Below are a few of the various sites and
info sources that offer an insight into the amazing, yet very
challenged, culture of Indigenous Australians.
Unfortunately it’s not one of our governments
priorities to create a public, accessible form of education
to non indigenous folk about the Indigenous people/culture
of this land. We believe this should be a compulsory part
of the mainstream education system but until that happens
it's up to us to educate ourselves.
Full respect to the Indigenous People
of this land now called Australia.
Close
The Gap
In the Social Justice Report 2005, the Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, Tom Calma, called
for Australian governments to commit to achieving Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander health and life expectation equality
within 25-years. From the Social Justice Report, the Close
The Gap campaign was born.
Music Outback Foundation Limited Music Outback Foundation Limited is a non-profit Deductible
Gift Recipient charity dedicated to the use of music and related
art forms as a means of improving outcomes on remote Indigenous
communities.
Why music in remote Indigenous Australia? Australian Indigenous people are faced with the fragmentation
of their culture at a rate unprecedented in modern times,
with disturbingly low outcomes in health, education, employment,
and other community indicators. In response, through careful
development of its programs over more than five years, Music
Outback has shown that music can be a powerful and effective
multi-faceted vehicle for the reconnection of Indigenous people
to their own cultural expression. At the same time, music
can effectively address serious needs in areas such as education,
health, language preservation, and remote Indigenous employment.
Koori
History Website
Gary Foley's Indigenous history archive and education resource
site features material on Black Australia's 200 year struggle
for justice.
The
ReconciliACTION Network The ReconciliACTION Network is a network of Indigenous
and non-Indigenous young people who have an interest in reconciliation
and Indigenous rights issues and those who are active in their
communities.
ReconciliACTION was started in 2002 by
a group of Indigenous and non-Indigenous young people from
metropolitan, regional and remote New South Wales. Since then
ReconciliACTION has grown to become a national network which
includes young people from across Australia, with autonomous
partner groups in NSW, the ACT and Victoria.
INDIGENOUS
MEDIA - NATIONAL RADIO / INTERNET "AWAYE! provides an important platform for indigenous
people from all over Australia to share the richness and diversity
of their culture with all Australians, and to discuss a wide
range of contemporary and historical challenges facing their
communities. From the cities to the outback, indigenous Australians
share their stories and their ideas for positive change on
this weekly radio program presented by Daniel Browning. AWAYE!
dives in deep with consistently well researched and thought
provoking programs, opening a window for the wider community
to become more aware and better informed about Indigenous
Australia, and how we can move forward together. AWAYE! is
broadcast nationally on ABC Radio National each Saturday at
6pm and repeated each Monday at 3pm. Each program is available
for 4 weeks as podcast or audio on demand."
"I thank you Prime Minister Rudd for your apology but
it's an invasion all over again. We are being told where to
shop, what to eat, how to act and how to live." Lyle Cooper, vice president of the Bagot Community
in Darwin.
“What is required is a determined, coordinated
effort to break the cycle and provide the necessary strength,
power and appropriate support and services to local communities,
so they can lead themselves out of the malaise: in a word,
empowerment!” Pat Anderson and Rex Wild QC, Little
Children are Sacred report, 2007.
OVERVIEW:
The Northern Territory Intervention is the enacting of federal
laws relating to the land, culture and self-determination
of Indigenous people living in the Northern Territory of Australia.
IIntroduced by the Howard Govt as The
National Emergency Response Act 2007, the laws gave power
to the commonwealth to take over 72 Aboriginal communities
and town camps in August 2007. The NT intervention was backed
by military, police and doctors and cost $1.5 billion to enact.
IIt is the newest and most controversial
piece of legislation affecting Indigenous people, not least
because it applies only to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
people and required the suspension of the Racial Discrimination
Act (RDA) to become law.
The NT intervention contravenes Australia’s
Racial Discrimination Act. It also breaches international
human rights charters which Australia is signatory to, including
the UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Charter,
the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms
of Racial Discrimination and the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights.
RESPONSES BY INDIGENOUS LEADERS &
COMMUNITY MEMBERS
“The most significant problem with the new arrangements identified
by the Report is the lack of capacity for engagement and participation
of Indigenous peoples. This manifests as a lack of connection
between the local and regional level, up to the state and
national level; and as a disconnect between the making of
policy and its implementation.
Indigenous peoples are treated as problems
to be solved, not as partners and active participants in creating
a positive life vision for the generations of Indigenous peoples
still to come.
The greatest irony of this is that it fosters a passive system
of policy development and service delivery while at the same
time criticising Indigenous peoples for being passive recipients
of government services!” Tom Calma, Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, 2007 Social
Justice Report.
“I live 25km outside Alice Springs on my
traditional land. After having worked for about 48 years,
reared 10 kids and worked in between that time, I retired
to the good life and I’m hit with this intervention. I’m being
‘income managed’ and they couldn’t give me a reason why.”
Kathleen Martin, Inkerreke station, NT.
“As medical professionals, we question
the notion that you can treat poverty, dispossession, marginalisation
and despair (the root causes of substance misuse and sexual,
physical and emotional abuse) with interventions that further
contribute to poverty, dispossession, marginalisation and
despair.” Dr Mark Wenitong, President of the Australian
Indigenous Doctors Association.
“The govt’s plan failed to address long-term
problems such as education, overcrowded housing, unemployment
and poor health….in their present form the proposals miss
the mark and are unlikely to be effective. There is an over-reliance
on top-down punitive measures and insufficient indication
that additional resources will be mobilised where they are
urgently needed.” Letter excerpt - from a coalition
of 30 groups including indigenous, welfare, health, housing,
church, and cultural organizations to the Howard Govt, June
2007.
"This is affecting people's self esteem, they are feeling
shame and humiliation, they feel like it's back to the mission
days. People are saying: `this doesn't apply to other people
so why should it apply to us?’” Olivia Nigro, Darwin
Aboriginal Rights Coalition.
POSITIVE ACTION:
IIn this political era of the new federal Labor government,
and after the PM Rudd’s apology to the stolen generations
in February 2008, the grass roots movement to support Indigenous
self-determination and human rights is now focussed around
the federal intervention. Many community groups are calling
for a change in the current policy due to its negative social
and economic impacts on Indigenous communities and the erosion
of the human rights of Indigenous Australians. A focal point
of the campaign is the reinstatement of the Racial Discrimination
Act, which was suspended by PM Howard to pass the federal
intervention laws. If you want to get active, listen to Indigenous
people’s experiences, check out the resources on this site,
and find community groups in the links below.
AUSTRALIA
Sydney: May 24-25 2008: National Conference in Redfern organised
by Aboriginal Rights Coalition.
National: June 21, 2008: Mass rallies planned across Australia
for the first anniversary of intervention.
INTERNATIONAL – UNITED NATIONS (UN)
A delegation of 40 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians
attended United Nations permanent forum on Indigenous issues
in New York, April 21-May 2, 2008. This year’s forum focussed
on the issues of climate change, bio-cultural diversity and
livelihoods. It is the first summit since the UN’s non-binding
declaration on Indigenous rights in 2007. Indigenous delegates
have taken the opportunity of the forum to voice their concerns
about the impacts of the federal intervention on their communities.
LINKS: LISTEN TO INDIGENOUS VOICES!
Check out Indigenous speakers from all over Australia express
their views on NT intervention during a protest at Parliament
House, Canberra. February 12, 2008.
BLACK
TRACKS – INDIGENOUS MEDIA
“Black Tracks is a travel show with a difference – showing
the experience of travel from an Indigenous perspective. The
program has a dedicated crew in New York, talking to the 40
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who’ve made the
journey from Australia. Respected Australian journalist Ginny
Stein is on the ground and is sending updated reports straight
from UN Headquarters.”
See video interviews with indigenous delegates
at the UN:
ABORIGINAL
RIGHTS COALITION (ARC)
A coalition of both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal activists
from a variety of ages, backgrounds and perspectives. Meets
Monday nights at Redfern Community Centre, Hugo St, Sydney.
You can join ARC
mailing list by sending an email to
nt-solidarity-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
“The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission was established
in 1986 by an act of federal Parliament. We are an independent
statutory organisation and report to the federal Parliament
through the Attorney-General. HREOC is leading the promotion
and protection of human rights in Australia by:
•Making Human Rights values part of everyday life and language
•Empowering all people to understand and exercise their human
rights
•Working with individuals, community, business and government
to inspire action
•Keeping government accountable to national and international
human rights standards
•Securing an Australian Charter of Rights.
CENTRAL LAND COUNCIL (CLC)
“Council of 90 Aboriginal people elected from communities
in the southern half of the Northern Territory….the CLC is
a representative body promoting Aboriginal right. Its region
covers 771,747 sq km of remote, rugged and often inaccessible
areas.” www.clc.org.au
We will soon be releasing a major component to this section, it will be an Indigenous Education program that we have been very busy working on, stay tuned, we look forward to releasing this information in the very near future.
