NT government denies that planned crime reforms are form of ‘racial control’

Former NT attorney general alleges Country Liberal party is planning law-and-order changes aimed at controlling Indigenous people

The former Northern Territory Labor attorney general Chansey Paech has accused the new Country Liberal party government of planning to introduce a set of tough law-and-order measures as a form of “racial control” aimed at Indigenous people.

Ahead of the first sitting of the reconfigured NT parliament since the election wiped out the Labor government, Paech has launched a broadside at the new government’s legislative agenda in an interview with Guardian Australia’s Australian Politics podcast.

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Canberra Liberal apologises for writing book that paints rosy colonisation picture and skips frontier wars

One exercise in History of Australia, a student workbook and teaching manual, asks pupils to discuss how Aboriginal people were ‘blessed’ by the British coming

Peter Cain, the ACT’s shadow attorney general, has apologised “wholeheartedly” for a 2002 workbook he wrote which does not mention the frontier wars and paints a rosy picture of how Christian settlers helped First Nations peoples.

In History of Australia, a student workbook and teacher’s manual published by Light Educational Ministries, Cain wrote that when the British arrived, “some were afraid of the Aboriginals; some treated them badly”.

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Alpine dingoes at risk of extinction after Victorian government extends right to cull

At least 468 shot by government controllers last year out of an estimated population of as few as 2,640 in the state’s east, advocates say

Traditional owners and dingo advocates say a Victorian government decision extending the right to kill dingoes on private and public land until 2028 could threaten local populations with extinction.

A government order, which took effect on Tuesday, declared dingoes were “unprotected wildlife” under the state’s Wildlife Act. The ruling means dingoes can be killed by trapping, poisoning or shooting across large parts of eastern Victoria, despite being listed as threatened under the state’s Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act.

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A police strip-search left Mysa feeling dehumanised. New data reveals the extent of the practice in NSW

Exclusive: Figures made public for the first time expose ‘problem with police accountability’, lawyer says

Mysa Le felt “vulnerable and completely helpless” when she was ordered by police to undress in front of them so they could search her body for drugs.

Le was strip-searched at Sydney’s Midnight Mafia music festival in May 2018, where she said two female police officers took her into a booth and told her to take off her clothes without explaining what was happening.

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‘Dying for their story to be heard’: Queensland’s truth-telling inquiry begins amid questions over its future

Historic moment celebrated despite LNP vow to abolish process should the party win government

Queensland’s historic Indigenous truth-telling and healing inquiry has commenced in Brisbane, nearly two centuries to the day after a penal colony was established in Queensland.

Counsel assisting Angus Scott said the first settlers landed at what was now known as Redcliffe on 12 September 1824. In 1825, they resettled in Meanjin – later named Brisbane, a few hundred metres from where the inquiry is being held.

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‘When they go low’: Clover Moore apologises as volunteer caught allegedly pulling down Indigenous rival’s corflutes

Team Clover volunteer filmed allegedly removing campaign posters of Yvonne Weldon from outside National Centre for Indigenous Excellence in Redfern

The lord mayor of Sydney, Clover Moore, has apologised to an Indigenous political opponent after a volunteer was accused of removing corflutes outside the National Centre for Indigenous Excellence in Redfern.

Yvonne Weldon posted a video recorded by one of her team members of a man who had allegedly taken down the corflutes to make way for Moore’s banners.

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Jacinta Price alleges ‘opportunists’ claiming Indigenous heritage to block resources projects

Shadow minister for Indigenous Australians says Albanese government ‘turning a blind eye’ to alleged ‘weaponisation’ of identity

Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has claimed “opportunists” are making “false claims” to membership of Indigenous groups to scuttle resource projects seeking environmental approval.

The shadow minister for Indigenous Australians made the claim on Wednesday while defending a Coalition plan to designate which Indigenous groups would need to be consulted by project proponents, as revealed by the shadow resources minister, Susan McDonald, at a Minerals Week event.

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Helen Garner, Virginia Woolf and Max Porter headline Belvoir St theatre’s 2025 program

‘Electrifying’ Judy Davis will star in adaptation of The Spare Room, with Colin Friels as King Lear later in the season

An adaptation of Helen Garner’s award-winning novel The Spare Room will debut at Sydney’s Belvoir St theatre in 2025, starring Judy Davis as a fictionalised version of the author in her first on stage role in almost 15 years.

The announcement caps a banner year for Garner’s work on stage, with an operatic adaptation of The Spare Room in development with the Melbourne company Monstrous Theatre, as well as a remount of the 2008 opera The Children’s Bach.

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Tanya Plibersek accuses Peter Dutton of intent to ignore Indigenous heritage for mining projects

Environment minister lambasts opposition leader over vow to overturn her rejection of tailings dam at McPhillamys goldmine

Tanya Plibersek has accused Peter Dutton of planning to ignore evidence of historical Indigenous cultural practice and trash heritage protection laws to greenlight certain mining projects and companies based on “the vibe”.

The environment minister told Guardian Australia that Dutton’s vow to overturn her determination rejecting the proposed site of a tailings dam at the $900m McPhillamys goldmine development in central-western New South Wales showed he had no respect for research or official advice.

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Central Land Council CEO launches defamation case against Jacinta Price

Lesley Turner says July media release from shadow minister for Indigenous Australians injured his ‘personal and professional reputation’

The chief executive officer of the Central Land Council has launched a federal case against Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price over allegations she defamed him in a media release in July.

The CEO, Lesley Turner, said the release, which has now been taken offline but was mentioned in two NT News articles, incorrectly reported that a no-confidence motion had been moved by members of the council against him.

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This article was amended on 7 September 2024 to correct the name of the land council staff member quoted by Jacinta Nampijinpa Price in her press release.

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NT Labor makes history appointing Australia’s first Indigenous woman to lead a major political party

Nunggubuyu woman Selena Uibo is NT Labor’s new leader, with an almost entirely Aboriginal caucus

After a crushing defeat, Territory Labor has appointed the first Aboriginal woman to lead a major party in the nation’s history.

The member for Arnhem, Nunggubuyu woman Selena Uibo, has taken up the top job alongside an almost entirely Aboriginal caucus.

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AGL breached rules 16,000 times in wrongly taking welfare money from hundreds of people, court rules

Landmark federal court judgment could trigger proceedings against three other energy retailers

AGL breached Australian energy rules more than 16,000 times through its use of the government-run Centrepay system to wrongly take welfare money from almost 500 people years after they ceased being customers, a court has ruled.

The landmark federal court judgment could trigger proceedings against three other energy retailers, which were referred to the regulator following a Guardian investigation into failures of the Centrepay system.

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NSW inquiry into death of Indigenous man shot while fleeing custody calls for urgent review of gun laws

Mother of Dwayne Johnstone urges government ministers to ‘take note’ of coroner’s recommendation ‘so no one else has to go through it’

The death of an unarmed Indigenous man who was shot while fleeing custody has prompted a coroner to recommend an urgent review of laws governing the use of firearms by correctional officers.

Dwayne Johnstone, a 43-year-old Wiradjuri man, was shot dead outside Lismore Base hospital as he ran in leg shackles and handcuffs from a prison van after receiving medical treatment on 15 March 2019.

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NT government missed opportunities to prevent ‘horrific deaths’ of four Indigenous women, inquest hears

Some 30 recommendations were put before the NT coroner including overhauling prison programs to ‘end the violence’ against women and children

A coroner investigating the shocking deaths of four Northern Territory women has been urged to back sweeping changes to curb the scourge of domestic violence.

On Tuesday, counsel-assisting Peggy Dwyer SC released 30 proposed recommendations for the coroner, Elisabeth Armitage, to consider ahead of her findings.

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Australia news live: Palaszczuk appointed to Australia Post board; Shorten says Dutton ‘implying all Gazans are terrorists’

Palaszczuk, who retired from politics in December after almost nine years as QLD premier, will serve a three-year term as a non-executive director. Follow today’s news headlines live

‘We have to have a constant reminder’

The committee also called for a culturally appropriate and nationally significant recognition and remembrance of murdered and disappeared First Nations women and children. Dorinda Cox said this would be “significant” if the government accepted the recommendation:

It would … have some permanent features to remind us the role that history has played for missing and murdered or disappeared women and children and First Nations women and children in this country, because there’s a story there that needs to be told, and we have to have a constant reminder.

Like we do … with the Australian war memorial of the safety that we have as a country, but also that this part of our history – this is now ingrained in and sketched into. And if we want to continue to work on this and continue to maintain safety for women and children and the most vulnerable, which is First Nations – as we know, we’re in an emergency for all women, but First Nations women and children are at the front of that – we have to have some permanent features, otherwise we become invisible.

What we hear too often is that this is a state and territory problem. States are responsible for their police forces, in particular … We have to centre our approaches and our outcomes in [addressing these issues] and we have to look at the culture of the organisations, such as police.

There’s lots of reporting on the media in relation to the attitudes of police across Australia, and that has to get better, but we have to have a measure against that – we can’t just put in the attorney general [to] have a chat to the police ministers, and nothing changes … Because if we don’t look at this in a way of wanting change, nothing ever changes.

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NSW introduces legislation to overhaul environmental offset scheme – as it happened

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Dutton: ‘We should stop people coming in from a war zone’

Is it all refugees Peter Dutton wants to stop?

We should stop people coming in from a war zone. So that’s that’s what we should do. Because we don’t know if the proper checks haven’t been done. The 1% or whatever it might be who pose a threat.

You bring 3,000 people in, let’s say 99% are good. If 1%, 30 people are questionable or sympathisers with … a listed terrorist organisation, how on earth is that in our country’s best interests?

There are processes in place and I can assure your audience that when things get referred to Asio we deal with them effectively.

Of course there might be times when they didn’t get referred to us in time. Once we become aware of them, we’re able to do the assessments and deal with them effectively.

No, it’s quite, quite the opposite. Asio is fantastic. I appointed Mike Burgess, but Mike can only act according to the policy of the government of the day. It was not our policy in government to bring people in who were sympathisers of a listed terrorist organisation.

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Senator gives evidence at defamation trial – as it happened

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For more on this, Daniel Hurst looked into the issue yesterday. A spokesperson for the communications minister, Michelle Rowland, had said the government was “firmly committed to minimising harms from online wagering”.

The government continues to engage with stakeholders regarding the recommendations from the online wagering inquiry as we formulate our response.

I hope that’s not the case. I hope the long consultation is because the government’s actually going to do the right thing and make gambling ads history, just like we did with tobacco. We live in hope it’s not too late, but the rumors are not encouraging.

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Albanese endorses ‘principle’ of makarrata but stops short of backing truth and justice commission

Prime minister’s emphasis on ‘engagement’ appears to differ from more formal truth-telling process advocated by First Nations leaders

Anthony Albanese has endorsed telling the truth about historical and current Indigenous experiences of colonisation in Australia but stopped short of committing to establishing a commission to facilitate the process.

Speaking on ABC TV’s Insiders program at the Garma festival in north-east Arnhem Land, Albanese suggested consulting Indigenous organisations on ways to better address Indigenous disadvantage and boost economic development in their communities fits the definition of the Yolŋu word “makarrata” – coming together after struggle.

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Wong warns Australians in Lebanon to ‘leave immediately’ – as it happened

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Asked whether the government could still use an advisory body to help it target initiatives, Albanese says he accepts the outcome of the referendum and “the voice was never the end in itself”.

It was about putting Indigenous recognition in the constitution in the form which was asked for through the First Nations constitutional convention in 2017 at Uluru. After a process that was begun by Tony Abbott, and which people participated in. Now, that wasn’t successful. So what we can’t do is say “oh well, we’ll just give up on closing the gap, we’ll give up on moving Australia forward”. What we will do is renew through working with existing bodies. There are land councils, there are organisations such as the Yothu Yindi Foundation here.

That was essentially a work for the dole, a make-work program. We’ve replaced that with the remote community and economic development program. So real jobs with real training. With real wages and conditions, so that’s part of it. $4bn into remote housing.

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NT police commissioner apologises to Indigenous community at Garma festival

Michael Murphy publicly acknowledges the impact of territory policing on Indigenous Australians over the past 154 years

The Northern Territory police commissioner, Michael Murphy, has issued an extraordinary apology to the Indigenous people of his jurisdiction, declaring police have favoured protecting “settlers” over Aboriginal people and he is “deeply sorry for the hurt and injustices” this has caused them over more than a century.

In a speech at the Garma festival in north-east Arnhem Land, Murphy warned his words could “trigger strong emotions” in his audience but said they were issued in the interests of reconciliation, healing and justice.

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