Newsletter date: 1 August 2012
Contents:
* Michael Anderson: Representatives of more than 30 nations see Aboriginal affairs at an all-time low
* Interview with Michael Anderson following Moree Sovereign Union Interim Government Gathering
* Background to the Aboriginal sovereignty movement
* Congress: No apology needed for being proudly Aboriginal
* Background to National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples
* CAAMA: Senior APY leader rejects claims that communities want income management
* Chris Graham: Bad Aunty: The truth about the NT intervention and the case for an independent media
* Liz Conor: The anti-intervention movement and violence in remote Aboriginal communities
* Andrew Dutney: The First Peoples are 'us': Why the Uniting Church opposes Stronger Futures
* Darren Coyne: Intervention opponents say the fight will go on
* More 'Stronger Futures' Legislation related articles
* Background to 'Stronger Futures' new NT Intervention laws
* Background to the Northern Territory (NT) Intervention
* Ray Jackson: NSW Ombudsman response to questions from the indigenous social justice association
* Other articles
* MICHAEL ANDERSON: REPRESENTATIVES OF MORE THAN 30 NATIONS SEE ABORIGINAL AFFAIRS AT AN ALL-TIMES LOW
- Media Release
Sovereign Union: Representatives of more than 30 nations see Aboriginal affairs at an all-time low
http://nationalunitygovernment.org/content/representatives-more-30-natio...
Treaty Republic: http://treatyrepublic.net/content/representatives-more-30-nations-see-ab...
"Delegates attending the Sovereign Union gathering in Moree 28-29th that attracted representatives from more than 30 nations have agreed that Aboriginal affairs is at its all-time low. ...
This is further compounded by the forced government programming of 'closing the gap', which is in effect measuring their assimilation objectives, that is, how far they are removing us from our culture and how successfully we have been absorbed into the white one through their reconciliation program.
The frustration in our communities is that little to no resources are available for Aboriginal community based initiatives to deal with community needs. Only we can deal with our problems. ...
The questions being asked are why are we not permitted to run our own community based affairs? ...
The Moree gathering has agreed that we must now go full steam ahead. We must win back our rights, take responsibilities for our development and wellbeing. ... " By Michael Anderson, Convenor of the Sovereign Union and the interim National Unity Government
* INTERVIEW WITH MICHAEL ANDERSON FOLLOWING MOREE SOVEREIGN UNION INTERIM GOVERNMENT GATHERING:
- Audio Interview
Sovereign Union: Michael Anderson Interview following Moree Gathering
http://audioboo.fm/boos/902453-michael-anderson-interview-following-more...
[scroll down page] http://nationalunitygovernment.org/content/representatives-more-30-natio...
30 Jul 12: "Michael Anderson Interview following Moree Sovereign Gathering. The gathering took place on 28th and 29th July, 2012."
- Event
Event: Sat 28 and Sun 29 July 2012: Moree, NSW
Moree Sovereign Union Interim Government Gathering
Interim National Unity Government of the Sovereign Union
Photos: http://nationalunitygovernment.org/content/moree-gathering-28-29-july-2012
Agenda - Draft No 4 - Additional info - 21/07/12: http://nationalunitygovernment.org/node/222
Flyers:
Colour JPG: http://nationalunitygovernment.org/images/2012/gatherings/moree-meeting-...
Black & White JPG: http://nationalunitygovernment.org/images/2012/gatherings/moree-meeting-...
Colour PDF: http://nationalunitygovernment.org/pdf/moree-meeting-a4-2.pdf
Black & White PDF: http://nationalunitygovernment.org/pdf/moree-meeting-a4-bw0001.pdf
Details on Sovereign Union website: http://nationalunitygovernment.org/
- Related News
Moree Champion: Goomeroi meeting hosted at Moree
http://www.moreechampion.com.au/news/local/news/general/goomeroi-meeting...
30 Jul 12: "A small gathering of Aboriginal rights activists gathered at Moree’s Tent Embassy on Saturday morning to discuss their claim to continuing sovereignty and dominion over Aboriginal land. Among the activists was Michael Anderson who is an Aboriginal activist with a long career of defending people’s rights. ... "In pursuing our ambitions to achieving self-determination, we must now commit ourselves to each other to create a national unity, as this is the only way by which we can achieve our future ambitions and free ourselves from the yoke of tyranny," Mr Anderson said."
* BACKGROUND TO THE ABORIGINAL SOVEREIGNTY MOVEMENT:
Last updated: 29 July 2012
http://indymedia.org.au/2012/04/22/background-to-the-aboriginal-sovereig...
* CONGRESS: NO APOLOGY NEEDED FOR BEING PROUDLY ABORIGINAL
- News
National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples: No apology needed for being proudly Aboriginal
http://nationalcongress.com.au/no-apology-needed-for-being-proudly-abori...
31 Jul 12: "Boxer Damien Hooper has a right to show his identity as an Aboriginal person in the Australian team. He has nothing to apologise for being proud of who he is and where he came from. Our peoples should be able to show that they are both Aboriginal and Australian. The display of flags by Aboriginal athletes is not new; images of Cathy Freeman with the flag were beamed around the world in 2000. Congress encourages the Australian Olympic Committee to find a way through this bureaucratic insanity."
- Related News
Age: Indigenous leaders want rules changed
http://www.theage.com.au/olympics/news-london-2012/indigenous-leaders-wa...
1 Aug 12: "INDIGENOUS leaders say the Olympic rules that outlaw Aboriginal flags at the Games should change, and have called on the Australian Olympic Committee to lobby for the longstanding protocol to be overturned. Dual Olympian 110-metre hurdler Kyle Vander Kuyp, former world champion boxer Anthony Mundine, and former politician and activist Phil Cleary - who said recognising both flags at the Games would ''affirm our real history and be a major act of reconciliation'' - led the voices supporting boxer Damien Hooper ... "
Australian: Aboriginal flag fine for Freeman, why not Hooper?
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/indigenous/aboriginal-f...
1 Aug 12: "THE National Congress of Australia's First Peoples has defended the right of Australian boxer Damien Hooper to wear an Aboriginal flag on his shirt and urged the Australian Olympic Committee "to find a way through this bureaucratic insanity". The congress is the peak Aboriginal representative body in Australia and is partly funded by the Gillard government."
Koori Mail: Kafuffle over Olympic boxer’s flag t-shirt
[scroll down page] http://www.koorimail.com/index.php
31 Jul 12: "ABORIGINAL boxer Damien Hooper won his opening London Olympic fight against American Marcus Brown (13-11) yesterday but it’s his decision to wear an Aboriginal flag t-shirt into the ring that has media and others aflutter. AAP has quoted an Australian team official as saying Hooper would be counselled for his stance, which could be against the International Olympic charter preventing 'political statements' at the Games. Hooper has been quoted as saying he wore the shirt because he was representing not just his country but also his Aboriginal culture, and was proud to have done so."
Hooper warned not to wear Aboriginal flag again
newsTracker: http://tracker.org.au/2012/07/hooper-warned-not-to-wear-aboriginal-flag-...
Herald Sun: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/london-olympics/damien-hooper-will-now...
31 Jul 12: "He did it for his people, but officials are warning Australian boxer Damien Hooper not to repeat his entry to the Olympic ring with the Aboriginal flag proudly emblazoned across his chest. Hooper, an Indigenous Australian from northern Queensland, marked his Games debut by wearing a black T-shirt bearing the Aboriginal flag as he arrived for his impressive opening fight win against American Marcus Browne. It went against Australian team rules, which state athletes must only wear the official team uniform."
- Related Audio
The Wire: Indigenous athlete could be sanctioned over t-shirt
Produced by Anthony Sonego
http://www.thewire.org.au/storyDetail.aspx?ID=9420
31 Jul 12: "Indigenous Australian boxer Damien Hooper has found himself in the media spotlight moments before his fight this morning after wearing a t-shirt with the Aboriginal flag. The light-heavyweight boxer was cautioned by the Australian Olympic Comittee for breaching the Olympics uniform code. Rule 50 of the Olympic Charter prohibits athletes from any form of publicity, propaganda or making a political statement. But some observers say despite Hooper’s violation of the Olympic dress code he has helped raised more important issues. ...
Featured in story:
* Kristine Toohey - Professor of Sports Management at Griffiths University
* Emma Sherry - Senior Lecturer at the Centre for Sport and Social Impact at La Trobe University"
- Related Analysis / Opinion
The Nation: Damien Hooper: The Sanctioning of an Anti-Racist Olympic Rebel
http://www.thenation.com/blog/169178/damien-hooper-sanctioning-anti-raci...
31 Jul 12: "Today, it’s still the third rail of Australian politics to claim pride and solidarity with the nation’s indigenous people. Damien Hooper is finding this out the hard way. Hooper is an Olympic boxer making major waves both in and out of the ring. The light heavyweight is now a threat to win gold after dispatching highly touted US boxer Marcus Browne. He’s also a threat to be sent home by the Australian Olympic Committee. Before fighting Browne, the 20-year-old’s ring attire included a black T-shirt emblazoned with the Aboriginal Flag." By Dave Zirin
* BACKGROUND TO NATIONAL CONGRESS OF AUSTRALIA'S FIRST PEOPLES:
Last updated: 5 May 2012
http://indymedia.org.au/2012/05/05/background-to-the-national-congress-o...
* CAAMA: SENIOR APY LEADER REJECTS CLAIMS THAT COMMUNITIES WANT INCOME MANAGEMENT
- Audio
Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association:
CAAMA News 31.07.2012
http://caama.com.au/caama-news-31-07-2012
31 Jul 12: "Senior APY leader rejects claims that communities want income management."
- Related News
newsTracker: APY Lands leader rejects income management
http://tracker.org.au/2012/07/apy-lands-leader-rejects-income-management/
31 Jul 12: " ... An Aboriginal leader from South Australia’s Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands has knocked back claims communities have called for the introduction of income management in a series of consultation meetings. Murray George, an executive member of the APY Lands Council and chair for Law and Culture, released a statement rejecting community support for the controversial welfare quarantines. ... Mr George attended all six community meetings [consultations], and said a compulsory income management scheme was overwhelmingly rejected by participants."
Koori Mail: APY income management claims disputed
[scroll down page] http://www.koorimail.com/index.php
30 Jul 12: "A SENIOR member of the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands Council in remote South Australia has disputed suggestions that APY communities called for income management during recent Federal Government consultations. Mid-month, Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin said the communities had sent 'a very strong message' that they thought income management would help them look after their children but Lands Council law and culture chairman Murray George says six meetings that he attended overwhelmingly rejected the measure. Mr George's stance puts him at odds with the Ngaanyatjarra Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (NPY) Women's Council, which has backed voluntary income management."
Australian: Redmond slams Labor over APY 'squalor'
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/indigenous/redmond-slam...
31 Jul 12: "ABORIGINES in South Australia's remote indigenous communities have been condemned to live in "filth and squalor" by years of successive Labor government failure, says state Opposition Leader Isobel Redmond. Ms Redmond has just returned to Adelaide from her first visit to the troubled Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands in South Australia's far north."
Koori Mail: NPY women ask for income management
[scroll down page] http://www.koorimail.com/index.php?page=Current+Edition
25 Jul 12: "ABORIGINAL women in remote South Australia and Western Australia are actively campaigning to be included in the Federal Government’s income management scheme, first introduced under the Northern Territory Intervention. The influential Ngaanyatjarra, Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara (NPY) Women’s Council says it has surveyed its members and found they strongly believe income management – which quarantines half of social security payments for essentials like food, clothes and rent – would help reduce alcohol abuse, violence, gambling, child abuse and neglect in their communities."
newsTracker: Redmond to visit APY lands
http://tracker.org.au/2012/07/redmond-to-visit-apy-lands/
23 Jul 12: "SOUTH AUSTRALIA: Opposition Leader Isobel Redmond will visit the state’s Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) lands this week. Ms Redmond and opposition aboriginal affairs spokesman Duncan McFetridge will visit schools and hold talks with community leaders in SA’s northwest. "We will be visiting schools and talking with principals, teachers and students along with community representatives in an effort to get a good overview of the issues, opportunities and challenges facing the many people who live there," Ms Redmond said in a statement on Monday."
Australian: Workers left out of APY intervention
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/workers-left-out-of-apy...
20 Jul 12: "SOUTH Australia's remote Aboriginal lands will be the site of the next wave of the federal intervention, after the completion of consultation in the region. But community groups say they are concerned the consultation process on the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands has not adequately heard concerns from wage-earners about humbugging. As consultation on income quarantining began in May, The Australian revealed that the region's respected Women's Council was calling for a broader programto encompass workers."
- Related Audio
ABC PM: Aboriginal elders ask for income management
http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2012/s3547788.htm
17 Jul 12: "In the Northern Territory Intervention, now called Stronger Futures, welfare payments are partially quarantined for spending only on essentials like food and rent. Many Indigenous leaders and human rights activists across the nation have called the income management regime racist. But one Aboriginal group in South Australia's very remote northwest is now pleading to be included. It's a move being led by the senior women of the APY lands, now being supported by the local Lands Council."
- Related Video
ABC 7.30: Aboriginal group defies criticism with income management plea
http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2012/s3547939.htm
17 Jul 12: "Despite income management being criticised by Indigenous and human rights groups, the senior women of one Aboriginal group are asking to be included. ... The Federal Government's decision to extend the Northern Territory Intervention has provoked furious debate. Critics say it's racist and violates Indigenous human rights and 43,000 Australians have signed a petition calling for it to end. But in the remote APY lands of South Australia, female Indigenous leaders are calling for a new intervention."
* CHRIS GRAHAM: BAD AUNTY: THE TRUTH ABOUT THE NT INTERVENTION AND THE CASE FOR AN INDEPENDENT MEDIA
- Analysis / Opinion
agendaTracker: Bad Aunty: The truth about the NT intervention and the case for an independent media
http://tracker.org.au/2012/07/bad-aunty/
30 Jul 12: " ... the Australian media has been in decline for a very long time, argues CHRIS GRAHAM*. Social media has simply has made it a lot more obvious. In this special feature, we bring you the story of how the Northern Territory intervention was extended last month by the Gillard government for another decade with the support of the Liberals and Nationals, despite the fact the policy is failing badly. And it couldn’t have happened without the support of the nation’s media, one institution in particular. The ABC, also known as Aunty." By Chris Graham, Walkley Award and Human Rights award winning writer, managing editor of Tracker magazine, formerly editor of National Indigenous Times when the Lateline reporting scandal was first broken
* LIZ CONOR: THE ANTI-INTERVENTION MOVEMENT AND VIOLENCE IN REMOTE ABORIGINAL COMMUNITIES
- Analysis / Opinion
Liz Conor: The anti-intervention movement and violence in remote Aboriginal communities
http://lizconorcomment.blogspot.com.au/2012/07/the-anti-intervention-mov...
30 Jul 12: "There is no subject more inflammatory than violence against children and sexual violence, the abuse of innocence, universally sickens and abhors. ... Before the Intervention women in some remote communities were working together in an attempt to deal with violence. They are not passive victims waiting for whitefellas to rescue them. We need to go back and look at what was already working. We need to empower the Aunties for if they and their men are disempowered, by top-down imposed administrative regimes that humiliate and discredit them, the violence can only worsen." By Liz Conor
* ANDREW DUTNEY: THE FIRST PEOPLES ARE 'US': WHY THE UNITING CHURCH OPPOSES STRONGER FUTURES
- Analysis / Opinion
ABC Religion & Ethics: The First Peoples are 'us': Why the Uniting Church opposes Stronger Futures
http://www.abc.net.au/religion/articles/2012/07/30/3556672.htm
30 Jul 12: "It wasn't on the schedule, but the thirteenth triennial Assembly of the Uniting Church found itself on the steps of the South Australian Parliament in July. ... During the lunch break on the fourth day, all the members of the Assembly, many of the guests and some local Uniting Church members (about 400 people in total) walked silently from the Assembly venue to the Parliament House of South Australia to hold a vigil in response to the passing of the federal "Stronger Futures" legislation." By Andrew Dutney
See:
WGAR News: Insights UCA: Prayer vigil called to mourn passing of Stronger Futures legislation (24 Jul 12)
[scroll down page] http://indymedia.org.au/2012/07/24/wgar-news-leaders-outraged-as-indigen...
WGAR News: UnitingJustice: Pastoral Letter on Action Against 'Stronger Futures' (26 Jul 12)
[scroll down page] http://indymedia.org.au/2012/07/26/wgar-news-a-mental-health-crisis-behi...
* DARREN COYNE: INTERVENTION OPPONENTS SAY FIGHT WILL GO ON
- Analysis / Opinion
The Guardian: Intervention opponents say the fight will go on
http://www.cpa.org.au/guardian/2012/1558/05-intervention-opponents.html
1 Aug 12: "Opponents of the federal government’s intervention in Northern Territory Aboriginal communities narrowly missed out being able to ask Prime Minister Julia Gillard about why the new Stronger Futures legislation had not been subjected to human rights scrutiny. The Stand For Freedom campaign was hoping its question would be one of three to be answered by Ms Gillard during an international, live web broadcast the Saturday before last, organised by Deakin University, Google+, Fairfax and OurSay. ... Despite the setback, Mr Curtis said the fight against the legislation would continue." By Darren Coyne
- Related News
National Indigenous Radio Service: Group disappointed by PM's avoidance of Intervention question
http://www.nirs.org.au/news/latest-news/7416-group-disappointed-by-pms-a...
27 Jul 12: "Anti-Northern Territory Intervention campaigners say they're outraged that the Prime Minister ignored a question about the human rights legitimacy of the Stronger Futures legislation. Julia Gillard was asked about the issue during an online forum. Stand for Freedom's Damien Curtis says far less important questions were put to the PM and it is clear the controversial topic was deliberately ignored."
See:
WGAR News: "Leaders outraged as Indigenous issues sidelined by Prime Minister" Media Release (24 Jul 12)
http://indymedia.org.au/2012/07/24/wgar-news-leaders-outraged-as-indigen...
* MORE 'STRONGER FUTURES' LEGISLATION RELATED ARTICLES:
- News
newsTracker: Bringing back the Brough: 10 of the worst things Mad Mal did in office
http://tracker.org.au/2012/07/bringing-back-the-brough-10-of-the-worst-t...
31 Jul 12: "NATIONAL: The best predictor of someone’s future behaviour is their past behaviour. Which means that with Mal Brough winning pre-selection for the federal seat of Fisher, parliament is in for a sideshow the likes of which it hasn’t seen since… well, the last time Brough was there. Brough’s win in the Liberal National Party’s pre-selection for the seat of Fisher means he’ll almost certainly be back in federal parliament by 2013. ... He [Mal Brough] began abolishing CDEP in remote regions, despite the fact CDEP was the ONLY source of employment in impoverished towns, not to mention the major funder of basic services. ... " By Chris Graham, Walkley Award and Human Rights award winning writer, managing Editor of Tracker
* BACKGROUND TO 'STRONGER FUTURES' NEW NT INTERVENTION LAWS:
Last updated: 24 July 2012
http://indymedia.org.au/2012/04/22/background-to-stronger-futures-new-nt...
* BACKGROUND TO THE NORTHERN TERRITORY (NT) INTERVENTION:
Last updated: 4 July 2012
http://indymedia.org.au/2012/04/22/background-to-the-northern-territory-...
* RAY JACKSON: NSW OMBUDSMAN RESPONSE TO QUESTIONS FROM THE INDIGENOUS SOCIAL JUSTICE ASSOCIATION
- Analysis / Opinion
Indymedia Australia: NSW Ombudsman response to questions from the indigenous social justice association
http://indymedia.org.au/2012/07/30/nsw-ombudsman-response-to-questions-f...
30 Jul 12: "below is a reply to 30 questions the isja put to the ombudsman, bruce barbour, that sought a wide-ranging explanation of deaths in custody perpetrated by the nsw police, the power of the ombudsman in relation to monitoring and investigating such deaths, the misused power of the nsw police relative to the abuse of tasers, and his other justice responsibilities in other custodial jurisdictions. the thirty questions were hand-delivered to his office, but not to bruce personally, on 26 june 2012. i have included the questions below for your convenience." by ray jackson, president, indigenous social justice association
* OTHER ARTICLES:
- Analysis / Opinion
agendaTracker: Little Black Duck: What defines Aboriginal Australia?
http://tracker.org.au/2012/07/little-black-duck-what-defines-aboriginal-...
30 Jul 12: "NATIONAL: Australia often looks at Aboriginal people through a negative lens. NICOLE WATSON* believes it is time we celebrate our positive attributes. There have been numerous attempts by mainstream commentators to define us in recent years. Most portray Aboriginal people as lacking some essential quality which makes us less worthy than other Australians.
Absent from such dialogue is any genuine interest in discovering those positive attributes that spread across Aboriginal Australia." By Nicole Watson, Murri lawyer, researcher with Jumbunna Indigenous House of Learning, University of Technology Sydney
- News
Australian: 'No legal barriers' to Canberra forcing roadhouses to sell Opal
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/indigenous/no-legal-bar...
30 Jul 12: "THERE are no barriers to the government legislating to force roadhouses near Aboriginal communities in the grip of petrol sniffing to sell Opal fuel, despite claims to the contrary by a federal minister. About 10 such retailers have been criticised for allowing petrol sniffing to continue."
Townsville Bulletin: Petrol sniffing strategy needs to go further
http://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/article/2012/07/30/350591_news.html
30 Jul 12: " COMMUNITY leaders have warned a government spending spree to fight petrol sniffing in indigenous youth must target social problems leading to the deadly addiction. The Federal Government will inject more than $97 million into its Petrol Sniffing Strategy over the next four years to target chroming and drug and alcohol addiction in remote indigenous communities. Stakeholders yesterday welcomed the funding, but said throwing money at anti-chroming programs alone would not address deeper community issues."
National Indigenous Radio Service: Mandatory Opal fuel an option: Senate committee
http://www.nirs.org.au/news/latest-news/7417-mandatory-opal-fuel-an-opti...
27 Jul 12: "The head of a Senate committee looking into the pros and cons of Opal fuel says a lot of work has been done over recent years to combat petrol sniffing. The Community Affairs Legislation Committee has conducted hearings in Alice Springs this week. The low aromatic fuel has been rolled out in central Australia as a way of reducing petrol sniffing among young Indigenous Australians. Committee chair Claire Moore says the Commonwealth is looking at the option of making that roll-out mandatory."
- - -
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http://indymedia.org.au/2012/04/30/about-wgar-news-working-group-for-abo...
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