Voice to Parliament enshrined in the constitution / Treaties / Truth telling / First Nations Voices being heard / Dual naming
‘I’m here to change the country’: Albanese launches an uncompromising Indigenous voice plan
23/03/23 The Guardian: After a flurry of late night meetings with his referendum working group – including a robust exchange of views about the amendment and the question, and furious and inaccurate public speculation about concessions and compromises – the final form of words announced on Thursday has not shifted significantly from the one Albanese announced at the Garma festival in July last year. Click here to read article.
To listen to the Press conference in full go here
They want to know how things work’: Pat Dodson buoyed up by first regional Victorian voice forum
16/03/23 The Guardian: Speaking after attending a regional forum in Ballarat Vic, Senator Dodson said regional and rural communities, while largely supportive ,appeared more concerned about the intricacies of the voice than the principle behind it. “What you’re finding in regional communities is that distinction between details and principle,” he said. “People who live in the regions are far more practical. They want to know how things work. Whereas we’re talking about a principle here, which is significant because it’s about the constitution. In a moral sense and an ethical sense, is this a good thing for us to do?” Click here to read article
Labor’s Manuel Brown says support for a Voice to Parliament in Arafura helped secure by-election win
19/03/23 ABC News: Manuel Brown said his victory showed that the electorate, which covers the Tiwi Islands and much of west Arnhem Land, supported an Indigenous Voice to Parliament. “The communities around the Top End want our foot in the door in regards to Voice,” he said. Click here to read article
‘White saviours’ accused of finding flaws in voice proposal ‘to stay in spotlight’ by working group member
14/03/23 Guardian Australia: Thomas Mayo says: “We are trying to land on a form of words that will give our people the most powerful voice possible, while also making sure we can still win the referendum,” he said. “We are dealing with the issue of people trying to gain prominence over this matter and act as white saviours. From our experience we know that too often you may fix one problem and they’ll go and find another one just to stay in the spotlight.” Click here to read this article.
Treaty negotiation planning to begin ahead of First People’s Assembly elections
13/03/23 NITV: Elected members of the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria will gather in Melbourne this week for their final meeting of the first term. They aim to finalise plans for treaty negotiations. Click here to read article
Why is NSW the only state that hasn’t begun a treaty process?
10/03/23 NITV: The NSW coalition government has confirmed it has no intentions of beginning a treaty process should it win reelection in the upcoming poll. It makes NSW the only state or territory nationally not to have some kind of treaty action plan with local First Nations people in place or planned. Click here to read.
The following 5 articles report on the national launch of the official Yes 23 Campaign
Yes23 CAMPAIGN LAUNCH, on Kaurna Country, ADELAIDE 21-23 Feb 2023
Over 300 activists from all corners and sectors of Australia gathered at Tandanya Aboriginal Cultural Institute for the launch of the Voice to Parliament Yes 23 campaign. Organised by From the Heart, the constant buzz was inspiring – from mob to community groups and from unions to corporates. Together, our networking knew no bounds! The launch opened on Tuesday evening with high-energy networking over drinks, and setting the context for three days of creativity! Click here to view article
Newcastle City launch of the Yes23 campaign by Ros Madden and Tracy DeGeer
Hundreds of supporters gathered in Gregson Park, Hamilton to attend the Newcastle launch of the Yes23 campaign on 26 February. A beautiful welcome to country was followed by children dancing, didgeridoo music and, towards the end, enthusiastic speeches by local politicians from three levels of government. Click here to view article
Inner West BBQ for the Voice to Parliament by Ros Bradley
Despite the soaring heat, hundreds turned out on Saturday afternoon 18 February, at Petersham Park for a sausage sizzle and heard three impassioned speakers talk about the Voice to parliament including Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese. Click here to view article
Voice to Parliament Community Forum Saturday Feb 18, 2023 by Angie Finn
Over 400 people packed the lecture theatre at the University of Technology Sydney on Saturday 18 February 2023, to participate in a Voice to Parliament Community Forum hosted by Environment Minister, Tanya Plibersek. View article here
It’s time for the Voice of First Peoples to be recognised and enshrined in our Constitution by Deborah Ruiz-Wall
Policies designed and laws passed that affect the lives of First Nations people must reflect their Voice in Parliament protected by its enshrinement in the Australian Constitution. This was the theme around the ‘Walking Together Uluru Statement from the Heart’ workshop held at the Uniting Church Hall in Springwood last Sunday, February 19. Non-Indigenous and Indigenous residents of the Blue Mountains and Penrith came to the workshop opened by Gundungurra and Darug elder, Aunty Carol Cooper. Click here to view artic
Diverse Faith groups urge Politicians to ‘work together across political divides’ for Voice Referendum
03/03/23 MNEWS TODAY: The influential alliance of nine national organisations, representing diverse Christian, Hindu, Sikh, Muslim, Buddhist and Jewish communities, has thrown its collective weight behind the Uluru Statement from the Heart. Their letter builds on the joint resolution released by the group in May last year, which urged bipartisan action on the Voice referendum.
Major sporting codes to back Voice to parliament
28/02/23 Sydney Morning Herald: The AFL, NRL, Rugby Australia, Netball Australia, Football Australia, Cricket Australia and Tennis Australia – seven of the most powerful Australian sporting leagues – are working on a co-ordinated campaign they hope will launch mid-year.
Leading Australian social justice bodies unite to back Indigenous voice to parliament referendum
28/02/23 The Guardian: Dozens of Australia’s leading social justice and civil society bodies are launching a partnership to support the Indigenous voice to parliament referendum, with one member of the group calling the consultation body “a basic human right”.
The Fred Hollows Foundation, Oxfam Australia, the Australian Council of Social Service and the First Nations advocacy organisation ANTAR will lead nearly 150 organisations in the Allies for Uluru Coalition, which will be launched in Melbourne on Tuesday.
Why three MPs are supporting the Uluru statement across party lines
18/02/23 The Guardian: Labor MP Gordon Reid, Liberal MP Bridget Archer and crossbencher Allegra Spender have launched their new Friends of the Uluru Statement group in Parliament House. They discuss the significance of the voice to parliament campaign and the power of creating safe spaces to answer questions on the upcoming referendum. Listen here.
We continue with reports / articles from around the country marking the National week of action 18 – 25 February 2023
Yes! The field campaign is launched!
The campaign now has a new online home where you can access resources and sign up for campaign news and events.
Take action today for Voice Treaty Truth!
24/02/23 SEARCH FOUNDATION: Yesterday, the national Yes campaign for a Constitutionally-enshrined Voice to Parliament was officially launched in Adelaide. South Australian SEARCH members were there and participated in the ‘campaign lab’ that preceded the launch to help plan action in coming months.
Read about the different ways that you can take action
https://us8.campaign-archive.com/?e=eef84587a1&u=5c3859aebacec2a9f474b0369&id=0ec67d177e
PM urges political leaders not to miss Voice opportunity
18/02/23 National Indigenous Times: Anthony Albanese has warned Australia’s political leaders “not to miss this opportunity” for constitutional recognition of First Nations people. “This referendum, which will be heard sometime between October and December of this year, is about two things. It’s about recognition and it’s about consultation,” he said
https://nit.com.au/18-02-2023/5010/pm-asks-political-leaders-not-to-miss-opportunity-on-the-voice
Voice campaigners gear up for Yes 23 launch
20/02/23 ABC Radio National: This week the advocates for the Voice will officially launch the Yes campaign. There are already more than 20,000 volunteers, and the campaign is focusing on getting more grass roots supporters. Guest: Dean Parkin, Director of From the Heart:
National Week of Action urges Yes to Voice
18/02/23 National Indigenous Times: The Voice Week of Action will feature a series of events to raise awareness and support for the upcoming referendum.
Register here for Start A yarn .
Learn about Together Yes and take part in kitchen table conversations
Learn more about the National week of action here
The media continues to report the ongoing Yes/No cases on Voice to parliament… we continue to represent a selection only
Linda Burney and Deb Haaland discuss Voice and truth-telling
17/02/23 National Indigenous Times: US Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland has said it is the job of all departments to make Tribal consultation a priority. Continuing her tour of Australia, Secretary Haaland met with Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney and they shared their experiences and thoughts on truth-telling, consultation and the Voice.
The Voice referendum: how did we get here and where are we going? Here is what we know
03/02/23: The Conversation: For many people, following the process leading up to the referendum so far has been confusing. So where are we, and what’s ahead? Read and share with others.
Indigenous delegation seeks multi partisan support on Voice in Canberra
Week ending 10/02/23 First Nations Telegraph: Chair of Empowered Communities, Ian Trust leads a delegation of Indigenous people from across urban, regional, and remote Australia to Canberra this week. “We have come here to try and make sure politicians of all persuasions understand the vital importance of constitutional recognition through Voice for our futures and the futures of families and loved ones, and for the future of the nation”. He says that “Ending the historic exclusion of Indigenous Australians in the nation’s legal foundation will achieve two key things”
Every Premier and Chief Minister in Australia unite to back Indigenous Voice to Parliament
03/02/23 National Indigenous Times: All state and territory leaders in Australia have officially backed the Indigenous Voice to Parliament…..The premiers and chief ministers also vowed to combat misinformation and strive for a respectful national conversation. The full statement of intent can be viewed at: https://www.facebook.com/PMalinauskasMP
To read full article go to: https://nit.com.au/03-02-2023/4887/every-premier-and-chief-minister-in-australia-unite-to-back-indigenous-voice-to-parliament
38 Mayors across Australia declare support for the Uluru Statement
Late 2022 Inner West Council Media release: Thirty-eight Mayors from 7 states and territories, have committed to civic education of their communities about the importance of the referendum.” “We are all ready to help inform and educate our communities about the Uluru Statement and create conversations about the referendum in suburbs and towns throughout Australia.”
To read where these councils are located view:
https://www.innerwest.nsw.gov.au/about/news/media-releases/2022-media-releases
As we debate the Indigenous Voice to Parliament there is one word missing: Compassion
05/02/23 ABC News: On Q+A this week we devoted an hour to the many and varied views on the Voice, from no to yes, from sovereignty and treaty to justice and law and politics, but not once did anyone utter the word compassion. Without compassion how can we begin to bear the weight of Australia’s great sin? How can we begin to move toward healing, truth or forgiveness without first compassion?
What’s at stake in this year’s constitutional referendum?
26/01/23 The Minefield ABC Radio National: This 46 min program canvasses the history of referenda in Australia. At the count of 27.55 mins the Guest Speaker Mark McKenna is introduced. Mark is the author of a number of recent publications including: Return to Uluru, From the Edge: Australia’s Lost Histories, and Quarterly Essay 69, Moment of Truth: History and Australia’s Future.
He discusses with the Minefield duo what principles and practicalities could guide our thinking about the ethics of persuasion that such national campaigns entail — including what we owe to the “other side”?
https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/theminefield/episodes
The Frontier Wars barely get a mention at the national Memorial, but a change is around the corner
06/02/23 SBS News: Former Labour leader Mr Beazley was elected to the position of Chair by the Memorial’s trust in December last year. Three months earlier, in the wake of hard-hitting documentary series ‘The Australian Wars’, the institution announced it would be broadening its minimal acknowledgement of frontier violence. For years we conned ourselves that there was no resistance. There was a hell of a resistance.” Palawa Elder Mr Dillon, who has actively campaigned for more recognition of colonial atrocities, said any greater recognition of the violence by national institutions would accord with First Nations peoples view of history.
The following 6 articles attempt to clarify the confusion surrounding the Voice debate since Opposition leader Peter Dutton’s recent 15 questions demanding more detail.
Peter Dutton’s next move on Indigenous Voice to parliament
26/01/23 News.com.au: A spokesman for the Opposition Leader said he had met with Indigenous leaders and was “happy” to attend a future meeting of the working group, after Anthony Albanese extended an invitation to him….In an interview with Sky News, Mr Albanese said Mr Dutton would be “very welcome” to attend a meeting of the referendum working group, noting shadow attorney-general Julian Leeser had already been invited.
‘Not going to chuck the towel in’: Voice champion Pat Anderson undaunted by criticism at Invasion Day rallies
27/01/23 Sydney Morning Herald: The peak Indigenous group backing the Voice to parliament will urge voters to ignore the “noisy few” critics who oppose the change to the Constitution by releasing research showing 80 per cent of First Nations people want the reform despite fierce criticism at Australia Day protests across the country.
In the clamour and confusion around the Indigenous voice, the media has a special responsibility
27/01/23 The Guardian Australia: This is a complex discussion, weighted by being 235 years overdue. It demands, but all too often lacks, perspective and nuance. Opposing voices are coming from both the far left and the right. For many voters, reaching a considered decision will require far more backstory.
Australia Day: a long perspective from 65,000 BCE
28/01/23 Pearls and Irritations: Barry Jones presents a succint long view from 65000 years ago to what we need to do in 2023. He ends with: ‘The 1967 Referendum was a valuable first step, the Mabo judgment of 1992 was a second – but we must now complete the job. This is not just for the benefit of First Nations people, it is an essential element of being honest with ourselves, to fulfil the human potential of all of us.
It’s time. Do it now.
https://johnmenadue.com/australia-day-65000-bce-1788-ce-and-2023-a-long-perspective/
Voice will empower us, not undermine Sovereignty
16/01/23 National Indigenous Times: Unfortunately, there is a concern that recognition of Indigenous peoples by way of the Voice referendum may be a ‘cession’ of Indigenous sovereignty. Yet nowhere does the Voice to Parliament proposal suggest any agreement of Aboriginal people to cede sovereignty…Indigenous people’s sovereignty can only be ceded under international law through the consent or agreement of Indigenous peoples, which happened historically under treaty agreements, or due to ‘conquest’ in warfare. Again, this never happened here.
https://nit.com.au/16-01-2023/4736/voice-will-empower-us-not-undermine-sovereignty
Megan Davis on The Full Story Podcast (Guardian)
20/01/23 Guardian Australia Podcast: In this 22 min Podcast constitutional lawyer and one of the leaders of the Uluru Dialogues that led to the Uluru Statement from the Heart in 2017, address all the questions arising in the Voice debate.
Marcia Langton: Fighting for a Voice
07/01/23 The Saturday Paper: We will never get this opportunity again. This referendum is a once-in-many-lifetimes event. That is why it is more important than the cynicism and redneck opportunism with which the No campaign have tried to frame it.
Legacy of Dundalli, an Aboriginal ‘freedom fighter’ who was publically hanged in Queensland, to be honoured annually
05/01/2023 SBS News: Dundalli will be honoured in Queensland on Thursday as part of the “truth-telling” process in Indigenous history. He was known as an Aboriginal resistance hero who was the last person to be publicly hanged in Queensland. His legacy will be commemorated on 5 January as Dundalli Remembrance Day in the state.
Indigenous voice to parliament: groups to launch grassroots referendum campaigns
04/01/23 The Guardian Australia: Yes and no campaigns to target communities while electoral commission will focus on education for first referendum in 24 years.
From the Heart, a coordinating organisation for the yes vote, will launch its field campaign for volunteers, door-knockers and grassroots groups on 23 February at Adelaide’s Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute.“A wide range of organisations have already signed up to take part including church groups, local councils, civil society organisations, sporting groups, businesses and unions,” Thomas Mayo said.
Liberals ask for ‘serious detail’ on Voice after timeline for referendum set
01/01/2023 The Age: University of Sydney constitutional law professor Anne Twomey, in an opinion piece for this masthead, said the campaign did not need to descend into fights about detail. Under the proposed constitutional amendment, she argued any future law made within its scope would be open to change depending on who was in government and the community expectations of the day.
“This is a sensible approach. Constitutions are not places in which you want to freeze details,” Twomey wrote.
Voice referendum as ‘early as August’, Burney reveals
01/01/23 Sydney Morning Herald: The public will vote on a constitutionally enshrined First Nations Voice to parliament as early as August, with Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney revealing the federal government will introduce legislation to parliament in March setting up the referendum.
Burney said that the official Yes campaign is likely to launch late next month, meaning the campaign will ramp up just weeks before parliament votes to set the referendum date.
Prime Minister promises national vote on Indigenous Voice to be held within 12 months
28/12/22 National Indigenous Times: A referendum on an Indigenous Voice to Parliament will take place within 12 months, Anthony Albanese has announced to the crowd at Queensland’s Woodford Folk Festival on Wednesday.
Anthony Albanese promises to deliver Voice referendum by December 2023
28/12/22 ABC News: The PM made the announcement while addressing the Woodford Folk Festival in Queensland. He said: “This will give respect to First Nations people, and it will enhance both the way Australians see ourselves, and the way we are seen by the world.” Minister for Indigenous Australians, Linda Burney said: “The people will vote on the principle, for Indigenous people to be guaranteed a fairer say on the laws and policies made about them, and parliament will legislate the detail,” she said.
Dr Dylan Lino – Voice, Sovereignty and Constitutional Change
14/12/22 SEARCH Foundation: Dr Dylan Lino was a member of the team that provided legal advice to the Uluru Dialogue. He spoke to us and took questions on what the Voice means for sovereignty, on why it comes first in the Voice Treaty Truth sequence, and how change to the constitution has historically led to further positive changes for First Nations peoples.
To listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lo-HOqP8tFI
Why the Voice is an economic as well as a moral imperative
08/12/22 The New Daily: The first attempt at an Indigenous voice to Parliament was in 1934 – the Australian Aborigines League unsuccessfully petitioned King George V, with 1814 signatures, for the ‘Representation of Aboriginal people in Federal Parliament’. No dice
https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/2022/12/08/voice-an-economic-issue-kohler/
Indigenous leaders dismayed at Federal National Party premature decision to oppose a referendum on a constitutionally guaranteed First Nations Voice
Media Statement, Indigenous reform leaders – from Redfern to the Kimberley: Our goal is for our children to have the opportunity to prosper in mainstream Australia and be recognised as First Nations Australians – to succeed in both worlds.
https://empoweredcommunities.org.au/media/referendum/
Listen to our voices, stop going behind our backs
As appears in The Australian 5 December 2022: by Ian Trust : Politicians … must be constitutionally compelled to hear our community concerns.
https://empoweredcommunities.org.au/media/voice/
What do we know about the Voice to Parliament design, and what do we still need to know?
06/12/22 The Conversation: Unfortunately, the political debate on this question has become mired in arguments over “detail” that are either ignorant or deceitful about the nature of the proposal, and the work that has been done on it.
How different is Australia 30 years after Paul Keating’s Redfern Speech
06/12/22 ABC News: Voice to Parliament advocate Sean Gordon discusses the progress Australia has made in the fight for Indigenous rights
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-12-06/how-different-is-australia-30-years-after-paul/101737560
AGM wrap-up: supporting the Uluru Statement from the Heart and Voice to Parliament
December 2022: Is Bank Australia the first Bank to publicly support the Uluru Statement?
To read more go to: https://bankaust.com.au/blog/voice-to-parliament
The People must design the Voice
28/11/22 National Indigenous Times: Pat Anderson and Megan Davis explain: ‘We say that this must be a process in which First Nations select their representatives and are fully apprised of all design options. This further process, to take place immediately after a referendum, is essential for the legitimacy and therefore success of the Voice’.
https://nit.com.au/28-11-2022/4391/the-people-must-design-the-voice
Colonial Bondage: Liberating Theological Education
Live streamed 02/11/22 University Of Divinity Yarra Theological Union: In this public lecture, Professor Anne Pattel-Gray shares her insights into Australia’s First Nations religious and spiritual beliefs and practices that form the core of her theology. She explains how we are all held captive by our colonial heritage and that our theological education and institutions require liberation in order to be set free. She further explains the process to decolonise biblical and theological narratives and challenge Christians to become the radical change that is so desperately needed to transform a Nation.
View this powerful truth telling address at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_IYJI5S9u4
The strange career of the great Australian silence
15/11/22 Inside Story : An extract from Telling Tennant’s Story about the great Australian silence in one corner of the country. How has the story of “relations between two racial groups been told, and not told?
https://insidestory.org.au/the-strange-career-of-the-great-australian-silence/
Megan Davis and Pat Anderson on The Uluru Statement from the Heart
09/11/22 National Press Club Address ABC TV Iview:
https://iview.abc.net.au/show/national-press-club-address
Report on first meetings of Referendum Working Group & Referendum Engagement Group
29/09/22 Attorney General Office Media Release:
First Nations voice to parliament a step closer in South Australia with release of draft bill
09/11/22 National Indigenous Times: South Australia is set to become Australia’s first state or territory to legislate a First Nations Voice to state parliament after the South Australian Government’s released its draft First Nations voice bill.
Dr Charles Perkins Oration 2022
A powerful oration delivered by First Nations climate activist, campaigner and proud Widjabil Wia-bul woman Larissa Baldwin, who speaks on climate change, the referendum and the need for positive systemic change.
To listen go to: https://iview.abc.net.au/show/dr-charles-perkins-oration-2022 or USYD YouTube
A Voice to Parliament
This interactive Course of 5 online sessions, explores the first of the 3 reforms of Voice Treaty and Truth articulated in the Uluru Statement from the Heart; enshrining an Indigenous Voice to Parliament in the Australian Constitution.
https://www.fromtheheart.com.au/education/#/
Call it out: the true story of Racism in Australia, Online Zoom
Date: Thursday 24 November; Time: 5-6pm AEDT
Accessibility: This event will be live captioned. Please contact [email protected] to discuss how we can support access requirements.
To register: https://utsmeet.zoom.us/webinar/register/3216674475114/WN_8VY7IUFEQCWQBdOjLI7hRQ
Walking Together workshops & training
Giving people from all cultural backgrounds the tools they need to walk with First Nations Australians in unity. Walking Together consists of three core workshops and training programs using the Uluru Statement from the Heart as the framework.
To register your interest in workshops or training, or for further information, please email:
Boyer Lecture Series 2022: Noel Pearson
Throughout November 2022 ABC Radio National: ABC Chair, Ita Buttrose said it was a significant moment for an Indigenous leader of Noel Pearson’s standing to accept the invitation given the national discussion about the referendum for an Indigenous voice to parliament. “He will deliver a thought-provoking lecture series that will challenge and encourage ideas about who we all are and how we see ourselves as a nation now and into the future. You can listen to all four lectures on:
https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/boyerlectures
You can watch Noel’s first lecture, in which he reflects on “Who we were and who we can be” on ABC TV Iview
https://iview.abc.net.au/show/boyer-lecture-2022-noel-pearson
Privileged leaders need to step aside to ensure once-exploited voices are heard loud and clear
28/10/22 National Indigenous Times: If you are, like me, a white person born in Australia, or any other former colony, that is precisely the case. It doesn’t mean you’re a white supremacist, but it does mean that you benefit from racist systems and culture. It’s not an easy pill to swallow, I’ve choked on it many times, but you can’t clean a house unless you look directly at all the stains.
And white privilege is the mother of all stains.
Historic deal struck to begin Victorian treaty negotiations with First Nations groups
20/10/22 The Guardian: Victoria will become the first Australian jurisdiction to begin negotiating treaties with First Nations groups next year, after a historic deal was brokered to allow traditional owners to enter into interim agreements during negotiations.
$75m for Indigenous voice referendum and $5m for truth-telling commission pledged in federal budget
25/10/22 The Guardian: The government’s preparations for an Indigenous voice to parliament will be supported with $75m to start setting up the referendum, as well as extending tax deductibility to donations to a leading constitutional recognition group backing the change. The Albanese government’s first federal budget also contains millions for Indigenous birthing practices, to set up a Makarrata truth-telling commission, and to mark the anniversary of Kevin Rudd’s apology to the stolen generations.
Truth-telling inquiry expands to hear experiences of racism and injustice
25/10/22 NITV Justice: All Indigenous Victorians will be able to share their stories of racism and injustice as the state’s truth-telling inquiry expands submissions. Australia’s first formal truth-telling inquiry, the Yoorrook Justice Commission is launching an online submissions portal on Tuesday open to all of Victoria’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/vic-inquiry-to-hear-more-indigenous-voices/5yf8v3lc4
Why a First Nations Voice should come before Treaty
21/10/22 The Conversation: Since the advent of colonisation, the absence of an effective process for conducting dialogues between the broader community and First Nations people has been a festering sore at the heart of Australian society. {A Voice} can not only lay a foundation for a movement towards reconciliation and truth, but also act as a tool to craft novel solutions to the problems created by the unique circumstances of Australia’s history and culture.
https://theconversation.com/why-a-first-nations-voice-should-come-before-treaty-192388
Aboriginal man laid to rest in moving ceremony 90 years after he was killed by police at Uluru
14/10/22 The Guardian: The families of an Aboriginal man shot and killed by police at Uluru 90 years ago, have finally laid his remains to rest at the base of the rock in a deeply emotional ceremony, with his descendants calling for an apology and compensation from governments and police. This final closure on a dark chapter of settler / First Nations history was made possible as a result of historian, Mark McKenna’s research for his book Return to Uluru.
Indigenous Scandinavian leader’s advice to push case for First Nations education
01/10/22 National Indigenous Times: Indigenous people around the world can educate and inspire one another in the struggle for change, Sámi Parliament of Norway member Mikkel Eskil Mikkelsen says. “The Sámi parliament is a place where the Sami people come together,” he told National Indigenous Times. “Our own parliament is for discussing the issues most important to the people, and we see this as an important part of our work; to give a voice to the indigenous people’s ambitions and issues of the day. It is very central to us.
Thomas Mayor takes aim at Mundine over ‘dismissive’ anti-Voice to Parliament campaign
18/10/22 National Indigenous Times: From the Heart advisory group member Thomas Mayor said Mr Mundine was dismissing the views of more than 60 per cent of Australians and 80 per cent of Indigenous people who support the Voice.“We respect Mr Mundine’s right to voice his opinion, but his comments also dismiss this clear majority of grassroots support among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people for a Voice.
https://www.nit.com.au/mayor-hits-back-at-mundine-over-dismissive-anti-voice-to-parliament-campaign/
Online event: Yindyamarra Pledge for Democracy
This online Event is an initiative of Charles Sturt University with Professor Stan Grant. The launch took place on 17th October, however the launch was only the start of an ongoing nation building initiative partly born from the Uluru Statement. Listen to the launch, other recorded aspects of the event and sign the pledge for democracy.
https://about.csu.edu.au/community/events/upcoming/online/yindyamarra-pledge-for-democracy
Green antics on Voice to Parliament look increasingly like game-playing and self-indulgence
14/10/22 Crikey: What exactly is the Greens’ position on an Indigenous Voice to Parliament? We know their formal position is an Uluru-statement-is-wrong argument that a Voice should come last after “truth” and “treaty”. But what about the government’s intention to hold a referendum on an Indigenous Voice? It seems to depend on whom you ask and what day of the week.
Voice to correct the legacy of ‘unfairness and discrimination’ says Linda Burney
13/10/22 SBS NITV: “Despite inhabiting this land for more than 60,000 years, we have no place in the constitution,” Minister Burney said, in pre-prepared remarks to an Indigenous advocacy dinner in Canberra. “It’s like we never existed. Never mattered. Never counted. Ms Burney said respect and consultation with Indigenous communities would lead to better outcomes, and help correct the legacy of “unfairness and discrimination”
‘The system’s broken’: the crisis gripping Australia’s juvenile justice centres
10/10/22 The Guardian: This week WA’s corrective services minister, Bill Johnston, announced a review into the state’s juvenile justice legislation. But Neil Morgan Neil Morgan, who inspected WA’s adult prisons and its sole juvenile detention centre for more than a decade and tabled dozens of reports to government says:
“It’s inquiry after inquiry. We need some action.” “Now I think the government probably knows what needs to be done, which is to close Banksia Hill and have a plan to move to smaller, more trauma-informed facilities.
On Showing up (Luke 10: 25-37)
July 2022 © Sarah Bachelard Benedictus Contemplative Church: The first week of July each year in Australia is NAIDOC week – a week to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. This year’s theme is ‘Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up!’ Sarah Bachelard examines how ‘Historically Christianity in Australia has been up to its neck in justifying and perpetrating Indigenous dispossession. And she wonders what it might mean for the churches to ‘Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up’ together and be accountable for this history?
https://benedictus.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/On-Showing-Up-020722.pdf
Recognising the warriors: Henry Reynolds on the war memorial’s surprising change of direction
06/10/22 The Conversation: Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney remarked that her government was committed to a truth telling process about Australian colonial history “and a failure to see that reflected in this key institution would be jarringly out of step with this new phase of national reckoning”
Should Australia have a First Nations head of state instead of King Charles? The idea has people talking
03/10/22 SBS News: Last week Waleed Aly, host of Channel 10 show The Project, floated the novel idea of replacing the British monarch – currently King Charles III – with a First Nations head of state in Australia, who would be appointed for life.
The Australian War Memorial’s promise of a ‘deeper depiction’ of the frontier wars signals an important new chapter
02/10/22 ABC Radio National: “The arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice.” Those powerful words by Dr Martin Luther King Junior ran through my mind this week when the Australian War Memorial made a quiet yet consequential revelation that was barely noticed by mainstream Australia. The Australian War Memorial in the nation’s capital has promised a “much broader, deeper” depiction of the frontier wars within its formidable walls.
‘Impossible to achieve’: Marcia Langton slams Greens Voice demands
01/10/22 Sydney Morning Herald: Influential Aboriginal academic Marcia Langton has criticised the Greens’ position on the Voice to parliament as political gamesmanship, saying they were demanding “impossible” trade-offs in exchange for their support, which she believes the party will ultimately withhold.
The tragic story behind this doll has been revealed as it’s finally returned to Australia
30/09/22 SBS News: From 1830 to 1847, Aboriginal people in Van Dieman’s Land were continually taken to a settlement on Flinders Island after they had either been captured or surrendered. The recent discovery (in England) of this Doll, retraces the life story of Mithinna, child of a captured Chief, of the Lowreenne tribe and her subsequent bondage in Hobart with the family of Governor Franklin.
See Events page for details of the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery exhibition taypani milaythina-tu: Return to Country that features this artefact and story of Mithinna’s Doll
Senator open to including frontier wars in Australian War Memorial
23/09/22 SBS/NITV: When asked if the national institution should be commemorating those killed in frontier violence as “part of the truth-telling process”, Senator Dodson’s response was; well, whether it’s a change in memorial or standalone recognition of the frontier, that some have proposed that ought to take place, there are ways to deal with this,” he said. The senator said he believed “that discussion is before us”.
https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/senator-open-to-including-frontier-wars-in-australian-war-memorial/3h6fqxqnjhttps://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/senator-open-to-including-frontier-wars-in-australian-war-memorial/3h6fqxqnj
The Bidjigal man who stood against the invading British for more than a decade
20/09/22 SBS/NITV:
A new documentary series currently airing on NITV/SBS, The Australian Wars examines the horrors of colonisation, and the brave actions of men and women who defended their people from a terrible enemy, as Pemulwuy did. How did one man become such a feared symbol of Aboriginal resistance, a long-standing thorn in the side of colonisers, and a threat to the success of the British Empire’s invasion?
https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/the-bidjigal-man-who-stood-against-the-invading-british-for-more-than-a-decade/juzbuhv9ihttps://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/the-bidjigal-man-who-stood-against-the-invading-british-for-more-than-a-decade/juzbuhv9i
Linda Burney outlines next referendum steps including working group with Ken Wyatt
08/09/22 SBS/NITV: Ms Burney has outlined a “working group of First Nations leaders” with Senator Pat Dodson and herself as co-chairs, that will collaborate with the government to consider and navigate “the big questions” in the next following months. The work of this group will be complemented by the work of a second group, the referendum engagement group that will work to engage First Nations communities and advocate for the Voice to Parliament to raise awareness, understanding and support.
https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/linda-burney-outlines-next-referendum-steps-including-working-group-with-ken-wyatt/lfv04fzdahttps://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/linda-burney-outlines-next-referendum-steps-including-working-group-with-ken-wyatt/lfv04fzda
What were the Australian Wars and why is history not acknowledged?
16/09/22 SBS: The Frontier Wars is a term often used to describe the more than 100 years of violent conflicts between colonial settlers and the Indigenous peoples that occurred during the British settlement of Australia. Even though Australia honours its involvement in wars fought overseas, it is yet to acknowledge the struggle that made it the country it is today.
PM flags more time for voice referendum
30/08/22 The West Australian: A referendum to enshrine Indigenous recognition in the constitution will not be held in the first half of 2023, the prime minister says. Anthony Albanese wants all Australians to have ownership over the referendum process and give time for a debate about what an Indigenous voice would mean.
https://thewest.com.au/news/indigenous-australians/pm-flags-more-time-for-voice-referendum-c-8051560
An invitation to listen: What is the Uluru Statement from the heart by Thomas Mayor
Published by Australian Geographic 29/08/22: Thomas Mayor, ambassador for the Uluru Statement from the Heart and advocate for a First Nations Voice enshrined in the Constitution, invites us all to walk in a spirit of reconciliation with First Nations Australians as they strive for a better and brighter future.
https://www.australiangeographic.com.au/news/2022/08/an-invitation-to-listen/
Why Labor has recruited retired NBA star Shaquille O’Neal to support the Indigenous Voice campaign
27/08/22 SBS: NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal has added his support to the campaign for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament. In Australia on a speaking tour, O’Neal appeared briefly at a press conference with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney in Sydney on Saturday.
Filmmaker Rachel Perkins reveals the truth of The Australian Wars — the battles fought on home soil
25/08/22 NITV SBS: It’s time for a reckoning. Are we ready to face the past that made our country what it is today?A new ground-breaking documentary series gives voice to the story of The Australian Wars — the battles fought on home soil, as the colonial frontier pushed forward, and First Nations peoples resisted. The British claim to the Australian continent, that disregarded First Nations peoples’ sovereignty and their custodianship of Country for thousands of years, set in train brutal conflicts that unfolded for more than 100 years.
The Masig Statement: Torres Strait Islanders unveil ‘Voice from the Deep’
25/08/22 The Point NITV: The communities of the Torres Strait are seeking self-determination and regional sovereignty, outlined in a four point plan called ‘The Masig Statement – Malungu Yangu Wakay (Voice from the Deep)’.
Progressing the Uluru Statement from the Heart: Sydney Council minutes
22/08/22: Minutes by the Lord Mayor: On 27 June 2022, Council unanimously reaffirmed its support for the Uluru Statement from the Heart. A month later, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed that his Government would hold a referendum to enshrine an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice in Australia’s Constitution and released the draft question and amendment.
Uluru Statement from the Heart’s Voice aims to change the course of Australia’s parliament. Here’s how
18/08/22 SBS: The Uluru Statement from the Heart’s Voice to Parliament has dominated the headlines ever since Anthony Albanese uttered his first words as the country’s new prime minister-elect. “On behalf of the Australian Labor Party, I commit to the Uluru Statement from the Heart in full,” he said on 21 May, moments after winning the federal election, and promised a referendum on the Voice will be held in the Labor government’s first term. Within days, the country’s new Indigenous Affairs Minister Linda Burney said Australia is ready for the referendum.
The First Nations war veterans finally being honoured
16/08/22 SBS NITV: As a movement grows nationally to recognise the efforts of Blak warriors from all conflicts, the Australian War Memorial has acknowledged Indigenous Vietnam War vets.
https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/2022/08/17/first-nations-war-veterans-finally-being-honoured
I will be voting yes to establish an Indigenous voice to parliament: Malcolm Turnbull
15/08/22 The Guardian Australia: Despite my previous concerns, the voice as proposed by Anthony Albanese won’t be a third chamber, and it has sufficient public support.
Victoria 2026 Commonwealth Games a chance to show the world sovereignty was never ceded
10/08/22 National Indigenous Times: Aboriginal delegates to Birmingham hope the ‘Naarm 2026’ Commonwealth Games will be a chance to show the world who the true custodians of country are on a stage once used to champion British colonialism.
First Nations Straight Talk National Summit heads to Canberra
10/08/22 SBS NITV: A five-day summit designed to encourage more participation in federal politics from First Nations people, who currently hold a record 11 seats across the House of Representatives and Senate, will take place in nation’s capital on Sunday.
Time to tell the truth at the Australian War Memorial
09/08/22 John Menadue Public Policy Journal: Imagine an Australia where government agencies operated according to grossly outdated ideas. The Department of Health still accepts the theory of Humours regulating the body; Treasury tries to keep to the Gold Standard; Defence believes in the Domino theory. Ludicrous, isn’t it? Of course … except that that’s exactly what still happens at the Australian War Memorial, our national war museum and the focus of commemoration of Australia’s war dead.
Prime Minister’s speech: Address to Garma Festival 30th July 2022
Ngarra ga Buku guru-pan Gumatj, Yothu Yindi nha go Yolgnu mala. (Translation: I pay my respect to Gumatj, Yothu Yindi and Yolngu Mala.] I acknowledge the people of the Yolngu nation. I recognise all the elders, leaders and families who have made great contributions to our nation.
Full transcript https://www.pm.gov.au/media/address-garma-festival
John Maynard says Frontier Wars deserve Canberra memorial
02/08/22 SBS NITV: The historian asks why, in a country full of Captain Cook statues, there are so few monuments to the First Nations heroes of the frontier wars?
Voice process won’t be rushed, says Linda Burney
01/08/22 SBS NITV: Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney has declared the government’s intention to go cautiously on the Voice to Parliament, as momentum builds towards a referendum on the issue.
Garma Festival will zero in what Australia could be if it embraces the Uluru Statement
31/07/22 ABC: To fly into east Arnhem Land is to enter a distinct realm of time and place. There are eternal rhythms here. It is Yolngu land. People are connected through ancestry and story and ritual. Place asks where you are more than who you are. To be clearer, who you are is where you are.
Archie Roach’s work, most famously Took the Children Away, was an indictment of Australian history
31/07/22 ABC: In 1992, Archie Roach gave an interview to a radio program looking into the recent death of a 19-year-old Indigenous man in Western Australia. Louis St John Johnson was beaten and run over by a group of white men, who attacked him, they said, because he was black.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-07-31/archie-roach-took-the-children-away-indigenous/9810730
After more than 200 years of waiting, Albanese puts forward a ‘simple’ proposition for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament
30/07/22 ABC: It is difficult to articulate the level of collective frustration and anxiety that has built up in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australia as government after government has kicked the can down the road — talking big but delivering little to empower First Australians in the Constitution.
Noongar language is being used to slowly heal the cruel history of Rottnest Island
29/07/22 SBS NITV: Western Australia’s ‘holiday island’ is beginning to acknowledge its painful past as an Aboriginal prison and the site of Australia’s biggest loss of life through deaths in custody.
Statement from the Heart is a gift to the nation, not a grab for power by Waleed Aly
29/07/22 SMH: There is something admirable about Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s full-throated support for the Uluru Statement from the Heart. Not so much its passion as its clarity.
A voice of recognition by Professor Megan Davis: co-chair Uluru Dialogue
The Australian: The advocacy by First Nations people for an enhanced role in the democratic life of the Australian state has its genesis in the time of colonial parliaments, before Federation, as Indigenous leaders called for the right to have a say in laws and policies about their people as they grappled with an ever increasing body count on the frontier and their land was rapidly being dispossessed.
Jacinta Price becomes emotional in ceremony as First Nations women deliver maiden speeches
27/07/22 SBS: Three women of First Nations heritage have delivered their maiden speeches to parliament, outlining their calls for greater action to support Indigenous Australians.
We Come to Take You Home
10/07/22 ABC Compass: We Come to Take you Home’ is the story of Kamilaroi elder Bob Weatherall, who’s devoted the last four decades to the repatriation of sacred Indigenous ancestral remains. Bones, skulls, teeth and hair were stolen from graves and murdered bodies to be sold to museums and universities in the name of science.
https://www.abc.net.au/religion/watch/compass/we-come-to-take-you-home/13942646
Charlie King interviews Thomas Mayor on his life experiences leading to his commitment to the Uluru Statement of the Heart Voice Campaign
06/07/22 ABC: A few years ago Thomas was invited to attend a dialogue about beginning the process of Constitutional recognition for Indigenous people, a process which led to the creation of the history-making Uluru Statement from the Heart in 2017.
Victorian truth-telling inquiry seeks extension
04/07/22 The New Daily: Australia’s first truth-telling commission wants two more years to deliver its final report, as it moves to focus on modern injustices perpetrated against Indigenous people.
Father of reconciliation Pat Dodson turns eye to Uluru Statement in new role
04/05/22 National Indigenous Times: Well-known for his role at the helm of the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation in the 1990s, the Broome-based Labor Senator has also played significant roles in the fields of Aboriginal deaths in custody, native title and research.
https://www.nit.com.au/father-of-reconciliation-pat-dodson-turns-eye-to-uluru-statement-in-new-role/
Stolen wages court case hears of violence against Aboriginal stockmen
05/07/22 ABC: Violence committed against Aboriginal stockmen in the Kimberley during the stolen wages era has been detailed to the Federal Court.
Ken Wyatt says Labor better for Uluru Statement progress than re-elected Morrison govt
30/06/22 National Indigenous Times: Former Indigenous Affairs minister Ken Wyatt says progress towards enacting the Uluru Statement from the Heart will be greater over the next three years than it would have been had the Morrison government been re-elected.
Aboriginal fashion creatives tour Europe to tell Australia’s ‘real story’
29/06/22 ABC: Members of an all-Aboriginal group of fashion creatives say a series of shows in Europe became an empowering — and sometimes confronting — opportunity to rectify foreign misconceptions about First Nations and Australian history.
Landmark treaty report recommends First Nation government system for Indigenous Territorians
29/06/22 ABC: The Northern Territory government has released a landmark treaty report, outlining a pathway to self-determination for Aboriginal people through legally binding treaties.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-06-29/nt-treaty-report-released-by-commissioner/101192202
The Albanese government has committed to enshrining a First Nations Voice in the Constitution. What do Australians think of the idea?
24/06/22 The Conversation: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his new government have committed to enshrining a First Nations Voice in the Australian Constitution. To do so, a majority of Australians in a majority of states will have to vote “yes” at a referendum.
Historic Treaty bill passes Victorian lower house
24/06/22 SBS: A landmark Treaty Authority bill has been passed in the lower house of the Victorian parliament.The legislation, the first of its kind, is designed to ensure a fair and just reconciliation process for First Nations people.
https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/2022/06/24/historic-treaty-bill-passes-victorian-lower-house
Calls for Foundation Day public holiday to recognise Bungaree and Flinders’ roles in Australia’s history
27/06/22 ABC: Ted Egan, a prolific author and songwriter, is calling for what he says would be a more inclusive public holiday to celebrate the nation — the day Australia was named.
How the election could affect the future of a First Nations Voice to Parliament
13/04/22 The Conversation: The result of the federal election will be key for a voice to parliament protected by the Constitution as called for by the Uluru Statement from the Heart. The election will also be crucial for Indigenous affairs more broadly.
Indigenous Australians have been forgotten in this election campaign but the conversation won’t go away
08/05/22: My father, in his more despondent moments, will say to me: “Son, they don’t care about us.”They” are Australians, and “us” are Indigenous people. My father is not a man of bitterness, nor without hope. He says it with resignation and sadness, not with anger.
Snap Aboriginal rights rally confronts Tasmanian premier on first day
05/05/22 SBS: The Tasmanian Aboriginal community has questioned the new premier’s commitment to treaty in front of parliament house in an unscheduled confrontation.
Vote Compass data finds most Australians support Indigenous Voice to Parliament — and it has grown since the last election
04/05/22 ABC: New data shows three quarters of Australians agree it’s time for a referendum to create an Indigenous Voice to Parliament — but not all the major parties do.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-05-04/indigenous-voice-to-parliament-vote-compass/101031774
Aboriginal marchers join Hobart’s Anzac Day celebrations for the first time
25/04/22 SBS: After years of advocacy from locals, an Aboriginal flag joined the march to honour both Blak ANZACs and Frontier Warriors.
Massacre site returned to Darumbal people in central Queensland
24/04/22 ABC: Aunty Sally Vea Vea’s ancestors were run off the side of a central Queensland mountain and massacred in the surrounding foothills. The elder said more than 300 Darumbal people were killed at the initiation site around the base of Gai-i, near Yeppoon, more than a century ago.
Survey opens to guide path for Victorian Treaty process
23/04/22 National Indigenous Times: The First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria has launched a survey asking Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the state what they want from Australia’s first Treaty.
https://nit.com.au/survey-opens-to-guide-path-for-victorian-treaty-process/
From paradise to hell’: First Nations ANZACs and the fight to honour them
19/04/22 SBS The Point: As ANZAC Day approaches, efforts are underway to have First Nations soldiers finally recognised in the wartime mythology.
Yoorrook truth-telling commission begins to examine ‘brutal ugliness’ of Australia’s treatment of Aboriginal people
24/03/22 ABC: For the first time in Australia’s history, a truth-telling commission has begun investigating the nation’s brutal history since colonisation, to lay bare systematic abuses against Aboriginal people.
Voters urged to make Uluru Statement an election issue
21/03/22 The Guardian Australia: The authors of the Uluru Statement from the Heart are calling on Australians to make constitutional change an election issue, saying the only chance for reform is if voters, not the government, start to demand it.
Bridget Brennan and Kirstie Wellauer – More evidence of ‘genocidal killings’ of Aboriginal people in frontier times
20/03/22 Pearls and Irritations: During what has become known as the ‘Frontier Wars’, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nations and tribes fought to defend themselves and their country, with many violently murdered in the clashes with white settlers. Now, ground-breaking research into the scale of the violence during that time suggests the massacres of Aboriginal people became “larger, more organised and ruthless” as the decades went on.
50 years after historic petition, Larrakia want Australia’s first Treaty
18/03/22 NITV: Descendants of Larrakia people who fought for greater recognition and rights for Indigenous people half a century ago say they want to be the first Aboriginal group in Australia to negotiate a Treaty with governments.
6 First Nations facts from the Harbour Bridge’s history you may not know
18/03/22 SBS NITV: Across 90 years the iconic landmark has been a structure central to Australia’s identity, and one that’s fostered, seen and shared the stories and histories of First Nations people.
A First Nations voice: We are at an historic moment in time.
Last year marked the 30th anniversary of the final report of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody. The recommendations of this Commission have never been fully implemented. Since the Commission reported, there have been at least 470 further deaths in custody.
https://mattersthatcount.com.au/matters/first-nations
More evidence of ‘genocidal killings’ of Aboriginal people in frontier times, University of Newcastle research reveals
16/03/22 ABC: A pattern of “brutal” reprisals and “genocidal killings” began to emerge in the late 19th and 20th centuries as thousands of Aboriginal people were murdered in colonial times, new research suggests.
Young First Nations leader highlights the importance of the Uluru Statement from the Heart
04/03/22 By Deborah Ruiz Wall: To hear a young First Nations leader talk about mobilising the next generation to determine their own future in Australia, is so inspiring.
https://wrnredfern.org.au/?page_id=3702
Light finally shed on unknown WWII frontline war stories from the Tiwi Islands
17/02/22 ABC Radio Darwin: Aboriginal Islanders recruited during World War II went behind enemy lines by submarine, canoed an injured airman across the sea for help, rescued a shipload of stricken sailors, and captured six of the enemy. The Tiwi Heroes: World War Two Encounters Exhibition at Darwin’s Parliament House shines a spotlight of the Tiwi who contributed to the war effort. It commemorates the 80th anniversary of the first Bombing of Darwin.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-17/tiwi-islands-unknown-frontline-war-stories/100817320
First Nations Voice proposal heads to Local Govt Conference
10/02/22 Echo the North Coast’s Independent News: Could local government provide an opportunity for Indigenous Australians to have the kind of active, meaningful voice in government that is envisaged in the Uluru Statement from the Heart? This is the question Byron Council has put forward for debate at this year’s NSW Local Government Conference, to be held February 28 to March 2. https://www.echo.net.au/2022/02/first-nations-voice-proposal-heads-to-local-govt-conference/
Aboriginal flag to fly permanently on Sydney Harbour Bridge, says NSW Premier
5/02/22 SBS News: Mr Perrottet said he would ‘climb up there and put (the flag) up myself’ if he needed to.
On remembering the First Fleet
25/01/22 Eureka Street: The uncertainty about the immediate and distant future of Australian society in which Australia Day is celebrated this year (2nd anniversaries of Fires and Coronavirus) affects both people of the First Nations and the descendants of later arrivals. Such events invite us all to ask what kind of a society we want Australia to be and how we may build it in a time of uncertainty. In doing that we may profitably look freshly at the coming of the First Fleet.
60% of Australians want to keep Australia Day on January 26, but those under 35 disagree
25/01/22 The Conversation: What does the broader public think? A new national survey shows at the moment, the majority of Australians want the day left as it is. But it also suggests a groundswell for change is in the works.
Ancestral Remains of First Nations people were once stolen for trophies. Now they will have a national resting place
24/01/22 The Conversation: The National Resting Place will be unique in the world, incorporating aspects of a memorial, repository, educational facility and research institute, but transcending all of these. For Indigenous people, it will provide an Indigenous-centred place to visit, care for and honour Ancestors.
National Invasion Day rallies adapt in face of COVID-19
23/01/22 NITV: With January 26 only days away – some capital cities are pushing forward with COVID-safe rallies and marches, while others are taking their events entirely online.
https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/2022/01/21/national-invasion-day-rallies-adapt-face-covid-19
Gary Foley: Aboriginal Tent Embassy a ‘stroke of genius’
13/01/22 Green Left: On its 50th anniversary Green Left’s Markela Panegyres and Chloe de Silva spoke to Gumbainggir activist and historian Gary Foley about the history and significance of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy.
https://www.greenleft.org.au/content/gary-foley-aboriginal-tent-embassy-stroke-genius
Truly loved’ Archie Roach and Ruby Hunter to be celebrated with lakeside monument
10/01/22 ABC: Archie Roach and Ruby Hunter recorded award-winning music together and have played shows with the likes of Bob Dylan and Patti Smith. But in South Australia’s Riverland, their work fostering Aboriginal young people may be what they are best known for.
Plan for new Indigenous cultural precinct in Canberra unveiled by Morrison government
04/01/2022 The Guardian Australia: The federal government has pledged $316.5m for a new Indigenous cultural precinct in Canberra that would include a long-awaited national resting place for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ancestral remains.
More respectful Invasion Day coverage, but much work still to be done
04/01/22 Eureka Street: Celeste Liddle: It’s a tradition of mine to undertake my own “media watch” experiment following the annual Invasion Day rallies. For absolute decades it has been noted that the continual negative reporting of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, our fights and our political movements, fuel negative public perceptions of us leading to racism and bullying, as well as lower self-esteem and mental health outcomes in our own communities.
https://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article/best-of-2021–more-respectful-invasion-day-coverage–but-much-work-still-to-be-done?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Eureka%20Street%20-%20Best%20of%202021%201%204%20January%202022&utm_content=Eureka%20Street%20-%20Best%20of%202021%201%204%20January%202022+CID_b176ede2e7fb697b883e739d902ccd6c&utm_source=Jescom%20Newsletters&utm_term=READ%20MOREhttps://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article/best-of-2021–more-respectful-invasion-day-coverage–but-much-work-still-to-be-done?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Eureka%20Street%20-%20Best%20of%202021%201%204%20January%202022&utm_content=Eureka%20Street%20-%20Best%20of%202021%201%204%20January%202022+CID_b176ede2e7fb697b883e739d902ccd6c&utm_source=Jescom%20Newsletters&utm_term=READ%20MORE
Here’s what you missed at… the Australian Reconciliation Convention
22/12/21 Reconciliation Australia: In November 2021 we held the first national gathering on reconciliation in 20 years – the Australian Reconciliation Convention: three days of inspiring speakers, important conversations, reflection on how far we’ve come, and a rallying cry for the work to come.
https://www.reconciliation.org.au/heres-what-you-missed-at-arc/
Australia is a step closer to having an Indigenous Voice to Parliament
17/12/21 SBS: The federal government is preparing to announce the initial steps taken to introduce the first Indigenous Voice to government.
From the Heart Director reacts to Coalition’s plan for an Indigenous voice
17/12/21 omny.fm: The federal government will start building an Indigenous voice from the ground up to advise the government and parliament on Indigenous policy.
Outback council SCRAPS Black Gin Creek name after being slammed as ‘racist’ … but other very controversial places remain
15/12/21 The Daily Mail UK: Four years after names such as N****rs Bounce were wiped from the map in Queensland, another place name that symbolises Australia’s dark past is about to go.
Tasmania urged to create truth-telling body en-route to treaty with Aboriginal community
25/11/21 SBS: The Tasmanian Aboriginal community has welcomed the tabling of a report in state parliament recommending the creation of a truth-telling body to educate the public about past abuses and forge a clearer path to a treaty.
In an outback town with a dark past steps are being taken towards reconciliation
16/10/21 ABC: In a South Australian town with a history of racial tension, a pastoralist and a First Nations woman have struck a reconciliation agreement.
Victoria names its first Indigenous LGBTIQ+ commissioner
26/09/21 SBS: “When I was in high school I was told that I would never succeed because I’d be an Aboriginal person,” Todd Fernando says. “And here I am as the youngest, first openly gay Indigenous commissioner.”
‘Admitting to atrocities’: Wonnarua people launch truth-telling video series
02/08/21 NITV: From the execution of Jacky Jacky to a mounted police massacre of 18 people, the series illustrates the escalation of 19th-century frontier violence in the Hunter Valley.
Professor Megan Davis elected chair of prestigious United Nations group
27/07/21 NITV: Renowned human rights lawyer Professor Megan Davis has reached another milestone in her career after being elected Chair of one of the most influential subdivisions of the United Nations.
https://nit.com.au/professor-megan-davis-elected-chair-of-prestigious-united-nations-group/
Uluru, frontier violence, and the Statement from the Heart
06/07/21 ABC: Uluru is a spiritual place for indigenous people and it looms large in the national imagination. Historian Mark McKenna uncovered a hidden truth about an infamous frontier killing at Uluru in the 1930’s.
Victoria launches truth commission into ongoing effect of colonisation on Aboriginal people
09/03/21 The Guardian UK: The Victorian government in Australia is holding an inquiry into the ongoing effects of the violent dispossession and genocide of Aboriginal people during colonisation by the British empire and racist policies by Australian governments.