Suppression

Throughout Australian history, principle has been overwhelmed by economic interest, and the idea of justice embodied in natural rights is voted down by justice made in the image of the majority. The Mabo decision of the High Court in 1992 might be taken as a paradigm case of what has been called "complex space." Instead of assuming a homogenous jurisdiction over Australian territory, the court had to acknowledge the validity of a different legal system and "storied" country inside the national borders. - Theological Critique by Mark Brett, Professor of Old Testament [node:read-more:link]

Despite repeated assurances that no Northern Territory remote homelands would be closed, a lack of government communication has left leaders in the Arnhem land community of Milingimbi believing it to be inevitable.

Residents' concerns have been outlined in a petition sent to the chief minister, Adam Giles, the local government and community services minister, Bess Price, and the federal Indigenous affairs minister, Nigel Scullion, and signed by 135 elders and senior people. [node:read-more:link]

First Nations youth are 24 times more likely to be incarcerated than other Australian youth, Amnesty International has found. Amnesty International secretary-general Salil Shetty at the National Press Club in Canberra said the rate would have devastating consequences. "We will see another generation lost to failed government policies unless Australian Governments get smarter about this, and fast," Mr Shetty said. "We will see another generation lost to failed government policies unless Australian Governments get smarter about this, and fast" [node:read-more:link]

BOOK REVIEW: Hannah McGlade bravely addresses the complex issue of Aboriginal child abuse, arguing that Aboriginal child sexual assault has been formed within the entrenched societal forces of racism, colonisation and patriarchy, yet cast in the Australian public domain as an Aboriginal ‘problem’. She believes that we should be guided by Indigenous human rights concepts and international Indigenous responses. In doing so she believes that we can help to stem the harm to our future generations. [node:read-more:link]

Nigel Scullion, federal Indigenous affairs minister said
the commonwealth did not seek an assurance from the Northern Territory government that remote Indigenous communities would remain open before it proposed a change in funding arrangements. The federal government set aside a one-off payment of $155m in the budget for the territory government to take full control of municipal services. In the 2014-15 financial year, the commonwealth provided nearly $21m for municipal services in 376 NT outstations and homelands. [node:read-more:link]

Going without food, or going without nutritious food, has heavy consequences for Indigenous people, as we learnt on a recent research trip to the West Kimberley. Indigenous Australians are already twice as likely to have a disability or chronic illness as non-Indigenous Australians; poor nutrition compounds these problems, leading to further illness and secondary impairments.Aboriginal people consistently reported alleviating food insecurity by going crabbing or fishing on traditional lands. Though this accounted for a small portion of total dietary intake. [node:read-more:link]

"We have never been given the opportunity to live in our own ways ... since occupation of our lands in 1829, we have been forced, by successive policies, to be a reactive people. Now we are trying to change to be proactive, but we need time to do that in our own way. We are in the process of re-piecing together our community with our own value system, starting here at Heirisson Island," said Bella Bropho at the Matagarup Refugee Camp on Heirisson Island, Perth, Western Australia. [node:read-more:link]