Showing posts with label Indigenous Australia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Indigenous Australia. Show all posts

Wednesday 2 November 2016

"I don't know who the dickhead is that thought up this incredible, brilliant idea; it's just a total waste of taxpayers' money" - Warren Mundine


Having read the following media release last Thursday I feel sympathy for Warren Mundine’s obvious sense of frustration at the announcement of yet another ‘make busy’ inquiry into the criminal justice system and indigenous incarceration.

It was only in March last year that the Senate Finance and Public Administration Committees began an Inquiry into Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Experiences of Law Enforcement and Justice Services, which received fifty-one submissions and held hearings in Perth, Sydney and Canberra.

The final report was due on 25 August 2016, however as Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull pulled the plug on all current parliamentary inquiries on 9 May 2016 by calling a double dissolution federal election, time spent, taxpayers’ money and the efforts of concerned parties have come to naught.

Rather like most of the recommendations of previously completed state and federal inquiries into the Aboriginal experience of Australian society and its institutions.

UNCLASSIFIED
SENATOR THE HON GEORGE BRANDIS QC
ATTORNEY-GENERAL
LEADER OF THE GOVERNMENT IN THE SENATE

SENATOR THE HON NIGEL SCULLION
MINISTER FOR INDIGENOUS AFFAIRS

JOINT MEDIA RELEASE­

ALRC inquiry into incarceration rate of Indigenous Australians

Today we announce that the Turnbull Government will ask the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) to examine the factors leading to the over representation of Indigenous Australians in our prison system, and consider what reforms to the law could ameliorate this national tragedy.
It has been 25 years since the final report of the landmark Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, but Indigenous Australians are still overrepresented in Australia’s prisons. In 1991, Indigenous Australians made up 14 per cent of our nation’s prison population; by 2015, this had increased to 27 per cent.

Other worrying statistics include the fact that Indigenous children and teenagers are 24 times more likely to be incarcerated than their non-Indigenous peers, while Indigenous women are 30 times more likely to be incarcerated.

The ALRC’s inquiry is a critical step for breaking through these disturbing trends. The terms of reference will be subject to consultation, particularly with Indigenous Australians, state and territory governments who have primary responsibility for our criminal justice frameworks, as well as the broader legal profession.

The Turnbull Government is committed to reducing Indigenous incarceration and has committed $256 million in 2016-17 through the Indigenous Advancement Strategy for activities to address the drivers and improve community safety.

27 October 2016

Tuesday 27 September 2016

Pre-European contact stone walls discovered on North Lismore Plateau


Echo NetDaily, 23 September 2016:

Bundjalung elder Mickey Ryan in the area of the plateau where rockwalls are located. (Darren Coyne)

Archaeologists investigating ancient stonewalls and other sites on the North Lismore Plateau believe the area could be as culturally significant as Uluru.

Led by Bundjalung elder Mickey Ryan, the archaeologists from Tocomwall Pty Ltd visited the plateau yesterday as part of a survey of the area’s cultural landscape.

Mr Ryan has been leading the fight to stop a 1500 dwelling development proposed by the Lismore City Council and local landowners.

The council has rezoned the plateau for residential development and has said that development applications would be lodged before the end of the year.

A section of the rockwalls which archaeologists believe pre-date European contact. (Darren Coyne)

But Scott Franks, managing director of Tocomwall, an Aboriginal cultural heritage consultancy firm that provides archaeological, ecological and cultural heritage services across Australia, yesterday told Echonetdaily that such a development would be desecration.

‘I believe it’s as significant as Uluru. I’ve never seen anything like this and I grew up with my old people walking the country. I’ve been in the army and all over Australia and I’ve never seen anything like it … especially not in New South Wales,’ Mr Franks said.

‘I believe it’s highly significant and the council should be turning their minds to ways to protect this. If this area is cleaned up and managed properly, and the right protocols are put in place with the right knowledge holders, I think it could be an unbelievable teaching area for archaeology, and also for tourism.’

‘The council needs to get with it and understand what they’ve got here but it seems they haven’t got a clue.’

Tocomwall’s senior archaeologist Jakub Czastka, who trained at the Institute of Archaeology in London, said the site should be properly surveyed and protected.
‘What I’ve seen up there in terms of the wall alignments and the features most certainly do not conform to European or post-contact practice,’ he said…..

Mr Ryan has vowed to fight any plans to develop housing on the plateau, and has the support of the Bundjalung Council of Elders.

Tuesday 5 July 2016

Thursday 16 June 2016

Australian Federal Election 2016: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peak organisations unite in The Redfern Statement



Media Release 9 June 2016, The Redfern Statement 2016:

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peak organisations unite

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peak organisations unite The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services (NATSILS) has united with other community leaders in Redfern this morning to call on political leaders to tackle inequality and disadvantage facing Australia’s First People as a federal election priority.

Dr Jackie Huggins, Co-Chair of National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples read from the Redfern Statement (the Statement), calling for an immediate restoration of the $534 million funding cut from the Indigenous Affairs Portfolio, to be invested into meaningful engagement, health, justice, preventing violence, early childhood and disability.

“The over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the criminal justice system is a national crisis. Both major parties are compelled to act - we cannot turn a blind eye” said Wayne Muir, CoChair of NATSILS.

“The Redfern Statement articulates a plan to properly address the crisis state of access to justice, which includes a call to immediately reversing planned funding cuts to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services due to come into effect in 2017 and committing to the development of an evidenced-based long term funding model so ATSILS can address unmet legal needs” Among its justice asks, the Statement calls for the next government to commit to implementing wrap-around service delivery models that seek to address and prevent the issues that underlie the legal problems facing women, children and families.

“It’s not enough that family law gets the leftovers after you’ve dealt with state and territory criminal law matters. We need a minimum of $25million per annum that is segregated and protected for a stand-alone family law practice in each Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Service across the country”. The Redfern Statement has been developed by national Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peak and representative bodies including:

National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples, NATSILS, First Peoples Disability Network (FPDN), National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (NACCHO), National Family Violence Prevention Legal Services (FVPLS), Secretariat for National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care (SNAICC), The Healing Foundation, and The National Health Leadership Forum (NHLF). The Statement also has the overarching support of The Change the Record Coalition, Close the Gap Steering Committee, and Family Matters campaigns. The Statement also has been endorsed by Reconciliation Australia and over 55 mainstream organisations, including the Australian Medical Association and Law Council.


Full transcript of The Redfern Statement 2016 here.

Sunday 24 April 2016

The imporatnce of Indigenous Protected Areas as part of Australia's National Reserve System



Here at Country Needs People, we focus a lot of attention on Indigenous rangers. There’s a pretty good reason for that. It’s a phenomenally successful program that is having a positive effect on the lives of Indigenous people across the country. But there’s a second side to our campaign, which sometimes feels overlooked, but which is just as important.

Securing the future of Indigenous Protected Areas will mark another critically important milestone in recognising the value of Indigenous land and sea management to Australia.

Increasingly, Indigenous Protected Areas, or IPAs, are being appreciated as an expression of cultural and economic self-determination for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. IPAs are tangible demonstrations of connection to country, but also provide an important social and economic foundation for improving health, education, employment and cultural identity.

IPAs are recognised as part of the Australian Government’s National Reserve System. To date there are more than 70 IPAs, covering 65,000,000 hectares of Indigenous owned or controlled land and sea areas. IPAs are are voluntarily entered into by Indigenous land owners and as part of any agreement with the Australian Government to manage biodiversity; local Traditional Owners initiate the process, and develop a management plan according to criteria which address both local priorities and national biodiversity priorities.  

Typically these two aspects strongly overlap.  The program combines extremely well with the Indigenous Rangers initiatives to result in a strategic, locally led natural and cultural management approach combining highly valuable traditional and local knowledge and contemporary science.  

The IPA is 'declared' formally at a time the Traditional Owners determine, it then becomes part of Australia's national reserve system the NRS.


Read the rest of the post here.


Stretching over 1,114 hectares of the Lower Richmond Valley on the northern coast of New South Wales, Ngunya Jargoon Indigenous Protected Area is a refuge for an extraordinary number of plants and animals.

Part of the traditional homelands of the Bundjalung people of Ballina and Cabbage Tree Island, Ngunya Jargoon itself is of particular significance to the Nyangbul clan group.

This natural oasis lies in a region suffering from fragmented habitat due to historic land clearing. It is the last remaining intact native area on the lower Richmond floodplain and contains heath and woodlands, rainforest and eucalyptus forest.

Bingil Creek, flowing along the eastern side of the protected area, is in near-pristine condition.

Next to the Blackwell range and Tuckean Swamp, Ngunya Jargoon creates a wildlife corridor between the region's protected areas and provides a home to 38 threatened animal species such as the long-nosed potoroos and other important species including swamp wallabies, koalas and red-bellied black snakes.

More than 400 native plant species are found here, many of which the Bundjalung people used for food, medicine and tools. Bundjalung used broad-leafed paperbark for wrapping food prior to cooking, as a bandage and as a coolamon.

Bush fruits such as geebungs, fiver corners and sour currents played a big part in people's diets. Resin from grass trees, a culturally important plant currently in decline, was used to make glue for firesticks.

Archaeological and historic records paint a rich picture of Indigenous occupation in the area which stretches back thousands of years.

Because large parts of Ngunya Jargoon Indigenous Protected Area have never been developed or damaged, a number of significant discoveries including artefacts which point to precontact economies during the Holocene period, have been made.

Cultural sites containing a large number of artefacts such as stone axes and flake tools and numerous middens and scar trees have also been recorded on the IPA.

The Bundjalung people are guided by the values of healthy country, intergenerational learning, sustainable business and enjoyment to shape their country's future. They plan to develop an outdoor learning space, build walking tracks and collecting native seeds for regeneration programs as part of their management plan for Ngunya Jargoon.

For more than 10 years, the Mibinj Green Team, made up of Bundjalung people, have been working on country. They've undertaken extensive rubbish collections, cultural surveys, revegetation and fencing activities.

Dedicated as an Indigenous Protected Area on 12 February 2013, Ngunya Jargoon has become part of Australia's National Reserve System, ensuring it will be maintained for future generations to enjoy.

Ngunya Jargoon Indigenous Protected Area will be managed under the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Category VI, as a protected area which is managed for conservation and the sustainable use of natural resources.

Unfortunately the Ngunya Jargoon IPA, which is home to a total of 38 threatened species, falls along the proposed Woolgoolga to Ballina Pacific Highway upgrade that was approved by the Abbott Government in August 2014.

Monday 24 November 2014

OVERCOMING INDIGENOUS DISADVANTAGE 2014 report released 19 November 2014


M e d i a R e l e a s e
Wednesday 19 November 2014

Steering Committee for the Review of Government Service Provision

OVERCOMING INDIGENOUS DISADVANTAGE 2014

The 2014 Overcoming Indigenous Disadvantage (OID) report released today shows some positive trends in the wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, with improvements in health, education
and economic outcomes. However, results in areas such as justice and mental health continue to cause concern.

The report shows that, nationally, for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians:

• economic outcomes have improved over the longer term, with higher incomes, lower reliance on income support, increased home ownership, and higher rates of full time and professional employment.
However, improvements have slowed in recent years
• several health outcomes have improved, including increased life expectancy and lower child mortality.
However, rates of disability and chronic disease remain high, mental health outcomes have not improved, and hospitalisation rates for self-harm have increased
• post-secondary education outcomes have improved, but there has been virtually no change in literacy and numeracy results at school, which are particularly poor in remote areas
• justice outcomes continue to decline, with adult imprisonment rates worsening and no change in high rates of juvenile detention and family and community violence.

“It has been almost three years since the last OID report. For this report we made a concerted effort to increase the involvement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. Their input contributed to significant developments, including broadening the focus from overcoming disadvantage to improving wellbeing, and the inclusion of new indicators, such as Indigenous language revitalisation and maintenance, valuing Indigenous cultures (including experiences of racism and discrimination) and participation in decision making” said Peter Harris, chairman of the Productivity Commission and of the Steering Committee.

The OID report is the most comprehensive report on Indigenous wellbeing produced in Australia. It contains accessible data for an extensive range of wellbeing measures as well as case studies of programs that have led to improved outcomes. “This report should be compulsory reading for anyone interested in outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians or working in service delivery or program design,” said Commissioner Patricia Scott, who convenes the expert working group that advises on the report.

The report is a product of the Review of Government Service Provision. It is overseen by a Steering Committee comprising senior officials from the Australian, State and Territory governments, and supported by a secretariat from the Productivity Commission. This report is the sixth in the series, which traces its origins to the final report of the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation in 2000.

The full report can be found here.

On the same day the Productivity Commission report was released the Abbott Government walked away from another one of its 2013 election promises, according to The Australian, 20 November 2014:

THE national peak body for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services NATSILS is angry at the Abbott government for “back flipping” on a pledge to consider introducing justice targets as part of the Closing the Gap policy agenda, a move which NATSILS along with many other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders and organisations have long called for.
It comes after this week’s Productivity Commission Overcoming indigenous Disadvantage report revealed a shocking increase of nearly 60 per cent in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander incarceration rates over the last decade.
NATSILS Chairperson, Shane Duffy, said that confirmation from the Minister for indigenous Affairs, Nigel Scullion, during question time in the Senate on Wednesday that the government would not be progressing with introducing a justice target, despite publicly supporting such in the lead up to the 2013 election, was a troubling development…..
Mr Duffy said that the development of Closing the Gap justice targets was not just about throwing more money at the issue, as the Minister had described it, but was rather about getting the policy settings right to affect real change and to make sure resources in the justice space are used most effectively.
“The high cost of incarceration combined with the fact that prisons actually offer little in terms of effective rehabilitation, means that addressing incarceration rates should be an economic priority for the Government and its budget bottom line,” Mr Duffy said.
“It is costing Australian taxpayers more than $795 million per annum just to maintain the current level of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander over-imprisonment, so to reiterate the sentiments of the Minister in recent days, we shouldn’t just keep throwing money down the drain.”

Sunday 26 October 2014

Cabbage Tree Island and other massacres on the NSW North Coast


ABC North Coast NSW 23 October 2014:

Lois Cook takes on a history detective mission to track down people and documents to find out if her family's oral history is supported by other accounts from the 19th century. With the help of the staff of Ballina Library she discovers commentary by settlers and historians who were compelled to record the brutality against the local Indigenous people.
This video was created by Lois Cook and her family in collaboration with ABC Open in a series of video production workshops.
It is a special project for ABC North Coast's initiative UNTOLD, culminating in a live broadcast from Cabbage Tree Island on October 28 2014.


Babe in the reeds: a story of massacres and resilience from ABC Open North Coast NSW on Vimeo.

Wednesday 21 August 2013

1 Deadly Nation: "Indigenous life expectancy is at third world levels and Mr Abbott is racking up huge bills to do nothing about it while claiming credit for work he simply doesn't do!"


Cross posted with permission from 1 Deadly Nation: Unity in Diversity 13 August 2013:

 Abbott, the Truth and Cost of his Indigenous Volunteering

By now we’ve all heard it, as soon as criticism of the LNP’s policies on Indigenous Affairs (or lack thereof ) are raised the default position of LNP members, journalists and the apologists of in action is rolled out. Tony Abbott volunteers in Indigenous communities we are told, he goes for a week a year and these statements of “fact” are usually then followed by a barrage of holier than thou tripe about how much Mr Abbott could teach the rest of us….

So sure of this position, so much has it become the accepted reality, that statements from the LNP and journalists come to us on this subject with gay abandon. Take last night on the ABC’s Q and A program:-

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: We know that Tony Abbott works in Indigenous communities at least a week or two a year, and he has said that if he is elected Prime Minister that he will continue to do that and that he will take senior bureaucrats with him. He has done that in Cape York…

We know this do we? This just goes completely unchallenged and is gospel truth is it? Well here is what I know.
In August of 2012 Tony Abbott did indeed go to Cape York, but it wasn’t for a week or two as Mr Pyne suggests. It was for 2 days! It was a working bee of sorts and some of Australia’s business leaders were taken along to volunteer as well. Photos of Abbott with tools in hand were taken and the myth of Abbott the saviour of the Black man had a wonderful photo op. No problem so far until you examine the  Expenditure on Entitlements paid by the Department of Finance and Deregulation to Mr Abbott for this trip of “Volunteering”. And what do we find on page 12? An amount of $9,636.36, tax payer dollars, to fund the hire of a private charter flight for the 2 days. I don’t know about you, but when I volunteer to hammer in a few nails for a day or two I don’t ask the people of Australia to cough up 10k. That isn’t volunteering, that is the most expensive labourer in the history of Australia. I wonder what the sandwiches cost….(http://www.finance.gov.au/publications/parliamentarians-reporting/docs/P31/ABBOTT_Tony.pdf page 12.)

So was this a once off? Not on your life!

On another one of his trips to an Indigenous Community Mr Abbott was off to sell his version of the Wild Rivers Legislation to the traditional owners it would impact. Not quite volunteering as such, but policy is good and spending time in Indigenous communities is to be encouraged if it results in consultation that means that locals get their message across and this results in positive policy changes. So just how much did Mr Abbott listen to the local people of the Indigenous community he visited? How much was this reflected in his policy? Because hey, we know (or are told) he has the ear of the Black man…

”We do not support his shonky Bill,” said activist Murrando Yanner of the Carpentaria Land Council. ”We think it is badly drafted and legally unenforceable.” ”He will leave unhappy,” said Mr Yanner, who supports the existing Wild River legislation. ”His new Bill is a dogs breakfast.’

Well, that didn’t go to plan. It was neither volunteering nor listening to the locals. No harm in trying I suppose and if you spent the week out in the community helping it has some purpose, but little use if the status quo is maintained and you ignore the wishes of the people you supposedly assist. Well there is some harm and it wasn’t for a week. The harm comes in the form of another private charter flight, cost to the tax payer, $32,545.00. Because nothing says I volunteer to help those in need like a 30k ride in a jet. Oh and that week or two Pyne talks about? That trip that cost we the tax payer $32,545.00 in flights alone, was for just one night! (http://www.finance.gov.au/publications/parliamentarians-reporting/docs/T28/ABBOTT_Tony.pdf p29)

So when weeks are days and days cost tens of thousands of dollars and volunteering is photo ops and not listening to the traditional owners of the land you have to rename these volunteering trips. Tony Abbott’s very expensive, tax payer funded, private jet flown, not listening tours of outback Australia.

Next time an LNP member or journalist drops the “Abbott volunteers for weeks in Indigenous communities” line, call bullshit and then refer them to the figures. Three days and nearly $45000 in flights alone…, if that’s volunteering the rest of us are really doing it all wrong. Many of us, some one million odd Australians, do volunteer every year for community organisations, they slog their guts out, donate large amounts of money and never even ask for a thank you. The audacity of this public lie should be even more shocking when we remember that Indigenous life expectancy is at third world levels and Mr Abbott is racking up huge bills to do nothing about it while claiming credit for work he simply doesn’t do!

Friday 1 June 2012

Myall Creek Massacre Commemoration 10 June 2012


In memory of the Wirrayaraay people who were murdered on the slopes of this ridge in an unprovoked but premeditated act in the late afternoon of 10 June, 1838.
Erected on 10 June 2000 by a group of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians in an act of reconciliation, and in acknowledgement of the truth of our shared history.
[Memorial plaque at Myall Creek]


The annual memorial commemoration ceremony is for those who died in the Myall Creek massacre. This public commemoration is held at Myall Creek, the site of the massacre, west of Inverell on the Bingara-Delungra Road, commencing at 9.30 a.m. This year the meeting will be held on the Sunday, not Saturday, of the June long weekend.

9.30 Arrival and morning tea
9.45 Short AGM, with a focus on concept plans for the new educational/cultural centre
10.30 Start of ceremony
From 12.00  Lunch (can be purchased)
Brief contributions by invited guests
For further information or interviews please contact Ivan Roberts at (02) 6257 4600 or iroberts@iinet.net.au ; Sue Blacklock (02) 6723 3279, Lyall Munro (02) 6752 5792, Graeme Cordiner (02) 9817 0288

Thursday 12 January 2012

Proud local indigenous man says, "It's a shame that we are all classed as the same. "


Responding to a letter to the editor published in Wednesday's Daily Examiner, a local indigenous man from Yamba says, "It sounds like everyone, as a community, is painting the indigenous community with one brush".

Wednesday's letter appeared above the title "Name and address supplied". In other words, it was the work of Anon Y Mouse.

Here's the young indigenous man's letter:

Regarding the passage in the article "Ngaru Village", "the local indigenous population either doesn't care or couldn't be bothered to fix this major problem"... it sounds like everyone, as a community, is painting the indigenous community with one brush.

I have completed my HSC and have several jobs around town.

I plan on joining the NSW Police Force later this year.

As an indigenous local Yamba man it sounds like it can't be done, throughout the eyes of wider Yamba.

It's a shame that we are all classed as the same.

Jordan Walker, Yamba 
12 January 2012


And here's the letter written by  "Name and address supplied":

In Friday's paper we read about a police car having a window smashed leaving Ngaru Village when they were in search of three offenders who were hiding there after committing crimes. We read about persons from the village attacking golfers on the golf course.

The place in general looks like a ghetto, slum, or whatever, and it is disgraceful.

Believe it or not, there are people responsible for managing this area (the local land council) and it is blatantly obvious this is self-determination and governing has gone very wrong.

We need Housing NSW to come in and take over this embarrassment.

The local indigenous population either doesn't care or couldn't be bothered to fix this major problem.

They can't keep getting handouts all the time to fix their problems.

The rent these properties should be earning should be the money to upkeep the properties to a respectable standard.

You can bet your life tenants in Ngaru have major rent arrears and property damage issues that are not being addressed by their local land council.

Surely there must be a government body supervising how these land councils are using taxpayers' money.

Are they being audited as they are using taxpayers' money?

The land itself is a gorgeous piece of property and for the local indigenous population to treat the land this way is somewhat surprising, as they are supposed to have special attachments to the land.

Name and address supplied
10 January 2012

Wednesday 22 June 2011

The incarceration rate of Australia's first inhabitants is deplorable

Top marks go to The Daily Examiner for today's Comment piece where the editor writes "Aborigines comprise about 5 per cent of the [Clarence Valley's] population, but it is evident from sitting in our courtrooms they make up 50% or more of the people going through our courts." (Source The Daily Examiner, 22/6/11)

Thursday 14 April 2011

Wahluu: Australia's premier car racing circuit


While much debate continues to rage about how to pronounce the name of the NSW city that hosts Australia's premier car racing event, Aboriginal man Bill Allen is pushing for Mount Panorama at Bathurst to be given duel names in order to recognise its Wiradjuri name, Wahluu.



Mr Allen will be taking his case to the local naming authorities and is hoping for a positive decision by October when the city hosts the NSW Aboriginal Rugby League Knockout, just prior to the next Bathurst 1000 motor race.

Speaking on ABC North Coast local radio, the Koori Mail's Darren Coyne remarked that people readily acknowledge Wollumbin and Mt Warning are one and the same thing.

So, there shouldn't be a problem using Wahluu and Panorama in the same breath, should there?

All that's needed will be an educational program for television and radio broadcasters, especially those from the Old Dart (and their cronies), to add Wahluu to their lexicon. Admittedly, that task will be a bit difficult, but not impossible.

Source: The Koori Mail