Category Archives: Indigenous Australians

Perth festival 2023 opens to the world – with Aboriginal techno, the promise of Björk and uncomfortable truths

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Buoyed by a welcome return of international acts, the 70th Perth festival soars as artists dream of new worlds

The thrum of bare feet pounding the earth erupts across the darkened theatre. Four women charge over the stage, eyes bright and defiant, whirling their limbs and hips as if made of liquid adrenaline. With each exultant gesture, each primal pulse, the women suspend a dream of freedom in the air – a vision of Africa without colonisation.

Bikutsi 3000, which had its Australian premiere at Perth festival, is an afro-futuristic performance by Cameroon artist Blick Bassy that packs a bold political punch: centring women as the agents of emancipation from Africa’s treacherous history of imperialism, with dance as their only weapon. Among the ensemble of African women are two local Aboriginal dancers, Liani Dalgetty and Kristyn Lane, who join in the celebratory march towards freedom.

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Australia politics live: Inland Rail review reveals ‘significant concerns’; senator asks if MPs’ phones safe from hackers

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Critics of project left frustrated and ‘ignored’ by previous government’s failure to heed views of regional communities. Follow the day’s news live

Joyce v Plibersek

Can there be a greater punishment than being the Labor MP chosen to “debate” Barnaby Joyce on commercial TV each week?

Well this Treasury analysis shows that price rises will be moderated, they won’t go up as much as was initially predicted and that’s because our policies are working, and it’s a shame that Barnaby and his side actually voted against the policies that have brought down energy prices in Australia, on top of not doing anything when they were in government to prepare for these energy price rises.

But we know that families are still doing is tough and that’s why we’re also delivering cheaper medicine, cheaper childcare, free Tafe and higher wages.

Well, you just heard it there. It’s the great swindle. Remember they said they were going to bring down the price of electricity by $275. Now they’re lauding the fact that it’s still going up and it will continue to go up, and at some time in the future, listen to this, it won’t go up as much as they expected it to. Now if you think that is worth banking, good luck.

As everything, you will see Liddell get blown up* and this will be under the Labor party’s watch, another power station literally blown up, another restriction on power supplies as we reduce supply and increase price. And I don’t see anything marvellous happening in the future except a Labor party which thinks that the way to fix power prices is to cap the two evils. Remember they don’t believe in coal or gas, but they do believe in capping it because they do understand all of a sudden that it is absolutely connected to power prices.

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Greens appoint Dorinda Cox as First Nations spokesperson to replace Lidia Thorpe

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First female Indigenous senator from WA says she and her predecessor are ‘very different politicians’

Dorinda Cox has been appointed as the Greens’ new First Nations spokesperson after Lidia Thorpe’s departure from the party.

Cox, a Yamatji-Noongar woman, has been handed the job as the party campaigns for a yes vote in the upcoming voice to parliament referendum.

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Linda Burney warns MPs who walked out on apology not to ‘repeat the mistake’ with the voice

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Those like Peter Dutton who now regret walking out on the stolen generations apology should grasp the opportunity offered by the Uluru statement

The Indigenous Australians minister, Linda Burney, will warn those who boycotted the apology to the stolen generations in 2008 – among them the opposition leader, Peter Dutton – not to “repeat the mistakes of the past” and grasp the opportunity offered by the Uluru statement from the heart.

Dutton was the most senior of a handful of Coalition MPs who walked out of parliament when the then Labor prime minister, Kevin Rudd, formally apologised to the stolen generations in 2008.

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Anthony Albanese to become first sitting Australian PM to march in Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras

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Prime minister likens upcoming Indigenous voice referendum to the successful 2017 marriage equality vote

Anthony Albanese will be the first sitting Australian prime minister to march in Sydney’s Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras when he joins the parade for the WorldPride festival.

The prime minister said he will be joined by the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, the first openly gay woman in parliament, when he takes part in the event later in February.

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Australia news live: NSW Labor leader Chris Minns promises to ban gay conversion therapy; Cyclone Gabrielle intensifies

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Minns says that, if elected, his government will outlaw the ‘dangerous and damaging practice’

The Norfolk Island administrator, Eric Hutchinson, says there are “probably anywhere between 800-950 visitors on the island at the moment.”

Flights have been suspended for the next couple of days, although the usual flight from Sydney arrived as scheduled yesterday, as did the flight from Brisbane on Thursday.

We’ve moved through four stages of alertness, we are now at an orange. The Emergency Management Norfolk Island is meeting now and there is the possibility that they will then increase that to the highest level of alert, which is a red alert, and that basically means that people stay at home and don’t go out.

People are doing the right thing. The community has been well communicated with and, as I say, we have just got to now see this out. There is an emergency shelter that has been set up just now, where I am at the moment in the hall, so that is probably going to be used we think by visitors to the island.

It was a pretty wild night but the impact of Tropical Cyclone Gabrielle isn’t expected to make its full impact until early this afternoon and that can potentially extend into the early hours of Sunday morning.

I will say, though, that Emergency Management Norfolk Island, we’ve had an incredible amount of support through the National Emergency Management Agency.

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Woman who defaced Frederick McCubbin painting in Woodside protest fined $2,637

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Joana Partyka admitted painting company logo on to the masterpiece Down on His Luck in protest at Burrup Peninsula development

A woman who defaced one of Australia’s most famous paintings in a protest against a gas company’s alleged destruction of Western Australia rock art has faced court.

Joana Veronika Partyka, 37, pleaded guilty on Friday to criminal damage after she spray-painted a Woodside Energy logo onto Frederick McCubbin’s work Down on His Luck at the Art Gallery of WA.

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Victorian government must overhaul bail laws to create ‘meaningful’ change, legal groups say

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Advocates concerned after Daniel Andrews suggested looking at offence types rather than scrapping controversial 2018 changes

Changes to Victoria’s bail laws would be nothing more than cosmetic if the government does not scrap the “reverse onus” bail provisions that have led to a near doubling of Aboriginal women in custody, legal groups have warned.

The Victorian government has committed to reforming the Bail Act after a damning coroner’s report into the death in custody of Veronica Nelson found it was “incompatible” with the state’s charter of human rights and discriminatory towards First Nations people.

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Australia news live: crossbench ramps up pressure on Michelle Rowland after reports of Sportsbet donations

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Why are we not just saying yes?

Richard Marles:

We need to balance this, obviously, as all countries to do with our own capability and making sure that we maintain our own ability to operate in our own sphere here in the Indo-Pacific.

But we need to be doing what we can to support Ukraine and we’ll continue to take that through and as we have and right now, we stand as one of the largest non-Nato contributors to Ukraine.

This is going to be an open question going on. I think the the answer to it is we will continue a discussion with the Ukraine for as long as it takes to make sure that they can stay in the contest.

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Albanese’s stance against public funding for yes and no voice campaigns backed by Birmingham

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Coalition frontbencher breaks ranks with Peter Dutton saying taxpayer funds should not be used for referendum campaigns

The Labor government is standing firm against calls for public funding for the yes and no campaigns for the voice to parliament referendum, even drawing backing from a Coalition frontbencher who appeared to break ranks with the Liberal leader’s stance.

Simon Birmingham said taxpayers shouldn’t foot the bill for campaign advertising, despite it being being a condition of opposition leader Peter Dutton’s support for the referendum bill.

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Greens’ First Nations conveners side with Lidia Thorpe and say they do not support voice to parliament

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Co-convener claims other members may follow Thorpe out the door and pushes back on party room decision to support referendum

The conveners of the Greens’ First Nations advisory group say they do not support the voice to parliament or a referendum on Indigenous constitutional recognition, publicly rebuking their federal party room and instead backing the departed senator Lidia Thorpe’s opposition to the move.

Dr Tjanara Goreng Goreng, the national co-convener of the Greens’ First Nations Network, claimed other members may follow Thorpe out the door, and pushed back on the decision of federal MPs and senators to publicly campaign for the voice.

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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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