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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.

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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.

The Canberra Times
Lifestyle choice fiasco revives Aboriginal debate
The Canberra Times
The case Dodson made this week can be summarised thus: there is now no real dialogue, no relationship, between the Australian government and the leaders of Aboriginal Australia. Any significant advances Aboriginal Australians have made have been ...
Twenty per cent still think it's OK to discriminate against Indigenous AustraliansSydney Morning Herald
More than 1000 protesters rally against closure of Aboriginal remote ...ABC Online
2015 #ClosetheGap: focus on remote communities, funding cuts, & improving ...Crikey (blog)
The Daily Telegraph
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The Age
Lifestyle choice fiasco revives Aboriginal debate
The Age
The case Dodson made this week can be summarised thus: there is now no real dialogue, no relationship, between the Australian government and the leaders of Aboriginal Australia. Any significant advances Aboriginal Australians have made have been ...
Twenty per cent still think it's OK to discriminate against Indigenous AustraliansSydney Morning Herald
More than 1000 protesters rally against closure of Aboriginal remote ...ABC Online
Tony Abbott's emotive words stop discussion with Aboriginal communitiesThe Australian
Crikey (blog) -WA today -Third Sector
all 84 news articles »

Sydney Morning Herald
Lifestyle choice fiasco revives Aboriginal debate
Sydney Morning Herald
The case Dodson made this week can be summarised thus: there is now no real dialogue, no relationship, between the Australian government and the leaders of Aboriginal Australia. Any significant advances Aboriginal Australians have made have been ...
Resistance builds against plan to close Aboriginal communitiesGreen Left Weekly
Tony Abbott's emotive words stop discussion with Aboriginal communitiesThe Australian
Colin Barnett pushed as anger erupts at protest over remote communities closureABC Message Stick

all 88 news articles »

Sydney Morning Herald
Geoffrey Blainey takes fresh look at Australia's early history
Sydney Morning Herald
In contrast to Prime Minister Tony Abbott's view that the arrival of the First Fleet "was the defining moment in the history of this continent", Blainey argues that the migration of Aboriginal people to Australia some 50,000 years ago "might have ...
Book review: The Story of Australia's People, by Geoffrey BlaineyBrisbane Times

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WA today
Tony Abbott's emotive words stop discussion with Aboriginal communities
The Australian
Last week Tony Abbott expressed support for Western Australia's proposal to “close” about 150 remote Aboriginal communities. The Prime Minister raised several legitimate issues. He also suggested indigenous Australians in remote communities had made ...
Aboriginal community closures: Kimberley protests in picturesABC Local
Lifestyle choice fiasco revives Aboriginal debateWA today
Resistance builds against plan to close Aboriginal communitiesGreen Left Weekly
ABC Online -The Age
all 88 news articles »

SBS
A photographer and a mission to shed light on Aboriginal life
SBS
"I had always had Aboriginal friends growing up. As I got older, I realised I actually didn't know very much about them. The further I delved into my friends' parents' and grandparents' lives, I just realised how little I actually knew and how much I ...

The Guardian
Colin Barnett links closure of remote Aboriginal communities to child abuse
The Guardian
It was not clear from Barnett's comment whether the 39 cases he mentioned were found in remote Aboriginal communities, or in cities and towns in WA. Guardian Australia contacted his office and requested the source of the statistics, but did not receive ...
Scullion denies remote WA communities will be 'shut down', says State ...ABC Online
Barnett shoved by indigenous rally protesterPerth Now
National Day Of Action Tomorrow Against Barnett Closure Of Remote CommunitiesNew Matilda
Radio Australia
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The Guardian
Colin Barnett links closure of remote Aboriginal communities to child abuse
The Guardian
It was not clear from Barnett's comment whether the 39 cases he mentioned were found in remote Aboriginal communities, or in cities and towns in WA. Guardian Australia contacted his office and requested the source of the statistics, but did not receive ...
Australians Rally against Closure of Aboriginal CommunitiesteleSUR English
Restore funding to bush settlements or the gap 'will widen'The Australian
Thousands rally in protest of remote community closuresABC Message Stick
Radio Australia
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ABC Online
Pemulwuy: Commemorating Australia's first Aboriginal resistance leader at the ...
ABC Online
Aboriginal leader Pemulwuy's campaign of resistance has been commemorated at the National Museum with the unveiling of a new plaque honouring his role in Australian history. Pemulwuy was a member of the Bidjigal clan who led his people in guerrilla ...
National museum honours Aboriginal warrior9news.com.au

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Sydney Morning Herald
Malcolm Fraser dead: former Australian prime ministers pay tribute
Sydney Morning Herald
"I well remember Malcolm attending the National Apology in February 2008 together with prime ministers Whitlam, Hawke and Keating as we celebrated another milestone between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians," the former Labor prime minister ...
Malcolm Fraser dead: prime ministers' statementsThe Australian
Malcolm Fraser: Former Australian PM dies aged 84BBC News
Former PM Malcolm Fraser dies at 84SBS
Wall Street Journal -The West Australian
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The Australian
Abbott agrees to meet Shorten and Indigenous leaders
Sydney Morning Herald
These include the decision to withdraw services from about 150 remote Indigenous communities by the state government in Western Australia, cuts in funding to programs and Mr Abbott's remark that those living on outstations were exercising a "lifestyle ...
Fantasy landThe Monthly (subscription)

all 281 news articles »

The Daily Telegraph
Hugh Jackman's big gesture to a young, unknown indigenous girl in remote ...
The Daily Telegraph
“Hugh Jackman, you said publicly that you only grew up after spending time in remote Aboriginal community,” the sign read. “Now the govt (sic) wants to shut them down. This week we will protest and the media will ignore us. We need your support.”.

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The Daily Telegraph
Hugh Jackman's big gesture to a young, unknown indigenous girl in remote ...
The Daily Telegraph
“While living in a remote community I came to understand that 'connection' to land is a fundamental part of the indigenous identity,” Jackman's sign read. “Think about the past, have quality conversations. I support you.” The response was posted to ...
Indigenous AFL players speak out against closure of remote Aboriginal ...The Age
Hugh Jackman backs WA remote communities over closuresSBS

all 5 news articles »

The Age
Indigenous AFL players speak out against closure of remote Aboriginal ...
The Age
Indigenous AFL players have joined an online campaign to stop remote Aboriginal communities in Western Australia from being closed. The WA government intends to close about 150 remote communities after responsibility for delivering their essential ...

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The Age
Indigenous AFL players speak out against closure of remote Aboriginal ...
The Age
Indigenous AFL players have joined an online campaign to stop remote Aboriginal communities in Western Australia from being closed. The WA government intends to close about 150 remote communities after responsibility for delivering their essential ...
Hugh Jackman's big gesture to a young, unknown indigenous girl in remote ...The Daily Telegraph
Hugh Jackman and AFL stars call for remote communities to be allowed to ...ABC Online

all 7 news articles »

teleSUR English
Australians Rally against Closure of Aboriginal Communities
teleSUR English
Thousands rallied Western Australia Wednesday, following similar actions last week in Melbourne, Brisbane, and Adelaide, to protest against plans to close 150 of Western Australia's 274 remote Indigenous communities. According to the Australian Bureau ...
Restore funding to bush settlements or the gap 'will widen'The Australian
Thousands rally in protest of remote community closuresABC Message Stick

all 4 news articles »