Category: Indigenous affairs

The three great figures in 20^th Century Australian public life all met their appointments with destiny in 1942 – Australia’s darkest hour. John Curtin was in Canberra. Weary Dunlop was in Singapore’s Changi Prison. Don McLeod was in Australia’s north-west, recruited to rescue what he called, with his wicked sense of humour, the black sheep of the family. (more…)

No objective observer could fail to notice how inadequately we are closing the gaps we have created between Indigenous and other Australians. Part of the difficulty could be that 250 years of European occupation have damaged the language on which oral cultural transmission depends.

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John Howard’s refusal to say ‘Sorry’ on the grounds that he believed in practical rather than symbolic reconciliation actually highlighted the fact that the symbolism of the ‘S-Word’ was so important to him that he just couldn’t utter it. The Anglo in him had similar difficulty with the ‘M-word’; Multiculturalism. (more…)

Whether as paramilitary troopers, workers, trackers, guides, servants and sexual partners, many hundreds of Aboriginal Australians were participants in the outward thrust of the frontier. The implication is inescapable. Many Indigenous families have ancestors who were pioneers in the precise meaning of that term.

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By choosing to stick with January 26 (1788) as Australia’s National Day, conservatives are celebrating a date that highlights the very worst of British imperialism – a ‘rule of law’  belonging to a tiny aristocratic oligarchy with a vicious criminal code defending private property through capital punishment and transportation.

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Until recently, Australia Day for most was just a long weekend to do nothing. I yearn for such a return. Who wants immigration ministers feeling they can decide what we should wear, and what we should be doing? That official bossiness is a precursor to a national security state and social exclusion. (more…)

Just as Israel’s Independence Day and the Palestinian Nakba Day, in remembrance of deportation and deadly dispossession, have a bloody symbiosis, Australia Day/Invasion Day is celebrated or mourned according to the victors or the vanquished. (more…)

Many Australians believe that January 26 fails in its purpose. While it aims to unite, it actually divides us. Instead, the customary Indigenous theme ‘Always was, always will be Aboriginal land’ has the potential to unify.

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First, eliminate career politicians. Extend parliamentary terms to five years and limit MPs to two terms. This allows plenty of time for them to try to implement their advocacy programs and ensure parliament is constantly refreshed with new ideas and policies. (more…)

The Uluru Statement’s heart-rending plea, “In 1967 we were counted, in 2017 we seek to be heard” highlights its umbilical connection to the 1967 Referendum. However, this doesn’t guarantee similar success for the call for a First Nations Voice to Parliament.  (more…)

The decision in recent days by the Northern Territory’s Liquor Licensing director to green light the construction of a huge Woolworths owned alcohol retail store within walking distance of Aboriginal communities is an outrage on every level.

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Professor Megan Davis delivered a powerful and impassioned response to the question: ‘Can Australia Deliver?’. Professor Davis addressed the future of the Uluru Statement from the Heart, the ongoing journey toward Constitutional reform, as well as the impact of COVID-19 on Indigenous Australians. (more…)

So unless you’ve been off the grid or in a bunker since January, the 2020 Budget has been offered up by Treasurer Josh Frydenberg last night (5 months late) with the historic backdrop being the cold, hard economic reality of living with a global pandemic.

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It is a flag that can be admired and cherished, a beacon for reconciliation and beyond. It is, in the truest sense, an Australian institution. (more…)