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Tourism key to protecting Indigenous history in Tully
ABC Local
Sonya is very positive about the future of the business and Indigenous tourism both in Australia and worldwide. "I really think it's going to give Aboriginal people a huge opportunity to stand and be self-sufficient, but still maintain control of who ...

SBS
No choice but politics for Indigenous women: Pat O'Shane
SBS
A Yalangi woman from the Kunjandji clan and prominent former Magistrate, O'Shane has demonstrated a lifelong-trend for achieving 'firsts'. She was the first Aboriginal teacher in Queensland, Australia's first Aboriginal Barrister, the first woman and ...
Indigenous-controlled sector the clear loser of Indigenous Reform AgendaCrikey (blog)
Positives in the remote desertThe Australian

all 12 news articles »

ArtsHub (subscription)
Brandis refuses to protect exploited Indigenous artists
ArtsHub (subscription)
It will benefit members of the public in Australia and overseas who have concerns about the provenance and authenticity of Indigenous artwork, and the fair and ethical treatment of artists. It will secure public confidence in the integrity of the ...

ABC Online
Residents leaving WA town amid fears of closure, Aboriginal leader says
ABC Online
"This process will take time and be carefully planned to ensure we build stronger more sustainable communities that provide greater opportunities for Aboriginal people in Western Australia," Mr Collier said. Mr Eggington said consultation had not yet ...

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Aborigines must face up to the hard questions
The Australian
The rolling crisis in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands of South Australia and the looming removal of services from 150 remote outstations in Western Australia signal the beginning of the end of the link between discrete Aboriginal ...

ABC Online
Aboriginal legal services warn clients will face court unrepresented if ...
ABC Online
While the precise size of the cuts will only become known when Treasurer Joe Hockey hands down his second budget in May, Aboriginal Legal Service (ALS) say the funding uncertainty has already led to the loss of staff and the closure of some offices.

and more »Google News

Calls for indigenous Australian artefacts in British Museum to be returned
Lexology (registration)
The British Museum's decision to loan rare aboriginal artefacts to the National Museum of Australia has sparked accusations of cultural insensitivity and threats of legal action from indigenous community leaders in Australia. The objects are to be ...

ArtsHub (subscription)
Indigenous artists challenge dance sector over lack of representation
ArtsHub (subscription)
The sector's lack of engagement with Indigenous artists was initially raised by dancer/choreographer Jacob Boehme (a member of South Australia's Kaurna and Narranga peoples who was born and raised on Kulin lands) at a breakout session exploring ...

SBS
Comment: Don't close the door on Indigenous opportunities on country
SBS
Western Australian Premier Colin Barnett plans to close up to 150 of the state's 274 remote Aboriginal communities after a federal funding cut. Prime Minister Tony Abbott agreed, stating we cannot “endlessly subsidise lifestyle choices if those ...
Indigenous-controlled sector the clear loser of Indigenous Reform AgendaCrikey (blog)
Remote Indigenous communities are vital for our fragile ecosystemsThe Ecologist (blog)

all 12 news articles »

The Guardian
Malcolm Fraser was unflinching in his support of Indigenous Australians
The Guardian
My last direct exchange with Fraser was at the time he was writing the introduction to my book, Indigenous Australia for Dummies. He was supportive of my aims in the book – to make information about Indigenous people much more accessible in a light, ...
Malcolm Fraser paved the way for reformThe Australian Financial Review
Vale the 'father' who gave Vietnamese new lifeThe Australian
The Vietnamese refugee with so much to thank former prime minister Malcolm ...Sydney Morning Herald
On Line opinion -WA today
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The Guardian
Malcolm Fraser was unflinching in his support of Indigenous Australians
The Guardian
My last direct exchange with Fraser was at the time he was writing the introduction to my book, Indigenous Australia for Dummies. He was supportive of my aims in the book – to make information about Indigenous people much more accessible in a light, ...
A traditional Liberal whom the left is trying to ownThe Australian
The evolution of Malcolm Fraser was a wonderful thing to beholdThe Conversation AU
Malcolm Fraser: a man of principle and strength whose compassion I witnessed ...Sydney Morning Herald
TheBull.com.au
all 101 news articles »

Plan to Boost Indigenous Jobs
Pro Bono Australia
“The Australian Government will be leading by example by increasing its own Indigenous workforce to 3 per cent by 2018, which equates to around 7,500 Indigenous employees across the Commonwealth public sector,” he said. The procurement target, and ...

Plan to Boost Indigenous Jobs
Pro Bono Australia
“The Australian Government will be leading by example by increasing its own Indigenous workforce to 3 per cent by 2018, which equates to around 7,500 Indigenous employees across the Commonwealth public sector,” he said. The procurement target, and ...

Echonetdaily
Tweed march backs WA Aboriginal communities
Echonetdaily
The Tweed's indigenous community has organised a protest march for next week in the Tweed Heads CBD in solidarity with remote Aboriginal communities in Western Australia who face being forcibly removed from their lands. The fears about the closures ...
Positives in the remote desertThe Australian

all 3 news articles »

Echonetdaily
Tweed march backs WA Aboriginal communities
Echonetdaily
The Tweed's indigenous community has organised a protest march for next week in the Tweed Heads CBD in solidarity with remote Aboriginal communities in Western Australia who face being forcibly removed from their lands. The fears about the closures ...
Positives in the remote desertThe Australian
Australians stage anti-government rally in SydneyPress TV

all 3 news articles »

Green Left Weekly
'Living remotely no lifestyle choice'
Courier Mail
Indigenous activist Sam Watson warned the Palaszczuk Government against following in Western Australia's footsteps. “In Queensland in the 1960s, we had the appalling situation when Joh Bjelke-Petersen moved the bulldozers into old Mapoon,” he said.
Why health care in remote communities is not a 'lifestyle choice'Green Left Weekly

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Two firefighters injured battling Sydney fire 0:27
Courier Mail
Indigenous activist Sam Watson warned the Palaszczuk Government against following in Western Australia's footsteps. “In Queensland in the 1960s, we had the appalling situation when Joh Bjelke-Petersen moved the bulldozers into old Mapoon,” he said.

and more »

Green Left Weekly
Why health care in remote communities is not a 'lifestyle choice'
Green Left Weekly
Prime Minister Tony Abbott's recent comments on the “lifestyle choice” of Aboriginal Australians living in remote areas are troubling, especially given his self-anointed role of “Prime Minister for Aboriginal Affairs”. I have been privileged to work in ...

and more »Google News

ABC Online
NSW Election 2015: Labor pledges Indigenous cultural centre for Barangaroo ...
ABC Online
The Barangaroo development on Sydney's harbour would be home to a Australia's first Indigenous cultural centre if the state's voters elect a Labor government next Saturday. The Opposition has promised to allocate $100 million to the project that it ...
NSW election will go down to the poles and wiresThe Saturday Paper (subscription)

all 124 news articles »

ABC RADIO (PM) -TRANSCRIPT DAVID MARK: Thousands of people have turned out at rallies and marches across Australia to mark Close the Gap Day. The national event aims to highlight the discrepancy between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians in life expectancy, employment and education. This year the focus has been on the idea flagged by the Western Australian Government and echoed by the Prime Minister to potentially close up to 150 remote Indigenous communities. The Premier Colin Barnett came face to face with protesters during an intense and at times hostile rally in Perth. Lucy Martin was there. (Sound from protest rally) PROTESTER: If the Government continues to remove us from our lands, then this country is doomed - domestically, internationally and spiritually. Shame! LUCY MARTIN: From Broome to Bendigo, Melbourne to Geraldton, rallies were held in small country towns and major cities across Australia. (Sound from protest rally) PROTESTERS: Shame on you, shame on you, shame on you. LUCY MARTIN: The biggest was in Perth, where more than 1,000 people marched from the CBD to Parliament House, demanding an audience with the Premier Colin Barnett. (Sound from protest rally) PROTESTERS: Abbott, Barnett you go home. You're supporting genocide! PROTESTER 2: Who would have thought in 2015 we're up here protesting about being taken from our traditional lands? LUCY MARTIN: They're furious with the State Government's plans to close up to 150 Aboriginal communities in Western Australia. TAMMY SOLONEC: On this Close the Gap Day we're saying to people let's close the gap, not the communities! PROTESTER 3: We want to live, we don't want to just struggle and survive! LUCY MARTIN: The Commonwealth is transferring responsibility for funding the settlements to the State Government which says it can't afford to keep them all open. The Premier Colin Barnett addressed the crowd on the steps of Parliament House. COLIN BARNETT: Can I say, can I say to you, no Aboriginal people will be forced from their lands, no Aboriginal people will be forced from their communities. (Sound of outcry and protesting from crowd) LUCY MARTIN: Mr Barnett was jeered and abused when he told protesters to put themselves in his shoes. COLIN BARNETT: My issue is, and it's your issue as much as it's mine - probably more yours than mine - is how can we ensure that boys and girls go to school? How can we ensure that they are safe? (Sound of outcry and protesting from crowd) How can we reduce alcohol and drug usage? (Sound of outcry and protesting from crowd) I would be failing you as the Premier of this state if I ignored those issues. PROTESTER 4: You're are failing us! COLIN BARNETT: You will not like me for that, but I will not resile from that. LUCY MARTIN: The Premier was ushered away by his security team after a protester lunged at him. Indigenous lawyer and Amnesty International campaigner Tammy Solonec also addressed the rally. TAMMY SOLONEC: Moving Aboriginal people from their homelands will be harder than making these communities sustainable and viable. It will cause intergenerational trauma. It will break connections to land and culture. LUCY MARTIN: Sandy Davies, who attended a rally in Geraldton, 400 kilometres north of Perth, says Aboriginal people have been left in the dark. SANDY DAVIES: What we really need Colin Barnett to do is to come out - because all he has said is he intends to close 150 communities. He hasn't actually come out and given us any explanation about how he's going to do it, where he's going to do it, and which regions. LUCY MARTIN: In Adelaide, hundreds of protesters gathered on the steps of Parliament House. Thirteen communities in South Australia's remote APY lands (Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara ) are also in limbo because of the Commonwealth's withdrawal of funds. Local elder Tauto Sansbury. TAUTO SANSBURY: You move them from their land, you commit cultural genocide. You're killing off their culture, their customs, their songs, their dance, their tradition. LUCY MARTIN: The State Government says it's pushing for the Commonwealth to reconsider. But Mr Sansbury says that's not good enough. TAUTO SANSBURY: I'd like to get a definite answer from Jay Weatherill and Kyam Maher to say no we're not going to close Aboriginal communities down and we'll find an alternative way of paying for municipal services. Because if you look at the mining industry and the royalties, money can come out of that and there's no need to do this and create what we're calling genocide, cultural genocide. LUCY MARTIN: While in Launceston, protester Trudy Maluga from the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre had a clear message for the Prime Minister. TRUDY MALUGA: We're saying to the captain, as he has called himself previously, that your call on this is wrong. It is an infringement of human rights. It is getting talked about internationally and it's making Australia look shameful. DAVID MARK: That's Tasmanian protester Trudy Maluga ending Lucy Martin's report.