Indigenous

A massive, stunningly beautiful former grazing property will soon belong to Queenslanders as the state’s newest national park. “The Lakes”, north of Hughenden, will increase Queensland’s protected area estate by 35,300 hectares, with the Palaszczuk Government now finalising the multi-million-dollar purchase.

For the month of February, if you have an interest in hairdressing and are between the ages of 11 and 17, you have the chance to participate in a program provided by the Deadly Hair Dude in collaboration with Julalikari, who managed to win a grant from the Department of Health to bring the program to Tennant Creek as a part of the Alcohol and Other Drugs initiative.

The Wiradjuri Sisters exhibition is an exciting collection of works in acrylics, collage and printmaking by Indigenous artists Naomi Grant and Krishna Heffernan. The show is a combination of the creative passion of sisters who live on opposite sides of the country.

Case numbers continue to grow in the Torres and Cape but health officials are happy with the rate of spread of COVID-19 across the region. On Monday morning, there were 451 active cases in the Torres and Cape, up almost 100 from the week before.

More investment in aerial incendiary fire management, greater communication and collaboration between landholder groups and neighbours, and more information about opportunities in the Carbon industry were among some of the key call-outs from the 2021 Fire Forum held in Cairns in December. Organised by Cape York Natural Resource Management, the Forum brought more than 130 people together from Cape York, the Tablelands, Brisbane and Darwin.  

Most Australians who knew Rosalie Kunoth-Monks remember her for her leading role in Australia's first colour feature film, Jedda. However, people from the Barkly and throughout the Territory remember her as a warm and caring woman; and a passionate, unrelenting advocate for her country and her people.

A TAFE NSW Narrandera youth work graduate whose childhood was punctuated by hardship has vowed to help break the cycle of disadvantage in her community by pushing for the town’s first ever youth centre. Proud Wiradjuri woman Jasmin Pietsch, 26, has just completed a Certificate IV in Youth Work at TAFE NSW Narrandera and has been accepted into a Bachelor of Mental Health Science in 2022.

Native plants and a safe, usable site will eventually replace the abandoned Collingwood Tin mine site near Cooktown with a partnership between Traditional Owners and the state government.

“This is the beginning of a new era for farmers and the wider community on the Liverpool Plains, ending years of uncertainty. From today, this land will be actively managed by the Local Land Services on behalf of the government to safeguard the areas with environmental and cultural significance”: Paul Toole, NSW Deputy Premier. ARR.News has questions for the Deputy Premier and Minister Saunders.

Emma Pritchard. Describing himself as excited by the journey that awaits him, Brett Duroux of Coutts Crossing will contest the seat of Page as a member of the Indigenous-Aboriginal Party of Australia (IPA).

The Torres Strait Regional Authority has welcomed the public release of the Indigenous Voice Co-design Process Final Report to the federal government – including recommendations to ensure Torres Strait Islanders from the Torres Strait and mainland Australia are represented ... Chair Pedro Stephen said the TSRA was among thousands of people, communities and organisations involved in the co-design process to develop models and options for an Indigenous Voice and to enhance local and regional decision-making.

A Midwifery Group Practice is up and running at the Weipa Hospital in preparation for the new birthing service due to open later this year. Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said three new midwives were already in place at Weipa, with recruitment under way for a fourth.

Diatreme Resources has discovered a second high-grade silica sand deposit within the northern area of its Si 2 North Project, which could result in a second mine for the ASX-listed company ... Diatreme CEO Neil McIntyre said the finding showed the potential for a second new silica sand mine that could generate new jobs and investment for Far North Queensland.

Emma Pritchard. Proud Bundjalung, Dunghutti and Gumbaynggirr artist Danielle Gorogo doesn’t just have one canvas displaying her beautiful artwork, she has several. Only in this instance, her canvases are the stunning uniforms Clarence Regional Library staff are proudly wearing.

Cape York was rocked over the Christmas period when the first cases of COVID-19 were reported in the community. The chief executive of the Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Service Bev Hamerton gave half an hour of her time to Cape York Weekly editor Matt Nicholls to discuss the challenges.

Anyinginyi Health Aboriginal Corporation is calling out the behaviour of the Barkly Regional Council (BRC) for the eviction of the Corporation from the Sport and Recreation Centre. The town’s sole gym was built by Anyinginyi, maintained and operated for two decades on Purkiss Reserve. Anyinginyi Board Chairperson Ross Williams said the actions of Council are a repudiation of the Barkly Regional Deal’s intent to work together, co-operatively in the interests of the community.

As part of the UN’s Decade on Nutrition, Western Murray Land Improvement Group (WMLIG) with Forestry Corporation, hosted a field trip to the Pollack Wetlands, food and fibre displays and a barbecue for 40 community members. The visit to the Pollack Swamp Wetlands allowed the community to see first-hand the amazing transformation and rehabilitation of the area from recent watering events, whilst learning about its natural resources.

Einstein supposedly said that “insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”. Australia’s current approach to forest management is insane ... Now the Senate’s Finance and Public Administration Committee has published “Lessons to be learned in relation to the Australian bushfire season 2019-20”. It would be amusing if not for the ongoing dire consequences.

The spirit of Mapoon’s old people could be felt as the community opened its long-awaited church last Thursday. In an emotional ceremony, community leaders spoke of the long battle to have a church built in Mapoon after the state government ripped down the last one in 1963 when it forced all residents to leave the Mission.

Geoff Wharton. The opening of the church at Mapoon last Thursday is an event that links today’s Christian movement in the community with the earliest days of Mapoon Presbyterian Mission and the Moravian Church missionaries who came to evangelise among the Tjungundji People in 1891.

A well-respected Warumungu elder was bestowed the Fitzgerald Justice Award in the 2021 Northern Territory Human Rights Awards recently. John Fitz Jakamarra was nominated for his dedication to being a community mentor to the welfare, wellbeing and reintegration of local people in the Barkly community ... An NT Shelter spokesperson said John is committed to supporting to those who have been impacted or at risk of being impacted by the justice system.