Human Rights

An advertising campaign that explores the casual racism of Australians towards Indigenous people has been viewed more than 3.75 million times, but 20 per cent of respondents to a beyondblue survey still think it is OK to discriminate against First Nations people. It found Western Australia had the highest levels of discriminatory attitudes towards the first Australians, while 41 per cent of respondents in NSW said that "they were given an unfair advantage by the government". [node:read-more:link]

An advertising campaign that explores the casual racism of Australians towards Indigenous people has been viewed more than 3.75 million times, but 20 per cent of respondents to a beyondblue survey still think it is OK to discriminate against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. It found Western Australia had the highest levels of discriminatory attitudes towards Indigenous Australians, while 41 per cent of respondents in NSW said that "they were given an unfair advantage by the government". [node:read-more:link]

The government’s latest funding round has been accused of preferencing non-Indigenous providers and leaving many services unsure about their future. The Senate has supported a motion calling for an inquiry into the rollout of funding under the Indigenous advancement strategy, which has been described as confusing, fractured and systemically racist. WA Greens senator Rachel Siewert moved for the Senate finance and public administration references committee to examine the program’s tender process. [node:read-more:link]

Amid the questioning of government support for remote Aboriginal communities and what PM Tony Abbott called the “lifestyle choices” of those who live there, the growing role of First Nations management of large areas of remote Australia has been overlooked. There are 1,200 small, discrete communities in Australia with various sources of income, including federal government “Working on Country” funding, as well as meagre and tightly regulated welfare payments. They fulfil a key role in populating large areas of outback Australia. [node:read-more:link]

More than a thousand protesters shut down traffic in Melbourne's CBD to rally against the planned closure of remote Indigenous communities in West Australia. The group initially hoped to confront Tony Abbott at the National Gallery of Victoria about his statement and support of the displacement of thousands of peoples. The crowd eventually gave up on seeing Abbott and walked from the gallery to the State Library. About half-a-dozen tram routes were disrupted and roads were closed as they made their way up Swanston Street. [node:read-more:link]

The Peak body for Indigenous legal services was denied funding under the Indigenous advancement strategy as $680m in grants handed out. The NSW ALS had its two applications rejected by the IAS scheme, including one for its existing custody notification service, which provides 24-hour legal advice and welfare support for Aboriginal people arrested in NSW. Some organisations said they did not know if or how much of a grant they had been given, or if funding would continue beyond the next 12 months. [node:read-more:link]

The Premier of Australia's wealthiest state Colin Barnett has, without notice or consultation, announced he is closing down 150 small towns in his state and has refused to meet the mayors or residents of these generally remote towns to discuss the matter. The Premier – Colin Barnett – said he had no other options after the Federal Government announced they would no longer fund essential services to the towns, instead providing a one-off payment of $90 million to the State Government to take responsibility. [node:read-more:link]

A group of First Nations women have established a 'Sovereign Tent Embassy' at Matargarup (Heirisson Island) WA which also hosts a "Refugee Camp" for their homeless sisters and brothers and for the displaced First Nations people from their Homelands. Elder Maureen Culbong said, "We will stand in even stronger numbers together than even the two years ago where we stood for so long. There are so many issues our peoples face that we need the Embassy as a place of sanctity for all those hurting ... " [node:read-more:link]