WGAR News: Nuclear Waste Dump; Close the Gap day (28 Mar 10)

Submitted by WGAR - Working ... on Sun, 28/03/2010 - 12:39pm

WGAR: Working Group for Aboriginal Rights (Australia)

Contents:
Nuclear Waste Dump in NT, Australia
Close the Gap day
NT Intervention Articles
Other Aboriginal Articles

NUCLEAR WASTE DUMP IN NT, AUSTRALIA:

- Background

Beyond Nuclear Initiative’s weblog:
http://beyondnuclearinitiative.wordpress.com/
“This site is a snapshot of current nuclear free campaigns in Australia, particularly focusing on the proposal for a federal radioactive waste dump in the Northern Territory.”

WGAR News: Nuclear waste dump in the Northern Territory (2 Mar 10)
http://indymedia.org.au/2010/03/02/wgar-news-nuclear-waste-dump-in-the-n...

WGAR News: Muckaty Station Nuclear Waste Dump (20 Mar 10)
http://wgar.info/2010/03/20/20032010-muckaty-station-nuclear-waste-dump/

- Funding Appeal

Beyond Nuclear Initiative’s weblog:
Funding appeal: Support needed for Muckaty Traditional Owners to attend Senate Inquiry.
http://beyondnuclearinitiative.wordpress.com/
24 Mar 10: "A public appeal is being launched to raise funds for Muckaty Traditional Owners to attend a Senate Inquiry hearing in Darwin on April 12. The Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee is considering the recently tabled National Radioactive Waste Management Bill 2010, which identifies an area in the Muckaty Land Trust as the only site to be initially considered for a radioactive waste dump. The Senate Inquiry has decided it will not take evidence in Tennant Creek, despite the town being home to many Muckaty Traditional Owners and concerned community members."
[Includes details of how people can make tax deductible donations]

CAAMA Radio News
(Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association):
http://caama.com.au/radio/caama-radio-news-25th-march-2010/
25 Mar 10: "Public appeal against the proposed Muckaty waste dump."

Koori Mail: Funds needed for Muckaty TOs
[scroll down page] http://www.koorimail.com/index.php
24 Mar 10: "DONATIONS are being sought to help Muckaty Traditional Owners attend a Senate Inquiry hearing in Darwin on April 12. The inquiry is examining the National Radioactive Waste Management Bill 2010, which identifies an area in the Muckaty Land Trust for a radioactive waste dump. Donations can be made through the Arid Lands Environment Centre in Alice Springs."

- Opinion

National Indigenous Times: TERRITORY TALKIN':Dumping on Muckaty station
http://www.nit.com.au/opinion/story.aspx?id=19539
18 Mar 10: "Muckaty station, the proposed site for Australia’s first purpose-built radioactive storage facility is located 120 kilometres north of Tennant Creek in what turns out to be a very interesting geo-political position. Although situated a good deal closer to the Central Land Council (CLC) base of operations in Alice Springs, this country is managed on behalf of the traditional owners by the Darwin-based Northern Land Council (NLC)." Graham Ring, an NIT columnist based in Darwin

- News

ABC: ETU slams nuclear waste dump plan
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/03/27/2857875.htm
27 Mar 10: "The Electrical Trades Union is seeking to ban its members from contributing to the proposed nuclear waste dump in Central Australia. The ETU used its Northern Territory delegates conference in Darwin yesterday to discuss the union's concerns about the proposed nuclear waste site."

The Guardian - The Worker's Weekly: N-dump anger
http://www.cpa.org.au/guardian/2010/1448/11-n-dump.html
24 Mar 10: "Opposition is mounting against a proposal to site a national radioactive dump at Muckaty Station in the Northern Territory despite the Northern Land Council (NLC) insisting it has the support of traditional owners. Meetings, protests and angry statements have been the fall-out since a recent announcement by Federal Resources Minister Martin Ferguson ... " Darren Coyne

ABC: Dump hearing snub a 'slap in the face'
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/03/22/2852817.htm
22 Mar 10: "Tennant Creek residents are angry with the decision not to hold local public hearings on the proposed nuclear waste dump for Muckaty Station. The Senate committee in charge of the inquiry into the Federal Government's proposed site has opted to conduct hearings in Darwin and Canberra."

National Indigenous Times:
No sacred sites harmed by nuke dump: NLC
http://www.nit.com.au/news/story.aspx?id=19561
18 Mar 10: "A Northern Land Council (NLC) report into the proposed Northern Territory nuclear waste dump says there are no sacred sites involved and the traditional owners overwhelmingly agree to its use as a nuclear repository."

CLOSE THE GAP DAY:

- News

National Indigenous Times:
Rudd has to make right approach to health on Close the Gap day: Indigenous leaders
http://www.nit.com.au/story.aspx?id=19582
25 Mar 10: "Aboriginal leaders are calling on the Rudd government not to take its foot off the pedal in the drive to improve health outcomes for Indigenous Australians. The Close the Gap coalition has organised hundreds of events in workplaces and schools on Thursday to "celebrate" progress in closing the life expectancy gap between black and white Australia."

ABC: Day focuses on closing Indigenous health gap
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/03/25/2856058.htm?site=indigenou...
25 Mar 10: "One of the leaders of the campaign to 'Close the Gap' on Indigenous disadvantage says progress has been made over the past few years. More than 30,000 people are expected to take part in the fourth annual national Close the Gap Day, focusing on improving health outcomes for Indigenous people."

ABC: Australia starting to Close the Gap: Calma
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/03/25/2855520.htm?site=indigenou...
25 Mar 10: "Campaign co-chairman Tom Calma acknowledges there have been funding boosts for Indigenous health services in recent years, but says more is needed. "We're all starting to face in the right direction and starting to walk in the right direction," he said."

IBTHealth: Indigenous health must stay a top priority
http://ibtimes.com.au/contents/20100324/aboriginal-indigenous-australian...
25 Mar 10: "Rudd government has been called by Aboriginal leaders, to make health improvements for Indigenous Australians, a top priority. On Thurday, the Close the Gap coalition, - made up of 40 health and advocacy groups - has organized hundreds of events in schools and workplaces to "celebrate" progress in closing the life expectancy gap between black and white Australia."

ABC: Indigenous issues in the spotlight
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/03/24/2854752.htm?site=indigenou...
24 Mar 10: "The Berri Barmera Council is hosting an event in Berri tomorrow as part of National Close the Gap Day, aimed at raising awareness about Indigenous issues, including life expectancy."

Coff's Coast Advocate: Pledge to close the gap
http://www.coffscoastadvocate.com.au/story/2010/03/22/pledge-to-close-th...
22 Mar 10: "GALAMBILA Aboriginal Health Services and Coffs Harbour City Council are hosting a Close the Gap information day. The Health Service staff is alarmed at the 17-year life expectancy gap between indigenous and Torres Straight Islanders and other Australians."

- Media Release

Greens: Govt must make Aboriginal health a top priority to Close the Gap
http://rachel-siewert.greensmps.org.au/content/media-release/govt-must-m...
25 Mar 10: "The Australian Greens believe National Close the Gap Day is a good opportunity for the federal government to put Aboriginal health at the centre of its health plan for the nation, saying this must happen if we are ever going to close the gap between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians. "Aboriginal health was glaringly absent from this weeks' health debate between Kevin Rudd and Tony Abbott, and is also missing from the PM's plans to reshape the health system," said Senator Rachel Siewert, Greens health & Aboriginal issues spokesperson."

- Opinion

Medical News Today:
Closing The Indigenous Health Gap - Time To Get It Right, Australia
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/183508.php
25 Mar 10: "AMA President, Dr Andrew Pesce, said today that Close the Gap Day is a timely reminder for the Government to get active in developing a comprehensive national plan to achieve Indigenous health equality within a generation. Close the Gap Day is this year highlighting the urgent need for the Government's plan to close the Indigenous health gap in genuine partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples."

Online Opinion: The Gap we really need to close
http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=10230&page=0
25 Mar 10: "Today marks National Close the Gap day. Thousands of Australians will come together to show support for Closing the Gap. As we do this, and reflect on the day’s theme “Let’s Get it Right”, we need to ask ourselves, what does it really mean to “Close the Gap”?" Brigid Trenerry

Croakey - the Crikey health blog:
Tens of thousands predicted for Close the Gap Day events
http://blogs.crikey.com.au/croakey/2010/03/23/tens-of-thousands-predicte...
23 Mar 10: "Strangely enough, Indigenous health didn’t feature much, if at all, in today’s Rudd Vs Abbott debate. Meanwhile, Thursday is National Close the Gap Day, and thanks to Tom Calma, Co-Chair of the Close the Gap Steering Committee, for this report."

National Indigenous Times:
YOUR SAY: A letter to the PM
http://www.nit.com.au/opinion/story.aspx?id=19545
18 Mar 10: "Dear Mr Rudd, I invite you to close your own people’s gap; the one called racism. I invite you to talk earnestly, sincerely and effectively to them and tell them that the racial divide in our country of Australia must and will come to an end. ... Phill Moncrieff"

National Indigenous Times:
THE BIG READ: The grass is always greener...
http://www.nit.com.au/News/story.aspx?id=19546
18 Mar 10: "After spending several months travelling around Central Australia, CHRIS GRAHAM* is convinced that the way to “Close the Gap” is to get rid of government."

- Radio

CAAMA Radio News
(Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association):
http://caama.com.au/radio/26th-march-2010-caama-radio-news/
26 Mar 10: "Peak health bodies are calling on new services from the Rudd Government to ‘Close the Gap’."

NT INTERVENTION ARTICLES:

- Background to the Northern Territory (NT) Intervention

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
Northern Territory National Emergency Response
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Territory_intervention

STICS (Stop the Intervention Collective Sydney):
http://stoptheintervention.org/

IRAG (Intervention Rollback Action Group):
http://rollbacktheintervention.wordpress.com/

Intervention walk-off's Blog:
http://interventionwalkoff.wordpress.com/

WGAR (Working Group for Aboriginal Rights):
http://wgar.info/

- News

IPS: RIGHTS-AUSTRALIA: Indigenous Groups Still Say No to Gov’t ‘Help’
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50786
25 Mar 10: ""We don’t want to have any part of this. We want to move out of it so we have a bit of freedom and be able to determine our own future," says Richard Downs, an elder of the Alyawarra people of central Australia."

NT News: Success at last for troubled program
http://www.ntnews.com.au/article/2010/03/23/133721_ntnews.html
23 Mar 10: "THE troubled SIHIP program has had its first successes on the Tiwi Islands, with three families moving in to their new houses. The three new homes join two houses at Wadeye as the only new houses completed in more than two years of the $672 million Strategic Indigenous Housing and Infrastructure Program."

ABC: New cards for people on welfare restrictions
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/03/22/2852584.htm?site=indigenou...
22 Mar 10: "Welfare recipients who have their payments quarantined will not be able to spend the money unless they have a new card by the beginning of July. Basics cards are being used among Indigenous welfare recipients in parts of the Northern Territory, Queensland's Cape York and areas of Western and South Australia."

SMH: Not helping them back on their feet
http://www.smh.com.au/national/not-helping-them-back-on-their-feet-20100...
20 Mar 10: "Many say Labor's plan to introduce compulsory income management will do more harm than good, writes Adele Horin."

National Indigenous Times:
Nothing has changed in NT: Straight Talk
http://www.nit.com.au/news/story.aspx?id=19553
18 Mar 10: "Not much has changed in Jocelyn Uibo’s remote Northern Territory community over the past few years except an increase in the price of milk. In fact, the 30-year-old from the Numbulwar community in southeast Arnhem Land says the federal intervention has stalled progress in areas like housing."