Category Archives: Indigenous Australians

Victoria rejects police calls for offence to replace public drunkenness

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Indigenous representatives celebrate decision not to replace law with police move-on powers

The daughter of Tanya Day, who died in custody after being arrested for being drunk on a train, has welcomed a decision by the Victorian government not to replace the state’s public intoxication laws with new move-on powers, despite opposition from the police union.

The government on Tuesday confirmed it would not give police any new powers to arrest people for being drunk in public once the existing offence is decriminalised in November 2023.

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This Is Australia: First Nations dancers remake Childish Gambino’s This Is America

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Dance company Marrugeku has put together a blistering Australian take on the hit song and video, taking in our colonial past and our treatment of refugees

When Childish Gambino’s song This s America was first released in 2018, its elaborately choreographed and racially loaded film clip inspired a storm of speculation as people tried to decode what likely became the most talked-about music video of all time. Which of the dance moves were based on Jim Crow caricatures? Is the shooting of the gospel choir a rejection of spiritual upliftment? Is the last shot a reference to Get Out? And just what did the galloping horse mean?

Then remakes began to stream in from around the world. This Is Iraq, This Is Sierra Leone, This Is Nigeria, This Is Barbados, This Is Malaysia: all tackling racial injustice, human rights abuses, political hypocrisy and greed through dance and song.

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‘Blak Greens’ say they won’t support Indigenous voice without treaty negotiations

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Greens take lead from First Nations advisory group, saying they need progress on truth, treaty and voice before they’ll support the referendum

The Greens’ First Nations advisory group has laid out its conditions for supporting the voice to parliament, saying it must be subject to treaty negotiations with the government.

Pending further negotiations with the government, the Greens are holding out on explicitly supporting the looming referendum, wanting further progress on all three elements outlined in the Uluru statement from the heart: truth, treaty and voice.

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Kimberley floods may have left hundreds homeless in region with longstanding housing crisis

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An estimated 100 homes are feared uninhabitable in WA communities where it’s not uncommon to have up to 20 people living in a house

Massive flooding in Western Australia may have left hundreds of people homeless, bringing the region’s pre-existing overcrowding crisis into sharp relief, local residents say.

An estimated 100 homes across the Kimberley were feared uninhabitable in the wake of ex-tropical cyclone Ellie, according to Tyronne Garstone, the chief executive of Kimberley Land Council, the peak Indigenous body in the Kimberley region. And with many people in the area living in multigenerational homes or with extended family, the extent of potential homelessness is immense, he said.

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Not a day to celebrate: Wollongong university staff given option to work on Australia Day holiday

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Vice-chancellor says 26 January is seen as Invasion Day by First Nations colleagues and we should ‘be clear about what we’re celebrating’

The University of Wollongong (UOW) is giving staff the option to work through the 26 January holiday, making it the latest employer to offer the policy in a show of solidarity with First Nations people.

The university announced on Monday that it would offer all fixed-term and permanent employees the flexibility to work rather than taking the day as a public holiday, citing the painful associations it may have for Indigenous communities.

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Veronica Nelson’s partner launches lawsuit against Victorian government over death in custody

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Percy Lovett alleges a breach of human rights in a civil claim filed in state’s supreme court

Veronica Nelson’s long-term partner has launched a wrongful death lawsuit against the state of Victoria and four others, alleging her death in custody breached human rights.

The Indigenous woman, 37, was found dead in her cell at Dame Phyllis Frost Centre in January 2020 after making repeated calls for help, an inquest has heard.

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Australia live news update: fifth child airlifted to hospital with irukandji jellyfish sting; Albanese and Dutton trade insults over Indigenous voice

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Federal opposition leader wants Labor to legislate its preferred model before referendum is held this year. This blog is now closed

‘I’m genuinely interested in advancing the cause of reconciliation’

Peter Dutton is asked about whether the prime minister has been given a copy of his letter – Anthony Albanese has said he has not received it – and Dutton says a copy has been provided to the prime minister’s office and he expects “he will respond in due course”.

I don’t think that’s unreasonable. Certainly not racist. It’s not being opposed to reconciliation. It’s all about, frankly, just being informed about what it is they’re being asked to vote on. I don’t think that is unreasonable to ask the prime minister to provide that.

I’ve met with the prime minister and I’m grateful for the meetings that we’ve had and he knows that I’m genuinely interested in advancing the cause of reconciliation.

I’m speaking of millions of Australians, we’re asking you the reasonable questions.

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Albanese accuses Dutton of engaging in ‘culture war stunts’ over Indigenous voice

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Opposition leader has demanded more detail, saying lack of clear information will condemn referendum to failure and damage reconciliation efforts

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has accused the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, of engaging in “cheap culture war stunts” over the Indigenous voice to parliament.

Dutton on Sunday demanded – in a letter to Albanese also released to the media – more detail on the proposed body which will be voted on at a referendum by the end of 2023.

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Voice to parliament: no campaign targets older Australians as yes group goes after young

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Facebook defends decision to delete a small number of advertisements from the no side that independent fact-checkers deemed ‘false’

A stark schism is already emerging in the voice to parliament referendum in how the respective sides are campaigning for support, with the leading yes group overwhelmingly appealing to younger voters while the main no organisation is strongly targeting older Australians.

It comes as Facebook defends its decision to delete a small number of advertisements from the no side that independent fact-checkers deemed “false”. The social media giant maintains it will reject other referendum ads that breach policies – except those from politicians.

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Linda Burney reveals draft timing for Indigenous voice to parliament vote

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Indigenous Australians minister says yes campaign likely to begin in late February with vote held as early as August

Australians could vote as early as August on whether an Indigenous voice to parliament should be constitutionally enshrined.

The Indigenous Australians minister, Linda Burney, told Nine newspapers the government plans to introduce legislation to parliament in March to set up the referendum.

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Howard ministers considered extinguishing native title over SA site earmarked for nuclear waste dump

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Cabinet papers 2002: documents shed light on strategy amid decades-long battle to create national storage centre

John Howard’s government considered extinguishing native title over a South Australian site earmarked for a nuclear waste dump “by agreement or by compulsory acquisition”, the 2002 cabinet papers reveal.

The records, released on Sunday by the National Archives of Australia, shed light on the Howard government’s part in the decades-long battle to create a national storage site for Australia’s low- and medium-level nuclear waste.

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Advocates call for urgent action after two ‘incredibly tragic’ Aboriginal deaths in custody

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Linda Burney says rates of Indigenous incarceration and deaths in custody 30 years after royal commission are a ‘national shame’

Advocates say the “heartbreaking” deaths of two Aboriginal people in custody within days of each other in Western Australia over Christmas should jolt state and federal governments into urgent action.

A 41-year-old First Nations woman died in a Perth hospital on Christmas Eve after suffering a “medical episode” in Wandoo rehabilitation prison 13 days earlier.

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Claims Labor lacks detail on Indigenous voice are ‘rubbish’, Linda Burney tells Woodford folk festival

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‘We’re going to succeed with the referendum,’ Noel Pearson tells crowd ahead of 2023 vote

Linda Burney has rejected as “rubbish” suggestions that Labor has not released enough detail about the Indigenous voice to parliament, as the Liberals continue to call for a free vote in the referendum.

The Indigenous Australians minister and Anthony Albanese both gave major speeches at the Woodford folk festival on Wednesday, countering claims from the Liberal National Coalition that the body would not help improve outcomes for First Nations people.

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First Nations public servants report higher rates of harassment

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Survey finds 16% of Indigenous Australian staff experienced bullying or harassment – almost double the rate of their non-Indigenous coworkers

First Nations staff in the federal public service have reported higher rates of bullying and harassment in the workplace than their non-Indigenous colleagues for the past four years.

Each year the Australian Public Service Commission asks staff to complete a survey detailing their experiences, including whether they have been subjected to harassment and bullying in the workplace.

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Ancient Aboriginal rock art destroyed by vandals in ‘tragic loss’ at sacred SA site

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Archeologist says artwork was ‘unique in Australia’, calling for better protection at Koonalda Cave

Vandals have destroyed a 30,000-year-old artwork at a sacred cave in South Australia, as experts decried the “massive, tragic loss” and expressed frustration at the lack of protection at the site.

The vandals entered Koonalda Cave at Nullarbor Plain and scrawled graffiti across the heritage-listed site, writing “don’t look now, but this is a death cave”.

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‘Only fit for a bulldozer’: nurse alleges children in distress and clinic ‘crumbling’ at Don Dale

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Exclusive: Some young detainees are so anxious about lockdowns they request anti-psychotic medicine, ex-employee claims

A nurse who worked at the Don Dale youth detention centre alleges it is an unsafe environment for staff and that children detained there are so distressed they ask for anti-psychotic medication.

The nurse, whodoes not want to be named, says Don Dale is “only fit for a bulldozer” and feels that not enough has changed since a royal commission into the notorious Northern Territory facility.

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Strip-searching of First Nations children by Victoria police ‘state-sanctioned violence’, inquiry hears

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Indigenous children routinely subjected to racist slurs and excessive force, including use of stun guns, Yoorrook Justice Commission told

First Nations children are routinely strip-searched by police and it amounts to “state-sanctioned violence”, a defence lawyer has told Victoria’s Indigenous truth-telling commission.

Tessa Theocharous told the Yoorrrook Justice Commission that the constant mistreatment of Aboriginal children by Victoria police was rooted in racism.

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Essential poll: three-quarters of voters believe cost-of-living crisis will worsen but majority give Albanese thumbs up

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More than 60% also say they support the Indigenous voice to parliament, with the Liberal party at risk of alienating younger voters if it backs the Nationals’ position

Australians are bracing for increased consumer prices, expensive power bills and higher interest rates in the year ahead, but 40% of Guardian Essential poll respondents think 2023 will be better than 2022.

The nascent optimism as the summer break approaches comes ahead of a special sitting of federal parliament on Thursday to pass new legislation capping gas prices, which is the first tranche of an intervention to reduce power bills.

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‘Toxic rhetoric’: marriage equality plebiscite offers ugly lessons for Indigenous voice to parliament referendum

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Support and self-care will be vital during the campaign, which could stir up ‘perfect storm for fear and hate’

From the age of five Keenan Smith knew they felt different, lacking the sense of ease other children in country Australia took for granted and bristling at being pushed towards rough and tumble sports and toy trucks and guns.

“I didn’t like the same things that boys would use in that age group, things like sports and those traditionally gendered things,” the Wirangu, Mirning and Kokatha person says.

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Archie Roach mourners fined for running red lights will not have penalties dismissed

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Victoria police confirm at least seven infringements totalling $462 each were issued for ‘serious traffic offences’

Mourners who were fined for running red lights during late music icon Uncle Archie Roach’s funeral procession will not have them overturned.

Victoria police confirmed at least seven infringements totalling about $462 each were issued to mourners travelling as part of the motorcade, including the driver of a hearse carrying Roach’s body back to Country in August.

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