Gross Abuse

On the 13th February, 2014, Grandmothers Against Removals protested in front of Parliament house, Canberra. "Today we march in protest against the unprecedented theft of Aboriginal children from their families by so-called "Child Protection" agencies across Australia. We are in urgent need of protection from the criminal actions of these Departments, who persecute Aboriginal families and mobilise police to terrorise children with forced removals. More Aboriginal children are forcibly separated from their families at this moment than at any time in history. - Diet Simon writes [node:read-more:link]

In a provocative keynote address at the Australian Theatre Forum Ilbijerri Theatre Company's Artistic Director, Rachael Maza, spoke powerfully and passionately about the differences between cultural appropriation and cultural exchange ... It's frightening to see that these condescending productions are accepted and even acclaimed in 2015. These public productions that perpetuate the myths of the invaders is one of the principle reasons that 'Education' urgently needs to provide a more comprehensive understanding of history. [node:read-more:link]

Figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics last month show a 10 percent jump in the number of people in Australian prisons, bringing the prison population to a 10 year high.

The Human Rights Law Centre’s Senior Lawyer, Ruth Barson, said the trend of locking up more and more people is alarming, particularly given there are cheaper and more effective ways to keep the community safe. [node:read-more:link]

Indigenous health experts gathered at University of Wollongong this week to introduce an Indigenous trauma recovery program developed at Harvard University.

"Evidence shows us that the processes of colonisation, with the loss of land, identity, family, layers into compound trauma - and what we're finding as evidence is compound trauma rolls into physical and psychological problems," said Debra Hocking - [node:read-more:link]

In his new book, The Story of Australia's People, Geoffrey Blainey writes that one of the reasons aboriginal tribes didn’t effectively resist European settlement was that they were militarily weak. Indigenous tribes often fought with each other rather than launch coordinated attacks against settlers. An alternative view comes from expert in indigenous history, Dr Ray Kerkhove, who has done new research on indigenous warfare in Queensland in the 19th century. [node:read-more:link]

In the past two years about 1500 sites have changed from being "registered" to "stored data", meaning they no longer warrant heritage protection. stated Academic, Professor Joe Dortch.

Most of those sites are in mining leaseholds belonging to Gina Rinehart and Andrew Forrest.Anthropologists are aghast at the interpretation, saying it's further evidence the Barnett government is taking Aboriginal heritage back 40 years. [node:read-more:link]

This Media Release from the Freedom Summit includes statements from Tauto Sansbury, Rosalie Kunoth-Monks and Paul Spearim jr.

The Media Release: The Original Peoples Freedom Movement are diametrically opposed to the punitive and exploitative work; five days a week, 12 months a year, dole scheme proposed by the Abbott Government that racially discriminates against the Original Peoples of Australia ... [node:read-more:link]