Category Archives: Indigenous Australians

‘Dreadful wrongs’: WA governor apologises to Noongar people for 1834 Pinjarra massacre

Posted on by

Between 15 and 80 Binjareb Noongar people were killed in the massacre which was led by the then WA governor, James Stirling

Warning: This article contains historical records that use racist and offensive language, and descriptions of events that will be distressing to some readers. It also contains references to Indigenous Australians who have died

Almost 200 years ago, a state governor led a massacre of at least 15 Aboriginal people.

On Tuesday, Western Australia’s current governor, Chris Dawson, went to the massacre site, south of Perth, with a different intent.

Continue reading...

Children under 14 are incapable of evil and should be protected from criminal responsibility, NSW review finds

Posted on by

Review was led by former supreme court judge turned parole authority chair Geoffrey Bellew SC and former NSW police deputy commissioner Jeffrey Loy

A centuries-old legal presumption that children aged between 10 and 14 are not capable of evil should become law, a New South Wales review led by a former supreme court judge and a former senior NSW police figure has recommended.

In NSW, the criminal age of responsibility is 10 but the common law presumption of doli incapax – Latin for “incapable of evil” – can apply up to 14, offering protection for children being prosecuted on the presumption they don’t understand the difference between right and wrong.

Continue reading...

Jacinta Nampijinpa Price didn’t check details of media release that allegedly defamed CEO, court hears

Posted on by

High-profile lawyer Sue Chrysanthou SC representing Central Land Council boss in the case against NT senator

The outspoken Liberal senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price pushed ahead with a media release that defamed an Aboriginal land council boss without checking the details were true, a court has heard.

Nampijinpa Price is fighting a claim by the Central Land Council chief executive, Lesley Turner, that she defamed him in the July 2024 press release.

Continue reading...

Weapons maker Saab ‘directly linked’ to human rights breach after missile found in South Australian Indigenous area

Posted on by

Lawyer hopes investigation for OECD into 2021 find near Australian military testing range sets precedent

The weapons manufacturer Saab was “directly linked” to a human rights violation when a missile it produced was found in an Indigenous heritage area, an investigation for the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development has found.

The four-year investigation could lead to more companies being held accountable for how their weapons are used by clients, according to human rights lawyers involved in the case.

Continue reading...

Mass slaughter in Gaza stands apart from other genocides, Chris Sidoti says: ‘People cannot escape’

Posted on by

Australian human rights expert who was on UN commission of inquiry labels Israel’s strategy a failure that ‘has not brought peace and has not destroyed Hamas’

“The people of Gaza have absolutely no way to escape the killing: they are literally a captive population.”

Chris Sidoti knows the brutality of conflict too well, his experience investigating international crimes is devastatingly comprehensive. But he sees a categoric difference in the violence in Gaza.

Continue reading...

NT attorney general criticised after confirming family link to hit-and-run driver

Posted on by

Marie-Clare Boothby faces questions after revealing she is related to man spared prison over a crash that killed Aboriginal pedestrian

The Northern Territory’s attorney general, Marie-Clare Boothby, has faced criticism after confirming she is related to a man who was spared prison last week over a hit-and-run car crash that killed an Aboriginal man.

Jack Danby, 24, was sentenced to a 12-month community corrections order in relation to the crash in June 2024. Danby hit two Aboriginal pedestrians, killing one, and fled the scene.

Continue reading...

Human rights commissioner blasts Queensland government’s ‘hostile’ approach to First Nations people

Posted on by

Scott McDougall uses speech at parliament to warn the LNP is ‘walking us backwards’ on reconciliation as he prepares to exit role

Queensland’s human rights commissioner has blasted the state government’s “hostile”, “assimilationist” approach to First Nations people in a speech at Parliament House.

Scott McDougall, Queensland’s first-ever human rights commissioner, has consistently criticised both sides of politics over a range of issues, particularly the state’s youth law and order crackdown. His seven-year term in the role comes to an end next month.

Continue reading...

University of Melbourne law professor’s allegedly racist emails were protected ‘political opinion’, court hears

Posted on by

Lawyer argues university’s move to fire Dr Eric Descheemaeker breached Fair Work Act and freedom of academic expression policy

A law professor at the centre of a leaked email controversy says the University of Melbourne attempted to expel him over his political expression after it unearthed allegedly racist emails which included references to First Nations people.

Dr Eric Descheemaeker launched legal action against Australia’s top-ranked university over his proposed dismissal earlier this year, alleging he was suspended over his political opinion.

Continue reading...

Bristol returns cultural artefacts taken from Larrakia people in Australia

Posted on by

Objects including three-metre spears were collected in late 19th and early 20th centuries and donated to city’s museum

For decades, they have languished in storage in the basement of a museum in the English West Country. Finally, an extraordinary collection of weapons and ceremonial objects taken from the Larrakia people more than a century ago is beginning a winding journey home to the saltwater landscapes of the Northern Territory in Australia.

During an emotionally charged ceremony, Bristol city council formally handed over 33 objects including spears that would have been used to hunt creatures from fish to buffalo, some still gleaming with the red ochre used to decorate them.

Continue reading...

Jai Kalani Wright: video of Indigenous teen’s fatal collision with police car prompts family walkout of Sydney court

Posted on by

Benedict Bryant has pleaded not guilty to a charge of dangerous driving occasioning death

Harrowing footage has been aired in court of the moment an Indigenous teenager riding a trail bike crashed into a police vehicle, as a battle erupts over the relevance of an earlier collision.

Sgt Benedict Bryant, 47, was behind the wheel when Jai Kalani Wright rode the motorbike into his unmarked police vehicle in inner-city Sydney on 19 February 2022.

Continue reading...

Murray Watt advised by own department to declare protection order over ‘significant Aboriginal area’ in WA

Posted on by

Exclusive: Environment department document states that Burrup peninsula site near Woodside gas plant ‘under threat of injury or desecration’

The environment minister, Murray Watt, has been advised by his department to declare a protection order over part of the Burrup peninsula in Western Australia due to its significance as an Aboriginal site, a government affidavit filed in the federal court shows.

A Murujuga traditional custodian, Raelene Cooper, applied in 2022 to protect the area’s cultural heritage from nearby industrial activities, including Woodside’s planned extension of its North West Shelf processing plant.

Continue reading...

National Indigenous Music awards 2025: Emily Wurramara wins artist of the year

Posted on by

Warnindhilyagwa singer also wins film clip of the year, while Malyangapa Barkindji rapper Barkaa wins album of the year

Emily Wurramara expressed solidarity with the people of Palestine and “all Indigenous peoples around the world” experiencing oppression as she accepted the artist of the year award at the 21st National Indigenous Music awards at the Nimas in Garramilla/Darwin on Saturday night.

“There’s nothing like coming back home and being here and playing for mob and playing for the people,” the Garramilla-born Warnindhilyagwa singer said. “Because the music is about the people. The music is freedom. Free Palestine, free Congo and free all Indigenous peoples around the world from their oppressors. It always was, always will be Indigenous land.”

Continue reading...

Natsiaa 2025: Gaypalani Waṉambi wins $100,000 award for ‘exquisite’ artwork made with discarded road signs

Posted on by

Waṉambi takes home Australia’s most prestigious First Nations art prize for her artwork Burwu, blossom, which saw her etch thousands of stringybark blossoms and bees

Gaypalani Waṉambi grew up surrounded by art, with her family home in north-eastern Arnhem Land doubling as a studio where her parents and siblings painted on bark and wooden poles. In her late teens, she started assisting her father, esteemed artist Mr W Waṉambi, who taught her how to paint the clan’s ancient designs, using traditional materials such as ochre. As he branched into more experimental forms such as animation and etching on metal, she too began to experiment with these new mediums.

On Friday night, the Yolŋu woman was awarded the $100,000 top prize at the 42nd National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art awards (Natsiaas), one of Australia’s richest and most prestigious art prizes, for an artwork that honoured his legacy while forging her own path.

Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning

Continue reading...

First Nations group launches federal appeal to block construction of main Brisbane 2032 Olympics stadium

Posted on by

Application lodged for permanent legal protection of Victoria Park, where state and federal governments plan to spend billions on sports infrastructure

A First Nations group has applied to halt construction of the main stadium planned for the 2032 Brisbane Olympics.

The state and federal governments plan to spend $3.8bn on a 63,000-seat stadium at Victoria Park in inner-city Brisbane. It will host the opening and closing ceremonies and athletics events.

Continue reading...

Worsening Closing the Gap measures spark Indigenous calls for ‘real power shift’

Posted on by

Latest report delivers bad news on targets including adult imprisonment rates, children in out-of-home care, suicide and childhood development

Without changing the approach to Closing the Gap, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people will continue to “pay the price”, Indigenous organisations say.

Just four of the 19 Closing the Gap targets are on track to be met, according to the latest data from the Productivity Commission.

Continue reading...

NSW police actions should be examined in Tammy Shipley’s death in custody, lawyer argues

Posted on by

Court asked to consider whether the coroner has jurisdiction to examine Shipley’s arrest

The actions of New South Wales police during the arrest of an Indigenous woman who later died in custody should be examined, given officers did not identify her “acute mental illness”, a court has heard.

Tammy Shipley died in prison while being held on remand at Silverwater women’s correctional centre in December 2022.

Continue reading...

Labor and Greens unite to condemn One Nation senators for snubbing acknowledgment of country

Posted on by

Indigenous affairs minister Malarndirri McCarthy says stunt by Pauline Hanson’s party was ‘incredibly childish’ and disrespectful

Labor and the Greens have united to condemn One Nation senators for turning their back on parliament’s acknowledgement of country statements, describing them as “incredibly childish” and “hurtful” stunts.

One Nation’s leader, Pauline Hanson, stood in the chamber as the Indigenous affairs minister, Malarndirri McCarthy, government Senate leader, Penny Wong, and Greens leader, Larissa Waters, all made statements criticising the rightwing minor party’s “deliberate acts of disrespect”.

Continue reading...

Native title win for Millewa-Mallee First Nations peoples in Victoria after decades-long fight

Posted on by

Historic decision in Australia’s federal court gives traditional owners in state’s north-west the right to control access to their country

After a difficult journey spanning more than two decades, traditional owners say they’ve “weathered the storm” to finally have their native title rights recognised.

The federal court on Friday awarded the historic native title determination to the Indigenous peoples of the Millewa-Mallee from north-west Victoria, for the first time granting exclusive native title rights in the state.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

‘No empty words’: Kumanjayi Walker’s family prepare for coroner’s final report with call for ‘real action’

Posted on by

Findings will be handed down almost five years after the Warlpiri man died during a bungled arrest in the remote Northern Territory community of Yuendumu

Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast

The inquest findings into the shooting death of Kumanjayi Walker will be handed down in Yuendumu on Monday, almost five years after the Warlpiri man died during a bungled arrest in the remote Northern Territory community.

Zachary Rolfe shot Walker three times while trying to arrest him on 9 November 2019 in Yuendumu, about 300km from Alice Springs.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Victoria’s First Peoples’ Assembly to be made permanent and granted decision-making powers under treaty bill

Posted on by

Body will be able to advise ministers on issues directly affecting Aboriginal people in the state

Victoria’s First Peoples’ Assembly will manage the rollout of community infrastructure grants and have a direct line to ministers and the power to make appointments to government boards under legislation to be introduced to parliament this year.

As first reported by Guardian Australia this week, the Victorian government and the First Peoples’ Assembly have confirmed that the statewide treaty bill will establish the assembly as a representative body to provide advice to government.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...