Indigenous

The Cook Government announced the appointment of 10 Aboriginal people to the State's first system-level Aboriginal Advisory Body to advise on the Department's progress towards reconciliation and creating a culturally responsive education system. The Aboriginal Advisory Body will provide independent advice to the Minister for Education and Director General…

SOURCE Hydropanel technology is bringing reliable drinking water to the underserved community, Irrkerlantye (White Gate), in the Northern Territory. Children’s Ground – a First Nations community-led organisation – is working in partnership with SOURCE to improve drinking water access in remote communities.

Gamblers playing the pokies in Alice Springs clubs and pubs lost almost $14m in 2022-23. This doesn’t include the poker machines in Lasseters Casino whose data “cannot be provided due to commercial-in-confidence,” according to the Department of Industry, Tourism and Trade. That is clearly a huge multiple of the disclosed figure.

You are all aware that the new Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act 2021 (WA) is still in force, at least I hope you are, as nothing has gone through Parliament yet to reverse it ... The problem is the new Act is still live and could remain so well into next year if the State government runs into problems with its amendments with an Opposition that has woken up to the politics of the issue.

Vic Jurskis. Koala plagues and megafires go together. Koalas are breeding faster than ever on all the soft young growth generated by Black Summer. The scrub development is unprecedented. Our next extreme fire season will kill more people and animals than ever before. But the koala is in no danger of extinction.

A reader has questioned the appropriateness of the place name ‘Munyang’ in relation to the Snowy Mountains, as referenced on the new sign at Farrans Lookout on the Great River Road ... "My research goes back to notes I discovered in the Mitchell Library in Sydney written in 1838, a few years after Europeans first entered the district": John Murphy.

A recent inquiry into Victoria’s duck hunting had more than 10,500 submissions, a record for a Victorian parliamentary inquiry. Labor chair Ryan Batchelor said Victoria should end recreational native bird hunting on all public and private land from 2024 ... The report did also recommend transforming hunting reserves into state recreation reserves, and excluding non aboriginals, whilst allowing traditional owners to continue to hunt ducks.

Wooli Public School welcomed more than 170 kindergarten to Year 2 students from several Clarence Valley schools when they hosted the 2023 K-2 Traditional Indigenous Games at Wooli Sports Oval on September 6 … participants took part in a number of modified activities and games which were based on the skills and learning resources taught to First Nations children hundreds of years ago.

Wingecarribee’s Aboriginal community had an exciting opportunity to take part in a cultural burn within Gibbergunyah Reserve last weekend. The burn was conducted by Gundungurra Traditional Owners and our First Nations community in partnership with Yarrabin Cultural Connections Fire Practitioner Den Barber and his team, also supported by the NSW RFS and Wingecarribee Shire Council.

Desert Mob 2023 exhibition showcases 35 Art Centres and is an invitation to view hundreds of works by artists who are members of Aboriginal-governed community art centres across Central Australia. Exhibiting alongside emerging and mid-career artists...

Bob Constantine. It was wonderful to see the Chairwoman of the Baaka Corporation, Rhonda (Lee) Hynch celebrate the Ground-breaking Ceremony on the site of the future Baaka Cultural Centre. I thought it a memorable occasion for all citizens of Wilcannia ... The Aboriginal owned and operated centre provides the opportunity to revitalise Baakantji culture, create jobs and boost tourism.

Recently, two mature peppercorn trees in White Cliffs were removed to make way for water pipes. Shirley Evans (nee Riley), who now lives in Wilcannia, was born under one of those trees in 1937. She says, 'When I was an adult I went back to that tree a few times with Mum ... I was really disappointed to think that they'd cut that tree down.'

Nine murals on nine overpasses on the Pacific Highway between Woolgoolga and Ballina have brightened the drive. The artworks depict nine stories from three Aboriginal nations of the region – Gumbaynggirr, Yaegl and Bundjalung.

Dr M K Turner OAM, a woman with profound influence in the complex society of Central Australia, and respected and loved by it, was laid to rest in a state funeral ... More than 1000 mourners were at the Old Telegraph Station, Atherreyurre by its Arrernte name, to hear the eulogy presented by family members Jenny Kroker and Janet Turner ...

A labour hire company has come to the rescue to help with essential services in the Ampilatwatja community. A struggle to hire locally has meant the Barkly Regional Council team has had to think outside the box by engaging the labour-hire company to fill the gaps to provide municipal services.

It’s time for the progressive left and the Yes supporters to give up on the Marxist dream of collectivization and redistribution and instead encourage indigenous Australia to accept that the gap is based on a lack of the opportunities that come with private enterprise, individual enterprise, strong families and less government, not more.

Yarning Circle on agriculture, water and economies brings together Indigenous and non-Indigenous speakers on how together we can care for our land and water ... The workshop was facilitated by Oral McGuire, a Whadjuk/Ballardong Nyungar man from WA ... decades of experience in land management and the application of Cultural Fire burning.

Good captains can read not only the shifting winds of the seas and the state of the ship but also the mood of the crew and, when they hit land, have the people skills to mix it with the local population. It begs the question, are our Cook and Buti the modern-day equivalents of Captain Cook and Bligh?