Indigenous

We would have been so much better if we had reconciled our past with the First Nations people of this land. This was the message delivered by James Darling AM, a South Australian conversationalist ... Mr Darling congratulated those in Naracoorte who were granted Australian citizenship and thanked them for their loyalty towards the country.

When Mudyala Aboriginal Corporation founder and CEO, Aneika Kapeen was announced as 2024 Clarence Valley Citizen of the Year, a loud cheer erupted from the crowd in acknowledgment of more than a decade of dedication to the community.

The 10th annual Gynburra festival was held at Port Victoria on Friday and Saturday, January 26-27. The festival is named after the Gynburra fish, also known as butterfish or dusky morwong, which has cultural significance for the Narungga people.

A former Country Liberal Party front bencher, Roger “Stainless” Steele, says it’s likely that NT Senator Jacinta Price “could contribute even more to the North of Australia from a seat in the House of Representatives".

Patricia Gill. Shire president Kingsley Gibson says Australia Day celebrations in Denmark have moved in step with changing community attitudes and demands. Councillor Gibson said the Denmark Shire Council did not have a position on Australia Day and spoke to the Bulletin as a private citizen about tomorrow’s Kwoorabup Festival which he believed would be a safe and inclusive event for all.

An agreement has been signed between the Department of Justice and Aboriginal-led service provider Kullarri Regional Communities Indigenous Corporation (KRCIC) to implement a $4 million pilot program providing a location out of harm's way for at-risk youth who are found in public areas at night.

Wilya Ajjul Janta (we all stand strong together), is a Wumpurrarni housing organisation with its roots in Tennant Creek ... the Papulu-ku Nyinjjiki Junkurrakur Exhibition (seeing houses in Tennant Creek) ... will showcase the models that our founders and architects have designed together ...

“Visitors are welcome to our gallery where you can purchase paintings and learn more about the history of Papunya and its artists.” This message is on the Papunya Tjupi  website  and Yuendumu’s Warlukurlangu Artists  have a similar one. Meanwhile the plodding preparations continue for the bombastically named National Aboriginal Arts Gallery (NAAG) in Alice Springs.

A Charles Sturt University legal academic has successfully represented First Nations people of the Pilbara region of Western Australia before a United Nations tribunal ... “The decision concerns the Wunna Nyiyaparli people of the Pilbara region of Western Australia, an area rich in minerals such as iron ore, and basically concerns a miscarriage of justice in the Federal Court in determining their native title rights": Dr Scott Calnan.

The Australian Government signed the “30 x 30” target at COP15 of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity in December 2022, with a commitment to ensure that 30 per cent of the earth’s land and sea is protected through the establishment of Protected Areas (PAs) and Other Area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs) ... The WWF has urged the Australian Government to set up a $5B Green Fund to acquire forests, productive land and reforest wheat fields.   The land needed to meet the 30:30 objective has to be “high biodiversity value” land in accordance with the Global Biodiversity Framework.

Yesterday Elders and community members met with the Community Justice Centre (CJC) to discuss establishing community-led mediation and peacekeeping across the Barkly ... In early 2024, stakeholders will reconvene to co-design the model to be implemented through the Barkly Regional Deal Community Mediation Initiative.

A new book about the rivers and wetlands of the Murray-Darling Basin includes information about the Upper Murray and is now on its way to thousands of primary schools across Australia. Commissioned by the Jane Goodall Institute in London and Sydney, the book was written by the Petaurus Education Group in Albury-Wodonga.

Leader of The Nationals and Shadow Agriculture Minister David Littleproud has warned farmers face greater costs, more complexities and lengthy delays, if Labor’s push to abolish Commonwealth-funded legal advice for landholders in native title claims is passed. The Native Title Respondent Scheme provided financial support to pastoralists and other landowners for native title claims.

The new laws update the ‘water trigger’ under Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC Act) (the most important legislation that protects the environment in Australia), so new unconventional gas projects, like shale gas fracking, will be assessed by the Independent Expert Scientific Committee for their impact on water resources.

Ian Osborne. As summer comes around again, our thoughts turn to the threat of bushfires. Every foreign navigator who sailed the coast of Australia, from William Dampier and Abel Tasman to Captain Cook, and later those carrying the immigrants who would settle the new south land had noted the prevalence of fire along the continent’s edge .. It was, Cook said, 'the Continent of Smoke'.

Twenty-one families have recently moved into homes at Alpurrurulam, and three more five-bedroom homes will be ready in the next couple of weeks. The modular homes, built by Territory company Demountable Sales and Hire have been installed by Wilga Indigenous Corporation, which has provided employment opportunities to Alpurrurulam locals.

MacDonnell Regional Council township of Ntaria (Hermannsburg) has won the 2023 Northern Territory Sustainable Community Tidy Town accolade announced in Katherine ... where multiple remote Territory communities were recognised for their efforts in improving the wellbeing of their homes.

Making scarce and impure bore water in The Centre’s outback fit for use in medical dialysis has earned Alice local Michael C Smith a Distinguished Alumni Award from Flinders University in Adelaide. “I’m proud that one of my designs is working today in Kiwirrkurra, Australia’s most remote Aboriginal community,” says Dr Smith.

The Albanese Government and Australian Greens have agreed to strengthen the Restoring Our Rivers Bill ... “We’re talking about the largest inland river system in Australia, supporting threatened plants and animals and delivering drinking water for 3 million Australians. We have to get this right": Plibersek ... “As part of this agreement, the Greens have secured an independent audit of water in the basin to stop the rorts, inject integrity and restore trust after a decade of mismanagement from vested interests": Hanson-Young.

A team from the Australian Bureau of Statistics has visited Tennant Creek and Barkly remote communities as part of the nationwide survey of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people ... Residents are asked if they would like to take part in the survey...

Many outstanding award winners emerged from presentations to deserving members of the Aboriginal community at the recent Narrungdera NAIDOC Awards Ball 2023 held at the Narrandera Ex-servicemen’s Club auditorium. Emcees for the awards were Tony Galluzzo and Narrandera Shire Councillor Braydon Lyons...