Voice to Parliament enshrined in the constitution / Treaties / Truth telling / First Nations Voices being heard / Dual naming
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.