Human Rights

The suicide rate for young people in First Nation communities is of catastrophic proportions, but there is so little discussion and attention given to it by government's, the media and mainstream Australia. Suicide is evidencing itself in high-income nations as demonstrative that social cohesion is fallacious. And there is much mention in the media of gun and drug-related violence, but it fails to and discuss the leading cause of lethal violence – suicide. In Australia, suicide prevention should be highly prioritised in the nation’s social agenda. [node:read-more:link]

An Aboriginal peak body has concerns about a new 'permanent care order' that transfers parental rights to carers. The government says the new 'permanent care orders' would be in effect until the child was 18 and are designed to provide a more stable upbringing for children unable to live at home. It is virtually the same as adoption without changing the child's surname, birth certificate, birthrights or entitlements. SNAICC CEO Frank Hytten said the new laws could mean that children become lost in the system. [node:read-more:link]

A little before 1892, Archibald Meston who later became the Southern Protector of Aboriginals for Queensland rounded up 27 First Nations people from Wakaya, Kuthant, Kurtjar, Arapa, Walangama, Mayikulan, Kabi Kabi, Kalkadoon and Muralag. There were 22 men, four women and one child. He called his prisoners the 'Wild Australia' show and carted them down the east coast of Australia until he ran out of funds and deserted them in Melbourne. - A Photographic Exhibition aims to reconnect families to their descendants. [node:read-more:link]

Aboriginal leaders say the WA government plan to close communities is already driving people out of some of the most remote parts of Australia. Premier Colin Barnett last year announced as many as 150 of the state's 274 communities would be closed in the next three years because of a funding shortfall. Mr Steven Kopp, the Chairman of Mulan homelands community, which sits on top of the Tanami Desert, said some people were so worried about the community's future that up to 20 had already moved away. [node:read-more:link]

The Freedom Movement held a Sit-In at Parliament House on 27 January, 2015. - There is no greater rights struggle than the Aboriginal rights struggle. It is a human rights struggle where not only the First Peoples of this continent were violently and murderously dispossessed of their lands but since the advent of British colonialism onto their shores they were subjected to segregation, apartheid and the systematic destruction of their cultures and languages – more than 350 First Peoples' nations and languages have been impacted. [node:read-more:link]

A Perth Aboriginal woman sent to prison for unpaid fines says she was treated like a dangerous criminal and became very sick when forced to go without her blood pressure medication for three days.
At the watch house, she said she was asked for her signature for authorisation to obtain her medical records from her doctor. She was then sent to Bandyup Women's Prison where she asked if she could have her daily blood pressure medication, but was told it would take time to obtain authorisation from her doctor. [node:read-more:link]

Past experiences of forced removal off country have proved disastrous. The result is more fringe dwellers, social problems, suicides and incarceration. Western Australia already has the highest rate of incarceration of Indigenous people, around 20 times the rate of non-Indigenous Australians. In fact Barnett hypocritically admitted that it “will cause great distress to Aboriginal people who will move, it will cause issues in regional towns as Aboriginal people move into them.” [node:read-more:link]

The West Australian Government's decision to scrap funding for an interpreting service is certain to deny justice to some Aboriginal people in the Kimberley. The Kimberley Interpreting Service helps Aboriginal people navigate the technical English of police interviews and the courts."I think Mr Barnett needs to take heed of what the Chief Justice is saying and understand that to reduce the number of Aboriginal people going to prison, it's not just about pushing them out of jail, it's keeping them out of jail," Ben Wyatt said. [node:read-more:link]