Release
Western Sydney Community Forum strongly support Yolŋu Nations Assembly’s Statement
WSCF: http://www.wscf.org.au/uploads/2012%20uploads/Media%20Release%20May%2020...
Respect and Listen: http://www.respectandlisten.org/uploads/downloads/NT_Intervention/Strong...
'cA': http://concernedaustralians.com.au/media/stronger_futures_yolngu/Western...
29 May 12: "Western Sydney Community Forum strongly supports the Statement of the Yolŋu Nations Assembly’s Rejection of Stronger Futures Bill and their call on the Senate to discard these Bills in full.
Western Sydney Community Forum is a regional peak community-based organisation committed to social justice principles, meeting the needs of community groups and other relevant local and regional organisations for resourcing and representation to enable them to improve and maintain the quality of life for the residents of Western Sydney.
WSCF has a cross-regional membership of over 200 community-based organisations providing various services to families, youth, migrant and refugee communities, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. ... "
- News
Western Sydney Community Forum (WSCF):
Western Sydney Community Forum strongly support the Yolŋu Nations Assembly’s Statement
http://www.wscf.org.au/
"WSCF are against the continuation of Non-Working Social Policies and have been part of a strong Coalition against Income Management since last year. We support the Statement of the Yolŋu Nations Assembly’s Rejection of the Stronger Futures Bill and their call on Senate to discard these Bills in full. The Stronger Future legislation is condemned by United Nations and Amnesty International for its racial discrimination against Aboriginal people and their cultures. ... "
* RECONCILIATION FOR WESTERN SYDNEY (R4WS): LETTER TO SENATOR EVANS
- Letter
Reconciliation for Western Sydney (R4WS): Letter to Senator Evans
Respect and Listen: http://www.respectandlisten.org/uploads/downloads/NT_Intervention/Strong...
Dear Senator Evans,
We, members of Reconciliation for Western Sydney (R4WS) wish to raise with you, our deep concerns regarding the proposed 'Stronger Futures' legislation currently before the Senate. ... "
* WGAR SUPPORTS THE YOLNGU STATEMENT OPPOSING THE STRONGER FUTURES LAWS:
- Media Statement
WGAR supports the Yolngu statement opposing the Stronger Futures laws
Indymedia Australia: http://indymedia.org.au/2012/05/31/wgar-supports-the-yolngu-statement-op...
Respect and Listen: http://www.respectandlisten.org/uploads/downloads/NT_Intervention/Strong...
1 Jun 12: "The Working Group for Aboriginal Rights stands in solidarity with the Yolngu Nations Assembly and strongly supports the Yolngu’s right to be independent and free nations living under their own Law.
WGAR understands that the Stronger Futures legislation, as an extension of Australian Government’s Northern Territory Intervention into Aboriginal communities, is a colonial imposition on the owners of Country, who have never ceded their sovereignty and have maintained their own Law and customs for millennia.
When the NT delegation to the UN Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial discrimination (CERD) presented their opposition to the NT Intervention in August 2011, the CERD recommended that the Australian Government enter into Treaty negotiations with the owners of Country:
‘ … the Committee recommends that the State party consider the negotiation of a treaty agreement to build a constructive and sustained relationship with Indigenous peoples.’
[CERD/C/AUS/CO/15-17 27 August 2010]
We recommend that it is high time that all political parties cease the denial of the true sovereign rights of First Nations Peoples and commence serious negotiations for a meaningful future, in which First Nations Peoples take their proper place in this land, once again. ... "
See CERD: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cerd/cerds77.htm
* SMH: LOWITJA O'DONOGHUE ORATION [BY MICHAEL KIRBY]
- Analysis / Opinion
SMH: Lowitja O'Donoghue Oration - Of constitutions, interventions and other melancholy tales
http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/lowitja-odonoghue-oration-2012052...
29 May 12: "Above all, it is necessary for Aboriginals to speak out; and to be listened to respectfully, attentively. I hope that in my lifetime I do not see another initiative like the Northern Territory Intervention - pressed forward for suspect motives, within eight weeks of a federal election and with no consultation in its design with the Aboriginal peoples and communities most affected. And this despite the recommendation that this was an absolute prerequisite for an effective and just initiative ... " By Michael Kirby, Justice of the High Court of Australia from 1996 to 2009
- Related Audio
Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association:
CAAMA News 30-05
http://caama.com.au/caama-news-30-05
30 May 12: "One of Australia’s most brilliant legal minds….former High Court Judge Michael Kirby says the Northern Territory Intervention imposed special restrictions and controls on Aboriginal people that were reminiscent of the special protectorates of 19 th century colonial society."
- Related News
Koori Mail: We dropped the ball, says Kirby
[scroll down page] http://www.koorimail.com/index.php
31 May 12: "AUSTRALIA should have seized opportunities presented by the 1967 Referendum, changing the Constitution and negotiating with Indigenous Australians about a treaty, according to former High Court judge Michael Kirby. Delivering the annual Lowitja O'Donoghue Oration in Adelaide on Tuesday night, Justice Kirby said poor outcomes in Indigenous health, housing and education and high Indigenous incarceration were clear indications of stunted progress. He said governments, courts and the private, education and church sectors needed to support Indigenous people to find solutions."
* INTERVIEW WITH RANDA KATTAN SPOKERPERSON FOR THE BANKSTOWN COALITION:
- Audio Interview
3CR Community Radio 855 AM - Podcasts
[scroll down page] http://www.3cr.org.au/podcast
Accent of Women - 30 May 2012
[download this program] http://pod.3cr.org.au/pod/3CRCast-2012-05-29-84436.mp3
30 May 12: "Part of the Stronger Futures Legislation’s plan is to extend the use of Income Management and the Government has planned to trial the Income Management on five different sites in Australia and Bankstown is first in line. Randa Kattan, the spokesperson for the Bankstown Coalition protests against the implementation of Income Management, joins us to talk about how this affects Bankstown migrant communities."
See:
Welcome to the campaign website of
Say No to Government’s Income Management: Not in Bankstown, Not Anywhere!
http://www.sayno2gim.info/
Stop the Intervention: Income Management
http://stoptheintervention.org/facts/income-management
* MORE 'STRONGER FUTURES' LEGISLATION RELATED ARTICLES:
- News
9 News: Funds redirected for NT intervention
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/8476974/funds-redirected-for-nt-inte...
1 Jun 12: "Some national indigenous programs have been sacrificed and their funds redirected to the extended intervention in the Northern Territory. Australian Greens senator Rachel Siewert on Friday grilled government bureaucrats about what was new money and what were redirected funds for the $3.4 billion intervention. Deputy secretary of the Department of Families, Community Services, Housing and Indigenous Affairs, Michael Dillon, said $168 million had been redirected over four years."
National Indigenous Times: Bankstown opposes Macklin’s BasicsCard
http://www.nit.com.au/news/1164-bankstown-opposes-macklins-basicscard.html
1 Jun 12: "By National Indigenous Times ACT reporter Geoff Bagnall
Anti-BasicsCard activists are planning sit-ins outside the Centrelink office in the Sydney suburb of Bankstown in an effort to halt implementation of the Federal Government's controversial income-management policy. As part of a campaign to stop the compulsory income management provisions of the Northern... "
Jumbunna, UTS: Special issue of the Journal of Indigenous Policy
http://datasearch2.uts.edu.au/jumbunna/news-events/news-detail.cfm?ItemI...
17 May 12: "Jumbunna Research Unit have just published an addendum to the Journal of Indigenous Policy Issue 12 which raises some serious concerns about lack of evidence for the continuation of income management in the Northern Territory and its extension to five 'trial' sites in Australia. Both documents are available free from the following link and have been published to stimulate debate on the issue of income management and what constitutes good Indigenous policy making."
For the full details click here: http://www.jumbunna.uts.edu.au/researchareas/journals/specialissue.html
- Audio
Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association:
CAAMA News 31-05
http://caama.com.au/caama-news-31-05
31 May 12: "A Queensland based Aboriginal health academic has questioned the Gillard Labor governments move to continue Intervention measures in the Northern Territory and argues that compulsory legislation’s have never worked anywhere around the world."
* BACKGROUND TO 'STRONGER FUTURES' NEW NT INTERVENTION LAWS:
Last updated: 30 May 2012
http://indymedia.org.au/2012/04/22/background-to-stronger-futures-new-nt...
* BACKGROUND TO THE NORTHERN TERRITORY (NT) INTERVENTION:
Last updated: 24 May 2012
http://indymedia.org.au/2012/04/22/background-to-the-northern-territory-...
- - -
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 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 and events. Subscribers can expect to receive about 4 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.
- - -
You can also subscribe to our second list 'Contact WGAR' which focuses on activities and events and provides a point of contact.
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/