Voice to Parliament enshrined in the constitution / Treaties / Truth telling / First Nations Voices being heard / Dual naming
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 events.socialjustice@uts.edu.au 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:
WalkingTogether@youthoffthestreets.com.au.
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.