Category Archives: Indigenous Australians

Hospitality giant Iris Capital’s Alice Springs alcohol licence under investigation by NT government

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Action comes after police suspended trading twice in two weeks over ‘threats to public safety’ at two of its venues

Hospitality giant Iris Capital’s licence to sell alcohol in Alice Springs is under investigation by the Northern Territory government after police suspended trading twice in two weeks over “threats to public safety” at two of its venues.

The suspensions come after the NT Liquor Commission warned the company in early January that any further breaches “will be sternly dealt with”.

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Guardian Essential poll: majority of Australians continue to support Indigenous voice

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With 65% of respondents supporting the change, survey suggests Peter Dutton’s soft no campaign is failing to shift sentiment

A majority of Australians continue to support a constitutionally enshrined voice to parliament, according to the latest Guardian Essential poll, including an overwhelming majority of young Australians.

The latest fortnightly survey of 1,000 respondents suggests a soft no campaign by the Liberal leader, Peter Dutton, unleashed over the summer break has, thus far, failed to shift voter sentiment, with 65% of respondents supporting the change, a two-point increase from the percentage recorded last December.

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NT reinstates alcohol bans in effort to curb crime surge in Alice Springs

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Federal government agreed to $250m in additional funding for measures including youth engagement programs and job creation

Alcohol bans are set to be reintroduced in central Australia after a snap review recommended tighter restrictions to address a surge of crime and antisocial behaviour in Alice Springs.

The measures announced Monday mean that Aboriginal people living in remote communities and town camps in the Northern Territory will not be able to buy takeaway alcohol, although communities will be able to lift the bans if 60% of residents vote in favour of an alcohol management plan.

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Hillsong Church names married couple as leaders after Brian Houston resignation – as it happened

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Australian football player Kate Gill has spoken to the ABC this morning about the recently announced sponsorship of Fifa’s women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand by the Saudi’s.

Players have been expressing shock and frustration over the potential sponsorship deal, saying they have largely been left out over the decision to take the money.

When you look at the surface, you can see that it is a blatant disregard of their human rights treatment when you look at the country itself. LGBTI+ people are still regarded as criminals, and women over there still really face strict restrictions of their rights. And that’s notwithstanding the progressions that have been made as well. It just sat really uncomfortably when it was announced.

Those decisions then become the athletes. The athletes become the face of those decisions, and it’s really challenging when you don’t have full transparency over why these decisions are made and what has actually gone into the thought process behind this.

It’s putting a lot of pressure on the players. So I think it would be welcomed if they would sit down and have the discussions with the players so they can fully understand and ask questions as to why this needs to happen.

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Albanese declares Indigenous voice won’t impact First Nations sovereignty

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Speaking ahead of the opening of the parliamentary year, the PM dismisses the notion of having a constitutional convention before the referendum

Anthony Albanese has declared the voice to parliament will have no impact on First Nations sovereignty, and has rubbished the idea of having a constitutional convention before the referendum later this year.

With parliament set to resume for the year this week, the prime minister’s position was echoed on Sunday morning by Megan Davis, law professor, member of the expert working group and one of the leaders of the Uluru dialogues. She told the ABC deliberations around constitutional recognition had now entered a second decade.

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Australia news live: voice working group says Dutton committed to ‘further talks’; Alice Springs report may not be made public until next week

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Australian batter Usman Khawaja has been cleared to join his teammates in India after his visa issues were sorted, AAP reports.

Pakistan-born Khawaja will fly out of Melbourne today, more than a day later than planned, after an anxious wait for his visa to be approved.

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Report into Alice Springs unrest recommends urgent alcohol ban in central Australian communities

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NT chief minister met with prime minister on Thursday afternoon to discuss report, which will be released after it is considered by cabinet next week

The Northern Territory government must urgently amend its laws to impose alcohol bans in central Australian communities, including the town camps in Alice Springs, according to a snap review.

The bans would remain in place until communities have time to develop their own alcohol management plans. Once those plans are in place, communities may then opt out of the legislative restrictions.

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Voice bill to come before parliament next month with campaigning to kick into gear quickly

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Anthony Albanese urges Peter Dutton to bring ‘an open heart’ when he meets with an expert Indigenous referendum group

A bill to amend the constitution to allow for the voice to parliament will be introduced next month, with referendum processes and campaigning expected to accelerate quickly from next week.

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, implored Peter Dutton to bring “an open heart” on the voice when he meets with an expert Indigenous referendum group on Thursday, with the opposition leader challenged to make a “constructive contribution” as he faces a growing swell of community and corporate support for constitutional change.

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Capsule found after ‘needle in a haystack’ search – as it happened

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The deputy prime minister and defence minister, Richard Marles, spoke to ABC AM Radio from London following a meeting with the UK prime minister, Rishi Sunak.

Marles would not be drawn into whether he discussed with Sunak the possibility of Australia acquiring British built nuclear submarines under the Aukus deal but said when the announcement is made it will be a “genuinely trilateral effort.”

Prime Minister Sunak commented on just how full the agenda is between our two countries and how much that is making – perhaps our oldest and most historic relationship – one which is deeply relevant in in the contemporary moment and certainly Aukus is central to that.

And we’re close to announcement and I’m not about to preempt that now. But I think what you’ll see is when we ultimately do announce the optimal pathway that we’ve been working on with both the United States and United Kingdom, that what it really is, is a genuinely trilateral effort to see by the UK and the US provide Australia with a nuclear powered submarine capability.

We’re confident that what we will be announcing in the coming weeks is a pathway that will be able to be delivered by all partners on time.

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State and territory leaders to sign joint statement backing Indigenous voice to parliament

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The move, ahead of national cabinet, will give a fresh push to Labor’s referendum plans, with the Liberals and Greens yet to agree their positions

State and territory leaders are expected to formally endorse a plan to support an Indigenous voice to parliament ahead of Friday’s national cabinet meeting.

The leaders of all eight states and territories have committed publicly to backing the voice, but are expected to sign a joint statement at their Council for the Australian Federation meeting on Thursday evening, ahead of national cabinet on Friday.

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Australia news live updates: ClubsNSW chief says he ‘misspoke’ in linking Perrottet’s faith to pokies policy

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Independent MP Alex Greenwich calls on Josh Landis to step down following comments about NSW premier. Follow the latest updates live

Alice Springs’ convention centre was packed last night for a meeting where business owners alleged they’ve suffered losses due to government inaction.

The ABC is reporting that organiser and business owner Garth Thompson told the crowd that the Northern Territory government had neglected Alice Springs and residents “deserve to be compensated for what the government has put us through”.

I’m more than proud to stand here and say we, as a community of Alice Springs, are about to sue our government for $1.5 billion in compensation.

Those of us who came here for a community meeting ended up listening to 20 to 30 minutes of a local business owner essentially stir up a very emotive narrative centred around the protection of private property.

I think it’s fair to say that the premier has very little understanding of this issue and has acted from his conservative Catholic gut rather than based on evidence.

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Australia news live: Peter Dutton to attend voice referendum working group meeting remotely

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The finance minister, Katy Gallagher, also spoke to ABC Radio this morning about how the government is balancing the budget with record high inflation, and all signs pointing to another rate hike from the RBA next week.

Gallagher says there will be mortgage pain for over a fifth of mortgage holders:

We’re expecting about 20% of mortgage holders to come off fixed rate loans this year.

We always said 2023 was going to be challenging year … Dealing with the inflation challenge is a key economic priority for the government.

What you’ll see is a continued focus on cost-of-living relief, funding those priority areas like health and aged care and making sure we’re getting the balance right in terms of spending restraint, banking upgrades and looking for sensible savings where we can.

There’s no doubt that migrants have been key to the formation of modern Australia.

I think [migrants] should be recognised for their contribution to this country. And I think that’s fair enough, but that’s not minimising the Indigenous.

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‘The government has listened’: Australia’s peak bodies praise $300m federal arts policy

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Launched by Anthony Albanese at Melbourne live music pub the Espy, the policy offers welcome support for the beleaguered industry

Australia’s arts industry has welcomed the federal government’s $300m national cultural policy Revive, which was launched on Monday by the prime minister, Anthony Albanese.

Albanese described it as a comprehensive and inclusive way to enhance the lives of all Australians, “from the gallery, to the mosh pit, to your favourite reading chair”. While most of the major policies were released over the weekend, the official launch, held at Melbourne live music venue the Esplanade, revealed a few more details, such as the establishment of a national poet laureate – a position Australia has not had since the convict era – and the commitment to deliver a state of culture report every three years, similar to the government-issued state of the environment report.

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‘Complete, unmitigated disaster’: inquest into Veronica Nelson’s death urges overhaul of ‘discriminatory’ Victorian bail laws

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Coroner refers prison health contractor to Director of Public Prosecutions over death in custody

A Victorian coroner has declared the state’s controversial bail laws discriminatory and a “complete, unmitigated disaster”, using landmark findings into the 2020 death in custody of First Nations woman Veronica Nelson to recommend urgent reforms.

Coroner Simon McGregor on Monday handed down the highly anticipated findings into the death of Nelson, a 37-year-old Gunditjmara, Dja Dja Wurrung, Wiradjuri and Yorta Yorta woman who was in prison after being arrested for shoplifting and refused bail.

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Arrernte traditional owners urge PM to ‘come back and talk to the elders’ amid Alice Springs crisis

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Strong Grandmothers of the Central Desert group wants Anthony Albanese and other politicians to hear concerns at grassroots level

Arrernte traditional owners are urging the prime minster to return to Alice Springs to talk to elders on the ground following his visit last week in response to a surge in crime and antisocial behaviour in the Northern Territory town.

Eastern Arrernte woman Elaine Peckham, senior Western Arrrernte woman Doreen Carroll and Southern Arrernte and Pitjantjatjara, Yankunytjatjara and Ngaanyatjarra woman Brenda Shields form part of the Strong Grandmothers of the Central Desert group, who have come together to advocate for their community and push for change.

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Social platforms set advertising rules on Indigenous voice for Australia’s first referendum in digital age

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Warren Mundine, a leading critic of voice to parliament, is concerned advertising from main referendum campaigns may be removed by platforms

Major online platforms are setting their transparency and misinformation rules for Australia’s first referendum in the digital age, as Warren Mundine, a prominent member of the no campaign, calls for advertising about the Indigenous voice to parliament referendum to run unrestricted.

Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat will require all paid ads for the voice referendum to carry authorisation messages like those at elections, and will fact-check ads and remove those rated as false.

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Linda Reynolds sends formal defamation complaint to Brittany Higgins’s partner – as it happened

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Ukrainian loss would embolden leaders in Pacific region, ambassador says

The ambassador of Ukraine to Australia and New Zealand, Vasyl Myroshnychenko, stresses that the reason Australia’s assistance needs to continue is because it’s in Australia’s interests to support the Ukraine:

The reason why we need to keep up and step up that assistance because this war in Ukraine is disrupting everything. It’s really undermined security, regionally, globally.

It’s having a major impact on your partners here in the region. Look at Indonesia. I mean, they are really suffering from the lack of food that can get on their market. They have 275 million people to feed and they really rely on grain from Ukraine, which now they have a hard time getting hold of as the prices have surged. We’ve seen the impact on the energy markets on the volatility of the commodity markets.

What’s important is that Australia continues to support Ukraine. We are truly thankful for what Australia has done so far, especially the last package which was announced in October where another 30 Bushmasters were allocated and the troops which are now in Britain have already been able to train Ukrainian soldiers. It’s really a big help.

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Lidia Thorpe joined anti-voice Coalition senators to push for inquiry into Indigenous bodies

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Exclusive: the Greens senator blames an ‘administrative error’ for the move in November before being forced to withdraw by Adam Bandt

The Greens senator Lidia Thorpe put her name to the establishment of an inquiry into Indigenous bodies pushed by some of the Coalition’s most strident opponents of the voice, before being forced to withdraw by the Greens leader, Adam Bandt.

Thorpe has blamed an “administrative error” for the move in November, when she briefly teamed up with the Nationals’ Jacinta Nampijinpa Price and Liberal James McGrath, among others, to ask the Senate for a year-long inquiry, which would run throughout the voice referendum debate.

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‘Nothing to celebrate’: Invasion Day rallies draw thousands but participants divided on voice

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Attendees at the Sydney rally say the strong opposition to the voice to parliament by organisers was shaping how they will vote

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Thousands of people attended Invasion Day rallies across Australia on Thursday, where First Nations speakers called for action on deaths in custody, and end to the removal of Aboriginal children and – in many locations – made a case against an Indigenous voice to parliament being enacted before a treaty.

The referendum on a constitutionally enshrined First Nations advisory body, as first proposed in the Uluru statement from the heart, is due to be held later this year and was a prominent topic at Thursday’s events, which are held each year to mourn and protest Indigenous dispossession on what is officially Australia’s national day.

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Thousands attend Invasion Day rallies on Australia’s national holiday as colonisation debate rages

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With Australia increasingly uneasy about celebrating its national day, recognition of Indigenous people in the constitution has become a new flashpoint

Tens of thousands of people have marked Australia’s national day by attending protest rallies in cities across the nation, amid a rising political and social reckoning with the country’s colonial history.

Australia Day – 26 January – commemorates the landing of the British first fleet of convicts at Sydney Cove in 1788, the beginning of the settlement that entrenched European colonisation of the Australian continent.

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