Colonialism

Northern Territory Youth Detention Royal Commissioners Mick Gooda and Margaret White
(The Australian)

Young people’s voices are all but invisible in the Don Dale royal commission’s interim report
By Thalia Anthony
Associate Professor in Law, University of Technology Sydney
6 April 2017 Read more about The invisibility of young peoples voices in the Don Dale royal commission’s interim report

The federal government’s Cashless Debit Card trials in the East Kimberley and Ceduna were recently extended. In the space of a day, the government not only released the limited evaluation of the trial, but used this to justify its extension. The extension is puzzling given that the trial has led to further economic and social harm among people compulsorily included. Some communities argued that the card would be important to curb gender-based violence. However, there are reports that domestic violence has actually increased since the card was introduced and crime increased. Read more about The Cashless Debit Card causes social and economic harm - so why trial it again?

This page provides an insight into the treatment of the First Nations peoples in Victoria and the archaic attitudes of the colonisers immediately following many of the mass slaughters and displacements from 'country' in the 19th century.
 
It covers 5 pages of volume 1 from 'The Australian Race, its origin, languages, customs, place of landing in Australia and the routes by which it spread itself over that continent' published in 1886.

A Croatian born artist Vesna Tenodi who has an Art Centre in NSW stole the sacred image of the Wandjina in 2009 and commissioned a Wandjina sculpture at the front of her gallery and has been misusing the sacred image ever since. Local First Nations people objected strongly and a Worora Tribal custodian of the Wandjina travelled over from the West Kimberley to tell her the statue seriously offended his people, but she discarded what he said by saying her actions were a "revival of Aboriginal spirituality", even though she was born on another continent and the culture of the sacred Wandina is still practiced by its peoples. Read more about The stolen Wandjina totem takes Cultural Appropriation to a new level

In 1926 a group of colonists with self acclaimed 'high moral standards' and with a small touch of guilt, came up with the idea to create an Aboriginal state. The idea was to give Arnhem Land to Aboriginal people and teach them how to be self-sufficient ... "It is a bold scheme, but the committee behind it includes men who know the aborigine, and who have sufficient faith in it to call for signatures to a petition to be presented to the Commonwealth Parliament asking for its inauguration" Read more about 1926 plan for an Aboriginal state and to teach Aboriginals how to live on 'country'